You’re not very Religious are you?

“You’re not very religious, how did you end up that way?” he asked over a cheeseburger in Hong Kong.  It is a fascinating question to me, and partly because it means so many different things to so many different people.  The word “religious” has several meanings depending on who you hang with.  I knew exactly what he meant.  I took it as a compliment.

To many the word “religious” refers to one who observes the tenets of a given creed or religious system.  It can be neutral, simply an observation of one’s affiliation.

To most of the people that I run with,  the term “religious” refers to an attitude or a set of rigid dogmatic stances.  It is a clear negative and is usually used to describe people who fit the stereotype of the mean spirited, rigid conservative right-wing type person.

To me, the term “religious” refers to a mindset that allows people to focus on outward performance(s) rather than inward meaningful realities.  It is a term that emphasizes living by rules, and being defined by the expectations of others.  In my mind it is the equivalent of the Biblical concept of “the Law”.  The Law refers to mandates that provoke self-effort and conformity to rule-based living.  The opposite of this is living “by the Spirit” which means being moved by the impulse of God-in-you.

What I heard my friend say was, “you aren’t easily defined or predicted by stereotypes or cliches….” thanks David, that means  a lot to me.  In fact in my world this is a high and intentional value.  Words are  so fickle.  You send them out with one meaning and they, almost with a mind of their own, go and represent something else.  To communicate about life changing concepts and cosmic realities with words that repeat again and again seems to drain the juice out of the words. They mean less every time they go forth.

To me, being “not religious” means to stand and present ancient realities with fresh breath.  To talk about that which has been from the beginning and will be til the end, and use a phrase which has never been used before.  Being “not religious” means standing so much for the meaning of the words, the realities behind them, that the words become an irritant and an obstacle to be subdued.  Every religious word stands for more than the word can convey.  I wrestle with the communication everytime, not out of confusion or difficulty but out of a desire to beat the English language into submission until the meaning of the words surfaces on it’s own merit.

I have observed that some, in an attempt to be “not religious” simply settle for “irreverent”.  Being “not religious” can come across as irreverent,   because it challenges cliches and uproots long-standing assumptions.  If reverent means “holding in high regard the forms of religion”  than in many cases the attempt to push through the “you-have-heard-it-saids” of religion can seem irreverent to those who latch onto the symbols (words) more than their meanings.

Though refusing to settle for religion can come across as irreverent, not all irreverence equals not being religious.  Sometimes irreverence is just that…irreverence.  When our words devalue things that God values, or our conduct conveys that we see ourselves and others as less valuable than God sees them, we cease to revere the beautiful.

Being crass so as not to appear religious is not the same thing as avoiding the trap of dead words and traditions in order to lay ahold of real life.  Jesus said some shocking things, but His goal was never shock.  His goal was always to point to a larger and deeper truth than traditions and laws had allowed.

I hope I am not very religious, but I also hope that my attempts to avoid the forms of religion point us all toward the Greater Reality behind the forms and symbols of language and action.