Discussion for article #234702
Thank you for this piece. I am a practicing Lutheran who has given up visiting Facebook for Lent (I also did that last year); just as you say, making such a decision directs one’s thinking to how one would have been spending one’s time otherwise, and what one could/should be doing with that time–in my own case, I’ve gotten more reading and writing done on a book project than I would have gotten done otherwise.
I wanted to comment on this graf, though:
Of course, there’s something grating about the dominance of Christianity in American society—how it radiates everywhere, how it’s used to oppress religious minorities and minimize their holidays. If everyone celebrates Lent the way they celebrate Christmas, it could just seem like another way Christianity is taking over. But I think nonbelievers reclaiming the best parts of religious traditions does the opposite, and reestablishes American morals outside of organized religion.
What grates about Christmas for me is its emphasis (in this country, at least) on consumption, which, of course, capitalists everywhere and of every religious/non-religious stripe are only too happy to accommodate and encourage. Given the very nature of Lent, though, it would seem difficult to do the same to Lent. In its essence, Lent is anti-consumerist. I’d also add that the truly proper way to observe Lent is by not making a big show of one’s sacrifice. (I posted on Facebook that I’d be away until Holy Saturday, and that was that.) True, a kind of shaming of others about their choice of sacrifice or their not having given up something could become a dynamic in a more-widespread observing of Lent, but that, too, would be a violation of its purpose. Of all the seasons of the church year, Lent is easily the most private one. So, I agree that I’d like to “see” more people observing Lent, but I also hope they will, as it were, do so in their own closets, in secret.
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Like many religious festivals or holidays (e.g., Christmas as ersatz winter solstice festival, Easter as spring fertility festival), Lent would seem to have origins predating modern religion. For example, it would have been adaptive, during the lean times before the spring when grain was getting low and one had to avoid eating the seed for planting, to observe a running quasi-fast. Institutionalizing that fast would be a way to reinforce compliance in a group. Perhaps we all carry that inclination with us still. As an atheist, Christmas and Easter still resonate with me as being significant passages through the seasons. Similarly, I could easily adopt and appreciate Lent.
Though the first sacrifice that comes to mind would be commenting on TPM, which is probably not the result Josh had in mind when he commissioned this piece 
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Thanks for this, but please know that Christians don’t “celebrate” Lent, anymore than Jews “celebrate” Yom KIppur. It’s a time of solemnity and anticipation of a horrible event, and as JohnB rightly notes, Christians “observe” it. This is not a small thing in an article that talks about how Christians dominate the society…if the domination were so complete and porous, I’d think a writer on the subject would know this one fact.
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After skimming this I’ve decided to quit reading articles about Lent.
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As a Christian, the temptation here is to be snarky. But I’ll resist, since it’s Lent. As a humanist, I’ll say: do whatever it takes to have a healthy, positive outlook. Plenty of ways to go the opposite direction.
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Recently there was a post on Facebook, from a dear cousin, it was a picture of a preacher (almost spitting but not quite) saying that Atheists don’t hate fairies, leprechauns,or unicorns because they don’t exist, but they hate God because he does exist or something to that effect.
My response was that there was not any more evidence that their God exists than the evidence for fairies, leprechauns and unicorns. How can atheists hate something they don’t acknowledge.
The same goes for Lent, Ash Wednesday and Easter, in my mind it is absurd to celebrate holidays that have anything to do with religion. Yes you will find in my history that we had Easter and Christmas and all of the “traditional” holiday paraphernalia because I had children. Like it or not the drive for profits and commercialism is so ingrained that to not acknowledge those holidays would make my children different and left out, above all else my children’s well being comes first and foremost.
This impulse to make yet another religious event part of the mainstream culture is really a thinly veiled push to have another reason for the “free market” profiteers to create more profit. A push for anything secular smacks in my opinion as an opportunity for advertisers and retailers. Another event for corporate religion to advertise their particular kind of philosophy has merit because look we can now buy Lent this and Lent that. Similar to the rush to raise lambs for the sacred Easter, the lambs however don’t come to life after Good Friday.
There is so much insincerity in our religious businesses that it is a daily struggle to respect those close to me, who are well educated, and yet cannot bring themselves to question the substance of what is threatening to destroy us with their rants of hate and calls for war. My family chooses to live on the edge of poverty to send their kids to a private religious school established because they want to teach creationism and not evolution, another blow to quiet young minds from questioning and to make a little extra money for the church.
I think there are bigger problems in our society to even waste the time considering this degree of foolishness. I’m an ex-Catholic, so I know what Lent is all about.
What America REALLY needs is a secular, universal JUBILEE as described in Leviticus 25, Wipe the slate clean for everyone to start anew. It would also remind “Jews” like Lloyd Blankfein, Dick Fuld, Jamie Dimon, Sheldon Adelson and the rest that there’s more to being a Jew than having a Jewish mother, going to a synagogue every week and not eating ham.
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I am giving up reading dumb articles like this on Talking Points Memo . . . . .
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Agreed, as well as any other article here that takes religion seriously.
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I grew up in the U.S., so I celebrate xmas as a season to give to others and get with family and friends. I celebrate Halloween as a season to dress in oddball costumes and eat candy. I celebrate Easter because that is when Hershey comes out with their Reese’s PB Eggs - the perfect ratio of chocolate and PB filling.
Each of those holidays may have started as religious celebrations of some sort, but have evolved to mean something for most folks outside of religious overtones…I don’t shove a tree up an angel’s butt, I don’t really worry about the souls of the dead, and my fondness for palm fronds has diminished since I moved from Florida 18 years ago.
Lent, though? Nothing. It means nothing to me, and so there will be no “celebration” or recognition of that religious event. I may take advantage of the increase in Friday fish fries, though.
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As an atheist, I used to search for a word that meant the same thing as “pray” in certain situations. When finding that a friend’s mom was ill I would say something like “I’ll keep her in my thoughts.”
I decided last year to just say, “I’ll keep her in my prayers.”
Just because I don’t pray to a god doesn’t mean I can’t pray.
Easter Prom-
from the series, “Churches ad hoc”
www.efn.org/~hkrieger/church.htm
Indeed it does have very early origins. The word itself is from AngloSaxon, meaning the season of lengthening days. The fasting season very often imposed itself on everybody, as food stores became depleted before early crops could become available. People (and families) often starved to death at this time of year. Whoever it was in some village monastery who thought it would be good to use a penitential template to organize fasting for their surrounding parish village or town has saved a lot of lives over the centuries. This creative person or community, alas, is long lost to history - despite the good they have accomplished.
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Would people please stop worrying about disrespecting religion? These people deserve no respect. They don’t give it, they don’t get it. And yes, I was very respectful for most of my life toward them, but they NEVER game any back to me for being atheist. They constantly act as if they are being discriminated against when they are in the vast majority. They have a persecution complex. War on religion. Prayer in school. Pushing evolution denial in school. Stem cell research bans. Anti Science crusade. This stuff is not harmless. Enough already.
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I gave up religion for lent!
And for the rest of eternity for that matter.
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You could always say, I will make a wish for her recovery…same thing.
This can’t be. All the eggs and bunnies and baby chicks are all obviously about the crucifixion and resurrection of the man-god or god-man or whatever he was supposed to be. Not possibly about fertility.
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Sorry Monica, but no. That’s just silly.
Like another commenter, I celebrate Christmas because of the spirit of giving, the fun of decorating the tree and house with the old style big outdoor bulbs no one else has anymore (sorry, environment), having people over for another turkey dinner, the carols, the traditions, my German roots, Santa, and so on.
I’ve dressed in a pastel yellow shirt and madras tie and had people over for Easter brunch.
But I don’t need some special Christian period to decide to fast or not drink or whatever, even as explained by others here (I never thought of that) it had practical traditional reasons other than Jesus.
P.S. everyone: Imported commercial bunnies and Santas from Germany are far higher quality than American. Plus much nicer foil wrapping. Do not pollute your body with anything Palmer. Not worth a tenth of the calories.
You see, emjayay, in the Spring, when a Mommy loves a Daddy very very much…
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