Religion?
So, I've always struggled with the notion of religion, mainly due to everything I've seen associated with organized religion. My parents identify with catholic and episcopalian idealogies, and we were never really the family to go to church. Since their parents' deaths, both of my parents have claimed to become more religious, including attending church on Sundays with my aunt and uncle. I have never really been able to discuss religion freely with many people due to them all having strong beliefs. My family is now "very religious" and I have had numerous close friends who were, which is fine. I applaud anyone who has found something that they choose to believe in, it just leaves very little room to debate/discuss/find my own opinions on the issue due to their dogmatism. For me, I see religion as more of a personal thing, as something that should be practiced for oneself, inside oneself, and not necessarily be a weekly church-on-sunday-with-the-masses endeavor. Anyway...point of this:
I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday when I was in Manhattan. If there is a God, I do not think the Catholic church has a good grasp as to what he/she/it wants. St. Pat's is complete with security guards that check your bags on the way in and video cameras. (Which, granted, I understand the paranoia after 9/11, but still....it definately ruins any religious feelings I could have had). I was also approached and yelled at by a guard for wearing my hat inside...
My biggest problem with organized religion is the fact that everywhere I turned, there was some type of collection box asking for money. I can understand if it helps someone poor or another good cause, but the catholic church is one of the largest land owners in the world. God does not need money if he/she/it is a God, so it is clearly just for the church to "spread their message", which, sure, I can understand wanting publicity, but let people come to your religion out of curiousity. It maintained the sour taste I had in my mouth for organized religion.
It's between those feelings, my constant philosophical studies (existentialism, daoism, buddhism, etc.), and general outlook on the world that I still struggle to figure out what my religion is, but it wouldn't mean as much if it wasn't a process, would it?
posted by JCarter @ 4:50 PM
2 Comments:
Well I'm a not so religious Catholic but I have a religious dad who forces the family to go to church every other weekend.
You know, God definitely don't need any money but I don't mind donating just for the church to help the poor (only God knows if they are or not).
What I find absurd is the whole confession thing. I mean why must I confess to a priest in a confession box? If God is really God and all that forgiving, God should be able to forgive me even if I just pray and do a heart-to-heart talk with God.
I am Christian, not Catholic, but I know what you mean about superficial "religion." A church that is all about money or that merely goes by rote or ritual is not what the church is supposed to be, and I find it really sad when so many people have had these kinds of experiences. Christianity is a relationship, not religion, and that relationship with my Savior has changed my life and affected me in the deepest and most real way. This is something that is really taught at the church I attend, but it's very sad that so many churches have lost sight of that.
It's like the whole confession thing--how can the priest forgive my sins, he's human and a sinner just like me...but when I confess to God, I can bare my soul to him and he gives me grace and forgiveness unlike anything else in this world.
We can go directly to God through Jesus, and the church should be a witness or testimony of that, not the actual means to get to God.
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