Religious Conversations

Filed Under religion

My ideas about religion seem to be changing. It is less and less something I need, and becoming more of a conscious choice. Nearly every day, the DH and I have at least one conversation about religion. He speaks about it from the perspective of one who sees religion as causing more harm than good. The great sin, in his mind, is that people turn over their intellect and submit their reason to a church, a cleric - or any ideology. The mindset of “I don’t know what’s good for myself, so I’m going to listen to him” gives people permission to accept injustices against others. Of course they will, he says. They’ve been given the “okay” to do so by a “higher authority.” If their President says, “These people need to die so that they can have a better life,” they say, “We trust him.” If their religious leaders tell them that God hates these people so we need to kill or persecute them, their response is, “Father knows best.”

My tendency is to be more forgiving of people with strong religious belief. I look at my parents, for example. They are people of faith, and they do not preoccupy themselves with identifying the hell-bound vs the heaven-bound. They know that there are Muslims who are terrible people and non Muslims who are wonderful people. However, I must admit, that my parents utilize their reason quite a bit. They don’t blindly follow others’ interpretations of Islam. As a child I frequently heard them say things along the lines of, “Does that make sense?” “God gave us brains so we would think,” and “What do you think.” They had Muslim friends who went to what they considered extremes - cutting off relations with their own parents because of religion; trying to marry off their teenage daughters and sons “to protect them from sin,” and spending all day in prayer instead of getting a job to support their families.

All of this makes me wonder: is a “moderate” or “liberal” religious person one who, ultimately, uses their intellect to decide what is right and wrong from within the parameters of their chosen faith? And if so, is the difference between a moderate religious person and a non-religious person simply a matter of parameters?

(photo by HSA: pier in Lappeeranta. 2006)

Comments

3 Responses to “Religious Conversations”

Joel Monka on December 9th, 2006 12:20 pm

The DH’s perspective and your question both come from seeing religion through the eyes of Abraham only. The same seems true of the recent books and articles published on the dangers of religion- they all seem to assume the choices are atheism or Islam/Judaism/Christianity- completely ignoring hundreds of millions of Pagans, Neopagans, and “Others”, such as Shinto, etc.

I can’t speak for all Pagan religions, but I’m in the vast majority when I say that my faith does not require me to submit my will to another’s- not to a priest, or a messiah, or even God. Not having a savior, responsibility is mine, non-transferable; I cannot palm my sins off on Jesus to suffer for them. “The mindset of “I don’t know what’s good for myself, so I’m going to listen to him”" would be anathema to any Pagan I know… very nearly the ultimate sin, trying to make another assume my responsibility and pay for my sins, shirking my clear duty to the Divine and the Universe.

For any Pagan I personally know, the difference between a strongly religious, moderately, or liberally religious type would be in how much help they ask the Divine for in making their decision, *NOT* in asking another mortal to do it for them! The strongly religious might hold a full ritual, consult the stories and myths of their patron Dieties for examples, and meditate before making a decision; the moderately religious might just light a candle. But in any case, they are only asking for the wisdom to act, *NOT* for the decision to pass from them… never would they say “They’ve been given the “okay” to do so by a “higher authority.”"
LaReinaCobre on December 10th, 2006 12:40 am

You make an important distinction, Joel, that I did not. I don’t know enough about pagan religions to speak on them. I see nothing wrong with consulting others - be they books, spirits, friends - for suggestions or advice in coming to a decision. So long as a person accepts responsibility for the choices they have made, and does not lay them at the feet of another, claiming that this person or book or God has authority over them, I think the person is being honest.

Too often, people are not satisfied with saying, “I want to do this,” or “I have chosen to do this.” They want to have the authority of God or the gods behind them. And they will try to justify their decisions by pointing the finger at holy texts and holy people. That is what I dislike.
Jamie Goodwin on December 10th, 2006 9:16 pm

Ironically, the fact that being a Unitarian Universalist is a choice is both one of the most important parts of our faith to me, and one of the most challenging.

My friends will say “Oh you have to go to church tomorrow” and I say no… i don’t have to, but I am.

Being a member of a faith that relies on me to make a concious choice to be a member, a dedicated member, the best member I can be without condemnation or threats is very empowering.