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THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Somewhere in a demilitarized zone between reverence and irony we find:
A translucent bar of soap with a tiny statue of the Virgin Mary inside.
The board game Kosherland.
You want to have some fun with your faith? Or even with someone else's faith? Buy an "official" ticket to heaven. Or a "Jesus action figure."
Americans are big on religion. Almost 60 percent say religion is very important in our lives, according to a recent poll taken by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press. The poll, of people in more than 40 countries, showed that religion is much more important to Americans than to residents of any other affluent nation.
Americans also love trinkets, gewgaws and gimcracks. That's no secret to anyone whose mailbox has been stuffed by mail-order catalogues since before Halloween.
So how shocking should it be that kitschy items with faith-linked themes are big sellers?
Browse the Internet or wander the mall. It's all too easy to find examples:
The Mexican folk art "protection packet" covered in glitter, tiny images of Jesus, Mary and other religious figures and a sticker on the back that says Buena suerte, which means "good luck."
Bibleopoly, a Christianized version of Monopoly in which the prime Boardwalk and Park Place real estate is occupied by Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Minority faiths are well represented in kitsch-land:
Hindu night lights.
Jewish scholar "trading cards."
American Indian sacred images.
And even Satan gets his due:
A grinning red-devil wall clock with a swinging goatee pendulum.
Red-plastic hair picks with a devil head on one end.
Some of the items are entertaining but intentionally supportive of faith. Kosherland, for instance, is a board game that substitutes the images of traditional Jewish food for the sweets on the familiar Candyland game board.
Others are just as intentionally pushing the envelope into offensiveness. You can find on the Internet, for instance, undershorts emblazoned with religious symbols.
And then there's the stuff that sits square on the line. Consider the "Ticket to Heaven." The Web site that sells the "ticket" offers answers to some obvious questions:
"Are you affiliated with a certain Church or Religion? No we are not and in fact we support all faiths and beliefs that share in the same spirit of helping humanity and being true to your own personal faith and belief ."
"Who gives you the right to sell Tickets To Heaven? We all have a constitutional and civil right to pursue any and all LEGAL business opportunities."
Here comes the disclaimer:
"The parties acknowledge that this is a statement of intent and belief and is not intended as a contract for services, transportation or the supply of goods. The ticket issuer makes no warranties or representations as to the state of existence implied by the term 'Heaven' or the duration, permanence and conditions thereof ."
Arlo J. Pignotti of Austin, Texas, has a prime bleacher seat for the more commercial aspects of faith. He's an atheist who collects what he considers serious but odd religious products. He gave an hourlong presentation of some of his favorites in Boston this year at the annual convention of American Atheists.
He said that he has found more links between faith and patriotism in the past year--an American flag with a cross on it, a picture of Jesus wearing a cap with a flag emblem.
"One of the strangest things I've ever found was a poster with George [W.] Bush's face, but it's a mosaic made of smaller pictures," he said, "of Jesus."