Religion is in the Small Things

Religion's influence is not exclusively elucidated in grand ways. There is more to religiosity than shrines and statues. In his Moral Man and Immoral Society, Reinhold Niebuhr, a 20th Century theologian, states  that "essentially, religion is a sense of the absolute." This sense of the absolute can be found all around The City. Signs of there being more than just us can be found in more than just New York's high culture--religious influences can be seen in from what we eat to what we graffiti.

Walking up Broadway on the Upper West Side offers great sights such as the Beacon Theatre, beautiful churches and at least three Chipotle restaurants. Also along this path is an interesting string of graffiti which says "ARt WE All ONE" or "ARt WE All NYC."

The most downtown installment one might encounter is on 79th Street. 

Although few would argue against that a piece of graffiti such as this is easy to produce, this string of messages displays how religious ideas and ideals influence the everyday person, not necessarily just the privileged intellectual. If someone notices this innocuous message, he or she might be inclined to think about what it really means. If we are all made one through artistic expression, then surely there must be something that is both greater than ourselves and yet accessible to the average person. 

What helps make this graffiti an effective religious object in the sense that we achieve an understanding of the absolute, is how many instances of it there are. One four-word graffitied message might not attract a lot of attention, but ten or so instances of the same four words will eventually get passersby intrigued. 

Found on 87th Street.

Found on 88th St.

Found on 96th St, across from the subway station.

Found on 100th St.

If these images above only speak to Niebuhr's less-traditional definition of religion, the graffiti found on 103rd Street is much more obviously religious in nature.

Although explicitness is often positive, this graffiti above clearly lacks subtlety. This fact, however, should not make its message any less important. One could hardly argue that the "imagine" mosaic at Strawberry Fields is subtle or that the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is quietly poignant. Yes, substituting dollar signs for "s"s might be cheesy, but the substitution does get the point across that consumerism is a big part of New York City culture.

Most of us are guilty of being blinded by our earthly desires. Instead of focusing on or even humoring the idea that we are all just small components of something much greater than ourselves, it's much more attractive to just focus on what flavor syrup to put into our grande lattes. This focus on our particular desires rather than the absolute is not necessarily because of any moral flaw within us but is something we must acknowledge nonetheless. We cannot help that we might have stayed up until two A.M. writing a paper and need some sort of caffeinated pick-me-up before class, but does us no harm to realize that others' problems are tantamount to, if not paramount, to ours. The daily encountering of graffiti might be enough to help spark change within us.

To get a sense of the pervasiveness of the graffiti: