Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993 TAG: 9301250259
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TRY NEW LABELS TO EXAMINE FAITH
SOMETIMES controversial problems are best solved by experimentation in order to get a better understanding of differing points of view. With the recent heated debate concerning the possible renaming of Christmas and Easter holidays by the Montgomery County School Board, I would like to suggest the following experiment:Each family shall take their personal religious items (menorahs, nativity scenes, etc.) and repack them into boxes with neutral labels, such as "winter-holiday decorations" or "winter figurines." Next winter, each family shall record their religious feelings as they remove the contents of these boxes, in particular considering:
Was the intensity of their religious feelings as evoked by the contents of the boxes diminished or changed? If so, to what do they attribute this change? If so, do they feel this change will affect the intensity of their religious feelings during the upcoming holiday?
As with many experiments, each family's unique reaction to the new way of labeling these boxes produces information that must be interpreted to be meaningful. These interpretations naturally will be subject to considerable bias. It is my belief that, if my feelings toward my porcelain nativity scene can be so easily affected by the descriptive label on its storage box, my change of heart is probably not attributable to the actual wording of the label. Rather, I would assume that this change of heart stems from a confusion within myself and, in particular, from an overdependence on my part on external vs. internal experiences for a validation of my religious faith. I would welcome such an opportunity to examine (and thereby have an opportunity to deepen) my faith. LAURIE ASHLEY BLACKSBURG