Role of Religion on Upper West Side

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Religion is discussed almost daily in some way in the US media. Why does it consume masses of time and energy and generate conflict, despite this country’s complete constitutional freedom of and from religion? For an observer from a culture that is less focused on religion, with no religious belief, this characteristic is unusual and worthy of comment. Since religion is such a prominent factor in world affairs, it is intriguing to try to figure out how it attracts people, holds their attention, and motivates them, even to do things that seem unconstructive.

From an anthropological perspective, there must be some reason for people to spend their time and resources on this activity. This is true especially in the highly diverse and secular Upper West Side. Religion in this neighborhood is unnecessary for success in work, housing, socialization and so forth ^1,².

To resolve the above question, I observed behavior at a church service and asked both leaders and participants why they participated. From this I got answers to subsidiary questions: what worshippers say they get from their religious activities, which includes feelings of satisfaction and connection, and what other benefits their behavior in the service might reveal. My observations did provide clues for me as to why religion is powerful in their lives.³. My observations suggest that that religion and church offer the chance for participants, especially women, to enact roles unavailable to them in other areas of their lives.

The observer listened to what the worshippers said they got from worship, but also watched what they did in an effort to attempt to identify other benefits they might be obtaining. There were indeed positive benefits that the participants both claimed to be receiving, and that the observer noted. These relate to the unique roles participants play both in the service and in the church.

Because religion occupies such a major place in media, and people often identify themselves by their religious affiliation or lack of it, and argue over it so much, this question is worthwhile. Even in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with no pressure to attend church⁴, many people stay inside on beautiful days. No one demands it of them⁵. There is no apparent reward (not even a sticker like the ones for voters) ⁶.

The research plan was to perform participant observation ⁱ, interview leaders ⁱⁱ, and interview participants ⁱⁱⁱ at an upper West Side Protestant church. This site and methodology were chosen because this was a safe location, and recommended as welcoming to foreign visitors ⁷ unfamiliar with Christian services ⁸ and language barriers⁹. Problems included finding participants willing to tolerate language barriers and squeeze in discussion before dispersing. To work around these challenges, I talked with anyone cooperative, and recorded notes afterwards as soon as possible.

For this foreign observer, it was very unclear why anyone was there at all on a pleasant day, with numerous other recreational options¹⁰. Nonetheless, these Upper West Side Residents (UWSRs) shut themselves up for over an hour, and do so weekly! ¹¹ The observer had to wonder why. ¹² There must have been something that made attending services important to them.

The class readings suggest possible ways to understand their behavior. Social process theory (as well as functional theory), and therefore my thesis, suggests that these people are making choices individually that all result in personal benefit to them, and maintain the institutions we observe¹³. In this case, the benefit equals experiences not duplicated in other areas of their lives, and falling into at least two categories.

For the female worship leaders, especially, they have an opportunity to lead and direct others in ritual practices in ways that are unusual on American culture ¹⁴. This ritual leadership reminded this observer of the way that a popular singer like Taylor Swift leads/directs her audience in singing and swaying and lifting their hands up in the air.

For all other participants, not just leaders, and even for those who already work directly in social services, the charitable ‘work of the church’, as they described it, is out of the ordinary for them. This work involves trying to solve significant problems and help people without some of the burden and barriers of bureaucracy that governments impose.¹⁵

The readings that the class has encountered thus far help to support this thesis. Phillip Salzmann introduced the structural functional heuristic theory to explain how all human behavior, no matter how apparently illogical or inexplicable, fulfills some function for the individual or the community (Salzman 14). This suggests that these UWSRs must get something individually/collectively from their individual decisions to spend time in church.

In his chapter on agency, Salzmann applies social process theory to explain how human behavior and “social forms” represent the result of many individual strategic decisions (Salzman 48). Thus, the small crowd of UWSRs in the church all made the same decision to spend time together, engaging in the social form they call worship (Salzman 32). The observer’s challenge is to discover what Fredrik Barth, as quoted by Salzmann, called “constraints and incentives” for this decision (Salzman 41).

As he notes in his chapter titled “Determining Factors”, Salzmann cautions that the function of a behavior, even apparently odd ones, may be quite different from what the participants say is the purpose ¹⁶. In the present case, the stated purpose is worship of a deity (Salzman 50). Additional cumulative benefits of individual decisions for these UWSRs seem to include opportunities to exert ritual leadership, and to make a difference in the wider world in ways not achievable in their weekday lives and jobs.

Whether the deity they worship is ‘real’ is not necessarily important. This is because their behavior should be explainable, anthropologically, based on its “strategic interest” in their lives (Salzman 48). However, the fact that they believe in something that cannot be seen may not be a symptom of irrationality, based on the assertions of John Locke. He assumes in his writings (both those assigned for the course, and others) that belief in a creator God is supported by reason. (Locke, Book IV: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding n.pag.) (Locke, Of Political or Civil Society n.pag.) (Locke, On Property n.pag.). This suggests that these UWSRs are not unreasonable in their worship behavior.

Nonetheless, modern anthropologists still struggle to understand and express what people actually experience during religious activities, as discussed by David Yamane, in an article entitled “Narrative and Religious Experience” (Yamane n.pag.). When the observer does not believe, how can they truly share the experience? Yamane suggests that observers use narrative to discuss what the experience means to the participant. (Yamane 173). This seems to fit with a social process theory approach; what does their choice to follow the social form of worship mean to their lives? ¹⁷

Karl Marx stated of religion that, “the ancient religions were overcome by Christianity ¹⁸…But Communism …abolishes all religion, and all morality¹⁹; …no wonder that its development involved the most radical rupture with traditional ideas.” He reiterates these views in his essay titled “Private Property and Communism” (Marx, Private Property and Communism n.pag.). However, despite decades of Marxism’s impact, these UWSRs remain enthusiastically religious. Perhaps church work gives meaning to life in a way that a modern job under the capitalist system. Perhaps church offers a way for women, especially, to exert ritual influence in a way that is not common elsewhere.

Richard Schechner, in Between Theater and Anthropology, offers a possible way of looking at the ways women are permitted to lead worship. In discussing similarities between religion and theatre, Schechner points out how “ritual and theatrical traditions become enfleshed [sic] in performance and in their dynamic incarnation act as a reflexive metacommentary [sic] on the life of their times, feeding on it and assigning meaning to its decisive public and cumulative private events.” (Schechner xii). In what other situation would most UWSRs have a chance to participate in this sort of ritually meaningful event (unless perhaps they participated in amateur theatre or were elected political officials)? Church uniquely gives them this opportunity.

This meaningful event that the UWSR worship leaders (and participants) engage in consists of a repeated and predictable activity that constitutes ritual. Jensine Andresen, in Religion in Mind, discusses the possibility that all such religious ritual is actually a human extension of animal ritual behavior (Andresen 15). While this allows the observer to describe the ritual without questioning the reality of the experience for the participants, the social process theory approach illuminates this behavior. In this church at least, worship and church work allow people to be and do what they cannot ordinarily. They can lead ritual activities, and they can accomplish something for their community. For these strategic self-interests, they continue to support the social form.

In conclusion, a remarkable amount of energy is spent on church even in a place like the UWS where religion is socially and politically irrelevant. At least in one Protestant church, the service provides a chance to be a ritual leader, and engage in work unlike participants’ ‘ordinary’ activities. This powerfully draws them back weekly to maintain an ancient and otherwise perhaps irrelevant social form.

This is relevant to society at large because religion is used to justify violence and even war. If social scientists can understand what makes religion such a powerful motivator, then perhaps some of this conflict can be prevented. Social scientists need to study what elements of the religious experience make it so attractive. Is it the chance to be a leader in ways that are unusual for the participant? Is it the chance to do something that is more important and has more potential impact than their weekday work and pursuits? If social scientists can arrive at an understanding of how religion works to influence people so powerfully, perhaps they can recommend to governments ways to prevent people being drawn into violence for religious purposes.

Works Cited

Andresen, Jensine. Religion in Mind: Cognitive Perspectives on Religious Belief, Ritual, and Experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Web.

Guest, Kenneth. Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.

Locke, John. “Book IV: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” earlymoderntexts.com. 2014. Web.

—. “Of Political or Civil Society.” Gutenberg.org. 2014. Web.

—. “On Property.” Constitution.org. 2014. Web.

Marx, Karl. “Private Property and Communism.” Marx-Engels Archive. 2014. Web.

—. “The Communist Manifesto.” Marxist Archive. 2014. Web.

Presbyterian Church USA. “Ruling Elders.” Presbyterian Church USA. 2014. Web.

Salzman, Phillip Carl. Understanding Culture: An Introduction To Anthropological Theory. Prospect Heights: Waveland, 2001. Print.

Schechner, Richard. Between Theater and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. Web.

Yamane, David. “Narrative and Religious Experience.” Sociology of Religion 61.2 (2000): 171-189. EbscoHost. Web.

Footnotes

There are other communities in Manhattan where it appears that being part of the dominant religion seems to be required. There is a street near 47^th and Fifth Avenue that this observer has walked where there are many jewelry businesses, and many of the people working there are wearing clothes and hair that are associated with Orthodox Judaism. This would be an example of a community within Manhattan where religion could be important to employment.
It is certainly the case that this has not been true always and everywhere. Medieval Europe certainly expected people to be actively Catholic.
It is apparently necessary to distinguish between different groups of Protestants. This church is apparently considered ‘mainstream” Protestant, to differentiate it from less well-established groups.
It is certainly the case that this has not been true always and everywhere. Medieval Europe certainly expected people to be actively Catholic.
Participation in church is not a “social rule” like those described by Salzmann, at least not on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 2014 (Salzman 39).
This would be like the “I VOTED” stickers that people sometimes wear on Election Day.
Knowledgeable friends recommended this institution because it was known to host foreign students.
The observer was brought up in a largely non-religious environment, but one relative insisted that the observer take on the practices of Buddhism. This was not a pleasant experience and the observer had no enthusiasm for it, especially the temple services. They were tedious and boring and made little sense to the observer. This tendency may be one reason why this particular question arose for this observer.
Notes were written down afterwards as soon as possible. Filming was not permitted.
(Walking, jogging, biking, going to a playground, watching street performers, or taking in a farmers market, for example).
Although nicely decorated, the church is not as interesting architecturally as, for example, the Metropolitan, which is also an old building, and the church has less art to look at.
This is an apparently social gathering in a separate room where coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and lemonade are served. There is also a table of cake, cheeses, crackers, and spreads. The children run around, while the adults stand in small groups talking.
This church has a very old building, so it has clearly managed to survive for a long time as an institution.
The service fit the definition that Guest offers of ritual, in that, based on observation and inquiry, it was the same week after week, and had been the same for years. The actions of the worship leader and the participant also represented what the participants said they were doing – praising god and asking for help from the deity (Guest 581).
As an example, one group of participants at the social gathering after the service was discussing a recent church-sponsored trip to the Middle East. This trip was planned to help refugees. This seems like a risky effort that government and international aid organizations find challenging. Most individuals will never ordinarily become involved in such activities unless they work for an international aid organization. However, through the church, these people are doing this sort of work, but through the church. This is an example of the way in which this church offers them roles that they would not play in other settings. The participants also engage in demonstrations for social justice in this city as well.
Cows are held to be sacred in India, but preserving them actually helps preserve a protein source (Salzman 50).
In an analogous way that the clean castes in Orissa State in India did not change the meaning of being Pan, but used another criterion to decide whether to cooperate with the untouchables, people may be using another criterion to decide whether to participate in church (Salzman 47). Back in another century, it may have been socially necessary to appear at church, or they may have worried that they would go to hell after death, but today, the criterion seems to be whether the church experience gives them other positive benefits that they don’t get elsewhere.
The quote continues: “When Christian ideas succumbed in the 18th century to rationalist ideas, feudal society fought its death battle with the then revolutionary bourgeoisie. The ideas of religious liberty and freedom of conscience merely gave expression to the sway of free competition within the domain of knowledge…” (Marx, The Communist Manifesto n.pag.).
The quote continues: “, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience…The Communist revolution is the most radical rupture with traditional property relations” (Marx, The Communist Manifesto n.pag.).

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Role of Religion on Upper West Side

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