Week 4 - Amanda Wong

In the article, “We have len dong too,” by Karen Fjelstad, discusses the relationship between spirituality and materialism. There is growing concern with materialism and it's conflict between the religious practices of Vietnamese mediumship. This conversation has been fueled by the transnational exchange of ritual goods.

The growing concern is that "a lot of len dong nowadays is more like a business than a religion" (107). I think this a common concern with how religion is practiced and will continue to be in the world that we live in. So long as religious practices come in contact with monetary funds this conflict will be an issue. The contrast with how Vietnamese mediums practice in American versus Vietnam shows the effects of capitalism. Americans tend to monetize whatever can be made profitable, or that people desire, that is just the way culture is here.

While it has been observed that rituals become more popular and happen more frequently as people start to make more money (105). This is because religion is important to the Vietnamese, so as soon as they have extra money they will spend it on rituals. Many mediums will travel back to Vietnam in order to practice rituals and ceremonies because they feel it is more authentic while in Vietnam. Although this could just be a misconception with the contrast in overall wealth between Vietnam and America.

Since there seems to be a real issue with the intersection of animism and materialism: is there a way to disconnect spiritual practices from monetary funds in order to get to the core root of what spirituality is?

Reference:

Karen Fjelstad. “We have Len Dong Too”: Transnational Aspects of Spirit Possession.

(image) http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/37502/the-spiritual-practice-of-len-dong-in-vietnamese-folk-religion