A friend was visiting Cape Cod recently and brought me a most unusual gift. It was six inches in diameter and formed from two concentric disks, the top disk slightly smaller than the bottom disk. The two disks were held together by a rivet which allowed the disks to turn freely, either clockwise or counter clockwise. The top disk bore the title: CHOOSE YOUR RELIGION: A GUIDE FOR THE SAVVY CONVERT. A large red arrow enabled the top disc to point at any one of thirty “religions” by name. The reason I put the word religions in quotes is because some readers would be quick to declare one or two of these as, “not religions at all.” Consumerism is on the chart, along with Atheism, and Psychoanalysis.

Cut into the top wheel are six openings which are labeled: Description; Accessories/Paraphernalia; Afterlife Promises; Potential New Friends; Drawbacks; and finally, Perks. The device is rather ingenious in that, as the top disk is rotated to a “religion,” information about that religion appears in the appropriate opening. In order to check it out, I rotated the top wheel around to JUDAISM. Under DESCRIPTION it stated: “Based on Old testament and Talmud. Direct relationship with God. Good deeds matter more than spiritual devotion. Messiah will one day restore Kingdom of Israel. No original sin.” Anyone Jewish who is reading this posting is probably gnashing his/her teeth at the inaccuracy and brevity of the conversion disk’s description of Judaism. What a challenge! Compress 4,500 years of theology into a space which is 3/4 of an inch wide and 3/4 of an inch high. In the yet smaller space marked Perks is the following list: “Chosen People. Many Holidays. Like to eat. Sense of humor. Scholarly tradition. Atmosphere of debate.”

I doubt the device is meant to be taken seriously. It is simply just one of those tchotckes people bring back from vacation because they have no idea what to bring you. Then I remembered a study published in February of this year, by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public life (pewforum.org). The study found that 44 percent of all Americans have left the denominations of their childhood for another denomination, another faith altogether, or no faith at all. If all of these people are on the move, maybe there is a market for information which can simplify the process.

As I turn the wheel, it becomes evident that not a great amount of research and diligence has gone into the information it contains. Our love of nanno-second answers has invaded the timelessness of religious faith. When I looked at the backside of the wheel, I found the words MADE IN CHINA. Perhaps this is the next step in the Cultural Revolution begun by Chairman Mao. Given the historic hostility of communism towards organized religion, when the People’s Republic decides to open up to true freedom of religion, a billion people might be needing these disks.