I have some friends who are very devoted believers but who remain open and accepting and have actually been a great support to me. I have other friends who believe in some sort of spirituality that makes them feel more connected to the world but does not involve a specific religious tradition. I have one friend who has embraced ancient Egyptology because somehow she finds meaning in it, not necessarily because she believes it’s true. And yet another friend appreciates the mythology of Christianity and Judaism without necessarily holding to all the tenets of those faiths. Thus, not everyone I know takes religion to the extreme in which it becomes an us versus them battle with eternal consequences that leads to significant hurt both psychologically and emotionally even here in the present (okay…wow, that was quite a sentence that clearly reveals that I’ve had some bad experiences with faith…phew).
Right now for me, participating in faith based activities is dangerous because it evokes the rigid, guilt-based mentalities that I’ve grown up with. But, recent discussions have caused me to think about what values there may be in the traditions of the church.
For example, one of the things that drew me to Judaism, even while I was a Christian was the rich traditions that make proponents feel connected to a long history. I felt that by rejecting the so-called pomp and circumstance of denominations such as the Anglicans and Catholics, my particular church had lost something. In fact, there is a movement among the youth in evangelical churches to return to what they call the ancient paths, a movement which embraces monastic traditions and new styles of liturgy, specifically because they too feel that lack.
I have felt in the past that even the Western world in general is missing a deeper connection with history. Our culture is very much about the now. We don’t emphasize traditional celebrations or recounting of the past in the same way that many other cultures around the world do. Sometimes I feel like our culture is, in fact, a lack of culture.
So is it possible that religion could be embraced solely for its ability to bring that kind of meaning? There is much to be learned from history. There is much to be learned from stories, even if they are fictional. As my one friend says, there is something to the mythology of the church that has value. Can religion help shape values and community and culture without taking a defensive position that it, and it alone, has access to truth?
I don’t know. I believe there are people who participate in religion who most definitely can. They gain what they need or want and live their lives with openness and integrity. But can religion as an organized phenomenon take such a position? Religion by its very nature has great potential to be used to control others. But it also has the potential to be used for great good. Unfortunately, I’ve seen more evidence for the former than the latter.
With all of this on my mind, I really enjoyed this article asking the question “Can religion tell us more than science?” What I found most interesting was the perspective that in the past, religion was about how to live, not about beliefs. The article actually directly references myths, saying,
“Myths aren't relics of childish thinking that humanity leaves behind as it marches towards a more grown-up view of things. They're stories that tell us something about ourselves that can't be captured in scientific theories.”And then later,
“Human beings don't live by argumentation, and it's only religious fundamentalists and ignorant rationalists who think the myths we live by are literal truths.”
Of course, Christians will argue that we can’t know how we should live without some sort of objective standard like the Bible (ignoring of course all the difficulties with viewing that book as objective). But I don’t think it’s so much about how we SHOULD live as simply how we want to live, what values we as a community share, what resonates with our experiences as humans in this world. Its why even in this modern age, social media is returning us to an emphasis on story and our participation in the story. We just aren’t persuaded by bullet point benefits (or bullet points beliefs).
I think the thing I miss most about being part of the Christian community is those odd glimpses I’d catch of a connection to something bigger than myself. The moments that felt the most profound were when a song or a skit or a play or a story captured my attention, drew me into the story, and gave me a sense of wonder and amazement. In those moments, I would feel inspired to do my part, to be a better person, to have hope. And then, the moment would die as whatever was portrayed was picked apart in an attempt to decide what was true or what was distorted and thus might deceive.
I’m not entirely sure how to end this post except to say that I’d be more open to a religion that could provide that sense of continuity, of connection, without requiring the gymnastics needed to avoid the cognitive dissonance that arises from contradictory, unsubstantiated beliefs. Can any religious studies majors chime in with whether such a religion would actually be defined as a religion in that case?
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