Shopping for Religion

Americans are changing religious affiliation in record numbers, according to the study released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which I blogged about earlier this week.

According to the study,

More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

Eric Gorski of the Associated Press referred to American religion as "a spiritual shopping center." In today's Boston Globe, Ellen Goodman writes that "the idea of religion as a personal choice seems thoroughly American." And she quotes Alan Wolfe of Boston College, who says "We are, as a country, people who want to choose their own identity in a lot of areas of life, and religion is one more part of it."

I'm of two minds on this. As someone who left the faith in which I was raised, I think there's a great argument to be made for actively choosing a religious path rather than passively accepting one. On the other hand, when I hear of someone speak of religion as identity, alarm bells go off.

When religion becomes just another layer of chain mail in one's ego-armor, it becomes the antithesis of religion. As historian Karen Armstrong says, religion is, ultimately, about transcendence. Exactly how "transcendence" is understood varies; one might think of it as union with God, another with liberation from Samsara into Nirvana.

In the broadest sense, transcendence is going beyond the self. But if you're using religion to reinforce self-identity and to separate yourself from whatever you regard as "other," how will it help you transcend?

I also bump into spiritual seekers who really are shopping for a religion in the same way they'd shop for a major appliance. They know in advance what features they want -- no hierarchy, light on the ritual and guilt trips, something that reflects their existing worldview, and an ice dispenser in the side door. But I think religion works best as an agent of transcendence when it challenges your worldview and pushes you out of your comfort zone.

Obviously, this has to be balanced with honest appraisal and critical thinking. I'm not saying you should check your brains at the door and accept a religion's teachings and practices without question. If something is making you uncomfortable, you need to look hard at that and think about why you are uncomfortable.

If, for example, a doctrine or practice is pushing one of your buttons, maybe you should leave that religion, but maybe you should work to get rid of the button. I don't have any easy guidelines for making that determination. It's something you have to judge for yourself.

As I argue here, your true religion is the one that most engages your own heart and mind. That religion may be a different one from the one that works best for someone else, and there's nothing wrong with that.

To everyone, happy shopping.

Photo Credit: © Stefanie Leuker | Dreamstime.com