Religious Jewelry

[gaijin178]

I am curious about what people think about religious jewelry. The reason why I ask is that in some books that I have read and some threads that I have visited on other sites have brought this up. In a book I read called the Practical Pagan, it warned about wearing too much jewelry of a religious nature in certain situations. I have heard in Buddhist discussions about the same thing. Many Christians and non-Christians will wear a cross to mean many different things to them.

I would guess that all of us are proud of our faiths. Not so much in the way that we want to convert everyone to our faiths but to let people know where we stand.

I wear a small amout of jewelry and I work in education where I am constantly meeting with families. I have a ring on one hand of a pentagram and I wear a small juzu/mala on my right hand. I am curious as to those of other religions, when they might meet with me, and I know their religious background from the beginning, what they think of my expertise. Do they think that my information is not accurate because I have a symbol of a religion in which they don't believe is valid? Or are they more concentrated on the idea that I am wrong than what I am really saying? I have been thinking about this for some time so I wondered what people thought.

 

[Lyric's Dad]

I will be very honest here. If you were my child's teacher, and I saw the pentagram on your hand, I would probably spend more time (which is probably hard since I am very critical of the educational system and what my child is being taught) going over what you are teaching my child. I would make sure that lines were not being crossed. Maybe that is not really fair but I am sure it would set me at dis-ease ( is that even a word?). I would not take her out of your class or anything. I would just be more critical of what she was learning, the same as if I found out any of our teachers had beliefs that directly contradict mine.

 

[gaijin178]

That's fair enough....and the public education system in the US is horrible thanks to my governor in California and the President in Washington so I would be very critical as well. However, I don't teach, I have a different type of role in education however, that is for another time. I agree with what you are saying in the sense that I would want to make sure that my children don't swallow everything that a teacher tells them. I would be just as concerned if my child went to a religiously affiliated school. The only thing that concerns me is this: I have had many cases of students being racially and ethnically biased at school because their parents conditioned them that way. So I can see a parents involvement in education as a bad thing in some cases because what the parent believes to be true, may become a very negative thing.

 

[morningstar2651]

Too much jewelry, religious or not, is gaudy.

I have a pentacle with sapphires at the five points that I sometimes wear and I have an eihwaz necklace that I wear under my shirt and keep charged as a back-up shield.

I will be very honest here. If you were my child's teacher, and I saw the pentagram on your hand, I would probably spend more time (which is probably hard since I am very critical of the educational system and what my child is being taught) going over what you are teaching my child.

Why? I'd raise no objections to a person of authority wearing a cross. Why should a pagan be forced to hide their personal religious beliefs for job security? That's discrimination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle

Christians once commonly used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Jesus, but nowadays some Christians associate the symbol with Satanism. However, most who use it are not Satanists.

 

[gaijin178]

Too much jewelry, religious or not, is gaudy.
QUOTE]

I agree with you there. My point was more along the lines of wearing something simple that you are proud of that indicates your faith. Not to be gaudy or be in someone's face about it. The same way in wich many Christians will wear a simple cross to indicate their faith as well.

 

[tdcharles]

Why? I'd raise no objections to a person of authority wearing a cross. Why should a pagan be forced to hide their personal religious beliefs for job security? That's discrimination.

What if the person was wearing a necklace with a swastika? It has religious significance to Hindus after all. In my opinion it wouldn't be too smart, for the same reason it isn't smart to wear a pentagram.

 

[morningstar2651]

I wear a pentacle. I get more "Buh!?" looks than anything else. I guess people wonder why I wear jeans & a T-shirt instead of dressing goth...silly stereotypes.

I don't flip out if someone wears a cross, vesica piscis, Daiji, Green Man, Celtic knot, pentacle, rune, sigil, etc.

So what if someone is open about being different from me?

 

[Born_to_Lose_Live_to_Win]

In Hinduism, there are also other things which a faithful wears apart from jewelry.


While I was in India, I used to wear sacred ash on my forehead and even my fellow-Hindu collegemates would make fun of me for being so religiously ostentatious.

After coming to the US, I never once wore it in public simply because I want to blend in. In Rome I'll do what the Romans do.

 

[Born_to_Lose_Live_to_Win]

Also in India, among orthodox Hindus, if a girl has her nose pierced she is considered traditional. Modern Hindu girls don't like to pierce their noses, but after seeing the modern American girls pierce their noses, maybe they'd pierce theirs as a fashion statement.


Nose and ear jewelry for girls is considered traditional in Hinduism.

 

[ravenscape]

The jewelry that I wear most of the time and keep charged doesn't symbolically denote my religion at all. What makes it special is the jewelry is strung on a natural fiber and is made of natural materials. Not symbols, but the essence.

 

[Kris_J]

I am curious about what people think about religious jewelry. The reason why I ask is that in some books that I have read and some threads that I have visited on other sites have brought this up. In a book I read called the Practical Pagan, it warned about wearing too much jewelry of a religious nature in certain situations. I have heard in Buddhist discussions about the same thing. Many Christians and non-Christians will wear a cross to mean many different things to them.

I would guess that all of us are proud of our faiths. Not so much in the way that we want to convert everyone to our faiths but to let people know where we stand.

I wear a small amout of jewelry and I work in education where I am constantly meeting with families. I have a ring on one hand of a pentagram and I wear a small juzu/mala on my right hand. I am curious as to those of other religions, when they might meet with me, and I know their religious background from the beginning, what they think of my expertise. Do they think that my information is not accurate because I have a symbol of a religion in which they don't believe is valid? Or are they more concentrated on the idea that I am wrong than what I am really saying? I have been thinking about this for some time so I wondered what people thought.

I don't see anything religious about any jewellery. For it to be a religious item it must have a religious function - such as assist you in your prayer. If its just a trinket with a religious symbol, but is not used for religious prayer/ritual then it is just fashion. My opinion is that there is no such thing as a relgious jewellery, but mere fashion jewellery that carries religious symbols.

 

[MerryMeet]

I wear a small pentagram necklace, though it is mainly worn under my shirt because of the religious intolerance in my town and school. Teachers aren't allowed to wear religious symbols, except crosses. If someone asks, I will talk openly about it. The main thing with wicca thoug, is alot of people just fool around with it. They don't pratice the religion, they like the "magic" part of it, and the people like that, are the ones who normally dress all gothy and wear huge pentagrams... for attention. When the going gets tough though, they flip out and abondon all pratices. Ive seen it done many times.
Personally, I am not one for flaunting my faith... it gets annoying. (people flaunting, not my faith)

 

[morningstar2651]

What if the person was wearing a necklace with a swastika? It has religious significance to Hindus after all. In my opinion it wouldn't be too smart, for the same reason it isn't smart to wear a pentagram.

Why isn't it smart to wear a pentacle? What do Pagans have to do with Hindus or Hitler?

 

[tdcharles]

Why isn't it smart to wear a pentacle? What do Pagans have to do with Hindus or Hitler?

Do you want to explain to everyone that sees it that you're not a satan worshiper? I'm saying it's not smart because that is the very first thing a person thinks when he or she see a pentagram, satanism. An american wouldn't want to wear a swastika even if he or she is a Hindu, because of the obvious conclusions one would draw. Maybe not in India, but as someone else said, when in Rome do as Romans do. That doesn't mean lose your identity, but just use common sense, when you wear a pentagram you're going to draw unwanted attention.

 

[MerryMeet]

Do you want to explain to everyone that sees it that you're not a satan worshiper? I'm saying it's not smart because that is the very first thing a person thinks when he or she see a pentagram, satanism. An american wouldn't want to wear a swastika even if he or she is a Hindu, because of the obvious conclusions one would draw. Maybe not in India, but as someone else said, when in Rome do as Romans do. That doesn't mean lose your identity, but just use common sense, when you wear a pentagram you're going to draw unwanted attention.

Not always. Alot of people now associate the pentagram with Wicca, and in inverted pentagram with Satanism.

 

[gaijin178]

I guess that the point of not wearing too much to draw attention was what I was going at. I was more curious as to how people would feel if they saw religious jewelry on someone in this kind of situation and how it would change or not change the way that they felt. I was recently offered another position at another university and they asked me to come down to meet the staff. One of the "interviewers" was wearing a necklace that was a rather large Christian fish symbol. I immediately knew where she was coming from based on her wish to wear that. I admit that I became stand-off-ish when I saw it. I judged. I wanted to know other peoples experiences with this as well.

 

[Born_to_Lose_Live_to_Win]

I should go back to India and settle down there after some time.

No one would draw any conclusions from any symbol that you wear.

A Muslim can wear her Hijab, a Hindu his mark, a Sikh his turban, and a Christian his cross, and also a pagan his pentagram.

Religious or non-religious, jewelry looks good on girls.

 

[tdcharles]

I guess that the point of not wearing too much to draw attention was what I was going at. I was more curious as to how people would feel if they saw religious jewelry on someone in this kind of situation and how it would change or not change the way that they felt. I was recently offered another position at another university and they asked me to come down to meet the staff. One of the "interviewers" was wearing a necklace that was a rather large Christian fish symbol. I immediately knew where she was coming from based on her wish to wear that. I admit that I became stand-off-ish when I saw it. I judged. I wanted to know other peoples experiences with this as well.

Personally I wouldn't approve of it if it's very large. At most I would wear a cross tucked inside my shirt. I think it should be used more as a reminder before one commits sin, than jewelry.

 

[gaijin178]

I wouldn't either....and that's what most of this reminds us of no matter what our faith is....I am still curious as to how that would make you feel about one's expertise if you noticed someone wearing religious anything.

 

[Born_to_Lose_Live_to_Win]

If I see someone wearing a religious thing(jewelry or dress or a mark), I would only have a sense of respect for them for not being embarassed to show their faith.