Choosing My Religion

As a non-supernaturalist and mother, I was surprised that an essay published on CNN on January 14 by an atheist mom didn't gain my attention until today. Apparently it has gone viral, and my first exposure to it was an article about all the buzz.

So, I went to the actual essay and immediately wanted to dismiss this woman as a fool who happens to not believe in the Judeo-Christian version of God, simply because she doesn't like the way that God operates. But my annoyance subsided and I realized, isn't that basically what all of us do when picking and choosing between religions? Even people who are born into their religions at some point can find themselves choosing to renew their pre-existing beliefs or choosing new, better-fitting beliefs.

I have attended a good number of various Christian church services, Sunday Schools, Bible studies, Young Life events, weddings, funerals, baptisms, you name it, and though I have been moved several times, I have never been convinced that the emotional responses had any relation to any spiritual awakening. Rather they were the manifestation of my naturally gregarious personality enjoying the congregations of people.

Even when I took an intro to Eastern religions class at George Mason University, and was reading the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, and learning the Four Noble Truths (among other things), the philosophical was always much more interesting to me than the metaphysical. The closest I've ever come to adopting a religion occurred when I realized I basically agreed with Gautama that worrying about the nature of the after-life is a waste of time. But that's pretty much as far as it got. I rejected most of everything else Buddhism (in its many forms) offers, simply because I just didn't like it. It didn't jive with my perspectives on truth and suffering.

Indeed, it was during that class, when I learned many new and interesting things, but didn't feel the need to convert to any one religion, that I realized that basically every time some new religious sect is created, it has less to do with objective revelation than some guy (usually) wanting a better-fitting theology to adhere to, and deciding to sell it to others.

And here is why I will never be a joiner: no one agrees with me 100% about the nature of God, the universe, and life, and I don't agree with anyone else. I incorporate what I like from existing thought systems and move along. I have created my own (non-supernatural) religion for myself. I believe many, if not most, people do this, but many people need to identify with others and commune in their similarities, whereas I find such circle-jerks boring after a while.