By Alecia Burningham
Religious humor may seem like an oxymoron, but some feel humor plays an important role in the religious experience.
Humor in religion is a necessary experience because humor has a way of reminding people of their human weaknesses, said Robert Kirby, a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune.
'Religion''s responsibility is to elevate people and get them to try and be better, but humor has kind of an opposite approach to that,' he said. 'The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being but to remind us that we are already degraded.'
Humor is a human quality and can some feel it can even help blur the lines between differing religious organizations.
'People forget that they''re humans first, and that we have a lot more in common with the rest of the world than we do not,' Kirby said. 'The first great danger of any organization is that you set yourself apart from the rest of the world, and by choosing to live a higher standard, you somehow get the idea that this actually makes you better than the people around you.'
If people can laugh about life, it is not so burdensome to realize that they mess up a lot, said Eric Snider, features editor and columnist for the Daily Herald.
'We''re not expected to be perfect, but we have high standards regarding our behavior and conduct, and humor is a way to admit we''re not perfect without beating ourselves up over it,' Snider said.
Ann Cannon writes a weekly features column for the Deseret News. She uses humor to help people realize that it is okay to make mistakes, even while trying to be perfect.
'In our culture, where there is so much emphasis on being perfect, there is a fair amount of pressure put on someone,' she said. 'Most people feel relieved when they see good hearted people, who aren''t being mean-spirited about the church, use humor to relieve tension.'
Religion is a serious issue, however, and some feel it should not be taken lightly. The line between what is funny and what is irreverent can be difficult to define.
Kirby said it is easy to cross the line because it is not a well-traveled path.
'You just kind of make the rules up as you go along because it is a matter of opinion, rather than church policy,' he said. 'Mormons seem divided about what constitutes humor and it used to be intimidating, but I''m strong enough in my own faith to realize most of the time we''re talking about personal opinion and mine can be just as valid as theirs.'
Humor in religion is a tricky subject, largely because it can''t be controlled because it is either funny or it is not, Kirby said.
'Nobody ever tells you what makes God laugh,' he said.
But even Kirby believes there are subjects to avoid. He leaves deeply personal experiences, like the temple, alone. He also does not openly challenge general authorities or mock the ordinances of any religion.
'There is a line there you can''t cross and have it be well received,' he said. 'Religious ordinances like baptism and the sacrament are elements of a religion that help people direct their lives in an effort to make them better people, so you don''t make fun of them.'
Other columnists agree that the deeper doctrines of religion are better left alone.
'My general rule is to not make fun of church doctrine and for the most part, not to make fun of church leaders,' Snider said 'But Mormon culture and semi-doctrine, like caffeine, is fair game.'
Carleton Copa, 22, a junior from Pleasant Hill, California, majoring in business management, is known by his friends for his crazy sense of humor. He said there is definitely a line for religious humor that should not be crossed.
'The prophet is an excellent example because he is funny but he doesn''t make fun of any doctrines or make light of sacred things,' he said. 'A lot of people make fun of their callings, but he never makes comments about it and he has the most time-consuming calling of all.'
Religious humor should be judged on a case-by-case basis, said Daniel Simmons, bishop of the BYU 57th ward.
'It is fine to use humor in a way that brings out the humorous part of what someone says, but if it is put in a way that is degrading, rude or mocking, it''s not appropriate,' he said. 'When talking about leaders of the church, humorists need to be especially careful.'
Simmons said that President Hinckley uses humor to make fun of himself a bit, but the rest of us need to be careful of making jokes about the church leaders. Making jokes about other sacred parts of the gospel should also be avoided.
'If someone was making a joke about the Atonement or the temple, I don''t think I would be too amused,' he said. 'There are things in Mormon culture that are humorous though, such as the typical food we bring to activities.'
People do need to have a sense of humor but sacred things should not be made light of, Simmons said.
'Different people have different feelings about what is appropriate so humorists shouldn''t go so far so that most people would find it offensive,' Simmons said. 'When they get close to the line, they have a good chance of going off the edge.'
But the boundary is different for everybody, Cannon said.
'Anytime you touch on the church stuff it is dangerous because people take religion very seriously,' she said.
Since the line is so difficult to define, that makes it easy for columnists to cross, but the real challenge is handling the upset readers.
Snider said the problem is that people do not see a difference between making a joke and making fun of something. The complaints come when people are unable to distinguish the two.
When people get upset, Snider said he will write back and try to be as polite as they were.
'I don''t put a lot of stock into their arguments and I don''t let it affect me,' Snider said. 'Everything you do is going to offend someone, but not most people.'
Snider said if he does not offend anyone, he will not make anyone laugh either.
'Anything that is funny has the potential to offend someone because humor points out our foibles,' he said. 'The main thing is just to make people laugh.'
Kirby is known for getting people stirred up, but that reaction is one of the reasons Kirby said he writes his column.
'I''m just getting even for forty years of really boring Sunday school, and the people who get mad are probably the ones that do most of the boring,' he said.
Recently Cannon wrote a column about how she accidentally took a Dr. Pepper into the chapel on a Sunday after going home during Sunday school. The people in her ward loved the column but some older women found it offensive and wrote Cannon, encouraging her to be a better example.
She said people get upset because there is already a slightly negative perception of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the press, and so people are aware of anything that makes it look bad.
'I think we bring more people to the church by letting ourselves be human with each other rather than clubbing each other over the head with these ideals of perfection,' she said.
A sense of humor is necessary to live a healthy life and even aspects of religion can be funny, but some feel there needs to be some restraint as to what is joked about.
'I think Mormons in general are pretty good at making fun of ourselves, but I think we can always do better,' Snider said. 'I''m sure God has a sense of humor and there is a balance in everything, including seriousness and humor, which is a godly attribute.'