Are You Questioning Your Religion?

Hello! If you're reading this, I would like to make an assumption about you. I'm guessing that you are one of two types of people. The first type being someone who was raised in a household where your religion was picked for you, and the second being someone who was lucky enough to be raised with freewill to choose what you believe. Now, I may be wrong, but I feel that these are the two most common categories a person can fall into. If you're the first type of person, like me, you're probably here because you've begun to ask yourself hard questions about your religion and the part it plays in your everyday life. Maybe you've even had these questions floating around in your head for quite some time, but they have always seemed avoidable. As for the people who have experimented with religion their whole lives, you might be here because you are always on the hunt for new ideas, or maybe just studying religion is a form of worship in itself. We should never stop asking questions! I believe even if you are confident in your practice, it is never a bad idea to address new information and concepts. Not to mention, it's also VERY fun to talk about all the possibilities. You know those rare, heart to heart conversations you have with people that make you think really hard about what you believe, and they inspire thoughts you've never had before? Those are my favorite types of conversations. Hopefully, this post can be a form of that for you, even though it's just me thinking. I also hope that this finds you if you're feeling alone in your journey. I believe we are all fundamentally the same, and that these questions are running through our blood. I just want you to know that you are not alone.

As a starting point, maybe write down a few questions you have that can be easily discussed. Religion is an extremely broad topic, and it can feel impossible to learn everything you "need" to know. Writing down some simple questions can really get the ball rolling. I even recommend reaching out to someone you know as soon as a question pops in your head because they can help you answer it, and they might even continue the process with their own questions. It may feel like you don't know what you believe yet, but when someone asks a question, and you have to answer it to the best of your ability, it can inspire a foundation for your beliefs. The question doesn't even have to be related to religion. Take space as an example (a kind of scary one though). If I asked you whether you believed space goes on for eternity, with no possible end, what would your answer be? It's ok if you don't settle on one theory (I say theory since the only proof we have beyond our capabilities is mathematical equations), but maybe you decide there HAS to be an end to everything. Ok! Now you can consider that when choosing a religion that supports that idea. And if no religion out there necessarily provides an answer for whether space is never ending? Well, that's where personal religion comes in. Just like there are a lot of Christians out there who interpret the Bible with a grain of salt, you can identify with a certain religion and still have your own personal beliefs.

I personally think that is the best way to establish your values. You can support the general concept/mantra behind a religion, but only apply it to your life where it is fruitful. (Sidenote: I was raised on Christianity, so you'll find my examples primarily come from there because I don't want to speak on what I don't know) Let's say you believe in Jesus being the Son of God, Heaven and Hell, the brokenness of humans, and the need for a savior; however, you believe that it is not a sin to be gay, and that sharing the Christian gospel with others is only appropriate under certain circumstances. This is completely ok! With any religion, I believe the main goal should be a personal relationship with your higher power, and the desire to spread love and joy to the people in your life. On the other hand, some people are firm about practicing their religion to a T. When Muslims set aside time to pray 5 times a day, they are practicing that discipline in accordance with the laws of Islam. They believe if they don't abide by this mantra, they cannot achieve a higher spirituality. I cannot speak for an entire group, but I am sure there are some Muslims out there who don't pray 5 times a day. Maybe they believe that they can have a meaningful faith without a certain number of prayers per day. My take on that: it should be different for everyone depending on their personal conviction. If they feel especially lost one day, praying 20 times may be the answer. On another day, praying even 5 times may seem like a mundane task that they have to complete in order to check it off of some imaginary list. My main takeaway is, know that it is ok to personalize your faith based upon how you want to serve those around you in the most fruitful way. By showing the people in your life that you can be spiritual without following textbook rules, you may just shatter the notion that there is only one correct way.

Here is one last thought that has been on my mind recently: think hard about what runs through your mind most days. For most, it's other people. Whether it's how people acted towards you, how they perceived you, or how you feel about them. With that in mind, I ask: if everyone is thinking about everyone else, isn't our most important purpose the impact we leave on others? It may seem like I just threw that question in here, but this is one of those questions that ends on religion. Almost all religions out there have a common goal to spread joy and love among men. So why, then, do we take that common goal and split it into thousands of different lists of what is right and what is wrong? Right and wrong is so taboo. There are some pretty clear universal laws, like murder without a cause is bad. Or torturing an animal is bad. But between those universal laws is a lot of spiritual warfare.

"Am I going to hell because I killed my dad when he was about to kill my mom?"

"Am I not going to reach Moksha because I harbor anger for my rapist?"

We preach about what we know to be right and what we know to be wrong, but at the end of the day, that is dependent upon an individual's experience. This is why seeking your own path is so important. Ask questions, draw conclusions, and then do it all over again.