INTERRACIAL VOICE

Essay

"Extending Beyond Religion and Race"
By Lee (Leah) Swift

Religion for me has been a very difficult subject to discuss with anybody! Most of the time I would intentionally try to avoid the subject of religion along with race and politics. My religious education has been a conglomeration of both Western and Eastern religions.

I was supposed to be a Baptist according to a certificate, but I don't recall ever entering a Baptist church. I never belonged to a Black church. I never witnessed a Black minister shouting his thunderous words through his congregation. I know this is how America would like my religious education to be, but it was entirely different.

My religious experience began in the l960's. This period was a turbulent time in America. We had distinctive leaders such as the Kennedys and Martin Luther King. It was also the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The weary marchers, the raging policemen, the snarling dogs and the tear gas seemed to burst from our television sets into our living rooms. Despite all these important events happening around me, my young life continued in a peaceful manner.

Sunday School was the beginning of my Christian education. I lived in an off-base army housing unit. We were basically all interracial familles. Most of our fathers were White or Black soldiers. Our mothers were new immigrants from Germany, Japan or Korea. Most of us were forbidden to learn our mother's language. We were the "New Americans." We were also expected to adopt the Christian religion.

When we went to Sunday school, we dressed very similar to each other. The boys wore uncomfortable suits with tight neckties. The girls wore dresses with wide petticoats to enhance the fullness of the dresses. The girls also wore white tight Mary Jane shoes, hats, white gloves and pocketbooks. Once we got to the building we sat on top of long tables. The rooms were musty and dimly lit. Eagerly I would listen to the Bible stories. As I examined the pictures, I would only see White Monorace faces. No other races existed. "Maybe there was something wrong with me," I thought. When we went to the church, I would gaze up at the enormous stain glass windows and again I would see the same Monorace faces.

One song I loved to sing was "Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white..." When I stopped to evaluate these words, however, I wondered where all my multiracial friends and I fit in. Were we really those "Primary crayon colors?" I didn't question these concepts; I only accepted them.

At this time I thought the whole world was Christian. I believed that we would be doomed if we failed to believe in these sermons. The minister's shrilly voice seemed to ring in your ears similar to your mother's scolding voice.

Religion tries to explain the meaning of life. For me, religion in its pure form is ideal, but once it becomes institutionalized it becomes distorted. Organized Religion arranges guidelines for a "socially acceptable" life. Often I question the Christian religion. It was the same religion the slave masters used to enslave some of my ancestors. Then the slaves were forced to accept this religion. I understand that certain parts of the Bible can be misinterpreted, but it does disturb me. I also believe Christianity did give slaves some sense of hope.

When I was a teenager, my father went overseas to Korea and Vietnam. Suddenly, our home filled with many Japanese visitors. Our home was filled with cigarette smoke and delightful Japanese food. These fragrances were combined with the chatter of their Japanese language. Eventually there was a a strong new smell that spiraled around the other familiar scents. Through my bedroom door I could smell incense permeating through the air. This smell was combined with constant rubbing of beads and the ringing of a bell. My mother never adopted the Christian religion. She was raised in the Shinto religion. Now she was being introduced to Nichren Shoshu Buddhism. When I come out of my room, I would see the worshippers kneeling toward a shrine. Their hands would clasp and rub the beads.

One day my mother decided to bring me to these meetings. I didn't mind as I made new Interracial friends. During the meetings there was usually a male leader who would encourage us to keep our belief. We also had to propagate these beliefs. The leader would wave a large gold fan in tune with our vigorous singing. There were many different faces. There were mostly Japanese, White and Interracial children.

This religion believed that happiness is something that man can create. It also believed that man produces his own destiny. This type of Buddhism questioned many aspects of the Christian religion. There is a belief of a Supreme Force instead of a Supreme Being. Karma and Reincarnation were also concepts of this religion. Heaven and Hell was believed to be on earth. Nichiren Daishonin was the founder of the religion. He stated: "Neither pure land nor hell exists outside ourselves, both lie within our hearts." It was considered a Universal religion for all people. Underneath all these sensible teachings, though, my mother and the other Japanese people thought that the Japanese were superior to any other ethnic group. All the other people were expected to duplicate the Japanese culture, the Japanese mannerisms and the Japanese beliefs. The prayer book was written in Japanese. We had to read it every day besides the constant chanting. Most of the pictures in the books were Japanese. Again the doctrines accepted all people but in reality accepted only the chosen few.

Later in my adult life I adopted a liberal religion called the Unitarian Universalists. They allow you to reason. They mediate instead of praying. There are no crosses. No one calls you a sinner. They believe in social action instead of sitting in a church and praying. Most of the sermons were about social reforms. The minister would always encourage you instead of frighten you. In one advertisement for the religion there were t-shirts. Written on the shirts were the words Red, Black, White and Yellow. All these words were crossed out with an X. The last word printed on the shirt was Human Being without an X. One very cold day, an older man with teary eyes came up to me and said "I'm going to march with Jesse Jackson at Central Park." I was amazed. This particular person who is White is an active member of the NAACP. Later to my surprise I volunteered to teach a Sunday school class. It was a rewarding experience. Even though it was primarily a White dominated congregation, they always made me feel comfortable. They did practice many European values, but they also took other approaches to understand many different cultures. To my dismay, they have been taking the multicultural approach. This approach magnified our differences. Of all the organized religions I encountered, however, I felt the most comfortable with the Unitarian Universalists.

I had a brief encounter with an East Indian family. They belong to the Jain religion. They were vegetarians, and they believed that we should respect all living things around us. They also believed that all living things had the right to survive peacefully together. One day I read two pages out of their religious magazine. It explained how certain animal products were produced. I learned that the dairy and the meat industry had little regard toward our health or the treatment of animals. Although it was only a brief encounter, it has made a major change on the way I regard living things around me and how I consume my food.

During the last five years, I have adopted Spirituality into my life. Spirituality does not restrict my mind. I don't have to worry about Man's greed for power or money. I feel that this Supreme Force has made the world so perfect, and man tries so hard to make it imperfect. Spirituality has helped me transcend the concept of race.

The concepts of organized religion and race are so similar in America. You are forced and even threatened to believe in beliefs that may not be in your favor. Both of these concepts prevent you from thinking with your own free mind.

Recently, through Spirituality I have had an idealistic view on life. Despite all the ridicule, hatred and misunderstandings that a Multiracial person has to encounter, maybe we are put on this earth for a reason. Maybe we are here to show the world that "our families" can live peacefully together despite our "racial" differences. Perhaps, we are also here to show that even in one body many "races" can intermingle peacefully. We could be here to mend all the races as one. Or possibly, we are here to show America that the concept of race is ambiguous and senseless. Multiracial people are probably here to show to America and the world that race doesn't really matter but being human does.