By Emily Le, Risha Shetye, Ondrea Li and Hla Paing IntroductionCultural appropriation is a controversial topic in today’s world. Feuds between the distinction of appropriation and appreciation have occurred over the internet and have sparked extensive attention. An example of religious appropriation that we commonly see is using manifestation as a method of success (instead of the practice from the Hindu law of Attraction) or even religious figures as house decorations. So what is religious appropriation, how do we distinguish between appreciation and appropriation, and where do we see it occurring? Religious appropriation is the act of taking something for one’s own use for the exploitation of another’s religious and cultural traditions, fashion, symbols, language, and music. Don’t mistake this term for cultural appreciation. Cultural appreciation seeks to understand and learn about another’s culture to broaden their perspective and connect with others while appropriation is taking one aspect of a culture and using it for your own personal interest. HistoryCultural and religious appropriation has been seen throughout history. Colonizers throughout history have taken meaningful practices, symbols, and rituals from their original cultural context and copied them in a way that has either devalued its symbolism or completely flipped the pure meaning of the symbol. A widely known example of this is the Swastika. Originating in Hindu culture, the Swastika in Sanskrit is a holiday symbol that represents “well-being” and purity. During World War II, Hitler took control of the swastika and used it as a symbol to represent hate, xenophobia, and used it to perpetuate fear. The once pure symbol has now lost its meaning and its value in Hindu culture and is one of the ways Asian religion has been appropriated by colonizers in history. Another example of this is the Buddhist idea of Nirvana. Now a commonly used phrase and light-hearted joke in the Western world, Nirvana is a sacred and ultimate goal practicing Buddhists desire to reach. In Buddhism, followers believe that life is a form of suffering and humans are reborn in a cycle referred to as ‘samsara’. Attaining Nirvana is incredibly important to the disciples of Buddhism because it is a point that you are released from your suffering. It is highly valued in this region and now has become a passing and ignorant joke that many people make light-heartedly without understanding the full cultural context. Status QuoBy understanding the history of cultural appropriation, we can fully understand how they look like today. For example, many people use religious figures like the Buddha statue for the sake of decorating their house. The Buddha’s image has been used so commonly due to the lack of understanding of what Buddha’s image really represents. In many places like spa resorts, a decapitated Buddha head is used as a justification of “art” when in reality, decapitating a Buddha’s head is an act of violence as mentioned above. Buddhist symbols should not be used for the “aesthetics” or the “exotic” look but rather the journey of achieving self-fulfillment through peace, meditation, and self-reflection. Learning what Buddhism is about is crucial before choosing to put a Buddha up. It is important to remember that the Buddha belongs in a temple or in places for prayers. They are not decorations but have religious significance. Many people forget that Buddhism is a religion and that it is our duty to respect it. In another aspect, the fashion industry is notorious for diluting religious symbols and ideas. There is a big argument in the fashion industry on whether the use of religious symbols in clothing is appropriation or not. Some examples we found included, “Jesus Leggings” “Virgin Mary Leggings''. It is not just limited to consumer use, when examining the runway fashion industry there are even more egregious uses. In 2018 Gucci had white models go down the runway with Sikh Turbans. A dastār which can refer to any turban is a sacred religious article of faith. The turban represents equality, honour, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. It is a unique and important part of the sihk identity. Gucci attempted to sell the “Indy Full Turban” for 790 euros at Nordstrom. It attempts to mimic the sacred clothing article without any meaningful representation of the religion. Despite repeated backlash the fashion industry continues to profit from religions. capitalismFor decades, people have been persecuting different religions for their beliefs, and when someone turns those beliefs around to capitalize on them, they become diluted. Yoga and meditation come from eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. These religions have been practicing yoga for centuries, and now with the commercialization of wellness the true roots are lost. Yoga and meditation are extremely crucial to spiritual journeys, consciousness, and walking down paths of knowledge. Instead of marketing towards POC which these practices come from, the market targets white people as participants. Gwyneth Paltrow is an example of a wealthy white person who has dominated the yoga scene. In the past, she has even claimed to be an important factor for its popularity in the media. Meditation has been steered away from spirituality and taken on a westernized approach of productivity and focus. The global wellness industry rakes in at $4.2 trillion dollars. Speaking of businesses and profiting off religion, selling religious symbols as decoration has also become a harmful yet popular practice. Westerners are using buddha statues and other Hindu gods as decoration without actively participating or learning about the religion. This takes away the importance of these religious symbols and lessens their believers’ ideals and culture. Westerners continue to discredit and discriminate against those who practice the beliefs of which they profit off of, and this practice must be stopped as it is disrespectful. It is also important for a clear distinction to be made between those who practice the religion and genuinely want to share the beauty versus those who purely use it for monetary gain. Money cannot be prioritized when the integrity of a religion is at stake. Similar to how we have normalized the idea of cultural appropriation in society, we have also normalized the idea of sexual violence in our own API communities. In our communities, we tend to avoid the conversation around violence against women, men, and trans folks. It is important that we also ensure that we have conversations about sexual violence in our own communities and talk about how violence has been normalized, just as we are doing here with cultural appropriation. Why Should we care?Religious appropriation disproportionately affects oppressed peoples. Exploitation of resources and people have been the legacy of white people. Throughout history peoples have been forced to give up religion due to oppression but in the modern age, these religions are now being profited off. With continuous appropriation all value regarding the religion, the importance, significance is lost and becomes another item readily thrown away.
Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that you are using it for the right reasons:
*To be clear of some things, if you are a white person or not Hindu/Buddhist, you are more than welcome to practice yoga and meditation. What is not okay is that these practices are being appropriated and capitalized by companies in the West.
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