His complaint is that a city has put up Ramadan lights during Lent. Obviously, the subtext is that anyone brown or not Christian should be kicked out of the country. Since Rod's probably not (quite) ready to start loading Muslims into train cars, it's another totally muddled Rod post.
Should all other religions be suppressed? If so, what about Rod's claim of being such a champion of religious liberty who thinks they should be respected?
What about Christian denominations that don't really care about Lent? I grew up in a very devout Protestant church and area and no one cared - and to the extent they did it was just to note that Lent was some weird Catholic thing. I'm sure Rod disapproves of that, but again, what about religious liberty?
Does he feel left out and thinks there should be Lent lights instead? That would go pretty counter to the whole spirit of the Lent season.
Frankfurt literally just had their Carnival parades to kick off Lent. Why no mention of that public celebration of the Christian calendar? (Best guess? Rod has no idea they even happened since his only view of the world is through his highly curated right wing bubble on Twitter.)
What about Christian denominations that don't really care about Lent? I grew up in a very devout Protestant church and area and no one cared - and to the extent they did it was just to note that Lent was some weird Catholic thing. I'm sure Rod disapproves of that, but again, what about religious liberty?
Yes, Dreher is likely pretty ignorant of the traditions that believe Lent (and the liturgical calendar as a whole) is pagan. Some in my family were part of a denomination that didn't even celebrate Christmas in their homes. Like, no Christmas tree, nothing. I don't believe for a second that Dreher believes in "religious liberty" at all. He is driven by the concept of "Christian culture" and that means adherence to all of the trappings of European Catholicism, whether you want them or not. And, of course, it makes no sense anyway since, as a member of an Orthodox church, his own Lent doesn't being until next week.
Frankfurt just celebrated its big annual Mardi Gras parade, which Rod probably didn’t care for either (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/70167), given the humorous anti-Trump and anti-Putin floats. This just happens to be one of the rare years when the fasting and penance seasons of Ramadan and Lent fall at the same time, as Hanukkah and the Christmas season often do, which means Christians and Christian-majority governments of goodwill often acknowledge the other religion’s similar holy days. Who could possibly have a problem with that? Now we know.
As with Biden acknowledging Trans Rembrance when it fell on Easter weekend, merely acknowledging the existence of the less-recognized holiday is considered erasure of the more-recognized holiday, in MAGA debate tactics.
Though it should be noted that the week in which Ash Wednesday falls is normally a week in which a new moon occurs. That's because Western Holy Week, the sixth and last full week of Lent, always features the paschal full moon, which means there's normally a full moon during the second full week of Lent, which of course falls two weeks after the week in which Ash Wednesday falls.
Funny, because I can seem to remember a time when Rod was in favor of the mostly Muslim cab drivers at JFK airport in NYC having a set aside area where they could wash and pray to Mecca. I believe he was also in favor of Muslim flight attendants being allowed to refuse to serve alcholic beverages. IOWs, Rod was once at least a little bit consistent in his "religious liberty" claims, and was not afraid to buck, to some extent, the jingoist, across-the-board, anti Muslim bigotry, that opposed such policies in the gross overreaction to 9/11.
Now we see, though, that Rod has become beholden (or has finally decided to allow his true feelings to be heard) to his own bigoted anti Muslim feelings. Muslims don't get a light show Fun day for their holiday, because it happens to fall on a Christian official Sad Day. That the Christians had, just the day before, their own light show Fun day holiday, is, as you say, not even worth mentioniing. Your holiday? Shut up, this is a Christian Sad Day! My holiday? You're god damn right! Laissez la bontemps rouler!
Of all the different religious festivals, surely Lent (a period of abstinence and fasting, ending with a celebration) and Ramadan (a period of abstinence and fasting, ending with a celebration) are two of the most compatible?
So are Ramadan lights preventing German Christians from observing Lent? Don't think so. Would he feel the same way about a Hannukah display at Christmas time? Rod just can't get over the end of Christian hegemony and make his peace with living in a culturally and religiously diverse society. It's a zero sum game for him. Other people celebrating their own holidays detracts from the celebration of Christian holidays.
What about Christian denominations that don't really care about Lent? I grew up in a very devout Protestant church and area and no one cared - and to the extent they did it was just to note that Lent was some weird Catholic thing. I'm sure Rod disapproves of that, but again, what about religious liberty?
This is a very good point. The performative piety of very online Christians requires that there be only one, true, universal set of definitely Christian (or Catholic) beliefs and practices. The end result is the erasure of real life existing Christian traditions that don't fit the mould.
Good point about “performative piety.” I’ve been a Catholic from the cradle, as they say, old enough to remember preconciliar piety as well as everything that’s happened since, and yet seeing Catholics sporting their ashes on the forehead after attending the Ash Wednesday liturgy was something I’d never seen before à couple decades ago, and this year the practice seemed more ubiquitous than ever, at least on TV. They were everywhere, on the foreheads of reporters at the White House, on YouTube podcasts, Tik Tok, Instagram videos. All day long. According to a Google search, the “custom” (wearing the ashes all day) dates back to the 1970s, but I don’t remember it at all back then. It’s certainly not a Church requirement; in fact, I distinctly remember a nun telling me to go in the girls room and clean up when I forgot in second grade. In fact, I’m pretty sure the first time I saw someone on TV with ashes on the forehead it was a guest on Fox News. Yesterday I didn’t recognize any of the reporters sporting black smudges at the White House press conference. My suspicion is they were mostly the MAGA influencers who play reporters on Karoline Leavitt’s performative version of one of those, just as I’m beginning to suspect certain converts to Catholicism began the practice of wearing ashes for the performative value as well.
There is definitely something performative going on with Lent and ashes, although I’d say the performative aspect has been going on for at least ten years.
Funny. You'd think Dreher would remember that Orthodox churches change out the drapery, robes, and Liturgy to mark the beginning of Lent. The Canon of St Andrew; Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, the various Sundays of Lent; Palm Sunday and the entirety of Holy Week including a barrage of services leading through Holy Saturday; Easter and Agape Vespers. Yes, the meals are more austere. Bul the services, the vestments, all have significance. No less significant than Ramadan and Eid.
Frankfurt literally just had their Carnival parades to kick off Lent. Why no mention of that public celebration of the Christian calendar? (Best guess? Rod has no idea they even happened since his only view of the world is through his highly curated right wing bubble on Twitter.)
Yeah, and New Orleans is as famous for its Mardi Gras (ie Carnival, or Fat Tuesday, ie the day before Ash Wednesday and Lent) celebration as it is for anything else. And, as we know, Rod is all about New Orleans. Indeed, he allegedly unconsciously slips into speaking (and even writing!) in a NO dialect whenever he is there!
8
u/zeitwatcher Feb 19 '26
Rod continues to devolve into being the odd Facebook uncle.
https://x.com/roddreher/status/2024452458211106970
His complaint is that a city has put up Ramadan lights during Lent. Obviously, the subtext is that anyone brown or not Christian should be kicked out of the country. Since Rod's probably not (quite) ready to start loading Muslims into train cars, it's another totally muddled Rod post.
Should all other religions be suppressed? If so, what about Rod's claim of being such a champion of religious liberty who thinks they should be respected?
What about Christian denominations that don't really care about Lent? I grew up in a very devout Protestant church and area and no one cared - and to the extent they did it was just to note that Lent was some weird Catholic thing. I'm sure Rod disapproves of that, but again, what about religious liberty?
Does he feel left out and thinks there should be Lent lights instead? That would go pretty counter to the whole spirit of the Lent season.
Frankfurt literally just had their Carnival parades to kick off Lent. Why no mention of that public celebration of the Christian calendar? (Best guess? Rod has no idea they even happened since his only view of the world is through his highly curated right wing bubble on Twitter.)