Written by John Immel, Asheville, NCPop culture says religion is "dross" - a man made construct to control people.

This has led to the trendy idea of "spiritual but not religious," popular among those who want the adventure of spirituality without committing to any belief in particular.

So is religion dross? Let's see.

Everyone Has a Religion

Every person uses some method or system for making choices.

This means that every mind has an organizing principle - a rule of life - a belief system they are bonded to. To have a "reason" for what you do can only mean to satisfy the organizing principle of your life - your religion - your rationale. Your rule of life is your religion.

Whatever "rule of life" you choose, was chosen because you believe it is precisely the opposite of dross. That it is the most wonderful thing instead.

From this vantage point we see that religion is a claim to have found something wonderful, an organizing principle worthy of one's whole life.

The difference between religious and secular people is that religious people know what their rationale is.

And knowing your rationale allows you to study what you believe true happiness is. And to find a community who can nourish your growth.

Is Dogma a Cage?

Dogma is simply what flows from the organizing principle. So everyone has religion, everyone has dogma, in the sense of being yoked or bonded to a principle.

Some say "organized religions" are too dogmatic. Take for example, scientism, the belief that only science exists. Of religions, scientism is arguably the most dogmatic. In the sense of restricting all of reality to observable, mathematical phenomena science is truly the most narrow minded of all beliefs.

Science is also the most institutionalized of all religions at this point.

Religions that acknowledge something more than material are open to the possibility that meaning, true purpose, and love are real. That is a very healthy thing to acknowledge.

Is Religion Anti-Intellectual?

Pop-culture says science is intellectual and religion is superstitious. But scientific denial of an unmoved mover is certainly more superstitious than world religions - given that this fact can be mathematically demonstrated.

Is it true that all religion is a myth? No, the Torah and bible are largely historical and not mythological. Jesus and Moses were real people, not myths. Some religions, like Hinduism, are mythological.

Many organized religions are the opposite of superstitious. Instead they are quite precise. Catholic and Jewish intellectual traditions, for example, offer a quite solid explanation of reality (as emanating from an unmoved mover). The intellectual traditions of both are highly regarded.

Religion & Community

Some people speak of religion not as bondage to a rationale but as a communal belief & social structure. I can say, and I have experienced this many times, that exploring belief in community is *way better* than doing it alone - community can hardly be dross either.

Though religion suffers the defects of human individuals, these defects are not, fundamentally, what religion is. The defects are ancillary not a part of religion's "essence".

Is Religion Good?

Religion is finding something wonderful, committing to it, and organizing your whole life around it. It is nothing less than believing you have found the key to happiness.

You can't get to happiness unless you know where to go looking. You can't reach goals until you have a target.

My Saved Articles | Most Popular