Deaf Pagan Crossroads

This morning I stopped by one of my favorite blogsites – DeafDC.com, which is a collection of deaf and hearing bloggers from the Washington, DC area who blog on a number of interesting topics…some related to deafness, and others related to non-deaf topics. It’s one of my favorite sites, and I’ve even had a few posts of my own published there as a Guest Blogger.

I discovered a post had been put up by Chris Kaftan, entitled “Deaf As Religion?” in which Chris shares his recent experience discussing Deafness as possibly being a religion in and of itself. I found it quite thought-provoking, and it’s already generated some interesting comments.

One of the reasons I created my own blog (Deaf Pagan Crossroads) was to be an exploration of the merger of my spirituality (Paganism) with my identity (Deaf) and discuss some of the parallelisms I see between the two worlds.

As ordained clergy of said spiritual path, I have taught classes and led discussions that focus on the whole concept of what is religion, and can Paganism be rightly viewed as such? Understanding that whole concept of what religion is and how you define it is a key component to determining whether or not your belief system could be viewed as a religion in and of itself.

Does a belief system necessarily constitute a religion? One of the commenters to Chris’s post stated

“Religion” carries a lot of context to it, but when we strip it down to its base, it just means a belief system. No god is necessary, and what impressed me on this was when I read this awesome article on basketball as a religion. I can’t remember where but someone probably knows of it or of something similar to it.

When someone says “I exercise religiously,” that is what religion in essence is. A way of life. No different from culture if you’re all in.

While I am sure it was an awesome article that undoubtedly was thought provoking, and I’m well aware there are some zealots out there who do indeed worship the sport of basketball, I would be hard-pressed to define it as an actual religion (although having been born and raised in the state of Indiana, I’m sure I can find some native Hoosiers who would disagree with me).

One of the tricky things in trying to define religion is attempting to strike that balance between overly sharp definition and meaningless generalities. For example, if you talk about it being the belief in a Higher Power, then you have to consider Buddhism, which in its classic form is atheistic. On the other hand, does worshipping an orange orb being dribbled down a hardwood floor or that Nautilus down at the gym that makes your abs look like Granny’s washboard constitute a religion? I’m inclined to say “no”… this is going a bit too far into that “meaningless generality” for my taste. There has to be something a bit more than this to it all.

Now, when I checked my American Heritage Dictionary, I did come across one definition of religion that probably does fit in closer with what our above commenter was saying:

“An objective pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion: A collector might make a religion of his hobby.”

Taken in this context, then I could see where basketball, exercise, or even beer drinking could be viewed as a religion.

But is this the definition we want to apply to seeing Deaf as a religion? When this public transit user made such a statement, was this the definition she was considering? If so, then what exactly is the objective being pursued?

No question that those of us who consider ourselves members of the Deaf Community pursue our identity as such with conscientious devotion. We’re proud to be Deaf… it’s good to be Deaf. Perhaps it is this very ideology that is at the core of our “religion”… this is the belief system that we worship, and which we attempt to convey to the world at large.

From this standpoint, then it’s not too difficult to see how Deaf does indeed qualify on a number of points as stated in the definition of religion provided in another comment on the above-mentioned blog:

According to Chambers Concise Dictionary, religion is defined as “belief in, recognition of, or an awakened sense of, a higher unseen controlling power or powers, with the emotion and morality connected with such; rites or worship; any system of such belief or worship; devoted fidelity; monastic life.”

However, the one thing I do see in this definition, which I see in most definitions of religion, is a belief in a Higher Power. Is this indeed a prerequisite for being identified as a religion? As has been pointed out, Buddhism is actually atheistic, and yet it is often recognized as one of the major religions of the world. Or is it in fact merely a philosophy of life? And if in fact it is the latter, could the same perspective be applied to Deaf, which would thus be seen as a philosophy of life and therefore not a religion?

In attempting to seek some answers to these questions, I came across a well written article on the web in which the author gives his own thoughts on such. A couple of things struck me in reading this article…

“It is a religion because it involves the elements of belief, faith and self- transformation, which do belong to some philosophies as such but which I believe are more characteristic features of religions…People turn to religion very largely because they want to improve their life, their self or their moral conduct or to take greater comfort in life.”

Hmmm… does Deaf involve elements of belief, faith, and self-transformation? Do people turn to the Deaf Community and that process of Deafhood as a way of improving their lives, their selves, or their moral conduct… or as a way of taking greater comfort?

Dang, it looks like I’m falling into that trap I always get myself into – what started out intending to be a “simple blog” is evolving into something that looks more like a graduate thesis.

Nevertheless, I’m fascinated by this whole concept… I guess because of my longtime interest in theology and comparative religions. I’m going to ponder this subject some more, do a little research, and probably write another post or two.

Stay tuned.