Wow! A hit Broadway production winning no less than nine Tony Awards plus a cast album that’s already charted higher than any since I was in high school. And what’s the sublime and exciting theme of this hit musical? Well, it’s not about carousing cowboys (Oklahoma!), nor love in 1950s New York City (Westside Story), nor Russian Jews (Fiddler on the Roof), nor the French June Rebellion (Les Misérables ). The latest fodder for a Broadway frolic are the misadventures of Mormon missionaries in Uganda.
Who would have thought?
Well, religion is a funny business. All religions provide targets for irreverent examination, some more than others. But it’s not unusual for religious folks, particularly religious people with power, to be at least ambivalent about jokes, laughter, and humor in general.
Puritans, for example, have been stereotyped by no less a luminary than H.L. Mencken who noted that a Puritan is one who suspects "somewhere someone is having a good time."
On a local note, Brigham Young once opined that, "I have seldom laughed aloud for 20 or 30 years without regretting it." I suspect he’s in a celestial snit over "The Book of Mormon" musical. But brother Brigham is hardly unique in religious circles. By contrast, when conventionally religious people walk into my office they are equally dismayed by two things. First, there is the carefully crafted clutter I require for productive work (and I dismiss those who slander it as squalor). But the second unnerving sight is centered on the wall above the credenza behind my desk. It’s a painting by artist Ralph Kozak of Jesus in an uncontrolled, head thrown back, belly laugh.
I just can’t help but look at religion as a funny business. I often tell folks that three wonderful things came out of Scotland: Presbyterianism, golf, and whiskey — and if it weren’t for the golf and whiskey, Presbyterians would rule the world.
It doesn’t help that, when I’m exegeting Scripture in the original languages and asking the usual interpretive questions about the social setting, literary style, political background, and economics, I also ask myself, "Did the author intend the hearers of this story to react with laughter?" Far more often than you’d think, the Bible is just downright funny. Of course, the greatest humorist of all was Jesus, who targeted friends and foes alike with irony and his wry wit. Biblical humor has infected the healthy traditions in Judaism and Christianity.
Leo Rosten once noted that humor is "the affectionate communication of insight." In his book, The Joys of Yiddish (which is required reading for religious people), Rosten wrote about Jewish humor, "We need not be surprised to find countless Jewish jokes mocking the Jews themselves. Self-awareness, pushed into self-analysis, turns into self-criticism."
Judaism is the oldest and most mature of all the world’s religions, so the insights that humor provides haven’t threatened Jews for thousands of years. In fact, I’m convinced that the durability of a religious movement is linked to the capacity of the institution to embrace the scrutiny of humor, most especially satire.
You see, our word "humor" is from a Latin root meaning "flexible." A person or institution with a well-developed sense of humor will bend and not break under the pressures of existence, particularly the push of being parodied. However, rigid people, and most especially rigid religion, will always be quirky enough to provide ample targets, and will snap if they persist in being humor-impaired.
The fact is, Mormonism is a young religion and occasionally exhibits the insecurities of youth. But as Mormonism increasingly acquires the muscle to constructively participate in shaping national politics and culture, there will be an inevitable increase in being a target of the relatively gentle late-night talk show comedic monologues and the sacrilege of less charitable lampoonery.
It’s improbable that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform any of the songs from "The Book of Mormon" musical. And I don’t blame them. I haven’t seen a performance, but just from the names of some of the characters, the production is hardly family fare and probably not to my taste.
The good news is, "The Book of Mormon" musical and its rave acceptance is another sign that Mormonism has arrived on the American scene. Have a good laugh.
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