The law of attraction is the New Thought spiritual belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life. The belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are made from "pure energy"
and that like energy can attract like energy, thereby allowing people
to improve their health, wealth, or personal relationships. There is no
empirical scientific evidence supporting the law of attraction, and it
is widely considered to be pseudoscience
or religion couched in scientific language. This belief has alternative
names that have varied in popularity over time, including manifestation and lucky girl syndrome.
Advocates generally combine cognitive reframing techniques with affirmations and creative visualization
to replace limiting or self-destructive ("negative") thoughts with more
empowered, adaptive ("positive") thoughts. A key component of the
philosophy is the idea that in order to effectively change one's
negative thinking patterns, one must also "feel" (through creative
visualization) that the desired changes have already occurred. This
combination of positive thought and positive emotion is believed to
allow one to attract positive experiences and opportunities by achieving
resonance with the proposed energetic law.
While some supporters of the law of attraction refer to scientific theories and use them as arguments in favor of it, it has no demonstrable scientific basis. A number of scientists have criticized the misuse of scientific concepts by its proponents.
History
The New Thought movement grew out of the teachings of Phineas Quimby in the early 19th century. Early in his life, Quimby was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Early 19th century medicine had no reliable cure for tuberculosis.
Quimby took to horse riding and noted that intense excitement
temporarily relieved him from his affliction. This method for relieving
his pain and seemingly subsequent recovery prompted Phineas to pursue a
study of "Mind over Body".
Although he never used the words "Law of Attraction", he explained
this in a statement that captured the concept in the field of health:
the
trouble is in the mind, for the body is only the house for the mind to
dwell in, and we put a value on it according to its worth. Therefore if
your mind has been deceived by some invisible enemy into a belief, you
have put it into the form of a disease, with or without your knowledge.
By my theory or truth, I come in contact with your enemy and restore you
to your health and happiness. This I do partly mentally and partly by
talking till I correct the wrong impressions and establish the Truth,
and the Truth is the cure.
In 1855, the term "Law of Attraction" appeared in The Great Harmonia, written by the American spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis, in a context alluding to the human soul and spheres of the afterlife.
The first articulator of the law of attraction as general principle was Prentice Mulford.
Mulford, a pivotal figure in the development of New Thought thinking,
discusses the law at length in his essay "The Law of Success", published 1886–1887. In this, Mulford was followed by other New Thought authors, such as Henry Wood (starting with his God's Image in Man, 1892), and Ralph Waldo Trine (starting with his first book, What All the World's A-Seeking, 1896). For these authors, the law of attraction is concerned not only about health but every aspect of life.
In 2006, the concept of the law of attraction gained renewed exposure with the release of the film The Secret
(2006) which was then developed into a book of the same title in the
same year. The movie and book gained widespread media coverage. This was followed by a sequel, The Power in 2010 that talks about the law of attraction being the law of love.
A modernized version of the law of attraction is known as manifestation, which refers to various self-help strategies that can purportedly make an individual's wishes come true by mentally visualizing them. Manifestation techniques involve positive thinking or directing requests to "the universe" as well as actions on the part of the individual.
Lucky girl syndrome
An incarnation of the law of attraction appearing in the early 2020s is known as lucky girl syndrome. According to Woman's Health
this is "the idea that you can attract things you want (like luck,
money, love, etc.) by repeating mantras and truly believing things will
work out for you." In early 2023 AARP explained that "The newest self-help craze, lucky girl syndrome is Gen Z’s spin on books like The Power of Positive Thinking, The Secret and Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want.
This year’s version, however, puts the emphasis on luck and
consistently reminding yourself that the universe is conspiring to make
good things happen for you because you are a lucky person. The BBC reported that "There isn't scientific evidence for it" and "some have labeled it 'smuggest TikTok trend yet'".
A January 2023 article in CNET
explained that "thousands of people across TikTok have posted videos
about how this manifestation strategy has changed their lives, bringing
them new opportunities they never expected. Manifestation is the concept
of thinking things into being -- by believing something enough, it will
happen."
Also in January 2023, Today.com
reported that "Different manifestation techniques are taking over
TikTok, and "lucky girl syndrome" is the latest way people claim to
achieve the life they desire." It also said that "Videos detailing the
power of positive thinking have amassed millions of views on TikTok, and
manifestation experts seem to approve." The article also quoted a
manifestation coach as saying "the lucky girl mindset is, indeed, a true
practice of manifestation,' and that it has been around for years.
As reported by Vox, "If 2020 was the year that TikTokers discovered The Secret
— that is, the idea that you can make anything you want happen if you
believe in it enough — then the two years that followed are when they’ve
tried to rebrand it into perpetual relevance. Its most recent makeover
is something rather ominously called “lucky girl syndrome..." The
article also reported that "What lucky girl syndrome — and The Secret,
and the 'law of attraction' or the 'law of assumption,' and prosperity
gospel, and any of the other branches of this kind of New Age thinking —
really amounts to, though, is 'manifesting,' or the practice of
repeatedly writing or saying declarative statements in the hopes that
they will soon become true." The Vox article concludes "It never hurts
to be curious, though. When you come across a shiny new term on TikTok,
it’s worth interrogating where it came from, and whether the person
using it is someone worth listening to. Often, it’s not that they’re any
better at living than you are; they’re just better at marketing it."
Attempting to explain the attraction of lucky girl syndrome, Parents interviewed an LCSW therapist for teens and their families on the subject who opined that "It makes us feel like we're in control of our lives. Gen Z
is constantly exposed to bad news, from layoffs to political conflicts
to the student loan crisis. It makes sense that they'd be drawn to
something that would make them feel a greater sense of agency and
control."
The Conversation
warned of the negative side of lucky girl syndrome, saying that what
most videos on the topic suggest is "that what you put out to the
universe is what you will get in return. So if you think you’re poor or
unsuccessful, this is what you’ll get back. Obviously this is quite an
unhelpful message, which likely won’t do much for the self esteem of
people who don’t feel particularly lucky – let alone those facing
significant hardship."
Also regarding negative consequences, Harper's Bazaar
warned that lucky girl syndrome has much in common with toxic
positivity and that "If you try it, and it doesn’t work for you, it
could become yet another stick to beat yourself with. If you already
feel vulnerable or wobbly, this could well be something else that makes
you feel bad about yourself... it ignores the fact that life is not
fair. And it ignores that some people are more privileged than others.
It doesn’t take into account the systemic and structural biases and
inequalities that exist in the world."
Descriptions
Proponents
believe that the law of attraction is always in operation and that it
brings to each person the conditions and experiences that they
predominantly think about, or which they desire or expect.
The law of attraction will
certainly and unerringly bring to you the conditions, environment, and
experiences in life, corresponding with your habitual, characteristic,
predominant mental attitude.
Ralph Trine wrote in In Tune with the Infinite (1897):
The law of attraction works
universally on every plane of action, and we attract whatever we desire
or expect. If we desire one thing and expect another, we become like
houses divided against themselves, which are quickly brought to
desolation. Determine resolutely to expect only what you desire, then
you will attract only what you wish for.
In her 2006 documentary, The Secret,
Rhonda Byrne emphasized thinking about what each person wants to
obtain, but also to infuse the thought with the maximum possible amount
of emotion. She claims the combination of thought and feeling is what
attracts the desire. Another similar book is James Redfield's The Celestine Prophecy, which says reality can be manifested by man. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy, says readers can achieve seemingly impossible goals by learning how to bring the mind itself under control. The Power by Rhonda Byrne and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho are similar. While there are personal testimonies that claim that methods based on The Secret and the law of attraction have worked for them, a number of skeptics have criticized Byrne's film and book. The New York Times Book Review called The Secret pseudoscience and an "illusion of knowledge".
Philosophical and religious basis
The
New Thought concept of the law of attraction is rooted in ideas that
come from various philosophical and religious traditions. In
particular, it has been inspired by Hermeticism, New England transcendentalism, specific verses from the Bible, and Hinduism.
Hermeticism influenced the development of European thought in the Renaissance. Its ideas were transmitted partly through alchemy. In the 18th century, Franz Mesmer studied the works of alchemists such as Paracelsus and van Helmont. Van Helmont was a 17th-century Flemish physician who proclaimed the curative powers of the imagination. This led Mesmer to develop his ideas about Animal magnetism which Phineas Quimby, the founder of New Thought, studied. The Transcendentalist movement developed in the United States
immediately before the emergence of New Thought and is thought to have
had a great influence on it. George Ripley, an important figure in that movement, stated that its leading idea was "the supremacy of mind over matter".
New Thought authors often quote certain verses from the Bible in the context of the law of attraction. An example is Mark 11:24: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
In the late 19th century Swami Vivekananda traveled to the United States and gave lectures on Hinduism. These talks greatly influenced the New Thought movement and in particular, William Walker Atkinson who was one of New Thought's pioneers.
Criticism
The law of attraction has been popularized in the early 21st century by books and films such as The Secret. This 2006 film and the subsequent book
use interviews with New Thought authors and speakers to explain the
principles of the proposed metaphysical law that one can attract
anything that one thinks about consistently. Writing for the Committee
for Skeptical Inquiry, Mary Carmichael and Ben Radford
wrote that "neither the film nor the book has any basis in scientific
reality", and that its premise contains "an ugly flipside: if you have
an accident or disease, it's your fault".
Others have questioned the references to modern scientific
theory, and have maintained, for example, that the law of attraction
misrepresents the electrical activity of brainwaves. Victor Stenger and Leon Lederman are critical of attempts to use quantum mysticism to bridge any unexplained or seemingly implausible effects, believing these to be traits of modern pseudoscience.
Skeptical Inquirer magazine criticized the lack of falsifiability and testability of these claims. Critics have asserted that the evidence provided is usually anecdotal and that, because of the self-selecting nature of the positive reports, as well as the subjective nature of any results, these reports are susceptible to confirmation bias and selection bias. Physicist Ali Alousi, for instance, criticized it as unmeasurable and questioned the likelihood that thoughts can affect anything outside the head.he mantra of The Secret, and by extension, the law of
attraction, is as follows: positive thoughts and positive visualization
will have a direct impact on the self. While positivity can improve
one's quality of life and resilience through hardship,
it can also be misguiding. Holding the belief that positive thinking
will manifest positivity in one's life diminishes the value of hard work
and perseverance, such as in the 1970s pursual of "self-esteem-based
education".
Prominent supporters
In 1891, Californian author and humorist Prentice Mulford used the term law of attraction in his essays Some Laws of Health and Beauty and Good And Ill Effects of Thought.
In 1897, Ralph Waldo Trine wrote In Tune with the Infinite.
In the second paragraph of chapter 9 he writes, "The Law of Attraction
works unceasingly throughout the universe, and the one great and never
changing fact in connection with it is, as we have found, that like
attracts like."
In 1902, English New Thought writer James Allen (best known for writing As a Man Thinketh) wrote a series of books and articles between 1901 and 1912, after which his wife Lily continued his work.
In 1904, Thomas Troward,
a strong influence in the New Thought Movement, gave a lecture in
which he claimed that thought precedes physical form and "the action of
Mind plants that nucleus which, if allowed to grow undisturbed, will
eventually attract to itself all the conditions necessary for its
manifestation in outward visible form."
In 1906, Emmet Fox
wrote about metaphysics and the power of prayer in essays and books.
His teachings are founded in Christianity and bible stories. He cites
Jesus Christ as being the greatest teacher of metaphysics who ever lived
and explains that thoughts are our most important emanation, more
important than what we say or what we do. In the books Power Through Constructive Thinking and Find and Use your Inner Power Fox speaks about "building the mental equivalent of what you want and to expunge those that you don't".
In 1906, in his New Thought Movement book William Walker Atkinson used the phrase Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World, stating that "like attracts like".
In his 1910 The Science of Getting Rich. Wallace D. Wattles
espoused similar principles – that simply believing in the object of
your desire and focusing on it will lead to that object or goal being
realized on the material plane (Wattles claims in the Preface and later
chapters of this book that his premise stems from the monisticHindu
view that God provides everything and can deliver what we focus on).
The book also claims negative thinking will manifest negative results.
In 1919, Another theosophical author Annie Besant discussed the 'Law of Attraction'. Besant compared her version of it to gravitation, and said that the law represented a form of karma.
Napoleon Hill published two books on the theme. The first, The Law of Success in 16 Lessons
(1928), directly and repeatedly references the Law of Attraction and
proposes that it operates by use of radio waves transmitted by the
brain. The second, Think and Grow Rich (1937), went on to sell 100 million copies by 2015.
Hill insisted on the importance of controlling one's own thoughts in
order to achieve success, as well as the energy that thoughts have and
their ability to attract other thoughts. He mentions a "secret" to
success and promises to indirectly describe it at least once in every
chapter. It is never named and he says that discovering it on one's own
is far more beneficial. Many people have argued over what it
actually is; some claim it is the law of Attraction. Hill states the
"secret" is mentioned no fewer than a hundred times, yet reference to
"attract" is used less than 30 times in the text.
Israel Regardie published books with the law of attraction theme as one of his prevailing Universal Laws. In, The Art of True Healing: A Treatise on the Mechanism of Prayer and the Operation of the Law of Attraction in Nature
(1937), he taught a focused meditation technique to help the mind to
learn to heal itself on a physical and spiritual level. Regardie claimed
that the law of attraction was a valid method for attracting good
physical health and for improvement in any aspect of one's life.
In 1944, Neville Goddard published Feeling Is the Secret,
which promoted creative visualization and emotional feeling as a form
of meditation to receive desires from the universe. His second book on
the topic, Out of This World (1949), explored the
reasoning behind the so-called "feeling" and how assumptions if repeated
enough can "harden into fact". His third book, The Power of Awareness (1952),
Goddard explains of the concept of "I am" to reason that the Human
subconscious mind has a "god-given" ability to manifest and create
reality if it is impressed by the feeling.
In 1960, W. Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill co-wrote Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.
In his 1988 The American Myth of Success, Richard Weiss
states that the principle of "non-resistance" is a popular concept of
the New Thought movement and is taught in conjunction with the law of
attraction.
The "image of God" (Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִיםtzelem ʾĔlōhīm; Greek: εἰκών τοῦ Θεοῦeikón toú Theoú; Latin: imago Dei) is a concept and theological doctrine in Judaism and Christianity. It is a foundational aspect of Judeo-Christian belief with regard to the fundamental understanding of human nature. It stems from the primary text in Genesis 1:27, which reads: "So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created
them." The exact meaning of the phrase has been debated for millennia.
Following tradition, a number of Jewish scholars, such as Saadia Gaon and Philo, argued that being made in the image of God does not mean that God possesses human-like features,
but rather the reverse: that the statement is figurative language for
God bestowing special honour unto humankind, which he did not confer
unto the rest of creation.
The history of the Christian interpretation of the image of God
has included three common lines of understanding: a substantive view
locates the image of God in shared characteristics between God and
humanity such as rationality or morality; a relational understanding
argues that the image is found in human relationships with God and each
other; and a functional view interprets the image of God as a role or
function whereby humans act on God’s behalf and serve to represent God
in the created order. These three views are not strictly competitive and
can each offer insight into how humankind resembles God. Furthermore, a
fourth and earlier viewpoint involved the physical, corporeal form of
God, held by both Christians and Jews.
Doctrine associated with God's image provides important grounding for the development of human rights and the dignity
of each human life regardless of class, race, gender, or disability,
and it is also related to conversations about the human body.
And God said: 'Let us make man in
our image/b'tsalmeinu, after our likeness/kid'muteinu; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.' And God created man in His image, in the
image of God He created him, male and female created He them. And God
blessed them; and God said to them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill
the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth
upon the earth.'
— Genesis 1:26–28
This is the book of the generations
of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made
He him. Male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called
their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived a
hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his
image; and called his name Seth.
— Genesis 5:1–3
One who spills the blood of man, through/by man, his blood will be spilled, for in God's image/tselem He made man.
— Genesis 9:6
Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books
In the Apocrypha or Deuterocanon, there are three passages that explicitly use "image" terminology to describe humanity.
For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.
— Wisdom of Solomon 2:23
The Lord created man of the earth,
and turned him into it again. He gave them few days, and a short time,
and power also over the thing therein. He endued them with strength by
themselves, and made them according to his image, And put the fear of
man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls.
— Sirach 17:1–4
But people, who have been formed by
your hands and are called your own image because they are made like
you, and for whose sake you have formed all things – have you also made
them like the farmer's seed?
— 2 Esdras 8:44
New Testament
The New Testament reflects on Christ as the image of God and humans both as images of God and Christ.
God, having in the past spoken to
the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has
at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir
of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the
radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance
— Hebrews 1:3
and transferred us into the Kingdom
of the Son of his love; in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness
of our sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation.
— Colossians 1:13–15
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
— Colossians 3:10
For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is God's image and glory; but the woman is the glory of the man.
— 1 Corinthians 11:7
"Because those whom He foreknew, He
also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He
might be the Firstborn among many brothers";
— Romans 8:29
But we all with unveiled face,
beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the
Lord Spirit.
— 2 Corinthians 3:18
that the light of the Gospel of the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. For
we don't preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as
your servants for Jesus' sake; seeing it is God who said, "Light will
shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts, to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
— 2 Corinthians 4:4–7
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
— James 3:9
Interpretation of the Biblical texts
Image vs Likeness
Theologians
have examined the difference between the concepts of the "image of God"
and the "likeness of God" in human nature. Origen for instance viewed
the image of God as something given at creation, while the likeness of
God as something bestowed upon a person at a later time.
While "image and likeness" is a Hebraism
in which an idea is reinforced using two different words, a view arose
that "image and likeness" were separate; the image was the human's
natural resemblance to God, the power of reason and will, while the
likeness was a donum superadditum—a
divine gift added to basic human nature. This likeness consisted of the
moral qualities of God, whereas the image involved the natural
attributes of God. When Adam fell, he lost the likeness, but the image
remained fully intact. Humanity as humanity was still complete, but the
good and holy being was spoiled.
The image of God and the likeness are similar, but at the same time
they are different. The image is just that, mankind is made in the image
of God, whereas the likeness is a spiritual attribute of the moral
qualities of God.
However, the medieval distinction between the "image" and
"likeness" of God has largely been abandoned by modern interpreters.
According to C. John Collins, "Since about the time of the Reformation,
scholars have recognized that this [image/likeness distinction] does not
suit the text itself. First, there is no "and" joining "in our image"
with "after our likeness." Second, in Genesis 1:27 we find simply "in
God's image"; and finally, in Genesis 5:1 God made man "in the likeness
of God." The best explanation for these data is to say that "in the
image" and "after the likeness" refer to the same thing, with each
clarifying the other."
Specific nature of image
The
primary biblical texts do not convey any specific ways in which the
image of God is recognized in humanity. They do not speak about
rationality, morality, emotions, free will, language, or any other
similar statements. The words "image" and "likeness" simply carry the
basic meaning that humans are like God and represent God. "Such an
explanation is unnecessary, not only because the terms had clear
meanings, but also because no such list could do justice to the subject:
the text only needs to affirm that man is like God, and the rest of
Scripture fills in more details to explain this."
The various ways in which this is explored are found below in the
discussions about substantive, relational, and functional understandings
of the image of God.
Progressive resemblance
Early Christians recognized that the image of God was perverted by sin.
The Genesis 9 text, however, confirms that the image of God is not
destroyed by sin, for the image remains in humanity after the fall and
flood. Without compromising a commitment to the dignity of humanity as
made in the image of God, the biblical texts point to the idea that the
image of God can be developed and matured.
In Genesis 5, the image of God in humanity is correlated with the
image of Adam in his son Seth. Commentators have reflected that the son
better reflects the father as he matures and that while there may be
physical comparisons there is also a resemblance in character traits.
"The biblical text, by offering us this explanation, gives us the key
that while we are all in the image of God, we likewise have the capacity
to become more and more in the image of God; that is, we were created
with the potential to mirror divine attributes."
This lines up with several of the New Testament texts which refer to
"being renewed in knowledge" and "being conformed to the image". The
idea is that through spiritual growth and understanding one can mature
spiritually and become more like God and represent him better to others.
Humans differ from all other creatures because of the
self-reflective, rational nature of human thought processes – their
capacity for abstract, symbolic as well as concrete deliberation and
decision-making. This capacity gives the human the possibility for
self-actualization and participation in a sacred reality (cf. Acts 17:28). However, the creator granted the first true humans the free will necessary to reject a relationship with the creator that manifested itself in estrangement from God, as the narrative of the fall (Adam and Eve)
exemplifies, thereby rejecting or repressing their spiritual and moral
likeness to God. The ability and desire to love one's self and others,
and therefore God, can become neglected and even opposed. The desire to repair the imago dei in one's life can be seen as a quest for wholeness, or one's "essential" self, as described and exemplified in Christ's
life and teachings. According to Christian doctrine, Jesus acted to
repair the relationship with the Creator and freely offers the resulting
reconciliation as a gift.
Christ as Image
A
uniquely Christian perspective on the image of God is that Jesus Christ
is the fullest and most complete example of a human in God's image.
Hebrews 1 refers to him as "the very image of his substance" and
Colossians reveals Jesus as "the image of the invisible God". This is
relevant to Christology
which is beyond the scope of this article. Christians however would
look to the teachings and example of Jesus to guide their spiritual
maturity and conformity to the image of God.
Historical context
Scholars still debate the extent to which external cultures influenced the Old Testament writers and their ideas. Mesopotamian epics contain similar elements in their own stories, such as the resting of the deity after creation.
Many Mesopotamian religions at the time contained anthropomorphic
conceptions of their deities, and some scholars have seen this in
Genesis's use of the word "image." John Walton notes, however "the
practice of kings setting up images of themselves in places where they
want to establish their authority. Other than that, it is only other
gods who are made in the image of gods. Thus, their traditions speak of
sons being in the image of their fathers19 but not of human beings
created in the image of God.
Moral implications
The
Biblical texts sketch some moral implications of the image of God in
humanity. The Genesis 9 passage links the image of God to the rationale
for prohibiting and punishing murder. The James 3 passage also points
out that the tongue which is made by God should not curse that which God
has made in his image.
To assert that humans are created in the image of God may mean to recognize some special qualities of human nature which allow God to be made manifest
in humans. For humans to have a conscious recognition of having been
made in the image of God may mean that they are aware of being that part
of the creation through whom God's plans and purposes best can be
expressed and actualized; humans, in this way, can interact creatively
with the rest of creation. The moral implications of the doctrine of Imago dei
are apparent in the fact that, if humans are to love God, then humans
must love other humans whom God has created (cf. John 13:35), as each is
an expression of God. The human likeness to God can also be understood
by contrasting it with that which does not image God, i.e., beings who,
as far as we know, are without this spiritual self-awareness and the
capacity for spiritual / moral reflection and growth.
In Liturgical Prayers
Jewish Blessings: In Jewish liturgy, and especially in the Siddur,
there is reference to being created in the divine image. For example,
in the "Blessing for a New Day" (prayed at the beginning of Shabbat by
Orthodox, Conservative, and other Jewish communities) there is this
line:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּּ, מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בּֽצַלְמוֹ
Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe who made me in His image.
This
blessing is a version of blessings mentioned in the Tosefta (Berakhot
6:18) and in the Babylonian Talmud (Menaḥot 43b). It is also found
manuscript fragments found in the Cairo Genizah.
Also, in expanding upon the ten commandments in prayer, this line exists:
לֹא חִּרְצָח כּלוּל בִּדְמוּת הוֹדִי
Do not murder those formed in my image (likeness).
Admittedly, the creation in God's image is not a prevalent or dominant theme in Jewish prayers, but the reference still exist.
Christian Anaphoras: Many early Christian Anaphoras make
mention of the creation in the image of God when recounting the
institution narrative. In a recent peer-reviewed article, Zakhary has
argued that such anaphoras utilize image language to introduce the
salvation narrative using parallel structure: the human made in the
image of God in creation and God coming in human form in the
incarnation. The Second Anaphora in the Armenian Liturgy of St. Basil
and the anaphora in the Byzantine Liturgy of St. Basil even highlight
the restoration of the image through the incarnation and the sharing in
the glory of God. The Anaphora in the Liturgy of St. James also has a reference to the divine image:
You
made humankind from the earth after your image and likeness, and
granted them the enjoyment of paradise; and when they transgressed your
commandment and fell, you did not despise or abandon them, for you are
good, but you chastened them as a kindly father, you called them through
the law, you taught them through the prophets.
Apostolic Constitution
and the Anaphora in the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Theologian have an
interesting link between image and authority, complementing Genesis
1:26, which references humanity’s dominion after creation in the Divine
image. Apostolic Constitutions quotes Genesis 1:26 verbatim,
while the Anaphora in the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Theologian uses the
interesting phrase "You inscribed upon me the image of Your authority."
Three ways of understanding the image of God
In Christian theology there are three common ways of understanding the manner in which humans exist in imago dei: Substantive, Relational and Functional.
Substantive
In
"Creation of Adam," Michelangelo provides a great example of the
substantive view of the image of God through the mirroring of the human
and the divine.
The substantive view locates the image of God within the
psychological or spiritual makeup of the human being. This view holds
that there are similarities between humanity and God, thus emphasizing
characteristics that are of shared substance between both parties. Some
proponents of the substantive view uphold that the rational soul mirrors
the divine.
According to this mirroring, humanity is shaped like the way in which a
sculpture or painting is in the image of the artist doing the sculpting
or painting.
While the substantive view locates the image of God in a characteristic
or capacity unique to humanity, such as reason or will, the image may
also be found in humanity's capacity to have a relationship with the
divine.
Unlike the relational view, humanity's capacity to have a relationship
with the divine still locates the image of God in a characteristic or
capacity that is unique to humanity and not the relationship itself. The
substantive view, however, need not focus on a single specific way in
which humanity is like God. It can apply to every way in which humanity
is like God, just as Seth could be like his father Adam in multiple ways
What is important is that the substantive view sees the image of God as
present in humanity whether or not an individual person acknowledges
the reality of the image.
History of Christian interpretations of the substantive view
Patristic interpretation of the substantive view
Issues
surrounding "the fall" and "original sin" often became a crucial points
of contention among Christian theologians seeking to understand the
image of God.
The substantive view of the image of God has held particular historical precedence over the development of Christian Theology particularly among early Patristic Theologians (see Patristics), like Irenaeus
and Augustine, and Medieval Theologians, like Aquinas. Irenaeus
believes that the essential nature of humanity was not lost or corrupted
by the fall, but the fulfillment of humanity's creation, namely freedom
and life, was to be delayed until "the filling out the time of [Adam's]
punishment." Humankind before the fall) was in the image of God through the ability to exercise free will and reason. And we were in the likeness of God through an original spiritual endowment.
While Irenaeus represents an early assertion of the substantive
view of the image of God, the specific understanding of the essence of
the image of God is explained in great detail by Augustine,
a fifth century theologian who describes a Trinitarian formula in the
image of God. Augustine's Trinitarian structural definition of the image
of God includes memory, intellect, and will.
According to Augustine, "will […] unites those things which are held in
the memory with those things which are thence impressed on the mind's
eye in conception." The influence of Greco-Roman philosophy, particularly Neo-Platonic, is evident in Augustine's assertion that the human mind was the location of humanity, and thus the location of the image of God.
Augustine believed that, since humanity reflects the nature of God,
humanity must also reflect the Triune nature of God. Augustine's
descriptions of memory, intellect, and will held a dominant theological
foothold for a number of centuries in the development of Christian
Theology.
Medieval interpretation of the substantive view
Medieval
theologians also made a distinction between the image and likeness of
God. The former referred to a natural, innate resemblance to God and the
latter referred to the moral attributes (God's attributes) that were
lost in the fall.
Aquinas,
a medieval theologian writing almost 700 years after Augustine, builds
on the Trinitarian structure of Augustine but takes the Trinitarian
image of God to a different end. Like Irenaeus and Augustine, Aquinas
locates the image of God in humanity's intellectual nature or reason,
but Aquinas believes that the image of God is in humanity in three ways.
First, which all humanity possess, the image of God is present in
humanity's capacity for understanding and loving God, second, which only
those who are justified possess, the image is present when humanity
actually knows and loves God imperfectly, and thirdly, which only the
blessed possess, the image is present when humanity knows and loves God
perfectly.
Aquinas, unlike Augustine, sees the image of God as present in
humanity, but it is only through humanity's response to the image of God
that the image is fully present and realized in humanity. Medieval
scholars suggested that the holiness (or "wholeness") of humankind was
lost after the fall, although free will and reason remained. John Calvin and Martin Luther agreed that something of the imago dei
was lost at the fall but that fragments of it remained in some form or
another, as Luther's Large Catechism article 114 states, "Man lost the
image of God when he fell into sin."
The substantive view can also be seen in the jewish scholar Maimonides who argues that it is consciousness and the ability to speak which is the "image of God;" both faculties which differentiate mankind from animals, and allow man to grasp abstract concepts and ideas that are not merely instinctual.
Rabbinic interpretation of the substantive view
Hebrew Midrashim depict the image of God in democratic or universal terms.
Furthermore, rabbinic Midrash
focuses on the function of image of God in kingship language. While a
monarch is cast in the image or likeness of God to differentiate him
ontologically from other mortals, Torah's B'reishit portrays the image
as democratic: every human is cast in God's image and likeness. This
leveling effectively embraces the substantive view and likens humankind
to the earthly presence of God.
Yet this immanent presence enjoys the ambiguity of midrashim; it is
never outrightly characterized as "Godlike," as in ontologically
equivalent to God, or merely "Godly," as in striving towards ontological
equivalency.
The rabbinic substantive view does not operate out of the framework of original sin.
In fact, the account of Adam and Eve disobeying God's mandate is
neither expressly rendered as "sin" in B'reishit, nor anywhere else in
Torah for that matter. It is instead likened to a "painful but necessary
graduation from the innocence of childhood to the problem-laden world
of living as morally responsible adults."
That God fashions garments for Adam and Eve out of skins (Gen 3:21), is
cited as proof of God's quickly fading anger. Midrashim, however, finds
common ground with the Thomist view of humanity's response to the image
of God in the stories of Cain and Abel filtered through the, "Book of
Genealogies" (Gen 5:1-6:8). Insofar as the image and likeness of God is
transmitted through the act of procreation, Cain and Abel provide
examples of what constitutes adequate and inadequate response to the
image, and how that image either becomes fully actualized or utterly
forsaken. The murder of Cain is cast as preempting the perpetuation of
the image through Abel's potential descendants.
This idea may be likened to the Christian idea of "original sin" in
that one's transgression is seen to have grave unintended, or
unforeseen, repercussions. Midrashim interprets Gen 4:10 as Abel's blood
crying out not only to God, but also "against" Cain, which lays the
onus squarely on Adam's firstborn.
Relational
The
relational view argues that one must be in a relationship with God in
order to possess the 'image' of God. Those who hold to the relational
image agree that humankind possess the ability to reason as a
substantive trait, but they argue that it is in a relationship with God
that the true image is made evident. Later theologians like Karl Barth and Emil Brunner
argue that it is our ability to establish and maintain complex and
intricate relationships that make us like God. For example, in humans
the created order of male and female is intended to culminate in
spiritual as well as physical unions Genesis 5:1–2,
reflecting the nature and image of God. Since other creatures do not
form such explicitly referential spiritual relationships, these
theologians see this ability as uniquely representing the imago dei in humans.
For Severian of Gabala
(AD 425) the Image of God does not refer to any human nature (corporeal
and spiritual), but the relationship with God.
"From this we learn that man is not the image of God because of his soul
from him or because of his body from him. If that were the case, woman
would be the image of God in exactly the same way as man, because she
too has a soul and a body. What we are talking about here is not nature
but a relationship. For just as God has nobody over him in all creation,
so man has no one over him in the natural world. But a woman does she
has man over her".
In the Modern Era, the Image of God was often related to the concept of "freedom" or "free will" and also relationality. Emil Brunner,
a twentieth century Swiss Reformed theologian, wrote that "the formal
aspect of human nature, as beings 'made in the image of God", denotes
being as Subject, or freedom; it is this which differentiates humanity
from the lower creation." He also sees the relationship between God and
humanity as a defining part of what it means to be made in God's image.
Paul Ricoeur,
a twentieth century French philosopher best known for combining
phenomenological description with hermeneutics, argued that there is no
defined meaning of the imago dei, or at the very least the author of Genesis 1 "certainly did not master at once all its implicit wealth of meaning."
He went on to say that "In the very essence of the individual, in terms
of its quality as a subject; the image of God, we believe, is the very
personal and solitary power to think and to choose; it is interiority." He eventually concluded that the Image of God is best summed up as free will.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, " It is in
Christ, "the image of the invisible God," that man has been created "in
the image and likeness" of the Creator. Pope Benedict XVI wrote regarding imago dei,
"Its nature as an image has to do with the fact that it goes beyond
itself and manifests .…the dynamic that sets the human being in motion
towards the totally Other. Hence it means the capacity for relationship;
it is the human capacity for God."
Functional
The
functional view interprets the image of God as a role in the created
order, where humankind is a king or ruler over creation/the earth. This
view, held by most modern Old Testament/Hebrew Bible scholars, developed
with the rise of modern Biblical scholarship and is based on
comparative Ancient Near Eastern studies. Archaeology
discovered many texts where specific kings are exalted as "images" of
their respective deities and rule based on divine mandate. There is some evidence that imago dei language appeared in many Mesopotamian and Near Eastern
cultures where kings were often labeled as images of certain gods or
deities and thus, retained certain abilities and responsibilities, such
as leading certain cults.
The functional approach states that Genesis 1 uses that common idea,
but the role is broadened to all humanity who reflect the image through
ruling the created order, specifically land and sea animals, according
to the pattern of God who rules over the entire universe.
Reformation theologians, like Martin Luther,
focused their reflections on the dominant role mankind had over all
creation in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. The imago dei, according to Luther, was the perfect existence of man and woman in
the garden: all knowledge, wisdom and justice, and with peaceful and authoritative
dominion over all created things in perpetuity.
Luther breaks with Augustine of Hippo's widely accepted understanding
that the image of God in man is internal; it is displayed in the trinity
of the memory, intellect and will.
The twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the image of
God being applied to various causes and ideas including ecology,
disabilities, gender, and post/transhumanism. Often these were reactions against prevailing understandings of the imago dei, or situations in which the Biblical text was being misused in the opinion of some.
While some would argue this is appropriate, J. Richard Middleton argued
for a reassessment of the Biblical sources to better understand the
original meaning before taking it out of context and applying it.
Instead of various extra-biblical interpretations, he pushed for a
royal-functional understanding, in which "the imago Dei designates the
royal office or calling of human beings as God's representatives or
agents in the world."
Ecological impact
With the rise of contemporary ecological
concerns the functional interpretation of the image of God has grown in
popularity. Some modern theologians are arguing for proper religious
care of the earth based on the functional interpretation of the image of
God as caregiver over created order. Thus, exerting dominion over
creation is an imperative for responsible ecological action.
Critique
One of the critique of the functional interpretation of the imago dei
is that some formulations might convey a negative message that it
conveys about persons with disabilities. Within the functional view, it
is often thought that disabilities which interfere with one's capacity
to "rule," whether physical, intellectual, or psychological, are a
distortion of the image of God. This formulation of the functional view isolates and excludes those with disabilities, and some theologians
even use it to go so far as to state that animals more fully display
the Image of God than people with profound disabilities. At the same
time, however, the substantive view has been criticized for exactly this
issue.
Imago dei and human rights
The imago dei concept had a very strong influence on the modern conception of human rights.
Puritan origin of human rights
Glen Stassen argues that both the concept and the term human rights originated more than a half-century before the Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke. Imago dei in reference to religious liberty of all persons was used by the free churches (Dissenters) at the time of the Puritan
Revolution as an affirmation of the religious liberty of all persons.
The concept was based not only on natural reason but also on the
Christian struggle for liberty, justice, and peace for all. The
background of this struggle lay in the time of the English Revolution.
The king had been alienating many Christians by favoring some churches
over others.
According to the scholar of Puritan literature William Haller,
"the task of turning the statement of the law of nature into ringing
declaration of the rights of man fell to Richard Overton." Richard Overton was a founding member of the Leveller
movement that first argued for human rights as belonging to all human
persons. One of the themes that foreshadowed Richard Overton's reason
for giving voice to human rights, especially the demand for separation of church and state, is implicitly connected to the concept of the image of God. This was expressed in the Confession of Faith
(1612) by the Puritan group living in Amsterdam. "That as God created
all men according to his image [...]. That the magistrate is not to
force or compel men to this or that form of religion, or doctrine but to
leave Christian religion free, to every man's conscience [...]."
An ecumenical proposal for human rights
Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann proposed an ecumenical basis for a concept of human rights using imago dei for the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in 1970. Moltmann understands humans as in a process of restoration toward the original imago Dei givenin creation. Human rights entail whatever humans need in order to best act as God's divine representatives in the world.
All human beings are created in God's image, rather than only a ruler
or a king. Any concept of human rights will therefore include: first,
democratic relationships when humans rule others, cooperation and
fellowship with other humans, cooperation with the environment, and the
responsibility for future generations of humans created in God's image.
Judaism
Judaism holds the essential dignity of every human. One of the factors upon which this is based is an appeal to imago dei:"the astonishing assertion that God created human beings in God's own 'image.'" This insight, according to Rabbi David Wolpe, is "Judaism's greatest gift to the world." In the Midrash Mekhilta D'Rabi Ishmael, the First of the Ten Commandments
is held in parallel with the Sixth Commandment: "I am the LORD your
God," and "Do not murder." Harming a human is likened to attacking God.
Imago dei and the physical body
Interpretation of the relationship between the imago dei and the physical body has undergone considerable change throughout the history of Jewish and Christian interpretation.
Old Testament scholarship
Old Testament scholars acknowledge that the Hebrew word for "image" in Genesis 1 (selem) often refers to an idol or physical image.While the physicality of the image may be of prime importance, because
Ancient Israelites did not separate between the physical and spiritual
within the person, it is appropriate to think of selem as originally incorporating both physical and spiritual components.
Modern Christian commentators generally argue that the image of God is
not related to physical appearance. John Walton writes "The Hebrew word
selem (“image”) is a representative in physical form, not a
representation of the physical appearance."
The Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul
at times displays both an appreciation for and a denial of the physical
body as the image of God. An example of the importance of the physical
body and the imago dei can be found in 2 Corinthians 4:4, in which Paul
claims that Jesus Christ, in his entire being, is the image of God. Paul
states that in proclaiming Jesus, the renewal of the image of God is
experienced, not just eschatologically but also physically (cf. vv
10-12,16). In 2 Corinthians 4:10, Paul states that Christians are
"always carrying the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also
be made visible in our bodies." However, in v. 16 he states that though
the external body is "wasting away," the inner being is renewed each
day. In sum, for Paul it seems that being restored in Christ and
inheriting the Image of God leads to an actual corporeal change. As one
changes internally, so too does one's body change. Thus, the change
affected by Jesus envelopes one's entire being, including one's body.
Hellenistic influence on Christian interpretation
Many
theologians from the patristic period to the present have relied
heavily on an Aristotelian structure of the human as an inherently
"rational animal," set apart from other beings. This view was combined
with Pre-Socratic notions of the "divine spark" of reason. Reason was thought to be equated with immortality, and the body with mortality.
J. R. Middleton contends that Christian theologians have historically
relied more on extra-biblical philosophical and theological sources than
the Genesis text itself. This led to an exclusion of the body and a
more dualistic understanding of the image found in dominant Christian
theology.
Pseudepigrapha
2
Enoch details how humans are made in God's image—namely, as
representations of God's "own face." Although it can be argued the
reference to God's "own face" is a metaphor for God's likeness, the
passage carries the usage of "face" forward by emphasizing what is done
to the physical human face is, in turn, done to the face of LORD—and, as
is important for this writer, when one damages the face of another
human being created in the very exact image of God's face, one damages
God's face and will incur the expected consequences of such an offense.
2 Enoch 44:1–3: The Lord with his own two hands created mankind;
and in a facsimile of his own face. Small and great the Lord created.
Whoever insults a person's face insults the face of the Lord; whoever
treats a person's face with repugnance treats the face of the Lord with
repugnance. Whoever treats with contempt the face of any person treats
the face of the Lord with contempt. (There is) anger and judgement (for)
whoever spits on a person's face.
Irenaeus and the body
Irenaeus was unique for his time in that he places a great deal of emphasis on the physicality of the body and the image of God. In his Against Heresies,
he writes "For by the hands of the Father, that is by the Son and the
Holy Spirit, man, and not a part of man, was made in the likeness of
God."
For Irenaeus, our actual physical body is evident of the image of God.
Further, because the Son is modeled after the Father, humans are
likewise modeled after the Son and therefore bear a physical likeness to
the Son. This implies that humans' likeness to God is revealed through
embodied acts. Humans do not currently just exist in the pure image of
God, because of the reality of sin. Irenaeus claims that one must "grow
into" the likeness of God.
This is done through knowingly and willingly acting through one's body.
Because of sin, humans still require the Son's salvation, who is in the
perfect image of God. Because we are physical beings, our understanding
of the fullness of the image of God did not become realized until the
Son took physical form. Further, it is through the Son's physicality
that he is able to properly instruct us on how to live and grow into the
full image of God. Jesus, in becoming physically human, dying a human
death, and then physically resurrected, "recapitulated," or fully
revealed, what it means to be in the Image of God and therefore bears
the full restoration of our being in God's image. By so doing, Jesus
becomes the new Adam and through the Holy Spirit restores the human race
into its fullness.
Modern mystical interpretation
Throughout
the 20th and 21st centuries, a small population of theologians and
church leaders have emphasized a need to return to early monastic spirituality. Thomas Merton, Parker Palmer, Henri Nouwen, and Barbara Brown Taylor, among others, draw from aspects of mystical theology, central to the Christian desert ascetics, in order to provide theological frameworks which positively view the physical body and the natural world. For early mystics, the imago dei included the physical body as well as the whole of creation. Upon seeing a void in the development of Western theology, modern writers have begun drawing upon works of third century monks the desert mothers and fathers,
as well as various gnostic systems, providing a more comprehensive view
of the body in early Christian thought and reasons why modern theology
should account for them.
Feminist interpretation
Similarly, feminist
thinkers have drawn attention to the alienation of the female
experience in Christian thought. For two millennia, the female body has
only been recognized as a means to separate women from men and to
categorize the female body as inferior and the masculine as normative.
In an attempt to eliminate such prejudice, feminist scholars have
argued that the body is critical for self-understanding and relating to
the world.
Furthermore, bodily phenomena typically associated with sin and taboo
(e.g. menstruation), have been redeemed as essential pieces of the
female experience relatable to spirituality.
Feminism attempts to make meaning out of the entire bodily experience
of humanity, not just females, and to reconcile historical prejudices by
relating to God through other frameworks.
Imago dei and transhumanism
Negative view of transhumanism
The understanding of imago dei has come under new scrutiny when held up against the movement of transhumanism
which seeks to transform the human through technological means. Such
transformation is achieved through pharmacological enhancement, genetic manipulation, nanotechnology, cybernetics, and computer simulation. Transhumanist thought is grounded in optimistic Enlightenment ideals which look forward to the Technological Singularity, a point at which humans engineer the next phase of human evolutionary development.
Transhumanism's assertion that the human being exist within the
evolutionary processes and that humans should use their technological
capabilities to intentionally accelerate these processes is an affront
to some conceptions of imago dei within Christian tradition.
In response, these traditions have erected boundaries in order to
establish the appropriate use of transhumanistic technologies using the
distinction between therapeutic and enhancement technologies. Therapeutic uses of technology such as cochlear implants, prosthetic limbs, and psychotropic drugs have become commonly accepted in religious circles as means of addressing human frailty.
Nevertheless, these acceptable technologies can also be used to elevate
human ability. Further, they correct the human form according to a
constructed sense of normalcy. Thus the distinction between therapy and
enhancement is ultimately questionable when addressing ethical dilemmas.
Human enhancement has come under heavy criticism from Christians; especially the Vatican which condemned enhancement as "radically immoral" stating that humans do not have full right over their biological form. Christians concerns of humans "playing God" are ultimately accusations of hubris,
a criticism that pride leads to moral folly, and a theme which has been
interpreted from the Genesis accounts of Adam and Eve and the Tower of
Babel. In these stories, God was in no real danger of losing power;
however, Patrick D. Hopkins has argued that, in light of technological
advancement, the hubris critique is changing into a Promethean
critique. According to Hopkins, "In Greek myth, when Prometheus stole
fire, he actually stole something. He stole a power that previously only
the gods had."
Within progressive circles of Christian traditiontranshumanism
has not presented a threat but a positive challenge. Some theologians,
such as Philip Hefner and Stephen Garner, have seen the transhumanist
movement as a vehicle by which to re-imagine the imago dei. Many of these theologians follow in the footsteps of Donna Haraway's "Cyborg Manifesto". The manifesto explores the hybridity of the human condition through the metaphor of the cyborg.
While the biological flesh/machine cyborg of pop culture is not a
literal reality, Haraway uses this fictional metaphor to highlight the
way that "all people within a technological society are cyborgs."
Building off of Haraway's thesis, Stephen Garner engages the apprehensive responses to the metaphor of the cyborg among popular culture. For Garner, these "narratives of apprehension" found in popular movies and television are produced by "conflicting ontologies of the person." The cyborg represents a crossing and blurring of boundaries that challenges preconceived notions of personal identity.
Therefore, it is understandable that a person's first reaction to the
image of a cyborg would be apprehension. For Garner, the wider scope of
Haraway's "cultural cyborg" can be characterized by the term "hybridity". According to Elaine Graham, hybridity does not only problematize traditional conception of human as the image of God, but also makes terms like "natural"
problematic. There is no longer a clear line between the old dualities
of human/machine, human/environment, and technology/environment.
Brenda Brasher thinks that this revelation of the hybridity of human nature presents insurmountable problems for scripturally-based theological metaphors bound in "pastoral and agrarian imagery."
Garner, however, sees a multitude of metaphors within Christian
tradition and scripture that already speak to this reality. He
identifies the three major areas of hybridity in Christianity as eschatology, Christology, and theological anthropology.
In eschatology, Christians are called to be both in the world but not
of the world. In Christology, Jesus Christ is a cyborg with both divine
and human natures. Finally, in theological anthropology, the hybridity
of human nature is seen in the concept of the image of God itself, since
humans are both formed "from the dust" and stamped with the divine
image.
There are stereotypes of various groups of people which live within the United States and contribute to its culture. Worldwide, a disproportionately high number of people know about these stereotypes, due to the transmission of American culture and values via the exportation of American-made films and television shows.
The United States has a population of nearly 340,000,000, and as a
result of the presence of such a large population, there are different
ethnic groups within the nation and each of them brings its own culture,
beliefs and traditions with it. The United States formally recognizes 6
ethnic groups and it also lists them on the US census, those six ethnic
groups are, White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, American
Indian/Alaskan Native, and Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander.
However, within these 6 main groups, there are additional subgroups and
each of them has unique cultural characteristics which separate them
from other subgroups. For instance, Indian Americans have a culture which is different from the culture of Korean Americans, despite the fact that Indian Americans and Korean Americans are both considered Asian Americans.
Due to the presence of many different cultures and groups within the
United States, stereotypes of those groups have been developed. A
stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea
of a particular type of person or thing.
Throughout the history of the United States stereotypes have been
prevalent and have had a major impact on the ethnic groups in the
country.
The War Bonnet (1914) starring Mona Darkfeather, who was not Native American
There has long been admiration for Native Americans as people who fit the archetype of the noble savage within European thought, stemming from a cultural sympathy which is grounded within the post-Enlightenment theory of primitivism.
These positive portrayals of Native Americans as being noble, peaceful
people, who lived in harmony with nature and each other continue within
modern culture, e.g. the film Dances with Wolves (1990).
Over time, as settlers spread west, Native Americans were seen as
obstacles and the image of them became more negative. In popular media,
Native Americans were portrayed as wild, primitive, uncivilized and
dangerous people who continuously attacked white settlers, cowboys, and
stagecoaches and ululated while they held one hand in front of their mouths. They invariably spoke in a deep voice and they also used stop words like "How" and "Ugh".
In drawings, their skin color was depicted as being deep red. In
westerns and other media portrayals, they are usually called "Indians".
Examples of this stereotypical image of Native Americans can be found in
many American westerns which were produced before the early 1960s, and
they are also found in cartoons such as Peter Pan.
In other stereotypes, they smoked peace pipes, wore face paint, danced
around totem poles (hostages were frequently tied to them), sent smoke
signals, lived in tepees, wore feathered head-dresses, scalped their
foes, and said 'um' instead of 'the' or 'a'.
As colonization continued in the U.S., groups were separated into
opposing categories such as "Christians" and "civilized" and "heathen"
and "savage". Many Whites have viewed Native Americans as people who are
devoid of self-control and unable to handle responsibility. Modern
Native Americans as they live today are rarely portrayed in popular
culture.
Native American gaming has been expanding since the 1970s, and was formalized in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It has become a modern stereotype that a Native American must either own a casino or be in the family of one who does.
Both before and during the first half of the 20th century, whites frequently depicted black people as dumb, evil, lazy, poor, cannibalistic, smelly, uncivilized, un-Christian
people. White Americans sometimes believed that black people were
inferior to white people. These thoughts helped to justify black slavery
and the institution of many laws that continually condoned inhumane
treatment and perpetuated to keep black people in a lower socioeconomic
position.
This was especially true for how whites treated black females, often
labeling them with lewd adjectives. This became known as the Jezebel stereotype, after the infamous Phoenician Queen Jezebel. The Jezebel stereotype was used during the slave era to describe a black woman who had sexual relations with a white man.
A more joyful black image, yet still very stereotypical, was provided by eternally happy black characters like Uncle Tom, Uncle Remus and Louis Armstrong's
equally joyous stage persona. Another popular stereotype from this era
was the black who is scared of ghosts (and usually turns white out of
fear). Children are often pickaninnies like Little Black Sambo and Golliwog. African American Vernacular English speech was also often used in comedy, like for instance in the show Amos 'n' Andy.
Another stereotype was that of the savage. African black people were usually depicted as primitive, childlike, cannibalistic persons who live in tribes, carry spears, believe in witchcraft and worship their wizard.
Since the 1960s, the stereotypical image of black people has changed
in some media. More positive depictions appeared where black people and
African Americans are portrayed as great athletes and superb singers and
dancers. In many films and television series since the 1970s, black
people are depicted as good-natured, kind, honest and intelligent
persons. Often they are the best friend of the white protagonist
(examples: Miami Vice, Lethal Weapon, Magnum Force, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Incredibles).
African
Americans have been the subject of stereotyping and racism for
centuries, stereotypes of African Americans have continued to be
prevalent in our society. One of the most common stereotypes is that of
African Americans as violent criminals. This is a stereotype that has
been documented by social psychologists for decades and continues to be
relevant to our modern society.
Proponents of this stereotype will cite statistics like the one
released by the FBI that states in 2015, 51.1% of those arrested for
homicide were African American, despite African American people only
accounting for 13.4% of the total United States population.
This has raised some rebuttals against the validity of the statement
such as the fact that it doesn't take into account African Americans
acquitted, of which 47% of exonerations since 2016 have been of African
Americans.
As a result of this stereotype African Americans are 5 times more
likely to be stopped without just cause by the police than their white
counterparts.
Evidence of this stereotype can be seen in New York City's "Stop and
Frisk" policy, which has since been deemed unconstitutional. However,
during its legality between 2004 and 2012 over 4.4 million people were
stopped, of those 4.4 million, 80% were black and Latino residents.
Drug addicts
A similar stereotype of African Americans as drug addicts emerged after President Nixon launched the "war on drugs". The effort to fight this war on drugs was later emboldened by President Reagan.
This led to new laws being implemented such as minimum sentences for
different drug uses. One significant difference in mandatory sentences
was between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. While only 5 grams of
crack was enough for a 5 year sentence, 500 grams of powder cocaine was
necessary for a 5 year sentence. This is despite the fact that crack and powder are nearly identical with no pharmaceutical difference.
One big difference between the two drugs is that African Americans were
more likely to use crack in their lifetime than white people, whereas
racial minorities are at less risk of powder cocaine use.
This led to more African Americans being sentenced and sent to prison,
with nearly 81% of convicted crack users being Black. The war on drugs
reinforced the stereotype of African Americans as drug users and crack
addicts, when in reality young white adults were found to be more likely
to have used illicit drugs than black young adults.
Athletes
While
the stereotype of African Americans as criminals continues to persist
in our society, there are other stereotypes of African Americans such as
athletes and/or hip hop stars. Black athletes are often noted for
having a "natural ability" and are stereotyped as being physical
specimens. This myth has become more prevalent in the wake of statistics showing African Americans comprising 71.8% of the National Basketball Association and 57.5% of the National Football League, as of 2022.
In an attempt to rationalize black excellence and success in these
fields, stereotypes about black people being physically gifted arose.
This stereotype has been used to undermine the success of Black
athletes, attributing their success to an ability that they innately
have and shifting the focus away from the hard work they put in.
Additionally this stereotype implies that while Black athletes rely on
their "natural ability," their white counterparts rely on intellect
instead, an untrue belief stemming from this stereotype.
Stereotypes
of Latin Americans largely stem from the negative sentiment surrounding
immigration, and the stereotype that Latin Americans come to the United
States illegally.
A common stereotype is the belief that Hispanics are "stealing jobs".
This is a stereotype that directly came from the anti-immigration
sentiment and was fueled by politicians such as former US president Donald Trump, who said, "They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.” While Hispanics and Latino men have the highest labor force participation rates of any demographic in the United States.
A poll by the Pew Research Center found that 77% of adults believe that
undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs U.S. citizens do not want.
Specifically among Hispanics, 88% say undocumented immigrants mostly
fill jobs U.S. citizens do not want.
Lazy
Hispanic and Latino Americans have also been stereotyped as being lazy and irresponsible. This claim has been around for over 100 years; in 1879, the New York Times referred to "Lazy Mexicans" in a headline.
This claim continues to be used by political pundits such as
conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who claimed it was a waste of time
to try and get Latinos to vote because they are lazy.
This claim has been largely debunked. The Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development found that on average, Mexicans worked 2,246
hours in 2015, exceeding all other countries involved in the study,
including the average American, who worked 1,790 hours in 2015. Additionally Hispanic men were found more likely to participate in the workforce than whites in America.
Criminals
Latin American men are typically stereotyped as being violent and criminals, a stereotype that is reinforced in English speaking television shows in the United States. One prominent example is the show Breaking Bad;
many of the drug dealers and gang members in the show are of Hispanic
heritage and are referred to in derogatory terms such as "beaner", a
slur against Mexicans.
Stereotypes of Latinas
Latinas, or Latin American women, are often stereotyped in pop culture as housekeepers or maids and are hypersexualized. An example is the movie Maid in Manhattan, which features a Hispanic maid, portrayed by Jennifer Lopez, as one of the main characters.
The media also often portray Latinas in a sexual manner, consistently
showing them in tight fitting, revealing clothes. An example is the show
Modern Family, in which a character played by Sofia Vergara consistently wears revealing clothes and high heels and is hotheaded.
The media in American society has continued to push an image of Latinas
as sexually attractive, with voluptuous figures and wearing revealing
clothing.
Due
to the vast amount of subgroups within Asia, there are numerous
stereotypes created as a result of those different groups coming to
America. There are however, some similarities in the types of
stereotypes seen among different groups, namely, the "model minority."
This is the stereotype of Asian Americans as naturally smart,
particularly in math and sciences, wealthy, and hard-working/self
reliant.
Those generalizations seek to erase the disparities within the Asian
American community, while also being weaponized against other minorities
for not living up to those standards. There are major disparities in income between different Asian ethnic groups, with Burmese Americans earning an average of $44,400 a year, whereas Indian Americans average $119,000 a year.
This stereotype of Asian Americans is used as a tool to sow divide
between different minority groups in America. It does this by
downplaying the effects of racism on other minority communities,
especially Black Americans.
People who perpetuate the model minority myth believe that the racism
experienced by Asian Americans and Black Americans are the same, and
since Asian Americans have had more success, Black Americans are blamed
for not having similar success. This myth conflates the different types
of racism that minority groups experience so that it can put down less
successful minority groups who have experienced a great deal of systemic
racism.
South Asians are often clumped together and stereotyped as all being from India, one of the biggest south Asian countries, despite the hundreds of millions of people living in neighboring nations.
South Asians are often depicted as being "nerdy", with a knowledge for
computers and science and having thick accents. This stereotype is
reinforced through TV shows such as Phineas and Ferb, which included the character Baljeet, a south Asian who fills the role of nerdy a kid who is obsessed with grades; and the show Jessie, which had a character named Ravi, who was depicted as being a nerd. In both instances the characters have very thick accents.
Another popular stereotype is that South Asians (especially Indians) frequently work in call centers and convenience stores, the latter being popularized by The Simpsons character Apu.
In
addition to the model minority stereotype, others include the
stereotype of East Asian women as docile or submissive. This holds Asian
women back from attaining leadership positions in the workforce due to
the belief they would not be capable of such positions.
East Asian women are also stereotyped as sexual objects and
oversexualized. This stereotype stems from laws in the US that barred
the importation of Asian women for sexual purposes, thus assuming that
Asian women are inherently sexual. A more recent stereotype is that East Asian Americans are infected with the COVID-19 virus
or brought the virus to the US. This stereotype started when the virus
was discovered to have originated in China, and was referred to as the
"China Virus" by President Donald Trump. This resulted in an increase in
anti-Asian hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans.
Arabs refer to people who originate from the Middle East. A common stereotype is the assumption that Arabs are therefore automatically Muslim. While there are many Arab Muslims, there are also thousands of Arab Jews and millions of Arab Christians. The September 11 attacks
popularized the stereotype of the highly radicalized, violent Arab.
Additionally, news broadcasts will typically cover what they call
"Islamic Terrorism", correlating Islam with terror. This belief persists
despite most Muslims condemning violence.
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