Religiosity

“The tragedy of religion is partly due to its isolation from life, as if God could be segregated.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-born American Rabbi, theologian and philosopher (1907-1972) 

The four round tables made a cloverleaf of sorts. Chairs circled the outer perimeter. The table was a clutter of handouts and water bottles in various stages of use. Seated around the table were people at a variety of points in their faith journey. Some were catechists (Catholic-speak for a faith instructor) like me. Others were in the discernment process of entering the Catholic faith. The rest were friends and family members of those in discernment. 

Early on in discernment we ask people to “share their journey;” recounting the significant events in their lives which brought them to this point. The sharing’s had been as varied as snowflakes and as heartfelt as any personal journey might be.  

Some had experienced tragic losses or were suffering with personal issues; others had had miraculous reversals in their lives which seemed more than coincidental. Then there were those who simply realized they needed something more in their lives. For some time they had lived feeling unfulfilled with a holy longing which had gone unsatisfied.  

For them it was time to fill the hole in their soul that nothing else in the world could fill. Their nagging feeling of “something more” could not go unaddressed any longer. 

Michael was one of those who were looking for “something more.” At twenty-seven, he was still relatively young, but he was already experiencing the emptiness the materialistic world can create. Success, a good income and prestige at work was not making him “happy.” 

“It’s all well and good to drive a nice car, live in a nice apartment and be able to afford the things I want, like the latest cell phone,” he was saying. “My girlfriend is Catholic and she asked me to go to church with her.” “She always seems happy.” “So I decided I want what she has…you know…a life.” 

Michael stopped and looked around the room. Many of us were nodding back at him, signaling our agreement and our understanding. “I’m just not sure where to start,” he continued. “My family didn’t go to church all that often and I’ve never really been religious.” 

“What do you mean by ‘being religious?’” I asked.  

What do we mean when we say someone is “religious?” If you were asked to describe a “religious person” what would you say? Has someone ever said to you: “I’m very spiritual, I’m just not religious?”  

For many of us, particularly those of the Catholic faith, our image of a religious person is one of a kind of melancholy prayerfulness. We conjure up images of men and women in muted clothes, with steepled hands, eyes turned heavenward and golden plates affixed to the backs of their heads. If asked what religious people do, most of us would respond they go to church regularly, maybe even daily, pray a lot and follow the rules. 

This rather stereotypical version of people of faith is both disconcerting and dangerous. It perpetuates an image of inflexibility and entrenchment in religious practice that Jesus himself spoke out against.  

People of great faith are usually people of great insight who often speak out against the status quo. They are people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Blessed Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero and Gustavo Gutiérrez. People who are ground breakers and change makers. 

Like those listed above, people of faith, who make a difference in the world, do so with strong religious practices, particularly prayer. But their religious practices are only a daily springboard for the difference they make in the world. Religious practices are only part of the equation…food for the journey. 

We are called to be people of faith. People whose faith is lived out 24/7/365 whether we are on our knees, in church, serving the poor or behind the wheel of our car at a four-way stop sign. 

Dear God, remind me that being a Christian is not only what I do, but who I am. 

“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” ~G.K. Chesterton, English writer and Christian apologist (1874-1936)

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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