clevermanka | So why religious studies?

So why religious studies?

For anyone who didn't already know, I have my B.A. in Religious Studies. I don't use it at all, really, but it was a kick ass subject in which to get a degree, let me tell you. When I'm asked "What made you pick Religious Studies?" I don't have an answer. There's not one single thing about Religion and Humanity that I can point to as the impetus for choosing that academic study.

But I do find this sort of thing absolutely fucking amazing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow. That's some severe piercing. Goth punks have nothing on the vegetarians? What do you know about this particular ritual/religious sect?

I've never heard of this particular sect, but I have a particular fascination for any group that uses body modification as a spiritual tool.

I find Religious Studies fantastic. :)

I throughly enjoyed the time in my program. Only had one class I really disliked and it was a methodology class where we didn't study religion. We studied the study of religion. It sucked.

I had a similar class called "The History of Science" or something equally innocuous-sounding... except it was a methodology class. Two semesters, both required. I don't remember one person who actually liked the class.

One of my two "minors" was in comparative religious studies, as I find it as interesting as the study of human sexuality.

D.

Just as long as you don't try it yourself, no matter how apt you are with those facial talents of yours. :)

I briefly kicked around the idea of a Religious Studies major (as the Univ of Iowa has a nationally-known program) and even took a couple of courses as electives just for fun. But ultimately it came down to some matter of practicality, so I got a teaching degree instead.

[And look where that got me, but that's another story entirely...]

I discovered early on that a practical degree wasn't going to do me a damn bit of good since I didn't care about ever having a "career." So, after dropping out for a couple years, I opted for something I knew I'd simply enjoy. =)

I still think that taking a year off between my soph and junior years in college would have done me a whole lot of good. Well, in some respects I did take that year off, except I was still signed up for classes. I took an awful lot of those classes over, if I remember correctly...

I knew there was something fucking weird about vegitarians.

The Phuket festival is AMAZING...Theres a few good videos on it, that we use to have in the shop-CRAZY stuff..All of that body modification-cheek piercing or sun dance of the Native Americans is SO amazing to watch and do (from what I've been told)

I saw that picture and loudly exclaimed, "Whoa, fuck me!"

Here's another one:

Okay, I really could have done without seeing those pics!

(Where was my warning? You know that stuff really freaks me out!)

;)

(Somewhat more seriously, since there seem to be quite a few people commenting here: What is the attraction to seeing people mutilate their bodies? They may be able to ignore the pain, and even stop the blood flow. But they're still damaging their bodies - probably irreparably. Why is that attractive?)

Attractive is not the word used here.

The word used was facinating. The facination lies in a number of aspects of the process...(1) Watching the trainwreck of it; (2) Wondering as to why someone would do that; (3) Musing about what that sort of pain would be like and/or can they actually block the pain; (4) philosophical mental discourse as to what emotional benefit someone would gain from the estatic experience described by people who partake of mutilation as a part of their faith structures, and so forth.

D.

Good points.

(And first, a couple disclaimers, so I don't ruffle any feathers: Just because I don't understand the fascination doesn't mean that I'm judging those who do - I'm just posing questions. Also, when I used the word "attractive," I didn't mean to imply that I thought you (or anyone here) necessarily found it pleasing or pretty. I used "attractive" as a valid synonym for "fascinating.")

That said: while I can identify with (2) and (3), I'm mainly confused by (1). I've never been the type to watch "Fox: When animals attack" or "Greatest wrecks of all times" type shows. Do those who are fascinated with self-mutilation also like these types of shows? (Is there a connection here?)

Regarding (4), I'll have to think on that for a while...
(I'm in a class right now. ;) )

I'm not one to engage in watching "train wrecks" for the sake of it either, but a vast percentage of humans do gawk at the unusual or bizarre.

D.

Interestingly, I took a workshop on piercing with Fakir Musafa (sp), a famous body-mod guru and noticed that even large piercings seemed to heal immediatly with no scarring when done under spiritual circumstances. I invite anyone to find the scars from my 10guage shark hook piercings ;)

One young man in the workshop also did the facial piercing, but it was nothing like the pics above.

Speaking as someone who has used body modification/piercing/cutting/branding as a spiritual tool...
the fascination/attraction for me is to transcend what is normal human experience, to see how far the body can be pushed (pain trancended) and experience what happens as a result of that circumstance. Some people use mental stimulation (think about alcohol/drug usage), others the physical. I am more sensation-oriented than mental, therefore I explore the limits of my physical sensations in order to transcend everyday experiences.
And I am curious to see how far others might take that experience.

Right! I agree with

rougewench and

roya_spirt about about this sort of thing: It's not about disfigurement (though I know people who are into that), but transcendence.

When we lived in Seattle, there was a pretty strong kinky community with lots of shows, play parties, even a kinky club. We got to watch some scenes that were both disturbing yet enthralling. In one scene, a person was pierced in some amazing ways I'll not describe here - not something that we wanted to do, but it was fascinating to see how far others might push their limits.

Besides the doers of such things, other people just really enjoyed watching people do some pretty intense stuff - there's something powerful about the interaction between two people really pushing limits, and you can tell by watching their faces that it can be a spiritual thing.

It's not difficult to imagine how that moment of physical transcendence translates into a religious experience. Add religion into the mix and I suspect things get much easier to handle, even appealing to push harder and harder.

Chris

You know I have serious faith. I've studied numerous forms, am proud of my knowledge and my faith. But hell, I don't think I could do that. Then again I've been taught by the same people who did the sun dance, so who knows...

Go fig, I "accidentally" ended up with a second minor in religious studies. Found this Prof teaching a lesson on goddesses (for my women's studies minor) and ended up taking everything she taught because I just liked her so much.

I don't understand it on a gut level, but intellectually I think I get the "why" behind it... you're right, it is fascinating, even as I *squick* just a bit...

Just had to say
Wow, what a beautiful icon!

Thank you!

Somehow, it's a relief to know that I can still be squicked.

A couple of reactions.

1. I took a couple of wonderful courses in my undergrad at KU in the late 90s. It's something I've wanted to pursue more, and part of why I got into anthropology. I'm looking to do an interdisciplinary PhD (eventually) in political science (which is what my B.G.S. is in) and religious studies. It would be a nice capper to what I have done so far.

2. I have a good friend of over 20 years who (in addition to snagging bootleg software, writing deranged techno music, and making obscuely twistedc artwork) collects disturbing photos. While I would wait for him to throw together different compilations on CDs for me, he'll put on some music he's greated, accompanied by a slide show of disturbing and grotesque photos he's collected. He makes it policy to throw nightmarish goofiness into every disc he makes for me. I sometimes wonder if he does it to see just how much I can take. Anyway that's what the pictures in this post reminded me of.

I wish I had more formal education in religion, because so much of what interests me intellectually and in my writing is about the religious impulse, how we connect to the world and universe we live within, and the idea of transcendence. I believe that drive within the human psyche for the greater-than - which organized religions so often take advantage of - comes from a real place, and I want to understand it! I suspect one gets a better feel for the underlying truth by studying with masters in the field.

Chris

one gets a better feel for the underlying truth by studying with masters in the field.
I'm not sure about that. I can tell you a lot about certain religions, but that doesn't mean I understand them. =)

my facination is wondering why a person makes one choice regarding their faith over another - why does one feel they need to pierce their face with a bike - in order to achieve movement of a bad spirit ? What makes a prayer say, in this case - in effective in their minds. Pain as a means of spiritual connectionk/release/enlightenment doesn't seem that forign to me - it's not a route I've taken thus far - though I got may Raven tattoo for spiritual reasons - and after 4 and 1/2 hours - that was moving towards a spiritual experience in pain management. Self flagilation - not as a means of punishment but as a means of meditation - while extreem - makes sense to me. Just a few musings on the subject.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So why religious studies?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

irreparable damage? not particularly

to answer your question...

Re: to answer your question...

no subject

no subject

no subject

=D

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Facination