Is Organised Religion here to stay? (Religion)

Member Name: Redhead23

Product:	Religion
Date:	28/04/01 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rituals and faith help people cope with life and death

Disadvantages: Misleading if faith and rituals don't *go with the time*, high potential for abuse

For starters, I believe there is no easy answer to the question I posed in the title of my opinion.
Of course there are - and will always be - people who have deep faith in their religion, but the statistics clearly show that in particular the Christian churches are struggling to get people into church; especially children and teenagers seem to show little to no interest in organised religion - Pokemon and Barbie dolls, and later trendy clothes and mobile phones, are their new *gods*, and any *wise* religious words of advice are usually taken with a giggle or blank stares.

At the same time, society seems to be *falling apart*, more and more youths turn to drugs and crime, and many religious authorites claim that the loss of faith and their lack of participation in religious communities is responsible for this change.

So is it necessarily our lack of faith that causes today's society's problems? I am not a practising Christian (or an active participant in any other religion), but I do think it is possible that a loss of *faith* and a lack of sense of *belonging* (which the church would give you) can definitely lead to problems as we see them in modern British society. However, this won't turn me into a born-again Christian, and I can guarantee you that I won't be seen inside a church in the near future. Why? Just read on...

.:.:.. Can we still believe in 'God as featured in the Bible' ? ..:.:.

I have always been a bit of a sceptic, I don't like taking things for granted and believing things I can't experience or follow myself - as such, I have always had a little trouble when it came to simply swallowing the religious *facts* I was told as a child. The bigotry that I experienced during my time in the YWCA didn't help - seeing *squeaky clean* born-again Christian teenagers treat others like rubbish but thinking they are *better* because they know half of the Bible by heart and go to church o
nce a week isn't exactly the epitome of a good Christian role model after all.

Around the age of 14 I started developing an interest in nature and science, and like just about every other school kid at the time, I learned about 'evolution' and the 'big bang' in school - finally I had something that made sense to me, I had found answers to my questions that I could follow with my own tiny mind and that didn't require me to just swallow something as a *fact* without questioning it or recreating the flow of events myself.

Scientific progress over the past couple of hundred years makes it somewhat difficult to believe that things really did happen exactly the way they are described in the Bible - we now know that the world wasn't made in six days (I'm still glad we have Sundays off though!), and the question that many scientists ask people with a strong belief in the Bible is - If God is a *person*, a Higher Being who *must have* created Life in all its complexity (because nature alledgedly isn't capable of getting there on its own, just as a 'Blind Watchmaker' couldn't create the intricate workings of a watch), who then created God - a much more complex and sophisticated being than ourselves? How can we explain something we don't fully understand by replacing it with something that we understand even less?

These are just a few examples, but there are many more - religion has often been used to 'explain away' the inexplicable (the sun rising, rain, storms, snow, earthquakes etc.), and slowly but surely this façade is crumbling away, and the doubts that many people have about religion also affect the OTHER aspects of it - such as the morals, 'togetherness' and community spirit that religion can give you.

While even the Pope has acknowledged important findings and theories of science - such as evolution or the Big Bang - and most scientists have found clever ways of f
inding a place for God (albeit in a different appearance) in their personal world views, the image of God that most traditional churches give away is still that of hundreds of years ago. To me, this seems a very good reason for an educated, thinking person of today to turn their backs on religion altogether - we learn the facts of science and at the same time we are supposed to believe in the act of Creation, swallow simplistic explanations and obey to old-fashioned rules and morals, such as the condemnation of homosexuality.

Who or what IS God and where did He (She/It) come from - or has He always been there, if so then how? Are we alone? Fossilised microbes on Mars - did God know about them? Were they his first attempt at creating life or did He have a much more subtle influence in the origin and development of the universe, life and mankind? All these are questions that scientists and theologists alike are trying to find answers to. Science and religion are coming together closer and closer, but for you and me, the common man or woman on the street, the Churches still dish up the old, much-repeated and worn-out Bible quotes. The more we know about the world that surrounds us, the harder it is to have unquestioning, deep faith in a religion that developed hundreds of years ago, when humanity was still unknowing of these facts, when even a thundestorm was beyond their grasp.

We have 'grown' as a race, we have developed more and more knowledge and understanding - deep down many an atheist still holds beliefs in a Higher Being, but the traditional image of God that organised religion wants us to accept has stayed the same over all these years - I see this as an insult to God (or whatever Higher Being - if there is such a thing - is 'out there' or within us), and if I was Him/Her/It, I would be somewhat peeved that the humans don't even give me credit for being sophisticated enough to learn from my mistakes (humans ARE supposedly
made in His image, remember!), develop my personality and *grow*, adapt and learn...

.:.:.. What Religion can do for you ..:.:.

Although in general the Western world is lucky enough to have modern commodities, healthcare, welfare and education, our modern lifestyle seems to leave a huge gap deep inside us - while our ancestors relied on the goodness and grace of God and the promise of an afterlife in paradise to get them through their tough and often troublesome lives, most people in modern society go out and buy their very own vision of 'paradise' ready-made off the shelf. Families don't stay together and look after their elderly relatives, more and more people are living on their own and relationships and one-night stands come and go - but if we encounter problems and grief, we often find ourselves lost and alone.

While I don't think that being religious makes you a 'better person', I do feel that the rituals and feeling of belonging that religion can give you are a good and functional way of dealing with the problems we encounter in our daily lives. Life often deals us 'bad cards' - there are times when we grieve for loved ones, where we lose a person that was close to our heart. Rituals such as funerals are a good way of dealing with such events - although we will grieve for some time afterwards, it is a moment of peace, a final 'good-bye' that makes it easier to accept our loss.

In the same way, organised religion can give us strength, a sense of community spirit and belonging, which is often missing in our society of independent, career-oriented consumers. If you go to church or are part of a religious group, you meet people from all parts of society, independent of your talents, your career or personal interests, and you receive support and strength in times of trouble.

When I see the Muslim members of my class prepare for their religious ceremonies, I must admit that I somet
imes envy their faith and the religious ceremonies that they hold with their friends and families - although I do have a few very good friends, and find my spiritual 'enlightenment' in learning about science and genetics, I have no real equivalent to their religious ceremonies and get-togethers.

Religion is also seen as a good foundation of morals by many, and I believe that, although by no means accurate and truthful when it comes to religious 'facts', the Bible is a source of wisdom and an interesting account of actions (both good and bad) committed throughout the history of mankind. We are equipped with the ability to learn from our mistakes, and those documented in the Bible are a good place to start...

.:.:.. How Religion can go wrong ..:.:.

Like anything that involves rules, regulations and the necessity to believe without questioning, religion has a very high potential to be abused. Once someone has a deep belief in God, it is easy to slip your own rules into the religious texts and sermons, and to excuse cruel and sub-human actions (such as religious wars, discrimination of women etc.) by claiming they were an 'act of God', and in the past the Church has had far too much influence on people's lives to be of any benefit for them - not exactly what 'Love thy neighbour' is about, is it?

There are many accounts in the Bible (the only religious book I have ever read myself) that seem ridiculous or absurd in modern society - but what we have to remember is that it was written by humans, and as such it will alway be biased towards the views of whoever wrote/interpreted it, as well as the views, laws and morals society had at the time. I am taking the liberty to assume that the same goes for other religious texts, such as the Koran - if I am mistaken, please let me know.

It wouldn't be fair to blame religion for what we make of it, in the same way as it isn't fair to blame a roc
k group or a film for the actions of a lonely and depressed teenager who was alledgedly 'made' to commit a crime after watching a film or listening to a CD.

Religion can also go terribly wrong when people are not free to change their minds or are recruited with false promises. The numerous accounts of former members of religious sects are proof enough that the loss of community spirit in our society provides plenty of fodder for these unscruplous organisations.

.:.:.. Does Religion fit in with a Consumerist Society? ..:.:.

I grew up in Switzerland as a protestant Christian, but to be honest, I lost faith in the accuracy and truthfulness of the events described in the Bible quite early on - thinking about it, it was probably before I stopped believing in 'Santa Claus'!
It's not like I lacked *influence* pushing me towards that direction - although my parents never were particulary religious, I was an active member in various Christian groups from the age of about five or six.

You see, in Switzerland, especially in smaller towns and villages, the church isn't an entirely *separate* unit, but a very active part of the community. Local churches work very closely with the councils and provide a lot of facilities and events for adults, children and youths - such as summer camps (with our vicar, his wife and children - these camps were great and I have very fond memories of these times), youth groups, a young mums' meeting point (with toys for the little 'uns - I had my first *romantic relationship there, at the tender age of 1 1/2 ;-) ) and sports activites.

Even though some of these activities were definitely of a religious nature, most of them were free of Bible quotes or -stories, but were merely a coming-together of people to have fun together, get advice with their troubles, get to know each other - all in all a very positive thing, as it is a great opportunity to meet new people (I am
an only child) and just 'something to do'. My local protestant church was an active part of the community, but instead of forcing beliefs upon people, they simply provided a service of Christian 'neighbourly love' by bringing people closer together, by giving them somewhere to go.

I think if there was more such involvement of the church in the local communities, without necessarily pressing beliefs upon people, modern society would be much more open for religion. Our vicar was a very open man, and he often encouraged us to have discussions about whether or not God exists, how He would fit into the scientific world view and so on - we even watched a documentary on the Big Bang with him! To him, it was the morals and community spirit that counted in religion, and not whether or not someone blindly believed in the Bible - instead he encouraged us to make up our own minds and think for ourselves. Such an approach to religion is very commendable and I was sad when I learned that he resigned due to personal problems.

I *do* believe that religion is here to stay - but only if the churches become a bit more open-minded and treat people as intelligent, self-aware beings rather than simply expecting us to adhere to rules and beliefs that don't necessarily apply to our society any more.

.:.:.. Redhead *Jerry Springer* 23's final Words ..:.:.

Although I am not a practising member of any religion, I can clearly see that faith and organised religion can be a great comfort and a source of strength for many people. But we have to remember that religion shouldn't be about convincing others of your faith, but about treating your fellow man, woman and child with the love and respect they deserve.

While for some people religion is a source of hope, wisdom and advice, others find their strength in their family, their friends or their work. No matter what side we are on, we should learn to respect others' belie
fs and get along with them - we should always keep an open mind and accept others for what they are, not judge them by their faith or lack thereof.

The world can be a big, cruel place at times - whether it is war, starvation, illness or crime - prayers won't just make these things go away, but a bit of compassion and open-mindedness go a long way towards helping your fellow man or woman feel wecome in this place.

Until the next time, take care of yourself - and each other!

Summary: