A Civil World. Off-topic discussions on a variety of topics. > Time For a Coffee Break!

Should We Expect More of Religious Figures?

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NEDESAPIO:
I ask this question because of an incident that happened yesterday.  I go to a Catholic church -- not because I'm particularly "Catholic" (I was born Catholic but have studied other religious traditions, including Christian Science and Judaism), but because I find the services restful.  Anyway, yesterday there was a new soloist (singer) at the church -- a young guy, and he seemed to be in charge of the choir that day.  As you may know, Catholic services start with a hymn accompanying the procession of the priest down the main aisle of the church.  Well, yesterday the new choir guy made a mistake and began the service too early.  By this I mean he began the opening hymn before the priest, alter boys, etc. were assembled at the back of the church for their procession; as a result, they were forced to enter through the side door instead and process down a short side aisle.  In other words, the Mass got off to rather an unorthodox start.

Well, the priest was obviously very annoyed at this; throughout the Mass he shot angry looks over at the new choir guy and delivered most of the service in an abrupt, irritated tone of voice.

I almost expected him to say something during the sermon, or homily.  But as it turned out, another priest gave the homily.

However, as we were leaving the church at the end we saw/heard him "dressing down" the new choir guy -- in front of a lot of people.

Now, the question I'm going to ask here is this:  should we hold people who proclaim to be religious -- this includes priests, nuns, ministers, rabbis, etc. as well as "ordinary" people who define themselves as religious -- to a higher standard of courtesy than that which we'd hold most people to?  I understand that these religious fugures are not perfect simply because they are religious and get angry just like anyone else.  But should we expect them to hide their anger more and show more politeness, regardless of how they feel?  To set a good example, in other words?

I'm going to venture an opinion.  It seems to me that when one goes to church or talks to a clergyman or clergywoman one should have a different experience than one has at, say, work or the grocery store -- and that part of this "difference" should be because people are just more courteous, more patient, etc. than they are in most "everyday" places.  In short, people get annoyed at "little" things all the time in everyday life -- shouldn't church, temple, etc. provide a different kind of experience, one of patience?

Or perhaps I'm being unrealistic?

What do you think?   

Lisbeth:
Yes, we should expect religious figures to practice what they preach.

We expect religious leaders to provide us with spiritual guidance and direction in our lives, and like any leaders we expect them to be examples for us to follow.

While it's true that everyone, including religious figures and leaders of all fields are human, I think that we should not be watching them to eagerly catch them in error, but if they do commit errors, they need to be held to a higher standard when they are caught.

Rei-chan:

Personally, I think that everyone, regardless of religion, should be held to higher standards of politeness in society.  People get away with to much rudeness these days.

However, to answer the specific question, I think that if someone is representing themselves in the capacity of a religious leader or merely a very religious person, then they should act in a way that is representative of what their religion teaches.  Otherwise, it gives off a message of "Do as I say, not as I do.", which is very hypocritical IMO.

Ulla dances in a silly way:
This is one reason why I avoid all organized religion. There's nothing like a preacher on a power trip.

I think we should be able to expect better from religious figures particularly ones in teaching positions. If we are supposed to learn how to save our eternal souls from these people, they should at least be someone we can respect and uphold as someone to learn from. No, I don't expect them to be perfect, but they should at least be able to control themselves at "work" (church/service/Mass/etc.)

Like Keenreader said, they should practice what they preach.

-Ulla

blue2000:
I think we shouldn't hold them to too high a standard - some people pounce on every mistake, and that is just as wrong. No one is perfect.

However, in this instance, the priest only gets a pass for being irritated - but NOT for showing his irritation so blatantly in front of the congregation. He could have used the situation as a lesson to the people about "what is the right (religious) thing to do when someone annoys you".

Instead he showed everyone what not to do.  :(

And very likely put some people off the church with his ugly manners. Not a good thing.

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