Wearing Your Faith on your Sleeve
It used to be that religion was a private affair between you and the God-of-your-choice. People didn’t talk much about their beliefs (or the lack thereof.) Nobody proselytized except the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses who, like door-to-door salesmen of sanctity, came a-knocking when you were sleeping late on weekends or enjoying a nice soak in the tub. Of course, there was always the Salvation Army ringing bells outside of stores at Christmastime but they wanted your money, not your souls. Even in the media of the day, religion was largely absent except for the occasional Hollywood Biblical spectacle (with Charlton Heston turning in his usual stilted performance as the lead) and a handful early Sunday morning TV ministers whom nobody really watched.
Then the American zeitgeist started to change. In the mid-20th century, we had Elizabeth Taylor publicly converting to Judaism during her post-Michael Todd and pre-Eddie Fisher phase, then Sammy Davis, Jr. who schmoozed about his Hebraic conversion on late night talk shows with Johnny Carson and the like while wearing Stars of David the size of the state of Israel. How about Cassius Clay who changed his name to Mohammed Ali when he embraced Islam? Though it’s debatable whether EST is a religion or not, John Denver made it sound as desirable as having a Rocky Mountain high. And certainly no one can forget the Beatles and Rolling Stones trekking off to sit at the feet of a guru and learn Transcendental Meditation.
Since then, there’s been a veritable explosion of high-profile faith. Celebrity spokespersons for spirituality abound everywhere now and they’re not hiding their affiliations in the closet any more. Madonna with her Rodeo Drive-chic Kaballah bracelets and a $120,000 year “Kaballah water” habit making headlines in the tabloids. Mel Gibson, whose traditionalist Catholicism doesn’t deter him from getting DUIs but successfully drives his movie career with flicks like The Passion of Christ. Bob Dylan’s spiritual odyssey, which has taken him from a cultural Judaism to born-again Christianity (earning him great disapproval from his followers) to Hassidism and now to a free-wheeling spirituality that endorses no belief system. And we can’t forget our token Zen Buddhist, Richard Gere.
What’s winning out right now in the religious race on the A-list? We don’t have many mainstream Protestant representatives or Christian fundamentalists popping up on the Hollywood circuit. So, the award must be given to Scientology, whose prominent advocates include Tomkat, John Travolta, Will Smith, Kirstie Alley, Beck, Kelly Preston, Lisa Marie Presley, Juliette Lewis and Jenna Elfman whose self-proclaimed goal is to “clear the planet” by helping people get rid of negative thoughts and emotions.
Religion can mean many things to different people. For some, it is habit, the way you’ve been raised. For others, it is a choice that confers a sense of stability in a very dicey world. For the rugged and intrepid seekers, it is a long and winding road that has no foreseeable end in this earthly realm. But for the Hollywood crowd, it decidedly seems to be the primo fashion accessory this season on the Red Carpet.
