Appropriate or (Religious) Appropriation?
By Cleo Topp, Staff Writer
There are an estimated four to ten thousand religions in the world and roughly eighty percent of the world population practices one or the other. However, some are much more popular than others, the largest being Christianity with around 30% of the world as its following. As some people practice certain beliefs and others none at all, you begin to see appropriation arise in some form or another. Signified by the statues of Buddha outside $1 million houses or the casual wearing of a cross around the neck of an atheist, borrowing from cultures you are not necessarily a part of is spreading across the states, and even at Samo.
“Nowadays, especially in our community, I believe that religion as a whole has been frowned upon as intellectually inconsistent, incoherent, and incompetent thinking,” Charles Blanchard (’25) said.
Because Christianity is so popular in the world, especially in America, it has become more mainstream. Similar to this, religions like Buddhism have been associated with aesthetically pleasing,“zen” lives that people want, but do not actually work to attain. With the popularization of certain religions growing, they begin to seep their way into the lives of people who do not devote their time or efforts into the beliefs, practices, and culture, and become less respected by the masses for the religious base, even in Santa Monica.
Having been raised as a Christian her whole life, Wongiel Gebeyehu (’23) understands the popularity of Christianity and its influence on the culture of her community and others’. While Gebeyehu sees that Christianity is not oppressed or hurt as other religions may be, she also sees how it may have become less respected as something important, or even frowned upon in the eyes of the newer generation.
“I feel like with other religions [than Christianity], if you were to wear something that was special to [them], it would be seen as more disrespectful,” Gebeyehu said.
This idea that Gebeyehu talks about is seen in many examples. Namely, picture Halloween night. How many costumes have you seen of a “sexy nun” versus costumes of a “sexy rabbi”? What about on social media? You may have seen Addison Rae and other celebrities wearing a bikini with Christian references sewed into it, but not bikinis for other religions. Or simply picture daily life, think about how many people are wearing cross earrings compared to necklaces with the Star of David on them. In these numbers, how many actually follow Christian faith and how many actually practice other beliefs? As Christianity attains a large base of followers, people who do not practice the religion may feel more comfortable wearing items that have connections to the faith even while they are not faithful themselves. However, when doing this with any religion, you discredit the value, time, and dedication those who do practice the religion put into the faith.
Each religion requires high amounts of dedication, faith, and community, and although some religions might be very popular or common in our society both in America and in Samo, it is important to separate yourself from the masses and allow these communities to thrive with the proper respect. Whether that means not claiming a religion you do not practice or not wearing cultural items that are not in your culture, even though so many others do,doing so would disrespect the commitment those followers are taking as you reap the benefits of the surface level without valuing the deeper level of faith that the religion takes.
So, as you pick out your outfit tomorrow morning, maybe skip the cross earrings or clothes with messages of another religion spread across them. And as Halloween rolls around this year, it is important to get your costume just right. Whether you are going for a full-out costume or a more casual look, the best tip to keep in mind is to keep it respectful of the people, cultures, religions, beliefs and walks of life all around you. Not simply for Halloween though, it is important to show respect for the commitment to all religions in the world by not taking religious items for yourself when you don't have the beliefs and dedication of it as well.