Religious and Cultural Elitism

Here is my view on religious and cultural elitism, something that I think about a lot.  Take it or leave it, but don't get angry over it please.

Whenever I see or hear elitism in the church, it seems easy for me to identify that as human nature/culture/pride and not true gospel understanding. It's like fools gold that shines and attracts some who don't really understand what it is they should be shooting for.  I cringe when I hear what I view to be an over-emphasis on our church being "the only true church" and consequently how "sad" it is that others don't have what we have.  Sometimes, I have witnessed an almost mockery of other religions when hearing discussions like this in Gospel Doctrine;  "I can't believe other religions think this!", or "I can't believe they don't know that!"  It makes me uncomfortable, emotionally sitting with the view that others are somehow less valiant if they don't belong to my church.  I am a firm believer that God is no respector of persons and therefore that He loves all of His children equally.  I suppose it ultimately boils down to what is at one's core:  That since I have the truth, I am better than you, or that since I have the truth, I am grateful and full of charity to my fellow humans.  I am reminded of an experience Robert told me that happened on his mission.  A General Authority came to speak to the missionaries, and at one point during his talk, referred to third world countries where people were starving and that the reason for this was because they were here solely to get a body.  This is such a dangerous mentality because it somehow makes rampant starvation more acceptable if we can assign a perfect little box for it to fit into--since there is a "reason" for their suffering, I don't need to worry about helping remedy this situation.  It also serves in subconsciously making those who believe this way of thinking, feel "better than" those who are suffering daily and minute by minute in a most barbaric way.  I have found this same type of reasoning used to explain away many things that make people uncomfortable; blacks having dark skin, blacks not having the priesthood, those who have seemingly easy lives, those who have seemingly hard lives--you name it, people don't like to live with unanswered questions, so they quickly come up with feel-good anecdotes to ease their trepidation and make themselves feel better than THOSE other people.  The proper way to view belonging to what I believe to be God's church, in my opinion, is with humility, a sense of unconditional love and non-judgment of those around us, and with the view that all religions possess some truth and thus deserve our respect.

I feel similarly with the topic of Patriotism.  The people who deem themselves the most "proud" of their country, are sometimes the ones looking down their noses at the way in which others choose to honor their country, as if there is only one way to represent one's love of country.  This to me is not Patriotism, it is arrogance because in fact, none of have chosen where to be born, we simply were born.  I have a tremendous love for my country, but I also have respect for other countries, the people who live there and honor their country as much as I do, and I recognize that if I was born in another country on the Earth, I would have an equal amount of pride in that country.  If I, after much thought, don't agree with a war that is being fought, it definitely does NOT mean I am less patriotic, it means simply that I do not agree with the war we are engaged in.  It doesn't mean I don't support our amazing military, it means that I am a thinking and discerning person and just because my country chooses to go to war, doesn't mean I have to agree wholeheartedly with it.  I also don't necessarily think that all countries want, or are ready for democracy because it is what I have and enjoy and don't think it is up to the U.S. to impose our belief system on them.  Another characteristic of cultural elitism that bothers me is ethnocentrism, which is when value judgments about another culture are made from the perspectives of one's own cultural system. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, which is very hard NOT to do, but certainly still important to be aware of.   I am a firm believer in attempting to look outside of my own world and trying to see how and why other people think the way they do.  The lyrics of this song by the Indigo Girls also express a sentiment I agree with:

This is my song
Oh God of all the nations
A song of peace
For lands afar and mine

This is my home
The country where my heart is
Here are my hopes
My dreams my holy shrine

But other hearts
In other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams
As true and high as mine

My countries skies
Are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams
On clover leaf and pine

But other lands
Have sunlight too and clover
And skies are everywhere
As blue as mine

Oh hear my song
Oh God of all the nations
A song of peace
For their land and for mine

Every human soul has a culture of which to be proud, a past worthy of knowing, foremothers who loved their babies, languages, art, and food of which they are proud. We can still possess a hearty amount of patriotism while nurturing a truly equatable love for all of God’s children.  We can still have faith in and love for our own religion without having to openly discuss the lacking of other religions in order to pump ourselves up.  Faith in our religion is never diminished by respect for another's religion.