| T.I. #98, Spring ’91. If this column doesn’t persuade you of the need to avoid religious references in formal Society business, here’s an exercise that may help: take the draft ceremony (or whatever it was you wanted to use) and substitute references from a very different religion for the ones in the draft. Your reaction to the new version will probably show you why the original wouldn’t work in the SCA, either. But remember, this is JUST an exercise; you still can’t use the ceremony even if you like it both ways.... |
My cousins, we’re trapped in an awkward balancing act. The Society attempts to
re-create the most religious era in Western history without taking a stand on
religion, and the effort often leads to disputes and questions. No one really likes
the situation, but we can’t change it. No matter how completely we immerse ourselves
in the Current Middle Ages, we remain children of our own times, that is, of modern
democracies built on religious diversity. We come to the Society from many backgrounds,
expecting to find its activities acceptable no matter what religion we follow—and that
drastically limits the range of possibilities. If modern religious diversity were based
on equal welcome for all views of divinity, we might well be able to adapt historical
religious ceremonies to Society events with reverence and joy...but this is simply
not the case.
For most people, religious diversity is a distant
second choice, and always has been. Most New World settlements were set up so one
religious sect could practice without interference from others. When they formed
larger units, I’m sure most colonists felt the world would be a far better place
indeed if everyone shared their own views. However, it wasn’t feasible to pick a
universal faith, so they opted for tolerance instead—a general agreement not
to stomp on each others’ sensibilities too hard. They strung the tightrope we walk
to this day, which allows each of us our own faith and requires us to avoid
interfering with anyone else’s.
Modern life involves firm unspoken rules for staying
on this tightrope. We practice our religion in the company of fellow believers,
and live by its dictates among people of other faiths as best we can without offending
them or taking overt offense ourselves. Even those who seek converts are expected to
stop if the people they approach request it. At the same time, we relieve some of the
pressure built up by this restraint (and sample more vivid forms of experience) by
reading stories and attending plays with religious themes. In fiction, characters
can proclaim their truths as absolute and carry them out in each others’ blood—while
the authors, actors and audience go about their real lives in a quiet and civil
fashion.
The Society occupies a mental borderland between fiction
and reality, so we’re often drawn to dramatic excess. Our events aren’t quite real—our
names, titles, clothes and forms of speech all distance us from the world where we
work and worship. On the other hand, they’re not quite fiction, either—the things
we learn and earn and do in the Society become part of us. We care about them far
more than about any literary exercise, and for good or ill, we can’t shake them off.
As a result, we need to be prepared to apply the restraints of modern life to behavior
at events.
Dramatic excess does work for us in other areas, where
everyone can be sure that’s all it is, and agrees to play. For example, it’s easy to
see the difference between rattan and steel, so we can indulge our taste for battle
and glory to our hearts’ content. We can jest about blood and death, because we don’t
expect any real blood and we’re sure our “dead” will bounce up to join the next battle.
However, there’s nothing like rattan for religion—the forms and words are much the
same whether they’re meant seriously or not. And whether or not they’re meant seriously,
the potential for offense is limitless. Light-hearted religious references offend
those who feel religion should only be taken seriously, and serious religious
exercises offend those who get caught up in them without agreeing with them—and also
those who like light-hearted religious theater but don’t want to see religion used in
earnest in the Society. The resulting conflicts climb rapidly towards a level of
excess that goes far beyond drama.
This is one case where authenticity can’t be used as a
justification. Yes, the ceremonies and documents crafted in our period were full of
religious references. So were the gibbets and the stocks. While much of the beauty
of our period grew out of its religion, much of the horror grew out of its assumption
that spiritual uniformity could and should be maintained by physical
force.* We are recreating the Middle Ages “as
they should have been”—which in this case means without the tendency to slaughter
each other over fine shades of meaning—and the issue is so complex and vexing that
we’ve found it necessary to develop a policy to keep the peace.
The Society’s religious policy (given in full at the
end of this letter) applies differently in different circumstances, so it’s
impossible to summarize its effects in a sentence or two. Here are the guidelines
I use to judge the propriety of a given reference:
1. Business. Activities that are “real” in the context of the Society (that is, anything with long-term effects on any person or branch) must be strictly secular. Any reference to religious sanction for such proceedings implies Society endorsement of that religious viewpoint, and thus falls afoul of Society policy. (Court may be dramatic, but it is NOT theater; there’s no “fourth wall” separating royalty and their attendants from the populace gathered to witness the deeds done there.) Calligraphed scrolls commemorating actions of the Society fall midway between official business and literary and artistic efforts. They may include references to deity, but they must not state or imply general or shared belief in the religious system invoked, or say that the deity has acted or will act on behalf of the Society or anyone involved in the events noted in the scroll.
2. Fiction. Plays and stories with religious themes may appear at our events and in our publications. Fiction written in period or on period models is very valuable in the study of historical belief systems, which is specifically authorized in the policy statement. However, the nature of such material must be clearly explained to potential audiences or readers, and people must not be compelled to experience it in order to take part in Society business. In addition, if a branch chooses to explore religious fiction, it must vary the point of view of its efforts, not draw heroes and villains from the same faiths every time.
3. Expository Writing. Essays written from a historical perspective can also enhance appreciation of the period we study, so explicit and implicit religious assumptions may appear in scholarly articles and how-to pieces. However, either the text itself or an editorial note must make it clear that the article is written in terms the author believes a person of thus-and-such time and place would have used, thereby alerting readers to extend the license they give to fiction to that aspect of the work. In addition, officers and royalty may not use this literary device to bring in religious references when they write or speak in their official roles—the SCA did not exist in our period, and no historical personage has anything to say about it!
4. Private Life. Personal religious exercises may take place at events as
long as they do not impinge on Society activities and are not announced in ways that
imply Society sponsorship. You may gather with fellow believers, but you may not use
space needed for another activity, you may not delay other activities by your meeting,
and you may not march chanting through the camp or otherwise actively involve the
populace. Keep your prayers private. Calling attention to your efforts to gain
assistance (or to your belief that you have done so) comes under the heading of
compelling people to observe or join your ceremonies and is barred by Society policy.
However, modern weddings are permitted under the policy; just follow these standards
for personal religious exercises and for avoiding religious references while acting
as an officer. Also, remember that the usual rules on garb and deportment of attendees
apply to everyone there; if that won’t work for your family, you should hold a private
historical-theme party at your wedding instead of bringing your wedding to an event,
so you can set it up as you please.
Our record of complying with the Society’s religious
policy is far from perfect—if you’ve been around a while, you can probably recall
instances contrary to each of these guidelines. However, past errors don’t create
a precedent for future indulgence. In a very real sense, we are still making up
the Society as we go along, and the things people are willing to accept have changed
over the years.
We must maintain our standards of restraint. It is
true that there have been times and places—our period not least among them—where
the dramatic approach to religion moved from the stage to the streets. There are
such places in the world today, to its ongoing grief. Every moment of every day,
our lives literally depend upon keeping our balance above the morass of unbridled
religious expression. The tightrope of tolerance has got to run through Society
activities, because the ground under it isn’t tenable, even in jest.
|
Except as provided herein, neither the Society nor any member acting in its name or that of any of its parts shall interfere with any person’s lawful ceremonies, nor shall any member discriminate against another upon grounds related to either’s system of belief. — SCA Organizational Handbook |
The West Kingdom History Website was created by and is maintained by Hirsch von Henford (mka Ken Mayer).