Meanings behind some cultural traditions are at risk of becoming ritualistic habits

By ADAM EDEN • June 6, 2010

To many people, following a religion simply means participating in activities like meeting with a congregation at a place of worship or reading the occasional prayer. Maybe this is just me, but isn't religion more than just the routine cycle of attending a church and reading from a book, with the occasional holiday thrown in?

Now, before I offend anyone, maybe I should clarify. Take an example from my personal life as a Jew. I'm sure you're familiar with a holiday called Chanukah in which for eight nights, Jews light candles on a menorah. This holiday is about more than just lighting candles, however, and that's where I begin to question the state of today's religious communities.
The tradition of lighting candles has gone from being a holy tradition to a routine activity that some are beginning to forget the true meaning of. Even eating the flat bread, matzah, on the holiday of Passover is becoming just a routine as opposed to representing the symbolism that this holds in the acquisition of freedom in the Jewish history.

Now, Judaism isn't the only religion this can apply to. Christmas is quite possibly one of the most important holidays in the Christian religion, but the time-honored tradition has gone from a holy tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus to a routine of lighting up a tree and exchanging gifts with family and friends.

This isn't a rant about religion, but rather a call to action about the importance of knowing one's culture and origins.

Back on the subject of Judaism, one should know that this is more than just a religion, but a way of life. Take, for example, Hasidism, which can be described as a very orthodox lifestyle, tracing back hundreds of years.

In today's world, Hasidic Jews still exist, and although the various separate communities are secluded from one another and contain many differences, they all hold fast to the traditions of their predecessors. What's more, as well as keeping tradition, the
communities of the Hasidic Jews fully understand why they commit every action they make when applied to tradition.

While the situation may seem to be getting out of hand, we can still ask "What can be done about this lack of culture and understanding?" If one were to take a look at a more recent sect of Judaism labeled Humanistic Judaism, an answer can be derived from the observation. Humanistic Judaism is a sect of the religion that focuses less on the theological aspect of the religion, and more on the culture and tradition.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that anyone who follows a religion and wants to understand the culture should forsake the theology of their beliefs, but rather, they should be inspired to take an active step toward understanding their beliefs and backgrounds.
If someone can create a new sect of a prominent religion just so they can gain a deeper knowledge of the culture and traditions, why can't anyone of any religion take the time to do a bit of research on their history?

Surely this would require less time and effort, and is certainly beneficial as well. All I ask is that we take the time to go from following a clockwork routine to understanding why we do what we do.

Adam Eden is a lifelong Muncie resident and a student at Ball State University.