Definition of Religion
1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion>
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
There are many definitions of "religion" and you'd certainly get a different perspective on this word depending on whom you ask. Of those offered by Merriam-Webster (above), I prefer the last one. I particularly love the words "cause" and "ardor" referenced here.
There was a time in my early walk with God that I would have shunned the word "religion" and told you emphatically that I wasn't religious. I was spiritual (as though making that distinction somehow conveyed a more appealing version of my approach to faith). Having been raised in the Catholic Church, where the concept of religious observance is often taken to ritualistic extremes, I began my journey as a born-again believer with a strong desire to throw off the imposing weight of religious observances and proceed instead under the yolk of freedom that is found in a personal, relational connection to Christ. I had spent years in Catholic school reciting monotone prayers, sitting through uninspired but well-memorized responses required to participate in the "liturgy" of the Catholic mass, and participating in a year-long stream of seemingly archaic rituals related to the rosary, reconciliation, the stations of the cross, and the sacraments. In my mind, the dense layers of ritual that had been piled onto the Catholic faith were in stark contrast to the simple and straightforward life of Jesus and the New Testament believers of the early church. And if that was "religion," I wanted no part of it.
Over the years, I have vigorously nodded my head to more than one statement on the part of an evangelical pastor on the subject of religion. My own pastor has frequently taught me that "Christ did not come to establish religion. He came to establish relationship." The rituals and practices of the modern church, both those of the liturgical denominations and those of the evangelical denominations, represent the attempts of man to place structure and law around that relationship. While that structure undoubtedly lends depth and scope to the corporate expression of the Body of Christ, those rules and doctrines have brought with them inarguable division and condemnation in the church. And it is that same zeal for putting God in a box and condemning those who fall outside of it that has driven people out of God's House rather than drawing them into it and has resulted in an almost global public sentiment that the Christian "religion" is filled with judgmental, intolerant, and self-righteous hypocrits. This is a far cry from the character and nature of Jesus we see in the Gospels nor the beauty and simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount. It's the very reason that nonbelievers visibly shudder at the mere mention of "religion."
Yet, when I look at the definition of religion above and, even more powerfully, the definition of religious (manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged deity), it gives me pause. In general speech, we will often use this term to describe someone's commitment to an action or activity (He goes to the gym religiously). There is no negative connotation here. The word is not used to imply an imposing or convicting standard. Rather, the word here is used to describe someone who is so committed to exercise that he makes it a priority, rarely misses it, and has manifested that commitment to such a degree that it is evident to others. That sounds very much like devotion. Have I stumbled upon the true identity of "religion" here?
Last semester in Celebration Sisterhood, we spent a lot of time looking at the inarguably "religious" lives of the Jewish rabbis at the time of Christ - the commitment to biblical study, to prayer, to community, and to relationships. We saw evident in the life of a rabbi and his followers the very essence of discipleship, what it means to be a devout follower of Christ. In that day, a rabbinical disciple would have welcomed the description of "religious," as a confirmation that his devotion to God and to his faith were evident to others. It was into this deep water of devotion that Christ waded when cautioning the religious leaders of his day against legalism. It is when religious devotion ventures away from relationship and into legalism that they, and we, can allow it all to go terribly awry.
This is where that word "ardor" comes in from the Webster definition above. Religious devotion cannot just come from a faithful commitment. It must be tempered with the ardor (love) of a heart that is connected in relationship to God. Faithful commitment without relationship becomes a meaningless ritual. In that sense, religion isn't a summation of rules and beliefs associated with a particular group (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, etc.). It isn't what I believe in my mind. It is what I am committed to in my heart and what is manifested in my life. Religious, then, is just another word for faithful.
So if you ask me now if I am religious, my response will be:
I am trying to be. I am definitely trying to be.
-Lea
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