If people would just turn these things around a little, they would see how unsociable and coercive what they are doing is, but people forget to put the shoe on the other foot (imo, of course).
Well, when it comes right down to it, most of these pre-event things are more ritualistic than anything else -- a chant or prayer of some kind spoken as an invocation to whatever ruling god there is that might reciprocate with good fortune.
For example, Plains indians wrapping a Buffalo Stone (effigy of a buffalo) in grasses before a buffalo hunt; or a bunch of Roman soldiers slaying a bull and baptising themselves with its blood in hopes that Mithra will bring them victory in an impending battle. I expect that the actors in Greek and Roman theatre had their pre-show chants and prayers as well -- which is why, i suppose, the theatre prayer might not bother me so much... after all, it wasn't too clear "which" god it refers to... it might be some Greek god for all I know.
However, the Lord's Prayer is something quite other. It isn't a standard theatrical pre-event invocation. It is identifiably Christian, and it seems very odd (to me) that it would be chosen as the pre-event invocation -- for the above reasons (it's not event specific at all), and also just as much, for the reasons which X has stated -- it is exclusionary to any of the students who are not Christian. That seems to me to be rather insensitive and, as I said, exclusionary of certain cast members. Not good.
And btw, no, I'm not much for rituals of most types either.... I find them odd and occasionally rather disturbing.
croc |
