Some Thoughts on Religion
Even though it is a topic that I think about quite a bit, I have never really written about religion. Religion is one of those topics that is guaranteed to generate strong feelings in the reader and I didn't want to needlessly wind anyone up over the holiday season. Now that the holiday season is behind us... 
In order to understand the context of my thoughts, you need to understand some more about my background. I was brought up a Roman Catholic and went to a Catholic Boys school run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland. Those of you familiar with this order will know that the brothers were "done" for a variety of offences in Newfoundland. They were caught about 20 years after the event - I flipped on my TV one night to see my french teacher and football coach walking around in handcuffs. Despite some bad apples, they still delivered a good education.
One of the required subjects was religion and, in Grade 11 and 12, we were lucky enough to have teachers that taught us the good, the bad & the ugly of the Catholic Church, as well as giving us some insight into the other Christian Faiths. We never really touched on much outside of the Christian faith, and I have always been interested in learning about other religions (more on that later).
We spent a lot of time learning about the Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Greek Orthodox... churches. Most of the European splits seemed to occur over some relatively minor (to me!) issue. Reading about the different faiths, there appeared to be essentially zero difference between them. Many would say that there are huge differences in terms of their views on the Eucharist, saints, Mary, birth control and many more items. However, I have always tended to view religions in a more abstract and big picture sense. If you strip all of the dogma away from those faiths and think about how they are recommending that you live your life, you come away with exactly the same message. I concluded that it was just a historical situation that resulted in the splits.
I did sense a certain undercurrent from the Brothers about their views on some of the other faiths, but they never really came out and said much about them. In fact, some of them admitted that the differences were more theoretical than actual and it appeared possible for everybody to merge back together at some time in the future. Personally, I doubt that because of the power and politics involved with merging such huge organisations. I can't really see the Pope entering into a power sharing arrangement, and the senior folks of the other faiths would have a lot to lose in a merger of unequals. Besides, what is the point when your overall goal is to help people live a happier life?
But is it?
When I listen to many people talk about religion, they sound as if they are talking about a corporation - total size of the world-wide faith, growth rates in the developing world, concern over shrinking attendance in the developed world, strategies for the future. All interesting stuff, but in the mainstream, organized religions, I rarely hear people talking about the more mundane topics like helping improve the quality of life of people at a local level. To be fair, I have met many priests, brothers, sisters and parishioners that devote a significant part of their lives in an effort to help folks. Maybe I am not looking hard enough, but generally I don't see the micro focus that (I believe) is essential for making real progress. Mother Teresa is my favourite example of a difference one highly motivated person can make with a relentless micro focus.
Take this one step further... I think the Western religions (that I know) really miss an essential aspect of improving the world. An initial focus on one's self. This is something that I think is missing from many of the more popular religions. Certainly in the education I received, the focus was ALWAYS away from one's self. Indeed, we were constantly taught and encouraged to ignore our selves for the greater good of the community. That seems backwards to me. Here is the way I see it.
I'll summarize as this is a large topic. My main premise is that in order to successfully and happily participate in the wider world, you need self-acceptance. Think of some of the "problems" that we face in modern society. Here is my list: alcohol; drugs; crimes of hate, passion & jealousy; suicide; and depression. There are probably more, but this covers a lot of ground. I would be willing to bet that many of these problems stem from a weak self-image and/or a lack of self-acceptance.
So Gordo, what do you recommend? A group hug for all crack addicts? Well, I am not really sure what I recommend. I also acknowledge that, certainly in my own case, I would have vigorously and strenuously denied that I had any self-image problem back in my old days. You see, how could anyone so "attractive" (proving that routinely) have a self-image problem? I had equated my value to what others placed on me. Challenging, but when one's value is determined independently from others, many of the desires and pains of modern society seem to become easier to manage. An example for me, is that I know I am happy without an all night party. Therefore, I skip the hangover, train the next day and feel fantastic all week.
Each of us needs to find our own way on this topic and through life. Personally, I don't expect to ever figure this one out, and that is what makes this such a beautiful issue. I feel like I am heading in the right direction and that is really what it is all about.
No answer? Ever? So why write this article?
Essentially, I wanted to reach out to you and then have it influence the way you might present this topic to others. It also serves as a reminder to me. We are all role models and teachers. Some more than others, some for more people than others, but we are all teachers (and students).
At a minimum, we are living each day as a role model to ourselves. When I have a particularly satisfying day of "living right" I am able to go to bed with a smile on my face and peace in my heart. When I wander from my path and have a disappointing day, it can be tougher to achieve that feeling of inner peace. When I was loaded all the time, I rarely felt anything one way or the other! When I started to feel, life was very uncomfortable as I was forced to recognize that I was heading in the wrong direction. The heart is a very powerful compass.
Okay, my final observation... for now. Have you ever studied a religion radically different to your own? As a Catholic, I figured that Buddhism would be about as far as one could get from my faith. Even as a non-practicing Catholic, there was a certain feeling that I was going to burn just for studying another religion. Sixteen years later, those brothers had really done a number on me!
It all started by accident, a girlfriend had given me a book on Buddha five years ago. I think she stole it, but she would probably have told you that she moved it from where it was to where it needed to be. That book gathered dust for years until about nine months ago when I was looking for a few CDs (have a look at the lyrics to Lazarus Heart by Sting sometime, I listened to that CD every morning for three months before I realised the words, interesting when one is going through a divorce).
So, I grabbed the book and read an interesting story about a man who left his family to go teaching. He attracted a group of disciples and spent most of his time trying to save people from the lure of worldly possessions. He taught that a better life awaited those who were able to live right on Earth. He preached tolerance, kindness, non-violence and love. The story sounded pretty familiar to me!
With this realisation, I found other similarities everywhere. The Taoists believe that in order to achieve peace and harmony, the three aspects of a person need to be in balance - body, mind and spirit. That also happens to be the YMCA logo, the key aspects of Indian (both types) mythology and reminded me of the Christian Trilogy (Father, Son & Holy Spirit). Anyhow, more research is required before I write a piece on all the similarities I have discovered.
It was pretty wild for me to discover a clear philosophical link between Christians, Hindus, Taoists and Buddhists. The philosophical link provided me with a definition of global spirituality. Organised religion appears to be a cultural interpretation of this spiritual message.
The similarities are enough to make one wonder if there is something larger and unifying that everyone is interpreting. You see, the prophets keep coming up with the same answer.
gordo - 2 January 2001
These thoughts have been influenced by a number of people and sources. The best books that I read in 2000 were The Alchemist, Care of the Soul, The Artist's Way, Tao Te Ching (Le Guin translation) and The Teachings of Buddha. On my plate for 2001 is a review of the Bible, the Koran and a selection of New Age stuff recommended by friends. If you think you know of a book that I might enjoy, drop me a line or better yet, send me a copy! 