Should I Belong to a Religion?
Religion: Here are two definitions.
(1) A system of human norms and values that is founded on a belief in a superhuman order. (Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind, Harper Perennial, 2015, p210.)
(2) A particular system of faith and worship.
Superhuman: Having some supreme authority beyond humans.
I’ve listed two definitions of religion. For the first I’ve chosen a broad and inclusive definition of religion taken from Yuval Noah Harari’ s book Sapiens. Notice first that a religion does not require the belief in a supernatural order but rather a superhuman order. A religion does not require that this order come from a god, only that the the order of the religion is not solely created by humans. Thus, an ideology whose authority is some natural law could qualify as a religion. Buddhism, for example, derives it’s order from the fact that suffering is a universal fact of the human condition and that human cravings are the source of this suffering. The fact that suffering exists is a fundamental law of nature. Taoism, for example, takes its order and authority from the natural world not a supernatural god. Other religions do look to supernatural gods as the source of the order that exists in the world. The supernatural is superhuman, but the superhuman is not necessarily supernatural. So by using this definition of religion we include both the deists and the non-deists religions that have been adopted by billions of people on this earth.
Interestingly, this first definition of religion also includes many ideologies that might not be so easily recognized as religions. Many versions of modern humanism rely on what they believe are natural laws. According to Harari this includes liberalism, Communism, capitalism, nationalism, and Nazism. These religions have been able to capture the minds and hearts of many members of the human population at different times. It also seems clear that religions have been the force behind many of humankind’s most significant cultural trends for both good and evil. This is not surprising because all of known human history in the last 10,000 years has been dominated by subjective imagined beliefs that have allowed large groups of humans to cooperate for both good and evil. Non-religious subjective beliefs that have been important in the recent history of humankind include the belief in money and the authority of empires.
The second definition above seems to ignore the philosophical basis of religion in favor of a description of its outward practice. Thus, having a recognized system system of faith and worship becomes the defining characteristic of a religion.
So, with the above as background I raise the questions:
1. Is it possible to belong to no religion?
2. Is it possible to belong to more than one religion?
3. Should I belong to a religion?
Is it possible to belong to no religion?
To answer this question I have to do little more than pose a few more questions. Do I believe in good and evil? Do I believe in human rights? Do I believe in liberty and free will? Do I believe that the answer to any of these questions is a fundamental law of nature? If I do, then by Harari’s definition of religion I already belong to a religion. For example, if I believe that all humans have certain rights or even that there are various groups of humans that have certain sets of rights, then I believe in a set of values and norms that are natural laws (superhuman). In fact, it would seem that in order to be free of religion I would have to believe that I myself am the lone authority for whatever values and norms of behavior that I have. And to believe that, I might have to be living wild and naked in the woods cut off from the rest of humanity! If I live in any community at all in the context of some culture, I will surely have belief in values and norms beyond myself. Perhaps the only way not to belong to a religion is to turn to the second definition of religion above and ask whether it is possible to not adopt any particular “system of faith and worship.” We might call such a religion an “organized religion,” and certainly I can imagine not joining any organized religion as many of us do not. So I conclude that it is possible to belong to no organized religion but almost impossible to have no ‘values and norms founded on some superhuman order.’
Is it possible to belong to more than one religion?
What does it mean to “belong” to a religion? The term “belong” would seem to require that the religion accept you as much as you accept that religion. If the question were: is it possible to follow more than one religion, then I would think that to be possible in cases where the values and norms of each religion were compatible with the others. Also, you can pick and choose which parts of different religions you wish to follow by doing your own curating of beliefs. I certainly have done that. So, following several different religions (defined in either of the ways above) is an option as long as we as individuals can pick what values, norms, beliefs and worship that we will follow. To actually belong to several organized religions would be difficult because most organized religions demand a certain exclusivity.
Should I belong to a religion?
At this point my brain is shouting out to me that I have missed something very important in the two definitions for religion I have given above. Namely, that religions provide a spiritual community. The Buddhists call this spiritual community the sangha. I believe that we humans ultimately are creatures ruled by our emotions and can only exist within a social community that is supportive of our emotions. This community provides the norms and values that shape our behavior and to the extent that these norms and values are based on a superhuman order, serves as our religion. Every person on this planet needs a spiritual community to thrive, and a spiritual community is a group of actual human beings. This need was created in us by evolution. We cannot live alone. Religion can give us our spiritual community as we worship with our sangha. We have to find our spiritual community somewhere. Does it have to be in an organized religion? Organized religions can provide this spiritual community, but one’s spiritual community can be found elsewhere as well: in an extended family, in a neighborhood or community, in a social organization, in a network of friends, in a work environment, in a vocational club, or in almost any small group of people who share their lives together. If I choose not to join an organized religion I must find my sangha elsewhere.
I have to admit I have some firm ideas about organized religions that predispose me to avoid membership. They may or may not be valid, but here they are:
Most religions demand exclusivity and require belief in certain dogma.
Most religions are divisive, in that they separate us from those that belong to other religions.
There is not a single answer to your spiritual questions. To be spiritual is to be on a journey of ever changing beliefs. Religion does not offer change and growth.
The world is dynamic. Most religions are static.
Organized religion discourages the individual imagination.
Organized religion discourages the open mind.
“Identity” and “labels” both come with religion but I wish to avoid both.
Contrary to most religions the Buddha taught that students should question all teachings, even his, and try them out and judge them based on the student’s own experience. This is an attitude that I can embrace. I wonder if most modern practicing Buddhist embrace this teaching?
In the end I must conclude that I should not join any organized religion. Rather I should acknowledge the religions of others, try to understand them and learn from them, but remain separate from them all.
So you might ask, after reading all of the above, where does the Golden Dragonfly Society fit in? Have I simply rejected all other religions and started my own!? NO. GDFS does NOT provide a system of norms and values nor does it advocate any system of faith and worship. GDSF takes no actions. It is an idea. It is imaginary. It only encourages the search for spirituality and understanding while advocating tolerance of other’s religious beliefs. Of course, personally, I have adopted my own system of norms, values, faith, and worship, and perhaps I belong to the religion of NOR (no organized religion). Does that make sense to you?