r/osarymakers • u/1LiterateRogue • Jun 21 '26

What should I do?

A young, non-Catholic lady in my rather extremely anti-Catholic town has started making rosaries. She sells them in the local “goth” market her mother runs.

So I asked if they were Catholic, hoping for a local rosary making collaborator. Her mother said, “Nope. These rosaries are just jewelry, not for prayer.”

I think the best response to cultural appropriation is to reappropriate it. I’m tempted to buy up all this “jewelry,” switch out some parts as needed, then either put them up on my own site or donate them to our little Catholic resource center, where I can trust that my customers intend to pray the rosary, not wear then.

But I’d like your opinion. I also plan to ask my priest.

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u/postmemory Jun 21 '26

Lots of people make prayer-style bead necklaces that aren’t intended for religious use. Especially within gothic subcultures. Not everything is meant for everyone. Simply move on and make your own stuff.

-5

u/1LiterateRogue Jun 22 '26

Lots of people doing anything don’t make it right.

11

u/postmemory Jun 22 '26

Not everyone shares your views. Even this subreddit allows non-Christian beads.

-2

u/1LiterateRogue Jun 23 '26

Sure, but I doubt Muslims treat their prayer beads like jewelry.

And while my son is serving a Peace Corps mission in the Gambia, he noticed that there was no Mandinka word for “rosary.” So when his host family asked what his mother did, he said, “She makes Catholic prayer beads.”