The Face of Good Religion

What is really the issue at stake when the subject of religious apparel appears once again in the newspapers? It seems that the rights of the individual to express their religion through what they wear are more divisive than the beliefs and mores which it sustains. But religion is not about the rights of individuals to express themselves, unless doing so communicates the idea of a merciful God. To take this a step further, religion lived out as faith is more than an idea. It is about living that love, and wanting it to be known and experienced by others, through the love we are given for them by God himself.

Good religion binds people together into God’s love, the word ‘religion’ being rooted in the latin ‘ligare’, meaning to bind together. It is about the making and strengthening of the life of community from within the depths of the love of God. Religion, when it is good, is born of that love and ultimately returns us to it, whichever path we choose to follow. But the choice is not meant to be purely for own individual satisfaction. Others must see God in the kind of person who claims to follow him. They must see the face of God in her every word, gesture and action, so that they can understand from that person what it is to be loved unconditionally by our Creator. 

The wearing of a Cross or niqab is only problematic when it actively prevents such understanding . If a young child is frightened by her teacher’s appearance, or a hospital patient feels that he is unable to relate to his nurse or doctor because he cannot see their face, then whatever is preventing him from doing so should be removed. Such obstacles to human relations in pastoral, teaching or legal contexts are not limited to the wearing of a niqab. They may also include crosses (especially oversize or ostentatious ones) whether or not they are worn out of religious conviction. Anything that disturbs or frightens a vulnerable person, or makes it difficult to apply the law in a judicial context cannot be good religion.

Contextuality is the defining point in this issue. As Christians, we try, without really trying, to be Christ to others in whatever situation we find ourselves in. We should not be thinking about what we are wearing in this respect. Rather, we should be forgetting ourselves enough to love the other person with everything we have to bring of ourselves to that task. As far as possible, we should understand their facial and body language, and be wise to these things as Christ was in all his dealings with people. Being Christ to others is not just a matter of adapting to people’s views or swallowing all things secular without taking the trouble to think how conducive they are to the flourishing of the human person. The human person is not the same as the individual, because that person is already known by God and does not need to define their identity by what they wear or own. The person’s rights have long since been met in knowing and being known by God.

Being Christ to others means that we desire more than anything that others should achieve full personhood. This requires the kind of trust which is the basis of real friendship. We become transparent to Christ while being more fully and freely ourselves, not as individuals conforming to the expectations of trend or fashion, but as persons. Through this kind of friendship others will see his face and experience his peace and joy. The young child in the classroom and the patient in hospital or surgery need to see the face of God in those who care for them. As for all people of faith, we must consider how we appear to people when we oblige them to take note of our religion through what we are wearing. 

The Christian ought to communicate his or her faith by being, above all, a person whose identity is shaped by his or her inner life with Christ, so that the people they meet can see the face of Christ in theirs. It is not hard to imagine that Muslims would want others to meet a merciful God in a similar way. I would welcome their comments.