My sister and I both left the church my parents attended, not because we fell out of faith but to join other churches that served our needs. We now both go to the same church, though at different times. My religion to me isn’t a set of rules to follow in order to go to Heaven or Hell. My religion is a faith, a relationship, that means something to me and something I would be lost without.

You wrote it’s important to stick to the “Golden Rule,” but someone may kill you because they were instructed by their god/s to do so. In my faith, murder is wrong, there is no “higher being” to tell you to kill someone. Murder is wrong on all accounts. In other parts of the world, though – say, the Middle East – their religion is their entire being, and although the fighting and killing going on is wrong in OUR eyes, THEIR eyes see something entirely different. I don’t want to be like our presidents and send troops over to stop the war when, as Americans, we don’t have that deep root of religion telling us why this war is so important in the first place. Do I agree with wars that start because of religion? No, because I believe religion/faith should be used to love others, not tear them down, and I also believe that conquering land is a conquest of power, not faith.

What am I saying? Well, people undermine others’ religions and it’s easy to impose your views on another set of people (ie: “War is wrong, stop killing each other), but you must first truly, TRULY understand where they are coming from. Religion and culture go hand-in-hand in many towns around the world, and as a minority, I know how important these factors are in shaping a community.

@Karen – Yes to everything you said. God is love in most pure of forms – I can’t imagine Him wanting anything more than for everyone to unite and prosper together. I doubt God ever thought about how to create faith that would lead to hatred, murder, and segregation. And at the core, I believe faith has to be a relationship YOU personally have with a higher power.

@Tara – Certainly not anti religion by any means – I believe faith is an extremely powerful thing and it is an important part of my life. It’s just something that I keep to myself and work toward growing that connection that I personally have with the God that is within me, waiting to be “found”.

@Tim – Thanks much for the comment. I am pleasantly surprised to see such a great response to this post. I know religion is a topic that is somewhat “taboo” to discuss. But I think we have sparked a very enlightening discussion here. Cheers!

@Chelsie – Ah, you know me all too well – you and I will forever watch The Matrix with a different lense than most – if only people were “plugged in” like you and I, eh? To your point – I think that is the source of a lot of problems, when we try to instill our beliefs on other people (America in general is a great example of instilling beliefs on everyone else). For me I say, to each his own, there is more than one path to enlightenment. It’s up to you to understand and embark on that path of your own.

@Sam – I agree it doesn’t have to become a chore – a lot of it does come down to attitude and what you personally believe. I think a lot of what turned me off was that the Church I was attending was against the particular lifestyle I grew up around – so there was a big conflict there – one that I didn’t want in my life – because I didn’t understand how God could be more accepting of some innocent people over others. There’s always more than one way to approach this – and I admire you for your strong commitment to personal faith.

And to everyone – thank you for such a wonderful discussion!

But, I think there’s one key thing that you left out. Sure, when religion becomes a chore, something that you have to do, not want to do, that sucks. However, there are different ways you can deal with a situation like that; it’s about attitude too.

For example, my dad’s a rabbi. The temple was practically my second home as a kid. At some point, I realized that Judaism was going to be a big part of my life whether I liked it or not, so I might as well make the most of it. The congregation was like my big extended family and I felt comfortable as soon as I stepped into that building. I learned how to talk to adults at an early age, and how to politely greet someone who knows who you are, even if you don’t know who they are. I embraced the situation and found my own place, my own faith. I could have rebelled or grudgingly accepted it as something I had to do, but I chose not to.

So, while it’s true that you shouldn’t blindly believe and you have to make it about you, if you are forced into a situation like this, it doesn’t have to become a chore.

I’m pleased to see a conversation that doesn’t involve anyone shoving their beliefs on anyone else’s lap. Finding ourselves is experiencing truth for ourselves, and I can’t imagine that a life spent in that endeavor could be harmful.

Kenji, thanks for the story; it seems we only go wrong when we organize and rationalize the truth instead of simply living it. And it’s only our minds on overdrive that ruin sweet simplicity.

I was raised Jewish, had a Bat Mitzvah and ended it there. I didn’t even want a Bat Mitzvah but my mother used her Jewish-guilt-super-powers to convince me that if I didn’t, my grandfather would be extremely disappointed in me. The grandfather I never met. So I’d be haunted from the grave. I identify with what a brilliant British Jewish writer called Jew-ishness – that is to say, we don’t wish to deny our heritage and rather enjoy the cultural & celebratory aspects to Judaism but reject the madness and hypocrisy of all organized religion. It’s identifying with the cultural not the religious side of Judaism. And that’s okay for me.

I haven’t been to synagogue in years but I still identify myself as Jewish. I just try to live my life the way I deem fit for me!

Thank you for sharing your story…I absolutely agree with you about religion and your faith…it is very personal. You put this very well in your post. If you’re not religious, the Golden Rule is a good place to start.

Fast forward to years later-I’ve become more spiritual and have started attending Mass again. I don’t agree with everything the Catholic church says and does, but at the end of the day it’s the overall message I find most meaningful.

Like @Sheema said, religion may not be meaningful to everyone but I think everyone could do well to stick to the Golden Rule. If nothing else, that’s one thing my parents definitely taught me.

The devil and his friend were walking down the street one day when the devil’s friend saw a man in the distance lean down, pick something up and walk away.

“What did he pick up?” said the devil’s friend.

“He picked up a piece of the truth,” said the devil.

“That can’t be good for you,” said the friend.

“It will be, because I will help him organize it.”