The Religion Spectrum: Where in the World do I fit In?
Most blog posts I just sit at my computer and start spewing information and somehow it comes out sounding coherent. But my usual way of doing posts wouldn't have worked very well with this one. With this one I needed to think long and hard about it before I just started writing randomly. And now, I think I'm ready.
In the world today there are several religions, as stated on this 2002 map (all the different colors are different religions), and I don't have any qualms about any of them; except maybe when a person uses their religion to start a war or something. I don't know if that's happened before but if so, I wouldn't like it. I have no problem with people believing what they want to believe. You can call the creator of the world God, Allah, the Almighty, or even the big guy upstairs. Or you can not believe in Him at all, I don't care. I am an open minded person when it comes to religion, but it's also the one subject that's really touchy for me; it makes me uncomfortable.
And this is why: I have no idea what I believe in. I mean I believe in same sex marriage and going green among other things but that's not the type of belief I'm talking about. I'm talking about the religion belief; the belief that something greater out there in the universe created us. Do I believe in that? That God, or what have you created all the humans on the planet? Whenever I think of this question I start squirming because I'm always worried that if anyone asked it, I would blurt out how I really feel and then they'd give me a disapproving look as if I'd given the wrong answer. They probably wouldn't but that's how I see it in my head.
And the Bible. That's another thing. I don't read it. Don't even know if I believe that either. I've opened one and heard stories from my pastor at church but I've never read it. I suppose there are many others out there that don't. But there are many out there that do read it; they enjoy reading it. Again, no qualms.
I'm different from many of my friends and kids my own age; sometimes I feel like I'm different from every kid on the planet. Whenever kids in my class ask me what religion I am I hesitate only slightly. Just a small enough one where I notice it and they don't. I give them the answer I give anyone else who asks. I say I'm Christian. But I don't know if I am really. And given this pie chart whose numbers are ones of which I'm not sure are up to date, I know which religions I'm not. These are the powerhouses. And yet, I'm not sure if I qualify to be under the non-religious category either.
As a kid I didn't worry about this at all. All I cared about was whether or not I had new Crayola markers and crayons or if there was a new episode of SpongeBob Squarepants on TV. But now that I'm older, I'm starting to think about this religion aspect more and how I really wish there was a name for how I think about the world. Maybe there are other people in the world like me. That would be cool; then I wouldn't be alone.
Since I can't come up with my own name, I'll give this analogy instead. I believe religion is like jello. It's a bit wobbly, but essentially it's a mold and has its own sets of rules and values. Each religion is like that. But with me, the way I think, I'm not like jello. I can't be confined to a mold. Instead, I'm like something that flows out of lines. Something that's free.
And this is why: I have no idea what I believe in. I mean I believe in same sex marriage and going green among other things but that's not the type of belief I'm talking about. I'm talking about the religion belief; the belief that something greater out there in the universe created us. Do I believe in that? That God, or what have you created all the humans on the planet? Whenever I think of this question I start squirming because I'm always worried that if anyone asked it, I would blurt out how I really feel and then they'd give me a disapproving look as if I'd given the wrong answer. They probably wouldn't but that's how I see it in my head.
And the Bible. That's another thing. I don't read it. Don't even know if I believe that either. I've opened one and heard stories from my pastor at church but I've never read it. I suppose there are many others out there that don't. But there are many out there that do read it; they enjoy reading it. Again, no qualms.
As a kid I didn't worry about this at all. All I cared about was whether or not I had new Crayola markers and crayons or if there was a new episode of SpongeBob Squarepants on TV. But now that I'm older, I'm starting to think about this religion aspect more and how I really wish there was a name for how I think about the world. Maybe there are other people in the world like me. That would be cool; then I wouldn't be alone.
Since I can't come up with my own name, I'll give this analogy instead. I believe religion is like jello. It's a bit wobbly, but essentially it's a mold and has its own sets of rules and values. Each religion is like that. But with me, the way I think, I'm not like jello. I can't be confined to a mold. Instead, I'm like something that flows out of lines. Something that's free.
Comments