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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

Astronomical legal action: How religious an event is the eclipse for some?

So much so that six New York inmates have sued to see it, ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi notes:

The prisoners at Woodbourne Correctional Facility argue the that the natural phenomenon should “warrant gathering, celebration, worship, and prayer,” according to their federal lawsuit.

Lisi explores the spiritual and symbolic significance of such celestial events going as far back as far back as ancient Mesopotamia.

Awe and dread: “Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.”

For more on how religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries, see coverage by The Associated Press’ Deepa Bharath, David Crary and Mariam Fam.

What it means: “A total eclipse is near. For some, it’s evidence of higher power. For others it’s a warning,” USA Today’s Marc Ramirez finds.

“Faith groups are embracing the occasion rather than dreading it, unlike their predecessors from the distant past,” the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas writes.

“Moon pies. Gospel tracts. T-shirts that say, ‘In him there is no darkness at all.’ Discussions about End Times. Evangelicals are ready for the eclipse,” according to Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman.

Popcorn and baptisms: A Baptist church in Arkansas plans to offer free eclipse glasses, solar-theme religious tracts and food, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Frank Lockwood reports.

“We’re going to have, for lack of a better word, just a tailgate party,” that church’s pastor tells Lockwood. “We’re probably just going to fire up the grill and cook hamburgers and hot dogs and have popcorn and chips.”

And in Ohio, five students “intend to be baptized that day as the moon briefly blots out the sun,” Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks notes.

“The purpose of holding baptisms during the eclipse is to offer a once in a lifetime opportunity for new believers, to be raised from darkness into a new life through Jesus Christ,” a church leader explains in the RNS story.

By the way, has anybody — OK, maybe a million anybodies — mentioned that you can’t stare at the sun without eclipse glasses?

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

Shutterstock photo