Religion

I’ve often asked myself if religion is really necessary in order to become a decent human being. I believe that all the major religions have, at their core, common teachings of love, respect and compassion as fundamental to human goodness.

Each religion creates its own rituals, symbols and dogmas. These are meant to bind its followers together and to bring them to the God they worship. In the end, though, we often see discord and even violence among religions. The “chosen ones” and the “one true church” and the “one and only God” no longer make sense to me. They are divisive and contentious and drive in the face of what core religious values should mean.

Children need moral grounding and guidance that teaches them the practice of basic human values--certainly more than they need doctrine. Core (religious) values should aim to help them understand and value the heart and intent of all religions and to discover their deeper human selves.

This undoubtedly requires rituals and sacred spaces which are new and meaningful. Religious practice, which in some form has always been a part of human experience, is lost and gained as it struggles to have significance in the lives of humans. It stumbles when it undermines its own purposes and when it is trapped in its own rigid and institutional form.