Religion and why we need it

The Evolving Nature of Belief*

 As I get older, I can’t help but reflect on my mother’s perspective as she aged. She wasn’t religious, but she’d begun attending church more often. She explained that she wasn’t sure one way or the other.

That intrigued me at the time, and I wondered if I would eventually feel the same.

Religion, it seems, is an integral part of being human. It serves as a means to explain the unexplainable. When we lack a reliable source of comfort or support, religious faith provides both guidance and reference.

This becomes particularly apparent when we’re suddenly thrown out of our familiar comfort zone—when we find ourselves in a completely new and foreign environment, especially one that involves a different culture, language, and location. What do we do when we don’t even speak the language?

For many, the language of life is still so unfamiliar. Few are taught to explore the ‘spiritual’ side of existence, the part of us that strives to battle the primal, animal instincts of man. What is right and wrong differs greatly from culture to culture, as do the belief systems that dominate each.

So much of what we do, how we behave, and what we believe is prescribed to us by others. Indoctrination plays a key role in this—whether through the law, religious institutions, or societal expectations. This framework helps maintain a homogenous group that is easier to manage.

Religion is essential, yes. But it manifests in many different forms. The traditional view of attending church regularly to show one’s faith has become akin to attending your favorite team’s games at their designated stadium—yet another form of religion.

I’m not sure why, but I haven’t reached the point my mother did. I still don’t feel the need to claim a specific religion. I respect my wife’s faith because it’s essential to her, and she, in turn, respects that I don’t feel that same need. We both support each other in our differences.

We support different football teams, come from completely different backgrounds, were born in distinct conditions and countries, yet we don’t feel the need to fight or hate each other because we believe in different things. There is so much that we agree on that there’s always space for the things we don’t.

So, my rant today is this: The world must learn to accept diversity in belief. We need to stop fighting to impose our beliefs on others.

Cheers.

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