The Right Religion

This week the Associated Press came out with a story entitled, "Survey: Americans switch faiths early, often" based on the report, "Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S." The report showed that about half of U.S. adults switched religions at least once during their lives, most of which who had just gradually drifted away from their childhood faith. Most who left the religion of their childhood did so before turning 24 with a majority joining their current faith before 36.

Some who left their religion have not affiliated themselves with another. The story claimed that one-third say they just haven't found the "right" religion. I wonder what they mean by that. Do they mean "right" as in it's a right fit for their lifestyle or "right" as in the one rightly sanctioned by God?

So, how do you decide on the right religion? First off, what do you consider a religion to be? I like the Merriam-Webster definition which states: "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith." That means that even atheism is a religion. Ah, but you say it can't be because "faith" is a requirement of the definition and atheists don't have faith. Of course they do! They can't prove scientifically that God does not exist so all they're left with is an intense faith in their belief that one doesn't.

Now that we have that established, back to the original question, how does/should someone decide on a religion? According to the article 74 percent cited "attraction of religious services and worship". Is that a good indicator: the preacher is very charismatic or interesting or entertaining? I've read religious texts by many different faiths that are considered sacred writings and believe me, sometimes they're a great cure for insomnia. Not that I'm trying to express any disrespect for any of those writings; it's just that there is a difference in trying to read a text book versus a novel. You can get a heck of a lot more value out of a text book, but novels are generally more entertaining. If we're looking for charisma, entertainment or fascination from a character, remember that in those writings it's usually the bad guys who demonstrate those characteristics ... not that we need to jump to any conclusions here about any particular preacher. :-)

"About half of those who have become unaffiliated cited a belief that religious people are hypocritical, judgmental or insincere." Are churches sanctuaries for saints and angels or are they hospitals for the spiritually sick? Where should hypocritical, judgmental or insincere people be? Shouldn't they be where they will be taught not to be that way? Shouldn't we be glad that they're at church learning to turn their lives around? Don't most religions, in some form or another, teach us to love our neighbors? If we really love them should we be running away from them to a place where we don't have to deal with them or should we stay and be where we can help them?

"Large numbers said they think religious organizations focus too much on rules...." Good thing science doesn't focus on rules at all! Come on people, if there is a God, and he really and truly does love us, wouldn't he want to let us know the rules of happiness? Don't we do that for our kids? "Don't put your hand on a hot stove." "Look before you cross the street." And on and on and on. Rules aren't restricting, they're liberating. They keep us from harm, show us how to make and do things correctly, and let us know how to play the game so we can win!

"Nearly six in ten former Catholics who are now unaffiliated say they left Catholicism due to dissatisfaction with Catholic teachings on abortion and homosexuality." OK, so here's the real $64,000 question: Do we find a religion that agrees with what we want to believe or do we change our beliefs to agree with the correct religion? Yes, the tricky part is that "correct religion" phrase, so let's put it another way: Do we try and get God to agree with us or do we change our beliefs to agree with God? Until we answer that question for ourselves, we're not ready to find the "right" religion.