Ariana Jumper: Is participation good or bad? 11/21/09

In class, Dr. Redick posed a question asking how we felt about religious sites turning into tourist attractions. This is actually the topic for my paper, so it was surprising to hear the question. One of the students felt that participation is necessary for a site to be holy, but I disagree. Certain participation is necessary for a site to be holy, but other forms of participation ruin the site. When I go to church, the participation of the congregation enhances the holiness of the church. The church is the house of God, so the holiness already exists in the site. As you enter the church, you know that you have to act a certain way. I was raised in the tradition that women could wear hats to church, but when men did this, it was disrespectful. It was also disrespectful to chew gum and text during church. When the congregation participates, this can include private prayer, readings, and singing. People may pray to different religious icons, but the act of praying increases the holiness of the site. Our words, whether vocalized or internal, offer praise to the holy. The readings also add to the holiness of the site. We are taking readings from the Bible, which is the holy word of God. These words were given to us by holy figures who were inspired by God and we are using them as a form of praise to the holy. Singing can be either taken from the psalms present in the Bible or written by others who have also been inspired by God. Singing is also a form of praise for the holy. When the congregation participates, the holiness of the site increases.
When the participation is not beneficial for the congregation, the participation can ruin the holiness of the site. When the participation of an individual is disrespectful, this can be distracting to the congregation. This can include the ringing of a cell phone to speaking in a negative way about the holy. When this happens, the congregation cannot fully experience the holy. They cannot be in communion with the holy because they are not fully focused on it. They are distracted by the disrespectful participation of another person.
I also feel that paying for entrance into a holy site is wrong. The holy site gains its power from God and people should be able to experience this power and establish a relationship with the holy. Forcing a person to pay to have this experience takes the power away from the holy and gives it to the person making someone pay for entrance.