The Dirty "R" word: Relligion

Why the Anti-Religious Sentiment is Wrong.

Living in Portland, I have grown used to people saying things like “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” While this expression has been common among those who feel disenfranchised by the Church, I have noticed a disturbing trend within the Church to freshen up its vocabulary and dump the R word from its lexicon. In, what I feel, is an effort to make itself relevant, or actually trendy, the Church has jumped onto the anti-religion band wagon. Ironically this I believe is doing more harm than good.

First, we must come to terms with the simple fact that despite how unpopular the word may be, it is an unbudgeable truth that almost all of us are religious. Gasp! That’s right, all Christians, in fact, almost the entirety of the whole world can be fairly labeled the dirty R word. How can I dare to make such a scandalous claim? Well let’s take a short intellectual stroll over to our local dictionary. Here are a couple of definitions for the word in question.

• A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
• The body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
• Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
• A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
• A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion

So let's run some simple statements through the grid of the dictionary:
• Do you have a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices which is generally agreed upon by a number of people? For example, that Jesus died and came back to life and that Jesus is Lord? Or that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God?
• Are you a part of a body of persons who adhere to a particular set of beliefs and practices? Like praying, taking the sacrament of communion or baptism?
• Do you have a strong reverence for a supernatural power regarded as creator and governor of the universe? God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit???
• Do you posses a set of beliefs, values and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader, maybe whose name happens to be Jesus? Or in some cases Mohammed, or Gandhi?
• Are you a part of a cause, principle or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion? Like, he religiously follows politics. I know some people who "going green" is very much there religion.
If you answered "yes" to any one of these questions, then, surprise! You are a "religious" person. To say that you are not religious is to say that the above does not apply to you.

So if you think of the above and how you might apply that to someone you know like...
“Oh yes, you just described my pastor! But he’s not one of those religious people. He’s a Chris follower.” Please! The hated R word has done nothing to deserve the animosity it has garnered. In short Religion is a description. Nothing more than a commonly asked question. "What is your religion?" Plus, it makes for a great time saver. Well, it used to.So then, how has a word that is merely a descriptor made a transformation to a literary villain? What is the argument against religion? Well, here is what some people feel the word means. Actually, I take that back. The people who often misuse the word usually do know the meaning, but choose to use it incorrectly for the sake of people who do not understand the definition, rather than using an alternate word or educating them on the true definition.

Often times people confuse "ritualistic" with "religion". The "new" meaning of "religion" is to describe people who have sadly turned their specific religion into a meaningless ritualistic set of rules and checklists. They then try to get others to “do” religion their way. They might even proudly call themselves “religious” which, they are correct in doing. So they take their specific perspective on their specific religion and try to force other people into a mold they believe to be correct. Is a person with their rules and checklists any more or less religious than the guy who is a "Christ Follower" living out his faith in a real and sincere way? No. They are both equally religious. Is the guy who goes to church every Sunday and takes communion each time more religious than the girl who believes in Jesus but never goes to church? No! They are equally religious.

Now, it’s a whole other matter on whether one is right or wrong. Good or bad. With the first example of the guy who tries to force people to worship the way he does without the meaning behind it, I would say that’s practicing religion badly. And take the fellow who lives his best to love people like Jesus because he is reacting to God’s goodness in his life. That’s practicing religion well. But both are nonetheless religious.
So over the years you have some cultural Christians judging people they shouldn’t and following a set series of rules and rituals. They go down their checklist that shows them they are good with God. Is that religious? Sure, but it is not just religious it’s bad religion. Now if there can be bad religion then that means there can also be good religion. If there is meaningless religion, then there can be meaningful religion. If there can be Godless religion then there can be Godly religion.

Some of my Christian brothers, especially the ones geared toward evangelism, would make the argument that to most people religion means something else besides how it is defined in the dictionary, so the word should be used in the context which they understand. I have heard the argument that because people have been treated badly by others who have claimed to be religious, "religion" has come to mean people who are judgmental.
I'm afraid that the description "religious" is turning into a judgmental word itself, used to determine if someone has a true faith or is simply following their rules and checklists, when it's only God who knows our hearts. Therefore, it's only God who can determine if our religion is "good" or "bad". Just as it is only for God to say if someone knows Jesus or not. We are able to observe if someone is acting in an "Christian-like" manner, but we cannot say if that person is a Christian or not.

Part of the problem is how people speak about the R word. It’s not enough for people to not use it. I have observed more and more people, especially Christians, going out of their way to talk badly about it. Often when I go to church or even participate in other events organized by other churches you hear phrases like, “Okay guys lets worship God but not in a religious way.” Or “People trying to do a list of things to be good are religious.” Or “God hates religion.” Basically it is used as a stand-alone negative.

What about a pastor who talks about not being religious? They read the bible a lot, so surely God must speak often and clearly about His hatred for religion? Uh no. First let me be honest and clearly state I did not go to bible school and frankly don’t read my bible enough! What I understand to be true about religion from the bible is this: 1 Timothy 5:4. "But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God." What?! A religion that is pleasing to God? Why did the text not read, "Take care of the widows and children but don’t be religious about it"? Okay, that’s just one verse in the big book.
Here's another; James 1:26. "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." So, if he can have a worthless religion then he can have a worthwhile one that is worthy of God. It does not say all religion is bad.
And how about one more for good measure. James 1:27. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Wait, if you ask some pastors today, especially ones seeking to be culturally relevant, they would make statements like "God hates religion." But in James 1:27 there is a type of religion that God finds good and pleasing. In short, nowhere in the bible does it say God hates religion in general. Nowhere did Jesus say “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” Now I’m not denying the fact that God hates false religion. God wants our everything! He wants more than people to show up on Sundays. He wants to renew our hearts and minds. We cannot go down a check list of six things to do to get into heaven. God does not want our offerings if they are meaningless. God does not want us to practice meaningless rituals that do not glorify Him. Amos 5:21 says, "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies." to a fallen Israel, who's people worshiped false gods but still tried to appease God by giving Him their offerings.God does not have anything against religion, he has a problem with people’s stinky hearts, and changing the word you use to describe yourself is not going to change your heart. I feel that by both not using the R word as a descriptor, which it is, and using it rather as a way to negatively label people is a cowardly way to not examine ones religion, but mincing words so as to not have to change ones heart.

So what’s the harm? It’s just semantics right? Yes and no. To be fair, this is a pet peeve of mine, but let me show why I am against the misuse of the R word. Well aside from ruining the English language.

First, it’s a disservice to those of us who are still fine “practicing good religion” but haven’t got the memo that it’s now a dirty word.

Second, it confuses ignorant people and those not used to organized religion into thinking anyone or anything that can be labeled with the R word is bad which, is just not true. It creates a dividing line not just outside Christianity but within it as well.

Third, the misuse of the word is simply wrong and sad. Please, pick up a dictionary. I feel like it also makes for an easy way to not examine your specific religion but to just change the word and you're good. Ultimately, I believe it’s a way for people to avoid letting their actions speak about what their religion is. There is no need to feel bashful about having the R word applied to you if you are living out a good, godly religion.

Fourth, it just feels trendy to use the R word in a negative way. It is more and more cheesy to me to hear thing like “I’m not religious, I’m a Christ follower!” I don’t like trendy. What’s "in" one day is quickly "out" the next.

Fifth, one of my biggest problems is that we can’t let others redefine what simple words mean. If we don’t let things mean what they do then everything becomes meaningless and words become useless. If we will not take a stand on what words mean, if we won’t take back the words that have been stolen, then it will all become meaningless and we will forever be back pedaling especially crowd pleasing Christians. Backpedaling because we will constantly be trading one word in for another. For example, if the R word is bad because people have harmed others while claiming to be “religious” then why not stop calling ourselves Christians? What about the Crusades? What about anti-abortion nuts who claim to be Christians and blow up doctors? What about all the Christians who judge others? In fact, there is already a trendy movement for that! “I’m not a Christian, I’m a Christ follower!” Should we get rid of the "Christ" part altogether, because people have been hurt by Christians? What about the greatest aspects of our religion? Faith, Love, and Hope? Well, I don’t want to use "faith" because there were those faith-based initiatives that were pretty unpopular. Then "hope"? No, that one just gets used too much by everyone. "Love"? No can’t use that because those religious people use it right before they pronounce a judgment on someone. I know, instead of me being a religious Christian who profess faith, love, and hope, I will be a "spiritual disciple of God who professes belief, unconditional positive feeling, and optimism" because those words haven’t been ruined by those bad religious people yet. “I’m not a truth teller; I’m a person that brings false hood to light.”

We need to take back the meaning of our words by living them out. We cannot keep changing our vocabulary. For example, by people calling themselves "Christ followers" instead of Christians, all they do is displace the true problem. As the name Christian becomes unpopular and more people do the trendy thing and become Christ followers, it too will lose its meaning. So the original Christ followers will then have to say, “Well that was good while it lasted, but we need to switch names again. I know! We are now "Disciples of the True God" and Christ follower is bad.” We will just run through words and make each one meaningless.
I say no mass! We need to do the hard work and let our actions define the words we use. When you say you love someone make sure your actions line up with a good, biblical love. When you confess your faith in Christ Jesus then show how you have been changed! We should not look to alternate words to prove the validity of our beliefs but rather own them and wear them through our actions. The words are innocent victims in this war within people’s actions and attitudes.

So then, you’re saying to yourself, “I misuse the word religion and I don’t want to anymore, but the word still doesn’t sit right with me. What do I do?” Well I’m glad you asked. First, stop using the word as a stand-alone negative! Second, a lot of problems can be fixed by adding an adjective in front of "religion". Let’s go over some examples. “Meaningless ritualistic religion is worthless!” Or “God hates false religion.” Or “Christianity is the worship of the one true God and is unlike any other religion.” Of course now we know that yes, Christianity is still a religion. So when you don’t like a specific form or observance of religion you can now fix your vocabulary by saying something like “I disagree with people who practice their religion that way.”
So to wrap things up, we have learned that, religion is not bad, it’s a description of your beliefs! "I’m Christian", or "I’m Muslim", or, "that guy plays World of War craft religiously" or "That other guy's politics are like his religion!" We have learned that misusing words is well, down-right confusing! We have also learned that God doesn’t have a problem with religion. Sure, He most certainly did hate the Pharisees religion. But, he found the practice of good religion of faith in Jesus to be pleasing! And we learned that if we don’t like a word we need to take it back by fiercely and forcefully changing our actions. We now know that we can’t just keep word hopping because if we do that we will forever be back pedaling. A couple of things to keep in mind if you don’t like this message: If you would make the argument that because people think of religion as a negative thing, I would ask you then, “will you not use the name of Christ when it becomes unpopular? Will you not say "Jesus" when in Portland it means you’re an unloving judgmental ass? I hope not! Another thing is maybe you think statements like “Not using a word correctly is cowardly alternative for not changing your actions.” As a little harsh or over the top. Well, to take a page from most Act29 pastors, it’s a bold statement to shock people into joining the conversation. I felt compelled to write this essay and I hope that anyone who reads it feels compelled to give it some consideration.

Let me leave you all with a quote from C.S. Lewis. Actually, I don’t like how the word quote has been used by people. So instead let's say, in the words of a dead guy, "Now if once we allow people to start spiritualising and refining, or as they might say 'deepening', the sense of the word Christian, it too will speedily become a useless word."

I am proud to say that I am religious! I believe in a good God who is all knowing and all powerful and who’s love for us knows no bounds. I am happily a part of a religion that makes it it’s business to love others more than yourself and to take care of orphans and widows. Yes, that is a religion and I am a part of it. My religion is Christianity!