Impact of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism on Creative Industries - Essay Example

Impact of Religion on Creative Industries Introduction The creative industries largely depend on spontaneity, self expression and individuality. Several scholars argue that these values may be incompatible with religion. Believers thrive on stability and uniformity. It is for this reason that most religious persons are conservative. Such divergent goals in either area explain why many people give up one thing for the other. Stability in religion is often abandoned for creativity. Regardless, some people have found a happy medium between these two concepts. Some even say that religion augments creative thoughts. Both points are valid and will be examined in relation to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. In my opinion, religions impose barriers on the creative industries hence preventing them from flourishing, and for this reason I do not support the idea of a country imposing religious doctrines to stifle the industry. How religion affects the creative industry For a case in point, some governments have imposed strict censorship on certain films that they deem as contrary to the generally accepted religious doctrines, hence making it extremely difficult for the film makers to become more creative. What is more, such restrictions contravene legal rights for the actors in the film industry to express themselves freely, hence stifling their creativity. Deciphering the nature of religion can assist one in determining why the phenomenon may stifle creativity in the arts. Religion was created in order to unite individuals into one large community and not to cause restrictions on non religious sectors (Appostolos-Cappadona, 1995). Cooperation should, thus, be the order of the day, and religious doctrines should not be used to stifle creative industries because this would cause a lot of conflicts. For example, it is very contradictory for musician to be criticised or even excommunicated from a certain religious group, merely because they have composed a song that is not primarily to be used for worshipping by the religious members. Furthermore, in the society, different songs are composed for different purposes, and its retrogressive to imagine that its only a certain genre is appropriate. Even so, it is undeniable that social tools and rituals are actually helpful in the society because they unite people. Lack of these qualities could cause rapid degradation in society’s moral fibre. However, if some countries used the religious doctrines to dictate what, for example, content in the movies are centred or not censored - these could lead to stifling of the industry because most of its practices contradict with religious believes. In my opinion, the religion should not dictate what is good or bad in the creative industries, because the religious believes are so diverse and in most cases biased. Likewise, religious processes need to mean the same thing to all members, or else pandemonium would prevail. Such goals have caused many religious individuals to see things in the same ways. The status quo is what matters the most in religious faiths, yet in the creative industries things keep changing frequently and with time. This means that the two sectors are very different and one cannot be used to dictate the other without causing conflict and confusion. For example, in the fashion industry, people keep changing the way they dress depending on many factors including changing of times, but in some religions some strict restrictions are imposed on what people should dress. Furthermore, creative industries require people to embrace new ways. They encourage individuals to embrace unfamiliar symbols and meanings (Wagner, 1994). Independent thoughts and actions would contradict religion’s goals to maintain uniformity. Group life, which is what religion is based on, encourages people to preserve their common symbols and agree on shared ideals. Also, this notion causes most religious people to dedicate their lives towards learning these rules, and evidently this should not be used as the basis of decision-making in the creative industries because the two do not have any relationship (Wood, 2013). In order to understand how these issues relate directly to people’s lives, it is appropriate to look at how they manifest in a particular faith like Islam. In this religion, individuals tend to pay less attention to the establishment of a relationship with Allah and instead focus on people’s conformance with a number of rituals.Therefore, emphasis is on structure rather than the personal relationship that may exist between the person and their God (Detweiler, 1983). Evidently, these doctrines are totally opposite of what takes place in the creative industries. This minimal emphasis on personal interaction with deity and great emphasis on social symbolism or communal identity implies that self expression is unwelcome in these areas of life. It is unlikely that members of conventional religious faiths like Judaism and Islam would have the inclination to pursue creative ideals. Strict rules regulate behaviour in the above faiths. One must obey religious teachings without question. Quests for truth or historical verification are sometime frowned upon, which largely contradicts with the creative industries (Earhart, 1993). It is for this reason why its sounds primitive to impose strict censorship on some movies, based on religion. If, ideally, a move is meant to make some truth known, then religion should not be used to prevent it. In addition, excessive religiosity seeks to control the body and the mind. This may be contrasted to spirituality, which focuses on an individual. With too much emphasis on religion, followers tend to lack outlets for self expression as nothing exists to capture the spirit. Unfortunately, self expression is so critical in the creative industry, because it is upon it that people tend to become more creative. For example, musicians mostly express what is in their hearts, and hence for them to become more creative no barriers should be imposed against them. Religion in conservative faiths like Judaism and Islam teaches individuals to merely obey God rather than to discover him (Bowker, 2006). It, therefore, comes as no surprise that such tendencies would trickle down to various elements of people’s lives. Islam warrants particular attention because religious teaching permeates almost all facets of life including the law. Conformity to Islamic doctrine is the main point of emphasis for these believers (Prescott et. al., 2009). Those who fail to uphold religious doctrines face severe punishment. The complete goal of Islam is utter submission. Therefore, motivation, individuality, curiosity and creativity, all of which are basic ingredients in the creative industries, have no place in such communities. Muslims ascribe to a concept known as umma or the community. It requires followers to deny themselves and follow moral teachings outlined in the Shariah. This means that morality and the law have been fused into one thing. The state is not the highest power in Islam; it is Shariah law that matters. People are not allowed to explore or make their own judgements about issues outside of Shariah (Earhart, 1993). In fact, these laws govern every aspect of existence including marriage, treatment of non Muslims and death. While other societies may frown upon child marriage, polygamy and death through holy wars, Muslims continue to practice them because it is the Sharia that counts. Also, the kind of dress modes that Muslims adopt is largely influenced by their faith rather than fashion. This believes, in my opinion, is retrogressive and should have no basis in controlling the creative industries. In addition, because of the above traits, Islam is not a religion that bends itself to human circumstances. The doctrine is unquestionable and unchanged. Individual morality does not matter as the individual must exchange his own well-being for the collective (Bowker, 2006). For these reasons, it comes as no surprise that persons from that part of the world would fail to depict creative traits. Many of their creative ideas are rejected when they do not appear to support the status quo. In a country like Malaysia, the Malay word for innovation was only introduced into their vocabulary after hearing about it from English speakers. The Islamic equivalent of innovation is the word Bid’ah. This directly translates into hearsay in English. Muslim teachers strongly discourage Bid’ah and have heavy penalties for the same. Individuality and creativity are greatly stifled in these countries because people are not supposed to improvise. Many conservative followers of the Islamic faith look down on new technologies or research as these may have implications on how their religion is perceived. Therefore, even the creative arts are harmed as people cannot freely say what they feel (Earhart, 1993). The above assertions largely encompass conventional and habitual religion. However, another form of religion exists that may actually encourage creative thought. The sociologist Max Weber delineated religion into conventional and radical religion. The former is routine-based while the latter is charismatic (Bowker, 2006). In the radical form, adherents attempt to breakdown cultural barriers and redefine themselves. They often sever established ways of doing things, and are bastions of creativity. It is thus possible for religion to boost the arts when it is envisaged in this light. People who create new religions are often quite creative (Plate, 2002). In Christianity, one may argue that Jesus himself was a creative individual. He used parables and other illustrations creatively to get his message across. Jesus urged his followers to look beyond the conventional and strive to create a relationship with God. Likewise, Apostles like Peter and Paul also exhibited these traits. In contrast to established faiths, their way of looking at religion threatened the status quo. Prophet Mohamed, Buddha and Martin Luther of the Protestant church inspired many new forms of expression. The way people wrote, dressed and interacted with each other changed dramatically in spite of being encased in religious discipline. When religion is a predominant form of culture, people may find a way of expressing themselves within its limit. Hybridity in highly conservative religions like Islam are possible and quite common. Difference does exist in equality among several Islamic countries of the world (Tonna, 1990). For instance, Islam has clear rules on uniform Islamic dress. However, this has not stopped women from Lebanon, Egypt and the Gulf from making their own designs. These areas often hold annual fashion shows for hijab styles. The designers have found a way of staying within the confines of religion while still exhibiting creative thought (Schleiermacher, 2003). In essence, Islam has created traditions for these women who then use them as foundations for their own creative ideas. In fact, such religious followers have such a great degree of creativity that they can find diversity in seemingly limited circumstances. These tendencies also explain why various forms of Islamic art exist today. Artists have been inspired by spiritual teachings to express themselves artistically (Mitias, 1985). The restrictions in Islam require painters, sculptors and others to innovate more greatly than their peers in the non-religious world (Al-Jasmi and Mitias, 2004). Muslims are not allowed to represent animals and people in their art. The Quran requires artists to refrain from these figures because they may tempt viewers to worship those images instead of the one god that they believe in (Hussain, 2009). Artists have found a way of working around this through the use of vegetation as well as calligraphy. The great Mosque of Damascus has beautiful illustrations of octagonal shapes while geometrical art has been perfected in Dome of the Rock (Cornell, 2004). Therefore, religion has inspired creativity by causing individuals to use their spiritual experiences, teachings and icons in order to express themselves. Likewise, in Christianity, a number of rosaries, sculptures and paintings have been created throughout the ages. This is especially common in well-established denominations like Catholicism. Some cathedrals have been painted by great artists such as Michengelo. These artists had to draw upon local religious teachings in order to create their pieces. The Sistine Chapel as well as the Zen Master’s landscape paintings are all examples of how religion can motivate artists to look within themselves in order to thrive. It is paradoxical that by accepting limits, some artistic schools become more creative by forcing people to innovate within those limitations (Marks, 2011). A creative mind sometimes requires certain difficulties in order for it to do its work well. Some creative types, however, think of limitations as nothing more than barriers (Hillenbrand, 2003). They tend to treat religion with a lot of suspicion and disdain because they believe it limits their space for expression. Likewise, the same may be said of seemingly conservative nations that do not embrace secularism. These individuals still think of foreign or external ideas as threats to their group identity. It is for this reason that they might resist creative expression as this could compromise cohesion in the group. At the end of the day, conservative or religious societies still regard progressives or any other individuals who do not share similar values as threats (Coleman, 1998). Conclusion While points have been found to support both sides of the issue, it appears that by and large, religion places restrictions on creativity and this is uncalled for. People who transcend these restrictions tend to be the exception and not they rule. They exhibit creativity in spite of religion and not because of it. Creative and insightful people can be found in any aspect of life, but when the need for stability outweighs all other virtues, new ways of seeing things are rarely embraced. In view of these, I strongly believe that allowing religious believes imposes negative barriers on the creative industries, hence stifling its growth and hence this practice should not be advocated. . References Al-Jasmi, A. and Mitias, M., 2004. Does an Islamic Architecture Exist? Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 60(1), pp. 197-214. Appostolos-Cappadona, D., 1995. Art, creativity and the sacred: An anthology in religion and art. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Bowker, J., 2006.World religions: the great faiths explored and explained. Chicago: DK ADULT. Coleman, E., 1998. Creativity and Spirituality: Bonds between art and religion. 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Muqarnas, 7, pp.182-197. Plate., B., 2002. Religion, art and visual culture. London: Palgrave. Prescott, T., Herman, B., Romaine, J., Benson, B. and Elkins, J., 2009. The strange place of religion in contemporary art. NY: McMillan. Wagner, R., 1994. Religion and art. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. Wood, C., 2013. Religion and creativity: A follow-up. [Online] Available at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2013/07/religion-and-creativity-a-follow-up/ [Accessed on 19 March 2014] Read More