Cafeteria Religion
Introduction.
On the whole, Human belief systems generally seem to originate in ancient oral tradition, in most cases this has been written down at some point, and then handed through the generations. Religions are of varying age and often religious texts draw from earlier religious texts that are no longer available to us, though scholars can deduce their existence and in some cases even deduce a little of the content.
The surviving texts are usually (but not always) handed down by a church or other religious body and are considered by many to be an all or nothing proposition. No matter what is said in it or how it is criticised, it is the literal word of God and they will brook no argument with it. For many others the texts are not an all or nothing proposition, these people pick and choose from the content of the religious texts as they see fit to do so, giving rise to a practise known in Christian circles as “Cafeteria Christianity”.
Cafeteria Christianity
The exact origins of the phrase “Cafeteria Christianity” seem to be lost to the fabled mists of time, but it is used quite often as a derogatory comment from one person or
denomination aimed at another. There have always been differences between Christian traditions, and the New Testament does have basis for selectiveness[1]. I feel I should point out that whether or not the Old Testament applies to Christians at all is still open to some debate.
So, we have our cafeteria analogy, fine. But what of the various denominations (e.g. Anglican or Catholic)? Well, a good analogy there is that they are sitting in a roped off section eating from a set menu. This is generally drawn up by someone in authority, be it a vicar, bishop, or whoever; but crucially, it doesn’t include everything in the cafeteria just the things they think you need to know. But remember, whether the menu is drawn up by an authority or by you, it’s still chosen from within the cafeteria. It’s also worth mentioning, that the bible itself went through this sort of drawing up process, so even a 100% biblical literalist is still faced with the fact the the cafeteria itself can be likened to a huge set menu. You can still be a Cafeteria Theist and not know it.
About the dishes on offer
The content of the various gospels, psalms and other biblical books has been handed down for many years. However each one was written by different evangelists for differing audiences with differing needs. Along the way the contents of these books hasn’t been untouched, translation errors, copying errors and other things have made changes to the content of each book. It should be pointed out at this stage that a lot of this work was not intended to be understood as a 100% literal account that would stand up in court.[2][3]
The thing to bear in mind is that much of this was an oral tradition before it was written down, so the original written versions may not themselves be entirely accurate. So to continue the cafeteria analogy, the dishes are not being served are quite possibly not the original ones. With that said, the original language would be very difficult for modern generations, so the language has to be updated (hence the NIV bible) and this process can introduce further discrepancies despite the best efforts of the experts, and we must remember that phrases and figures of speech were employed that make no sense in this day and age.[3]
This isn’t a problem, unless you’re our literalist friend, because that person must now face the realisation that even the dishes in the cafeteria have changed from their original forms. If you’re a literalist, that must be one scary thought; no matter how closely you stick to those texts, you can still be off the mark.
Is it just Christianity, what about other religions?
Well, it’s a big Cafeteria, and there are sections with food from all over the world. Some adventurous souls have even mixed things from different sections on o
ne plate and are finding new dimensions to that which they thought they knew. But the things I said above, also apply to those sections.
For example, Buddhism was an oral tradition for centuries before it was committed to paper in the 1st century BC in Sri Lanka[4], in spite of the Sangha’s best efforts the words used are in all likelihood not those literally used by the Buddha, but the texts are not meant for literal reading but are to be meditated upon. In Taoism, there have been varying versions of the Tao Te Ching found, but once again, the text is not meant literally but as advice to be interpreted intelligently. It seems to me that in terms of moral teachings, if you must look to religious texts for guidance, then the option of intelligently interpreting the texts that have been handed down through the ages is the most sensible one.
My conclusion
I don’t consider the terms “Cafeteria Religion” or “Cafeteria Christian” to be insults, in fact my own view is that the cafeteria mentality offers some strengths. The Cafeteria approach allows flexibility and lets a religion adapt to survive, Taoism shows us about what happens to the inflexible and rigid, they are broken in the face of changing winds and tides. The most sensible option is to interpret religious texts as metaphor and parable, not always rigid literal historical truth. Now, this may not be to the liking of traditionalists or literalists, but I’ve learned that the forces that fight change must win every battle and the forces of change need only win one.
If anything, the notion that we’re all eating in a Cafeteria should encourage us to look afresh at the things we thought we knew and have the courage to examine them honestly.
References
[1] The Council of Jerusalem, also some of St Paul’s writings.
[2] “The Case for God” – Karen Armstrong. ISBN 978-1-847-92034-8. Page 39.
[3] http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1716?q=science. Q&A session, answering the question:
“Do scientific discoveries that contradict a literal interpretation of the Bible indicate that the Bible is to be interpreted differently in different time periods?’ ‘How do you approach scientists who point out contradictions in the Bible?”
[4] “The Essence of Buddhism” – Jo Durden Smith. ISBN 978-1-84193-766-3. Page 96.
Attributions
1. The image of the tray of food is by Ozchin, under a Creative Commons license.
