First Religious Topic
My friend, Mike, is Baha’i (I had to look it up too). We have spent some time discussing some basics of religion, a little of my religious background and his, and he wondered why I have not blogged on the topic that I seem so interested in.
There are several reasons I have not blogged about religion. Mainly, I don’t want to attract any trolls and nothing seems to attacted them than better than a little religious pragmatism. I must admit, religion is an area that I am extremely passionate about although it is a private passion. It is almost too taboo for me to discuss openly although I love to engage others to hear their perspective on the subject. Most (including my husband) would probably mistake me for an atheist and I rarely correct them, nor do I find this an offensive label even if it is inaccurate. Only my closest friends have ever taken the time to understand my deeply religious past and how it has lead me to become an extremly curious agnostic.
Despite, or perhaps due to, my intensely religious past, I now separate religious discussion into the following elements: Organizations, Social Groups, Faith/Belief, Expression, Power, and Truth. I have found these categories to be quite useful when someone starts talking about religion because they are usually only referencing one of these elements rather than all of them and therefore I can understand where they are coming from without feeling the need to get on a soapbox full of research (it is truely amazing how little people know about their own professed religion).
Organizations are the established and most talked about facets of religion. Organizations can usually be researched extensively through wiki’s, dictionaries, encyclopedias and many have their own websites and printed materials that can be used to understand the history and doctrine. Most people associate themselves or characterize themselves as one of these organizations.
Social groups refer to a group of people that have generated a status que amongst themselves. Social groups are often found within organizations and people can be part of several social groups, even if they appear to conflict with each other. Social groups allow individuals to move beyond an organization’s restrictive doctrine. Vegetarians are an example of social groups.
Faith / belief is the rhetoric that an individual proclaims to others. Behavior is often affected by faith / beliefs and social group pressure to express faith / belief. Faith / belief is often instilled at a young age or heavily influenced by a paradigm. They are rarely researched and that is why I have separated faith / beliefs from truth. For example, someone that has survived a car accident is cared for by a Born Again nurse that regularly prayed with them during their recovery. This individual now associates his survival and recovery with the Born Again organization and swears by its doctrine. Although some may say this faith / belief is based on experience, the fact remains that someone else could have nursed them back to health and this “faith” / “belief” would not exist.
Expression is the outward display of all of the above mentioned areas. Expression rarely matches personal truth, but often matches the doctrine of an organization or status quo of a social group. Going to church every Sunday is often an expression of status quo or organizational doctrine. Guilt is a consequence of expression not matching personal truth.
Power is the reason things happen. Many refer to power as God. How often have you heard someone say that God gave them the power to survive or win or succeed or that natural disasters are God’s wrath? I stumbled upon this element of religion in grade school while learning about Greek and Roman gods. They were taught to explain things that could not be explained with the limited science that their societies had at their disposal but that thier experience had taught them to fear and account for. Although many have been taught that their specific religion has transended that level of reason, research shows that the term God is still to this day and in most organizations, used to explain something that is difficult to measure or prove and to keep the population under control.
Personal truth is the glue that holds a person together. It is what makes them tick. It is there when no one else is watching… it affects our dreams and it is the most suppressed part of organizations and social groups. Suppressing personal truth, as I mentioned, often leads to feelings of guilt. For example, many are taught that killing another person is wrong but may be called upon to fight in a war. Organizations and social groups may find this form of killing acceptable but the individual finds themselves tormented with guilt because their life experience has taught them to value human life. Personal truth stems from research or from practical life experience and may be different for each individual.
I will attempt to explain my religious past and current personal truths in future posts. Meanwhile, I have asked Mike to guest blog and explain Baha’i from a personal perspective. I am keenly interested in what cannot be found in wikipedia, namely, personal truths.
Technorati tags: religion, , atheist, , agnostic, , Bahai, , faith, , God, , guilt, , beliefs
Add comment November 11th, 2006
