Topic:  What does the Church say about various other cultural beliefs?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: June 13, 2003

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question:   Dear Father,Hello.I just want to know what your, and the Church's views on each of the following:Yoga, Astrology, Fengshu, Reflexology.I hope this is not a bother.Nishantha

Answer: 

Dear Nishantha,

Thanks for your questions to www.CatholicQandA.org. What my views on the topics your raise are not particularly important -- I'm just one guy among others. But what the Church 'thinks' is always important!

You don't define the terms about which you ask, so I may not be responding to precisely what you have in mind. I'm not too good at reading minds!

Anyway...

With regard to Yoga...the Church is comfortable with persons using yogic techniques to extend the flexibility of the body, to increase health and overall well-being. However, Yoga as an expression of a faith system is clearly not in accord with the teaching of our Church. Its origins are obscurred in the deep recesses of the history of the Indian subcontinent. But as a way of "getting in touch" with those gods and goddesses which continue to part of the Hindu synthesis of religions, I would strongly urge you to stay away from Yoga.

Astrology is not an acceptable form of Christian practice. Astrology is essentially a kind of "divining" the future and is, therefore, fundamentally 'pagan' in its origin and practice.

Fengshu is -- to the best of my knowledge -- an essentially Taoist and Chinese form of 'divining' energies which may be present in a place or around a person. Again, I am rather confident that as Catholic Christians this type of 'divining' is not consonant with our complete reliance on the Holy Spirit of God for all things.

Reflexology is -- at least in the United States -- a kind of massage therapy focused on the feet. In the lexicon of reflexology various pressure points in the feet have a type of 'control' over the well-being of many parts of one's body. As long as reflexology is used as a technique for well-being and wholeness, I think it is acceptable. However, if reflexology were used as a belief system or a way of being religious, it, clearly, would be in a person's best interest to stay away from the practice.

In conclusion I would just make this comment about "culture". The present Pope, John Paul II, has written about the importance of culture as a gift from God. Therefore, we need to be especially sensitive to the realities of culture when we try to assess the relative "worth" for Christians of practices and/or beliefs which originate in widely diverse cultures.

That is to say, if God sees fit to bring a particular human person to life in a particular culture, that culture is -- in all likelihood -- a good reality for the person in question. However, simply because a given culture might have some real value to a human being for whom that culture is "home", does NOT mean that the cultural norms of that place and time are automatically "transferable" to another person from another culture.

In other words, we each need to stick to our own culture, learning about it, long before we venture out into other cultural contexts. With regard to your question, Catholic Christianity provides many techniques for contemplative prayer, for learning to trust the Holy Spirit with regard to the future, and for blessing places and people. So, learn as much as you possibly can about these venerable Catholic means of entering more deeply into the mystery of your relationship with God before going to other ways of deepening a relationship which come from cultures that are not primarily Christian in their origins.

Have a good day!

Blessings,
Father Phillip