The Church of Gaga
Lady Gaga is everywhere these days. Her current tour, The Monster’s Ball is so completely sold out that I recently saw a listing on Ticketmaster for tickets for a show in 2011. No joke.
Lady Gaga is known for being avant guarde, out spoken, artistic and opinionated so when she recently sat down for an interview with Larry King, I was surprised to see the discussion turn to matters of religion. King asked her about being raised Catholic and what she believes and this was her reply:
“I believe in Jesus. I believe in God. I’m very spiritual. I pray very much, but at the same time there is no one religion that doesn’t hate or speak against or be prejudiced against another racial group or religious group, or sexual group and for that I think religion is also bogus.
So I suppose you could say I’m a quite religious woman who is also very confused about religion.”
I knew she had her finger on the pulse of our times. A recent article for CNN spoke of the rising group of people, especially those 18-25 who identify as ‘spiritual but not religious’. You’ll often see the notation SBNR on Facebook. There is a longing to belong to something bigger than ourselves, but also a need to step away from some of the negative aspects of traditional religions. Which leads to some interesting questions for all of us.
Does God need the church? Do I need the church to know God?
It’s a not as easy question, but it’s an important one. In the Bible Jesus speaks of building his church, but then as he suffers on the cross, the man next to him calls out for forgiveness and Jesus doesn’t tell him he’s out of luck because he can’t get to a service. Instead he says, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
In CNN’s article they quote BJ Gallagher, a blogger for the Huffington Post who shares a parable that says:
“God and the devil were walking down a path one day when God spotted something sparkling by the side of the path. He picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand.
“Ah, Truth,” he said.
“Here, give it to me,” the devil said. “I’ll organize it.”
Does God need the church to be God? I don’t think he does, but I think I might need it. Those who identify as ‘spiritual but not religious’ often take aspects of different traditions together to combine into a custom faith, a personal spirituality. I don’t know if that’s enough or not. I know for myself there are times when I need a community of believers around me and yet there are also times when I wish they’d go away.
The other day I was reading an Op Ed piece on CNN about the military possibly repealing their policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. It was an opinion piece and the writer, who technically shares a somewhat similar religious view to me, was certainly opinionated. He spoke of the downfall of the military and even national security being put at risk. But that wasn’t the part that broke my heart.
In the comments there are a few people who blast the writer, and that’s how it goes with Op Ed pieces, they’re supposed to draw lines. But then the church folks showed up, the people who are supposed to be my people, and the things they said took my breath away. There was not a drop of kindness, or love, or mercy. No attempt to understand, or time taken to listen. There might have been truth in what they were saying, but who could hear it under the roar of their rhetoric?
So where does that leave us? CNN’s article goes on to say:
Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, says there’s a lot of good in old-time religion.
Religious communities excel at caring for members in difficult times, encouraging members to serve others and teaching religious practices that have been tested and wrestled with for centuries, Walters says.
“Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness — all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom,” Walters says. “Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty.”
I can understand where the ‘spiritual but not religious’ thinking comes from. I also think it’s a lot to carry on your own shoulders if you’re going to go it alone. For me, I find comfort in tradition, in ritual, but I also need a faith that is hands on. If it only affects what happens after my life, and not what happens during it – I don’t have a lot of use for that. I need God to show up today, not 60 years from now. There’s a verse in Philippians that says, in part, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. Maybe it’s not supposed to be easy?
Do you identify as spiritual? Religious? Can you identify with Lady Gaga’s comment about being “religious but confused by religion”?
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Tags: belief, faith, in the news, Jesus, Lady Gaga, Larry King, religion, spirituality
10 Responses to “The Church of Gaga”
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I watched the video clip this links to. It’s fascinating to hear Lady Gaga’s perspective on religion and her faith.
This was a great article. Thank you. “Religious communities excel at caring for members in difficult times, encouraging members to serve others…” This is exactly where I believe the “religious” community has in fact failed. I was an active member at my church for 6 years. My aunt was murdered, my father passed, I had a number of surgeries, I was a single mom, etc. For the deaths I received flowers. For my surgery a prayer call. Too many people are religious and confused by religion because they don’t understand that they are the church. Their community is the grounds with the people. We have to be the change we want to see in our world.
This article really moved me. It actually brought me to tears because I thought when I heard a church website discussing Lady Gaga, it would be judging her faith. I am pleased to see that it did not go there and I greatly appreciated that. I think that the more we accept one another, the more our faith will grow. Thank you for the postive message!
Message Bible:
Rev 3:14 Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:
Rev 3:15 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot–far better to be either cold or hot!
Rev 3:16 You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.
Rev 3:17 You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.
Rev 3:18 “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.
Rev 3:19 “The people I love, I call to account–prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!
Rev 3:20 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you.
All religion is not the same, and everything is not truth.
This post spoke to me today. It put into words well what both my wife and I have been struggling with lately. We are strong believers, but we continue to be disappointed by “Christians” and the Church. It seems to be more judgmental than forgiving and supportive. Granted, being a Christian means admitting that you are an imperfect sinner, but I think too many Christians forget that they are sinners as well and feel the need to point out your sins to you.
Liberal Quaker here. We don’t sing hymns, unless it’s spontaneous. We don’t have preachers. We don’t tell people what to believe. We don’t even tell each other what to believe. We believe in that of god in everyone, where “god” may be redefined as necessary. Jesus may be “the Saviour, Son of God” to one Quaker and “a nice guy with some good ideas” to another. Both are fine. Belief in that of god in everyone leads naturally into belief in the equality of all people, regardless of any of those things Gaga says religions discriminate against. Quakers ran the Underground Railroad, were leaders in the women’s suffrage movement, and have pushed for equal rights for LGBTQ folks since the 70s. And yes, Liberal Quakers celebrate gay marriages. Britain Yearly Meeting is actively petitioning Parliament to legalise same sex marriage.
There are 4 main Quaker testimonies: peace, truth, simplicity, and equality. Sometimes this is expanded to 6 “SPICES”: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, stewardship. Friends (“Quakers” is a nickname for the Religious Society of Friends) are encouraged to try to discern through the help of the Inner Light what is right. Messages from the Inner Light can be referred to as “continuing revelation” if you want to put it in a Christian context (Friends used to be strictly Christian, but not anymore). New revelation through the Inner Light supercedes old revelation (such as the Bible), and science is considered one of the avenues through which Truth is revealed (no conflict between science and religion). What one believes beyond the basic testimonies above is highly individual, and I like that.
By the way, if “no hymns except spontaneous” and “no preachers” confused you: we have unprogrammed worship. Everyone is a minister, none are laypeople, because we are all equally able to receive messages. We sit in silence, waiting upon the voice of the Inner Light/Holy Spirit/Jesus/call-it-what-you-will, and if we are compelled to speak the message we receive to the group, do so. It’s sort of a shared meditation.
Nate, I can understand your struggle. I have seen churches that are wonderful and others that are no so good. I don’t know how to go looking church community where I feel comfortable enough to be able to fully participate. I have seen a lot of judgment in the church, but at the same time I have also seen it do some truly beautiful things.
Recently a friend of mine was hospitalized with a very serious medical condition. She was not allowed visitors, but there was someone sitting on the other side of the glass every hour that she was in isolation. She was prayed for and cared for so carefully and that would not have been possible without her spiritual family. I wish I knew why some churches work better than others and how to find a group where the genuine care outweighs the more challenging aspects of community.
Wes, I think you may have misread me, I was not suggesting that all religions are the same or that all are equally true. I do think that there are a lot of people who want to believe in something, but I don’t think that wanting to believe is enough.
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even though i don’t really know who lady gaga is, i am sad for lady gaga’s piont of view of religion we need to pray for her sad i think