Religious
There are also religious acts that are associated with automobiles. This can include getting the car blessed by a cleric or placing an object of religious significance inside the car.
A predominately Roman Catholic practice is to place a medal of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, inside the car. Usually, the driver will have this medal blessed by a priest. An ancient legend, mentioned by Erasmus in the Praise of Folly, holds that those who see an image of Saint Christopher cannot die through misadventure during that day. Not surprisingly, images of Saint Christopher became popular automobile accessories. Through the presence of the medal, the driver is asking the Saint to pray on his or her behalf for a safe and uneventful journey.
A somewhat more sombre purpose originally stood behind the familiar plastic Jesus that some Christians have mounted on their dashboards. The original plastic Jesus was circulated by the Sacred Heart Auto League, founded in 1955 by Father Gregory Bezy, SCJ. This devotional society placed the traditional Roman Catholic figure of Jesus displaying his Sacred Heart on the dashboard. Father Bezy was moved to do this as a "practical answer to what he considered the ever-increasing dangers of our overcrowded streets and highways." In other words, in the event of a fatal accident, Father Bezy hoped that the last thing the riders would see would be the image of Jesus, and as such face Eternity with faith and contrition.
The plastic dashboard Jesus proved popular among non-Catholic Christians as well. The figure is well known enough to have inspired a folk song Plastic Jesus, originally attributed to Ed Rush and George Cromarty, which has acquired many anonymous folk variants. One frequent set of verses has it open:
- I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my Plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car. - Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my Plastic Jesus I'll go far.
Some Catholics will also hang rosary beads from their rearview mirror.
Catholics and other Christians may also hang crosses or crucifixes from the rearview mirror.
Read more about this topic: Automobile Folklore
Famous quotes containing the word religious:
“And when religious sects ran mad,
He held, in spite of all his learning,
That if a man’s belief is bad,
It will not be improved by burning.”
—Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802–1839)
“Each religious sect has its own physiognomy. The Methodists have acquired a face; the Quakers, a face; the nuns, a face. An Englishman will pick out a dissenter by his manners.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... religious experience, as we have studied it, cannot be cited as unequivocally supporting the infinitist belief. The only thing that it unequivocally testifies to is that we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest peace.”
—William James (1842–1910)