Personalized Religious Observance

Every individual has a different viewpoint about what his or her religion means. Some people believe that being a part of an organized religion means that they have an obligation to accept and embrace its mainstream beliefs.  Others believe that identifying with a religion is more of a process of deciding which values are important to live by and choosing from a pool of ideas.

I believe that one’s relationship with his or her religion is based on the struggle to understand which values, beliefs, and traditions are meaningful to them. In my own experience, I have been brought up in a moderately religious environment where I have been given the opportunity to explore the traditions of my ancestors  and what they mean to me. This ability to choose has played a major role in how I’ve shaped my religious identity and how I believe religions should function in general. I believe that one’s experience with religion should be individual and personal and ideas should not be forced upon religious followers. Religion is meant to give people positive components of their life such as hope and meaning; it is not supposed to be a burden. Having the option to choose what parts of my religion are meaningful has allowed me to find values, beliefs, and traditions that I try to live by and that shape me as a person.  

Though many people like myself value the ability to personalize religious observance, a lot of people are raised to believe that every aspect of their religion contains the absolute truth and needs to be followed. These individuals cannot question values or beliefs or decide what parts of their religion they wish to follow and live by. Furthermore, the certainty of the entirety of a religious code can impede one’s ability to be tolerant of other’s beliefs.  If an individual believes that his or her religion necessarily cannot be right, and must be living against the words of the only truthful god.  This is what causes religious conflicts throughout the world. For this reason, many people despise religion and believe that our world would be better off without it.

I believe that if more people are given the freedom to decide what part of their religions are most meaningful, they will realize that maybe there is not only one truth and not all follows of a different religion are living against the words of absolute truth. There would be more religious tolerance and fewer conflicts.