Everyone always asks me, "What can you do with a Religious Studies major?" consider this my response. I'll try to complete a bi-weekly posting about issues of religion and faith, maybe like an "online lecture" but hopefully not so boring.
Finding faith in odd places used to be my calling card. I could find a hidden meaning in a song, a book or TV show. I would look and find the "religious" aspect to that item. Sometimes it was obvious; a Christian song, or a Buddhist phrase, sometimes it was not so obvious; "The Civil Religion of Baseball" or the "Ritual of the Opening Ceremonies". Well, I think I've done it again only this time it was a "hidden secret."
One of my wife's favorite artists is Pink. Pink is never the one for traditional "pop stardum" she has made a career out of bucking the norm and going it her own way. "Stupid Girls," "Dear Mr. President," and "Just like a pill" are a couple of her more noticable breaks from mainstream tracks. On her most recent album, "Funhouse," one of her later tracks, "Ave Mary A" is a hidden prayer about how "#*$%-ed up the world's become" and how we have all "missed the plot". Here's a short blip on her site about it, but I think it's a new modern twist on an old prayer for help and guidance in a crazy, tumultous world. Some may void the message for messenger but I always think that you miss out on alot of what the world can show you and in what a diverse way spirituality can be shown. Do I think this song will be played and sung in churches around the country, definately not, yet it's something to think about.
One of the things I did learn in my studies that although there are mainstream rituals and practices in religion, true peace and serenity in a higher power comes from inner strength and personal growth. I think if each of us were as open about our prayers and decided to pray in our own way, we could all learn alot from what this artist has shown. So for now I will join Pink in praying her "Ave Mary A."
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