Sacred Space, Symbols, and Spiritual Maturity in Religion

Introduction: Religion and Its Material Forms

When faced with the term "religion," it is more common than not that a person would associate the word with some kind of symbol. Christianity, for example, is associated with the cross, Judaism with the Star of David, and so on. Festivals also play an important part in making religion real to its adherents. Many Christians celebrate Easter as the victory of Christ over death. There are also many Catholic festivals that commemorate various events in the Christian tradition. Buddhism includes many different festivals as well, among them the Plowing Festival and the Festival of the Tooth. These, along with traditional ceremonies and festivals, are often extremely colorful.

Symbols are frequently rendered as material objects — jewelry, for instance — that adherents can wear to demonstrate their affiliation with a particular religion. Examples include medallions such as those from the Sufi tradition that depict the shrine at Ajmer, or the Hindu medallion that shows the revivalist Vivekananda. These are often worn by residents in Arampur, who identify with particular religious traditions and symbolize that identification by wearing images representing events or persons from those traditions (A Virtual Village, n.d.).

The central question, however, is whether these material trappings of religion in fact prevent the individual from achieving religious maturity. While it may be argued that material symbols and festivals make a belief system real and accessible to its adherents, it might equally be argued that they detract from the true spirituality that is religion's original purpose.

This is a difficult point to support, precisely because humanity is physical by nature. From birth, we experience the world primarily through the senses. It is only later, with the development of consciousness and greater maturity, that we become aware of a spiritual dimension to life. Because we live in a material world, religious symbols and festivals are the most concrete means by which we connect with what we believe. In Christianity, adherents connect with Christ through his physical life on earth — his birth, death, and resurrection. They use symbols like the cross to engage with the idea of his suffering and victory. In Buddhism, the life of the Buddha is commemorated by the Ploughing Festival, in which a golden plough is pulled by two white oxen. All of this symbolism is rich and highly stimulating to the physical senses of sight and atmosphere. The same is true of symbolic jewelry such as rings, crosses, and medallions, as well as of religious buildings such as churches and mosques.

Sacred Spaces and Architectural Wealth

In terms of place, there are countless shrines and temples around the world associated with specific religions. There is a wide variety of extremely ornate churches; St. Paul's Cathedral, for example, is one of the richest and most architecturally elaborate Catholic churches in the world. There are also many mosques in Israel, China, and Iran in which no expense has been spared to achieve architectural excellence.

The question that surrounds these rich material heritage sites is whether the very wealth and beauty on display is not itself a vehicle for the materialism that made such shrines possible. In other words, the richer and more glorious the site of worship, the less spirituality it may actually incorporate. When compared to the historical figures who inspired the religions these shrines claim to glorify, the disconnect becomes apparent. Jesus lived and died in relative poverty, caring above all for his followers. The Buddha, in turn, accepted suffering as a necessary part of spiritual and personal growth. The festivals held in his honor, on the other hand, tend to focus on the landmarks of his achievements — such as his enlightenment — with relatively little attention to the suffering that made those achievements possible.

Ritual, Dietary Rules, and Daily Practice

Another component of the material in religion is adherence to dietary and other ritualistic rules related to worship. Jews, for example, are prohibited from eating pork. Muslims are permitted to eat only products officially certified as Halal. Alongside these dietary regulations, specific times and places for prayer and worship form a daily part of religious life across many traditions.

Material Symbols and Spiritual Maturity

When considering the idea of religious maturity, one must examine these material elements for their influence on the individual's place within religion. A useful frame of reference is the life of a child. A child learns primarily through the senses, craving direct experience rather than the advice of those more experienced. Touching a hot plate, being bitten by an insect, and tasting a lemon are all examples of such experiences. By the same reasoning, a spiritually immature person may need material symbols to make religion real. Attending church on a Sunday, for example, may be an important part of a Christian's weekly ritual. The building, the congregation, and the various ceremonies within that space all serve to make the religion tangible.

For a religiously mature person, however, such external supports are not necessary. For such an individual, worship is a part of the psyche; the reality of the religion is inherent in the personality. An awareness of God — whatever form that concept may take — is present in everything. It is not necessary to go to a particular place or perform particular actions to make the religion real. Some refer to this state as being in contact with "Spirit" (Kumar, 2008). In the Christian Bible, the Apostle Paul addresses this idea in his Epistle to the Hebrews, referring to those who adhere to dietary and other religious rules as spiritually "immature," because they require a physical symbolic act to focus their faith. According to Paul, those who are religiously mature have no need of such symbols — they are equally faithful whether they deny themselves certain foods or not, or whether they attend church or not.

According to this understanding, spiritual maturity means that faith is a constant experience not dependent on physical symbols or festivals for its sustenance (Copeland, 2011). In this sense, an excessive focus on physical symbols or festivals might actually impede the religious maturity of the individual, precisely because such symbols are most needed by those who are less mature.

The characteristics of a religiously mature person, then, would include a diminished dependence on physical symbols — a kind of religious "adulthood" in which an individual becomes independent of what the physical senses can offer. A religiously mature person would have a deeper awareness that the deity (God, Allah, and so on) is everywhere and in everything, and that the divine is not limited to any specific place or symbol. This understanding of the essential spirituality underlying religion is one of the clearest signs of religious maturity: the faithful person has no need of physical symbols to maintain or focus his or her faith.

Conclusion: Individual Responsibility and Spiritual Growth

Ultimately, the responsibility for ensuring one's spiritual development rests with the individual. While materialism has tended to overshadow spirituality in certain religious holidays, locations, and symbols, each person retains the power of choice. A religiously mature person can choose to engage with symbols and ceremonies as genuine expressions of faith. A less mature person, meanwhile, can be guided toward a deeper understanding of religious maturity by those who are more spiritually advanced.

The tension between the material and the spiritual is perhaps an enduring feature of religious life rather than a problem to be definitively resolved. What matters is the orientation of the individual: whether physical symbols are used as a bridge toward deeper faith or mistaken for the destination itself.

References

A Virtual Village (n.d.). Retrieved from http://virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu/topics/religion.html

Buddhist Ceremonies (n.d.). Festivals and Special Days. Retrieved from

Copeland, M. A. (2011). The Epistle to the Hebrews: Marks of Spiritual Immaturity. Retrieved from http://executableoutlines.com/he/he_12.htm

Kumar, D. (2008). Never a Moment When We Are Not in Touch with Spirit. Retrieved from http://www.divyaakummar.com/test/Spiritual_vs_Material.php?main_Page=98&fileID=1711