Sunday, June 7, 2009
Final Project
Final Project Part 1- Religious Bumper Stickers
Bumper stickers are kind of funny. It’s always interested me to see what people chose to divulge in this one-sentence sound-bite format of personality expression, that others often see without any connection to the person inside the car, or at such a high speed that it is often read only for a second. It is a quick and anonymous design, but is used to show support, opposition, or general affiliation with all manner of political, philosophical, or commercial groups or ideas.
Bumper stickers conveying religious preference (or lack thereof) take the issue in a whole different direction. Why is it that people feel the need to express the importance of their personal beliefs in 6 inches of space on the back of their car? Is religion so heavily polarized an issue in our society that people feel the need to defend it the same way they would a political candidate? Or is it simply an instance of our current society capitalizing on religion, selling slogans about Jesus that are “perfect for your car, truck, van, motorhome, motorcycle, helmet, notebook, cubicle, or office?”
Final Project Part 2- Bumper Stickers and Religion
Many religious bumper stickers have a straightforward, serious message. I have put these into three categories: “Christian How-to,” “Christian Spiritual,” and “Defensively Christian.” (A large percentage of the bumper stickers pertaining to other religions, particularly Buddhism, would fall into the spiritual category; however, since the great majority of the stickers relate to Christianity there will be a section later exploring the contexts in which bumper stickers from other religions are seen at all, since they are comparatively rarer).
In the context of Clifford Geertz’s definition of religion- “a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic-“ bumper stickers and other such “popular religion” items play an interesting role, allowing the system of symbols of a religion a new mode of expression with which to permeate the consciousness of the general public.Final Project Part 3- Christian "How-To" Stickers
The common feature of all the stickers in this category is that they create slogans to explain the idea they seek to convey. In this way, they are very conventional bumper stickers- boiling down a deeply held and complex conviction of some sort to a simple, easily understandable phrase.
Despite the similarity in format, there is quite a bit of variation within this category. Some of them (“Pray the Rosary,” “Read the Bible for Life,” or “Life is Short, Pray Hard”) are very direct advice. “I Can Because He Can” and “Yo Quiero Jesus” are structured as more personal statements of faith. Others (“Truth is One, Paths are Many,” “God Promises a Safe Landing, Not a Calm Passage,” and “Don’t Worry God is in Control”) may be interpreted as either personal expressions or words aimed more directly to those reading the back of the car.Final Project Part 4- Spiritual Christian Stickers
These stickers are all very clear statements of faith. All either quote or reference particular passages from the Bible or words of major Christian figures. The passages used are very carefully chosen- the words on these stickers are all advice about how to live one’s life according to the Christian teachings.
Like the stickers in the previous section, these very spiritual stickers attempt to reinforce the “conceptions of a general order of existence” of the religion that they represent. The “Christian How-To” stickers and the “Christian Spiritual” stickers have very different ways of presenting their respective “aura[s] of factuality,” however; the “How-To” stickers seem to create their factuality in modern-day terms, by using modern-day jargon. The “Spiritual” stickers gain their sense of legitimacy and factuality by using words straight out of the scriptures, albeit in an unexpected locale.Final Project Part 4- Defensive Christian Stickers
These stickers are very reflective of religion’s place in contemporary American society. Religion is a major political force, which also makes it a very divisive topic. This heavy polarization is exemplified in these stickers, which have a very defensive tone. It is easy to get the impression that the people with these stickers on their cars feel attacked because of their faith; they want to express pride in their beliefs and opposition to those who disagree.
Final Project Part 5- Snarky Christian Stickers
These stickers are in some ways very much like the Christian “How-To” stickers, only they are sillier and more catchy. Often (though this is most likely unintentional) they are more ambiguous about the depth of their intent, due to their choice of words and styles much more commonly aligned with popular culture than with tradition (for example the psychedelic “God Rocks”). Often using puns (“truth decay”, “faith lift”), clichés (“Real Men Love Jesus”), jokes (“Next Time You Think You’re Perfect Try Walking on Water”), and irony (“My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter”) to get their point across, they express religion with a goofiness very rarely seen in our society.
Final Project Part 6- Political Religious Stickers
Patriotism is a very common place for politics and religion to intersect on bumper stickers. Particularly since 9/11, “God Bless America” comes in dozens of styles, seen on countless cars all over the country. “God Bless Our Enemies” is certainly a different take on it- I am honestly not sure whether this sticker was meant ironically or in the sense of all life being sacred, people needing to be forgiven, all that jazz. In a funny sort of way, the “God Bless America” stickers remind me of the Psalms, in which the early Israelites were often begging God for victory over their enemies. It is interesting to see this theme recur so directly in modern times of war as well.
Final Project Part 7- Political Stickers: Patriotism
Patriotism is a very common place for politics and religion to intersect on bumper stickers. Particularly since 9/11, “God Bless America” comes in dozens of styles, seen on countless cars all over the country. “God Bless Our Enemies” is certainly a different take on it- I am honestly not sure whether this sticker was meant ironically or in the sense of all life being sacred, people needing to be forgiven, all that jazz. In a funny sort of way, the “God Bless America” stickers remind me of the Psalms, in which the early Israelites were often begging God for victory over their enemies. It is interesting to see this theme recur so directly in modern times of war as well.
Final Project Part 8- Political Stickers: Elections
Likewise, religion is sometimes invoked to endorse particular political candidates, implying that whichever candidate the driver supports has views the most in line with Christian teachings. This is definitely highly subjective (as seen by the fact that stickers for opposing candidates are identical.) Pretty much the same stickers can be found for Obama and McCain as well; this just seemed the perfect example since even the colors and lettering were the same.
Final Project Part 9- Political Stickers: Tolerance
Many stickers also point to the problem that religion is often used as an excuse to subjugate those who do not match with ones own beliefs. These point to the need of major religions to be tolerant of all people, particularly those who practice other faiths or are members of groups that are often discriminated against, such as the queer community.
Final Project Part 10- Political Stickers: Evolution
Another major debate in this country is between creationist Christianity and evolutionary science. These stickers show both sides of this debate- the first proclaiming it’s validity because God says so and God is always right, and the second taking it’s evidence from the fossil record instead.
Final Project Part 11- Political Stickers: Abortion
One of the most well-known issues that Christianity is highly intertwined with in the United States is abortion. Those who oppose abortion regularly claim that it is against God’s will to take any human life, which they feel begins at conception. The “Jesus Wasn’t Planned Either” sticker is a very blatant and interesting take on the subject. It both supports the anti-abortion advocates’ position that you don’t know what lives you might be preventing, while adding an interesting and unexpected dimension to the immaculate conception. The “Keep Your Rosary Off My Ovaries” sticker brings up the question of religious freedom- any other issues aside, is it right to legislate onto all people convictions that are based in an individual’s religion?
Final Project Part 12- Christian Special Interest
I suppose these stickers tie very directly to the idea of making religion one’s own. Truck drivers, coonhunters, and other seemingly non-religious groups can suddenly find deeper meaning (“an aura of factuality,” in Geertz’s words) in their practices, once they have connected them to the “system of symbols” of a particular religion. This form of conceptual blending allows them to follow their gospels in their day-to-day life.
Final Project Part 13- Other Religions
I feel kind of bad that “Other Religions” is just a category unto itself and looks a little like an afterthought in the layout of the blog, but there are far more Christian bumper stickers in this country than there are of all other represented religions combined. Even then, they are often used as a reaction to Christianity (like the above patriotic stickers, showing that you do not have to be Christian to love America), or a parody of it (like the Darwin fish, gefilte fish, Cthulu, and Flying Spaghetti Monster based on the popular Jesus fish).
Final Project Part 14- Other Religions: Buddhism
With the exception of “What Would Buddha Do?” (which relates Buddhism to a common Christian saying), the Buddhist bumper stickers seem very spiritual, taking pieces of Buddhist teachings and putting them into a format in which they will be read by the general American public. These stickers seem to correlate beautifully with the “system of symbols” that they represent, with the simple phrase and the sitting Buddha on each.
Final Project Part 15- Other Religions: Wicca
The Wiccan bumper stickers seem to be more of an expression of this more often marginalized faith. The first sticker is a simple slogan, but the second is a clear depiction of many of the symbols of Wicca tradition, with the affirmation “Yes, I am.”
Final Project Part 16- Other Religions: Judaism
These stickers all refer to very specific practices, traditions, or ideas of Judaism. All of these are very symbolic of aspects of Jewish tradition- the top image is the seal of Jerusalem (seen as the Jewish Holy Land) and the number “613” is representative of the 613 mitzvots (or Commandments given to the Jewish people by God).
Final Project Part 17- Other Religions: Atheism
Atheism is obviously not a religion, but it has an interesting enough relationship to religion in American society that I thought it was worth mentioning. As I mentioned before, because of it’s intense political power religion has often been a very polarizing force in American society. Thus, it can be very important for those who do not believe in a higher power to express that very strongly.
Final Project Part 18- Coexist Stickers
The “Co-Exist” bumper stickers are a relatively recent phenomenon. Invented in 2001 by Polish artist Piotr Mlodozeniac, the original design shows symbols from a number of often-conflicting religions (as well as a peace sign and symbols of male and female genders) all harmoniously creating one word. There have been many variations on the design since then, but the intent is always the same- religious and cultural tolerance in a fractious world. It is not arguing for the “system of symbols” of any one tradition, but rather is using pieces of many in an attempt to find common ground among many groups.
Final Project Part 19- Wrap-up
Bumper stickers are a fairly common mode of simple religious expression in our modern culture. After all, one of the main functions of religion in human society is to create a cohesive community. Bumper stickers are a quick and easy way to show affiliation to a particular community, a marker that other people can connect to under otherwise anonymous circumstances. By taking pieces of a tradition’s “system of symbols” and condensing it into a few words and bright colors to be plastered on the back of a car, these stickers make the “moods and motivations” that they represent “seem uniquely realistic,” and applicable to contemporary life.
