Tragic events like the Boston Marathon bombing rip lives apart. An understandable reaction might be anger at God. In fact, this is one of the media discussion points of how the Tsarnaev brothers became radicalized. Perhaps there were disappointments. Perhaps these disappointments caused them to turn to religion. Perhaps they even became angry at God? I was struck by the words of Omid Safi of the Religion News Service in his article 10 Essential Points about the Boston Marathon Bombers, Islam, and America (point 5 of his 10 points). “But that alienation, combined occasionally with mental illness, is a bigger problem than we are willing to confront at this moment.”
What is alienation?
As a young child, I remember recurring dreams where I couldn’t find my home. I would run past places I didn’t recognize and faces I didn’t know in that dream-laden state where my legs wouldn’t move. This is the feeling of alienation. It can be extremely painful, even debilitating, perhaps a cause for mental illness in itself. Back in the nineteenth century, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim studied the cost of the social, religious and cultural freedoms of our modern life. Mobility is an American right, but belonging is a crucial human need. With the advent of the Internet, mobile phones, and texting, we have taken autonomy to a level Durkheim had never even envisioned. These freedoms come at a cost, according to Durkheim, and that cost is alienation.
Breakdown of Religion
Lucky for me, I woke from my dreams to find my mom and dad and brothers all around me. But many people never wake from their nightmare. I could describe the divorce rate, the fragmentation of families, and the displacement of ethnicities, but sadly that’s old news. What’s escalating is the breakdown of religion and the rise of the religious nones, or those who claim no religion. If you think of religion as mythology that connects us to God (see Albert Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus), then the religious myths of yesterday are not working today. People are demanding more from their mythology, such as scientific and historical accuracy. And without a credible mythology, more people are being alienated not only from families and society, but from God.
Why Radical Extremism?
In her book “The Battle for God“, Karen Armstrong describes extremism and fundamentalism as confusion between logos and mythos, or trying to apply religious mythology in a more rational and scientific world. Modernization has changed religion, and there is no going back. That some people seek God through radicalization only points to the source of the problem. After all, if you are hungry, you seek food. If you are thirsty, you seek something to drink. Is it such a stretch to see why those suffering from alienation might get confused and seek God through extremism?
I agree with Omid Safi. Tragic events such as the Boston Marathon bombing might be a symptom of a deeper problem, that of alienation, especially from God.
In times of calamity it's easy to become angry with God. How do you process your faith in times of tragedy? This will be the topic of our next Coffee Talk, which will be at 10 a.m., May 4 at Coeur Coffehouse. Meyer is a panelist.
