c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.)

(RNS)-A charismatic cult is on the rise, threatening the moral integrity of America. I speak of the Cult of Disney.

Do not misunderstand me. I’m no latter-day Scrooge who says”Bah, humbug!”to the amusements of contemporary society. Nor am I the killjoy Grinch who steals happiness from the young at heart.

I never considered Mickey Mouse, Bambi, Pocahontas and the Little Mermaid as a challenge to traditional religion and morality until I stood in an enormous crowd-mostly adults-who lined up on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue recently for the opening of the new Disney store. Just three blocks away was the crowded Warner Brothers’ store, Disney’s chief competitor in the world of make-believe.

I was not there to gawk or make purchases. I simply had to see for myself why people would wait patiently under a hot sun for their chance to enter the Disney emporium.”What brings you here when New York City is filled with so many real attractions for the head and the heart?”I asked.”What’s the appeal of Disney’s magic kingdom?” Their responses were truly remarkable.”Mickey and his friends make me feel good, safe and cheerful,”one woman responded.

A husband and wife had taken the train all the way from Wilmington, Del., attending the opening as if it were a cultural event on par with the premiere of a Broadway play. After some prodding, they finally confessed that the Disney characters provided”a strong anchoring”in a tense and tumultuous world of change.”It is a joy to come here,”the husband acknowledged.

An older man told me that visiting the Disney store provides him with an”inspiring sense of hope.” A mother with two small children said she wanted her youngsters”to get an early start in loving”Mickey and the gang as much as she did.

Once inside the store, I studied the faces of those who were finally allowed to enter. The eyes of the adults glowed in a kind of adoration. It is not an overstatement to call the entire experience an epiphany of the spirit.

The perfect universe of magical make-believe had triumphed once again, another example of the human hunger for fantasy to overcome the realities of daily life.

And, of course, the devotees of Bambi, Dumbo, the Lion King and other Disney icons eagerly purchased shirts, caps, posters and coffee mugs as mementos of their visit to the newest temple of illusion.

Will the Disney store be a commercial success? Without doubt. Is a visit to the Manhattan home of Mickey and Minnie an expression of escapism? Absolutely. Are Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the world’s other religions in danger of disappearing because of the popularity of a squeaky-voiced rodent and his friends? Of course not.

So what’s my problem?

I become concerned when potent, theological terms like”uplifting,””inspiring,””anchor,””joy,””hope”and”love”are used to describe not the Almighty, but one of the planet’s most extravagant purveyors of illusions and dreams.

Religion, at its best, urges us to confront the real world, in all its imperfections. Our diverse spiritual traditions provide time-tested insights and moral precepts for encountering life as it is and as it ought to be.

We are commanded to immerse ourselves in the real world through deeds of collective action. In Judaism, this cooperative effort is called”Tikkun Olam,”the repairing of a broken world. Fulfillment of these commandments promises the gifts of hope and love that are the true anchors of our lives. Genuine faith rejects a world of illusion and invention, no matter how creatively packaged.

The creators of Mickey Mouse and the purveyors of his merchandise have constructed a”magical kingdom.”But our Creator has commanded us to be participants in the effort to achieve the divine kingdom here on earth.

Authentic religious faith is always linked to a flesh-and-blood community of human beings, no matter how flawed it may be: a synagogue, church, mosque, fellowship group, brotherhood or sisterhood.

The characters of the Disney dream factory all have their problems solved for them, and live happily ever after. Authentic religion provides no such guarantees. We poor humans must struggle spiritually all the days of our lives. And even then, we do not always achieve happy endings.

MJP END RUDIN