Stu Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Nice cop-out argument. Not a cop-out but merely the truth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland1 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 This thread peaked my interest. My two cents. Dci is, as far as I know, a non-religious/areligious organization. Sure there can be some corps that have religious roots, sure some corps can be sponsored by a religion like the Holy Name Cadets for a period of time. But on the whole, especially now, it is as secular as an organization can be. It runs during the summer when students are on break and the football stadiums are open. It conflicts with the islamic holy month of ramadan. But there hasn't been any issues. Possibly in the 70s and 80s when the nation's youth was more religious on average there would be some corps with their holy roots praying or something, but now with over 20% of the current generation of marchers identifying as nonreligious, a great many more that hold their religious views loosely, I don't see a lot of corps members trying to have their corps go to masses or services. A corps can, and I think should, allow members to do whatever they want in their free time such as bible studies. But I don't think most of the members participate. I agree that it would be silly if the corps had to drive each member to their denomination of choice, respecting jews from Friday night to Saturday night, muslims on fridays, and whatever. They sign the deal knowing what it takes, the commitments, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro! Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Ok well hmm...let me rephrase this post then. I don't think corps should allow any time away from practice to make room for religion because it is a waste of rehearsal time that could be better spent learning about how to play and march better. Religion should be kept out of drum corps as any of the time devoted to practicing religion takes away from time that could be spent practicing in a way that will directly benefit your corps and the fans. It also would be offensive to members that are not religious or that do not share the same religion, either because they feel that those members would be receiving special treatment away from practice, or that because everyone is forced to take time off for some people to observe then their product might suffer competitively or from an entertainment standpoint. Depending on the religion it could also offend members of the LGBT community who obviously are well represented throughout the activity. Drum Corps is about drum corps, and anything that distracts from that should stay home. From what people have been posting, it doesn't seem that any corps have slotted rehearsal time for religious observation or practice. Rather, it has been pointed out that those that do choose to practice or observe spiritual/religious/whatever-they-call-it time will do so before the day starts, during a meal break, after a show, at the end of the day or on free days, when they are given. Someone even chose to be in pit instead of on the field so that she could find a church and attend when possible and not "waste [the] rehearsal time". Unless you're opinion of religion, or faith in any degree, taking away from time that could be spent practicing and benefiting your fans is based on a particular corps, it's almost moot. If drum corps is about drum corps, then there is no need to mention that the LGBT community would be offended because someone of faith decides to pray during their meal time. Actually, I think that statement wrongly represents any group of people. I know many people that are religious, spiritual, atheist and everything in between. Who is to say someone in the LGBT community isn't of faith? Let your opinions be your own. It may offend people when you try to speak for them...and let your comment stand "drum corps is about drum corps". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer5485 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 At Cavaliers we had bible study multiple times a week with during food breaks or after evening block during snack. The guys that ran it would write when it was on the white Baird and invite anyone that wanted to come. I remember having about 30 people there on average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 At Cavaliers we had bible study multiple times a week with during food breaks or after evening block during snack. The guys that ran it would write when it was on the white Baird and invite anyone that wanted to come. I remember having about 30 people there on average. With the Cavaliers scores this year let's hope that number has grown (joke alert people, joke alert) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sploobie Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I volunteer to be corps chaplain for any corps that will let me tour for free with them! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) It looks like there is a minder from a certain Wisconsin corps watching the thread like hawk; but, I know back in the day that corps took their members to church every Sunday. I don't know if the members had a choice to opt out of it or not. Edited July 9, 2012 by shortn'sour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordsw24 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) The U.S. aspires to freedom of religion. To many, this also means freedom from it. The military has a lot of "non-denom." religious programs and opportunities, but the NY Times did a pretty big and quite shocking investigative spread a few years back about the Air Force in Col. Springs, and how a Lutheran minister who was not an Evangelical Christian was forced out -- initially fired w/out recourse -- basically b/c she was too ecumenical and too accommodating to non-Evangelicals. Creating some sort of official 15 min. "reflection time" is rife for one religion or view point to attempt and ultimately succeed at, from various, well intentioned and subtle means to the not-so-subtle, dominating over other, minority faiths. The article in the Times also mentioned Jewish members of the AF in Co. Springs during this same period who experienced a pretty shocking amount of anti-semitism when they bucked pressure to join Evangelical prayer groups conducted on military grounds in full uniform, in pretty blatant violation of official policy. I am clearly not arguing anything this severe would happen in a DCI corps, but I'm totally saying something on a much smaller scale could happen that might alienate certain members. Let's be honest and realistic here: a "reflection time" could easily end up sounding and looking and feeling Christian; prob. Evangelical Christian, no matter how much one might try to ecuminical-ize it and with every best intention of being all-inclusive. One could argue all day whether that's even a bad thing, or unfair to members of other faiths (I believe it is) but this is the reality of how it would likely break down. This has been my exp. with these types of things. Edited July 9, 2012 by ordsw24 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 a) To be consistent that open time to read or pray would take away from rehearsal time your opinion must also apply to free time, laundry time, chow time, sleep time, shower time, rest breaks, ... all of which bite into rehearsal time. b) Talk to any psychologist, psychiatrist, doctor, educator, etc... and you will be informed that every person needs there own down time (ie free time) especially when engaged in a stressful activity like drum corps. And if you are offended by what someone else does on there own free time, whether it is read, pray, sleep, play hacky-sack, etc... then that is not problem of the other person but a problem of yours. I agree with the premise of what you are saying, but I think his point is that if a corps were to set aside time specifically for religious practices, it could be offensive to those who don't have participate in such practices. Everyone needs free time, shower time, food time etc. Not everyone needs time for faith based activities. In response to the OP, most corps that I have experience with adopt the "on your own time" policy. Its not forbidden to have/practice faith on tour, but it must be done, as another poster put it, outside the corps schedule. There are definitely groups of members who get together on their own, and there are even corps who allow those activities to be communicated through their channels, but very few actually set aside time for the entire corps, and none that I have heard of will allow individual members to miss time for religious reasons. Members know (or at least should) what they sign up for. If their religious needs are not compatible with a national tour, then they should not sign a contract. I've known plenty of deeply religious people to march, and when they asked their minister/priest/pastor/rabbi etc what they should do about it, the response was almost universally that faith does not need a designated time or place, but only the devotion of its practitioner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relic of the Sixties Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Most of those that marched BAC back then in '65 probably havn't been back to Catholic Mass since, The wake for Louis LaSelva last month, which was held across the street from Most Precious Blood Church in Hyde Park, included the Boston Crusader Senior Corps playing the Our Father in the middle of the street, followed by the entire gathering joining in prayer. Needless to say it was a very moving experience, and a great tribute to a great guy, by people who obviously believe in a higher authority. Not all of the Crusaders in the Sixties were Catholic, and not all who were attended Mass every week, but virtually all members were serious people who actually came from solid families, and most have done well in life, notwithstanding the persistent banter on sites like this about the BAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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