Jerry Wilson Over Coffee Appearing each Wednesday in the Edinburgh Courier, the weekly newspaper in Edinburgh, Indiana and periodically in Indiana's Daily Journal newspaper.

What is Religion

Just what is religion, anyway? And why must it be so complicated? Why are there so many different religions?

The dictionary says that religion is, “a set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.” Ok, so what, then, is “spiritual”? Again, turning to the dictionary, we find that it means, “of, concerned with, or affecting the soul.” Ah, the soul. That’s a biggie. What is a soul?

Going back to our dictionary, we find that “soul” has several definitions. But the one most closely related to the original question of religion is, “the spiritual nature of human beings, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state.”

Well, that helps a little, though as is typical, the dictionary definition is somewhat circular—using “soul” to define spiritual, and “spiritual” to define soul.

Religion, then, can be summarized as, “a set of beliefs or values, based on the teachings of a leader that concerns himself with that part of our being that is immortal and will live on after we die, going either to a place of eternal happiness or sorrow.”

Using that definition, it can be fairly easy to see why there are different religions in the world; there must be one based on the teachings of every different “spiritual leader” in history.

Did I say “one” for each spiritual leader? Well, that would make the most sense, but it certainly isn’t reality.

The vast majority of people in the United States, and other Western nations, who claim to have a religious belief, call themselves Christians. The “spiritual leader” they follow is Jesus Christ. But Christianity is not a single religion, as it should be based on the definition of what religion is.

Christianity includes the differing belief systems of Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant religions. Protestants can be further broken down into Baptists, Mormons, Disciples of Christ, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, and many others. Even many of the different denominations have denominations: There are Southern Baptists, Separate Baptists, just plain Baptists, and so on.

It’s funny, and ironic, how the teachings of a single man whose mission in life was to unify the world under the banner of a single Godly Kingdom has been interpreted so many different ways, caused so many conflicts, and has been the object of so many different debates.

If there is but one Jesus Christ, then why isn’t there a single religion that follows his teachings? There once was. In the first couple of centuries after Christ, if you believed in him, you were a Christian—period.

Eventually, a great schism occurred in the Church, based primarily on the fact that people were isolated geographically in those days. The Eastern Church, based in Greece, split with the Roman-based Catholic Church.

Over the next few centuries, the Catholic Church became rather corrupt. The church even began selling “indulgences” supposedly granting the remission of punishment due for a sin in exchange for money. This, and other dubious practices, didn’t fit too well with the beliefs of a man named Martin Luther. So he led a reform movement against the Catholic Church and established his own religion, which eventually became the Protestant Church, with the Lutheran denomination being the first, closely followed by the Calvinists and the Wesleyan Methodists.

Over the past two hundred years, several other denominations have sprung up, including the Presbyterians, the Disciples of Christ and, even more recently, the Pentecostals.

Some of these denominations are more ecumenical than others. Some believe that the only true way to Heaven is through their own interpretation of the Bible. Others believe that God might be more broad-minded, allowing people from many different faiths to enter into everlasting life.

I’ve always wondered how some denominations who claim their way is the one true path to Heaven can explain how all the hundreds of millions of people who were born prior to the founding of their denomination ever had a chance at getting into Heaven.

My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” But, if you think about it, if a Christian denomination has a doctrine (set of beliefs), which its congregation is required to adopt as the basis for acquiring eternal salvation, then that denomination is, by definition, “judging” that members of other denominations are condemned to Hell, because they have adopted a different doctrine.

I try to keep an open mind when it comes to religion. And most of all, I try not to make judgments as to the final destination of a person’s soul. Did Hitler go to Hell? I don’t know; I really don’t. I don’t even want to hazard a guess. Did Mother Theresa go to Heaven? Again, don’t ask me, for I know not the answer.

Which denomination is best? Which denomination is the one true religion? Which religion does God like best? How do I know if I’ve picked the “right” denomination or religion to believe in? If these questions could really be answered, there would be only one religion, and it would be non-denominational. The fact is, nobody can answer those questions, and no single denomination has a monopoly on truth.

God, Jesus, Mohammad, and Buddha might all be up in Heaven, looking down on us and wondering what all the fuss is about. The real truth probably reaches much deeper than any one denomination, or even any one religion.

Copyright © 2001 by Jerry Wilson.