The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a New-Age sect that sued to force the town of Pleasant Grove, Utah to place a monument inscribed with the 7 Aphorisms of Summum in a city park, complementing a monument already in the park that displays the 10 Commandments. Full story in the NY Times, “Court Denies a Religion Its Monument in a Park.” Wow, there are just so many angles to cover here.
First, is it, as the NY Times seems to concede, a religion? That is, do its adherents have a sincere belief in the tenets they proclaim? Spend some time at their website and you might come away with the impression this is just a Utah version of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Summum apparently offers mummification (for you or your pet), sells wine or “sacerdotal nectar,” and has built a small pyramid in some lucky Salt Lake City neighborhood. Don’t miss the kids page. I’m guessing this weekend small groups of Summumites will be gathering to share a few bottles of sacerdotal nectar and have a few laughs that their case went this far, maybe pausing every few minutes to throw a few more chemicals in Fido’s mummification vat.
As for the legal case (see quick summary here), it was argued as a free speech case, not a free exercise of religion case. In particular, the Court held that the town’s refusal to host the proposed Summum monument was a permissable exercise of discretionary governmental speech which did not infringe Summum’s free speech rights. For the policy argument that seems to be the primary consideration in how the case was decided, see this Mother Jones article, “The Summum of All Fears,” pointing out that if the 7 Aphorisms get in, so do lots of other more objectionable items.
The case for Pleasant Grove was argued by Jay Sekulow, who is one-half of a popular Beliefnet blog. He has posted his comments on the case in a post titled “Supreme Court Gets It Right — Religious Displays OK.”
posted February 27, 2009 at 9:05 pm
First, is it . . . a religion? . . . I’m guessing this weekend small groups of Summumites will be gathering to share a few bottles of sacerdotal nectar and have a few laughs that their case went this far, maybe pausing every few minutes to throw a few more chemicals in Fido’s mummification vat.
Yeah, Dave, it’s not like Mormons do anything that might be considered weird. Oh wait . . .
There are probably a lot of people who are just as devoted to the Summum faith as you are to Mormonism. Show a little respect.
posted February 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm
First, is it . . . a religion? . . . I’m guessing this weekend small groups of Summumites will be gathering to share a few bottles of sacerdotal nectar and have a few laughs that their case went this far, maybe pausing every few minutes to throw a few more chemicals in Fido’s mummification vat.
Yeah, Dave, it’s not like Mormons do anything that might be considered weird. Oh wait . . .
There are probably a lot of people who are just as devoted to the Summum faith as you are to Mormonism. Show a little respect.
posted February 28, 2009 at 5:21 am
Thanks for the comment, Steve M. A couple of questions: Do you personally know any Summumites? And do you likewise feel there are probably a lot of people who are just as devoted to the Flying Spaghetti Monster faith as most believers are to their various Christian denominations, including Mormonism?
posted February 28, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Dave,
Concededly, I don’t personally know any Summumites, although a friend of mine has visited their pyramid in Salt Lake City and speaks positively of the experience.
And do you likewise feel there are probably a lot of people who are just as devoted to the Flying Spaghetti Monster faith as most believers are to their various Christian denominations, including Mormonism?
What exactly is the point of this question? The FSM is an obvious and deliberate parody of religion. While you may consider Summum’s tenets to be equally frivolous, do you have any concrete reason to doubt the sincerity of its followers? That their beliefs may strike you as bizarre doesn’t seem to be a particularly solid basis for doubting–much less mocking–their sincerity.
posted February 28, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I attended a Summum meeting a few years ago. While I may speak ‘positively’ of the experience, that does not necessarily mean that I think positively of the faith.
Yes, it is a religion. The founder, Corky (aka Summum Bonum Amen Ra), is a very nice fellow who gave us some free food, a tour of the pyramid, and allowed us to sit in on their meeting (which I believe is broadcast online occasionally). Corky boasts of having thousands of members of the Summum, but I doubt it exceeds more than a few dozen members at the most.
The Summum is bizarre to say the least. I would say it is a mixture of Egyptian and gnostic mysticism developed by someone who knows little about either of them. Corky is a former Mormon who began his religion after encountering the Summum while in a trance state in his apartment. During this trance, he was teleported to another planet where he learned the truth of the Summum by the means of a pair of crystals in a space ship (or some other sort of extra-terrestrial building). I couldn’t help but feel like Corky’s vision was a combination of JSmtih seerstones and hallucinogenic substances.
Besides mummification (of which they have only done with pets), the Summum focuses a lot on their ‘elixers’ which are wines produced in or around their temple. I remember a few years ago they had some legal disputes about whether their elixers was just a business for selling alcohol, or if it was actually a part of the religion.
There is also a lot of sexual imagery used in their services – this includes beginning their services by ringing a bell (chalice) with a large golden…. phallus.
Meetings mostly consist of reading various religions and mystical texts in a pluralistic manner to divine the truths of the Summum from them.
To be honest, I left their meetings thinking that the whole thing was a bunch of crazy and drug-inspired mystical nonsense… but on the other hand, I’m pretty sure plenty would want to say the same about my Mormon faith.
posted February 28, 2009 at 2:33 pm
While I think the Summums are simply mystical mumbo-jumbo, a comparison to the Flying Spaghetti Monster is completely false. There are no sincere followers of the FSM, the very premise behind the FSM is the ludicrous nature of religious belief. The Summums are real and sincere.. just nuts IMHO.
posted February 28, 2009 at 2:54 pm
And for the record, I think the Supreme Court made the right decision in this case. The 10th Circuit’s decision, if affirmed, would have had a lot of perverse consequences.