Impromptu Worship Services On Planes Spark A Debate On Social Media
Photo Credit: TN

Photo Credit: TN

Impromptu Worship Services On Planes Spark A Debate On Social Media

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Spencer Jones
Spencer Jones Apr 21, 2022

Recent incidents involving passengers turning planes into impromptu worship services has sparked a spirited debate on social media. Videos taken on two separate flights show men leading passengers in Christian songs and worship, with one of them playing a guitar. Some passengers willingly participated, while others looked about ready to jump out of the planes.

According to Newsweek, the clip of the Christian guitarist has garnered more than 32 million views, after Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota weighed in on Twitter.

Omar, who is Muslim, retweeted the video of the Christian guitarist with the following caption, “I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I’m on a plane. How do you think it will end?”

This sparked an explosion of responses, with some accusing Omar of being anti-Christian. This isn’t the first time she has experienced backlash as one of the few Muslim faces in Congress, and unsurprisingly, some comments were peppered with racism.

But others recognized that she was merely pointing out an obvious double-standard with respect to which religions are accepted and which aren’t.

If the men were singing songs affiliated with Islam or Judaism at 30,000 feet, what would the reaction have been? What if they didn’t practice any of the three Abrahamic faiths?

Muslim Marine tweeted the following:

Other Christians were equally critical.

“I’m a Christian and I don’t believe in enforcing this on anyone, pray in private in your own time,” wrote one user, and this was echoed by another who said, “there’s definitely a time and a place.”

Some said they would have been annoyed by the singing, whether the songs were religious in nature or not. Put simply, they signed up to fly to a particular destination in relative peace and quiet, and that’s it.

“As a Jewish atheist who hates flying, though, I know how the impromptu concert would have made me feel, “wrote Noah Berlatsky for NBC News. “When I’m in the air, I just want to get where I’m going. I don’t want to listen to a mediocre chorus reiterating that my neighbors think I’m going to hell.”

What are your thoughts, Travel Noire family? Is a plane an appropriate place for worship services?

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