According to some theorists, modernity is a limiting factor of religion. Modernity is a key factor in the secularization theory. Many believe that with advances in science, technology, urbanization, and globalization, religion has no place in the modern world and that Americans are becoming increasingly secular (Lippy, 2013, p. 18). However, when I attended a Jewish Havdallah service, the “insiders” to the Jewish faith were able to use modernity to their advantage, but were still able to properly observe the tradition in accordance with their faith (Kessler, 2008, p. 3). Therefore, modernity should be treated as a tool, or an asset to a religion, rather than a hindrance in the overall study of religion. Eliade posited that “scientific thought”
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Saturday morning, I received an email from Rabbi Rob detailing all of the Jewish religious events that were approaching. Before the rise of modernity, email had obviously not even been conceived of. Moreover, in very strict Judaism, such as Orthodox Judaism, the Rabbi would not have been permitted to send an email on the Sabbath, as he would not have been allowed to use electricity. However, by using the conveniences of modern technology, he was able to reach out to more people and draw more people to Jewish services and to the Jewish …show more content…
The Havdallah service I attended proved otherwise. Modernity was certainly employed in the service, but it did not eclipse the traditions the group faithfully followed. It was used as a tool to augment the service and the community surrounding it. In this example, the idea that modernity led to secularization was a false one. The people I met in this group were far from secularized; they were confident in the strength of their faith, and practiced their religions with the utmost reverence to the traditions. The field of religious studies can, at times, treat modernity as having a negative impact on the field of religion. However, the uses of modernity in this community were nothing but positive. In Beal’s words, “what we discover in our own neighborhoods are miniature copies of the landscape of religion in America as a whole” (Beal, 2008, p. 26). If modernity could be used to the fullest, while still retaining a sense of the tradition in this small community, it could almost be the same way for religion in
Saturday morning, I received an email from Rabbi Rob detailing all of the Jewish religious events that were approaching. Before the rise of modernity, email had obviously not even been conceived of. Moreover, in very strict Judaism, such as Orthodox Judaism, the Rabbi would not have been permitted to send an email on the Sabbath, as he would not have been allowed to use electricity. However, by using the conveniences of modern technology, he was able to reach out to more people and draw more people to Jewish services and to the Jewish …show more content…
The Havdallah service I attended proved otherwise. Modernity was certainly employed in the service, but it did not eclipse the traditions the group faithfully followed. It was used as a tool to augment the service and the community surrounding it. In this example, the idea that modernity led to secularization was a false one. The people I met in this group were far from secularized; they were confident in the strength of their faith, and practiced their religions with the utmost reverence to the traditions. The field of religious studies can, at times, treat modernity as having a negative impact on the field of religion. However, the uses of modernity in this community were nothing but positive. In Beal’s words, “what we discover in our own neighborhoods are miniature copies of the landscape of religion in America as a whole” (Beal, 2008, p. 26). If modernity could be used to the fullest, while still retaining a sense of the tradition in this small community, it could almost be the same way for religion in