Sunday, August 9, 2009

Finley Book of the Month for August 2009


From 101 Ways to Happiness (Liguori Publications), this is Number 89:

JOIN AN INSTITUTIONAL RELIGION

As far as the dominant popular culture is concerned, "institutional religion" is in bad taste. Only those unable to cope with reality take refuge in "institutional religion," people who need a spiritual crutch. "Spirituality" may be popular, but who would want to have anything to do with "institutional religion?" We would rather put together our own spiritual outlook on life and the world, something unique to fit our unique self.

There is something charmingly naive about this popular perspective. It's also charmingly American, an echo of that good old American individualism we all know so well. We will do it on our own, by damn, and everybody else better leave us alone.

In a book called Through a Glass Darkly: A Spiritual Psychology of Faith, author Mary Jo Meadow writes: "Religious institutions seem to be a ‘necessary evil' when it comes to faith. They help transmit spiritual truths, but often limit seekers' perspectives in ways that block spiritual growth and obscure spiritual truths . . . .
"Let the question become: of all the worthy paths that have brought people to God, which is or are the best for me at this time?"

How utterly broad-minded, wouldn't you say? For this perspective the subjective individual is an absolute. You should measure all of life and all the universe according to your own personal, subjective, private measure at this moment in time. Indeed, you are the measure of all truth, beauty and goodness. There are no objective truths, only what's meaningful for you.

This is a summary of the most popular perspective on spirituality and religions today. But it overlooks something. Granted that religious institutions have their faults and weaknesses; granted that religious institutions or those who represent them sometimes hurt people; granted that sometimes religious leaders are arrogant and self-serving. But the same is true of all human institutions. . .because they are all human and so, flawed. Does this mean that I--me, myself, and I--constitute an infallible authority? Is it not remotely possible that "institutional religions" exist because historically people found them necessary and, in the long run, more worthwhile than not, more expanding than limiting? Is it not possible that an institutional religion can help me to nourish my spirituality in ways I might never discover on my own, thrashing about to put together my own little eclectic spiritual mix?

To refuse allegiance to any single institutional religion is to hold oneself aloof from full membership in and commitment to any human religious community at all. It is to make a career of standing on the sidelines.
Nourish your happiness. Join an institutional religion. There you will find fulfillment, meaning, and spiritual truth. You will also find frustration, narrow-mindedness, and conflict. Welcome to the human condition.


If you would like to learn more about this book, or purchase a copy, click here: 101 Ways to Happiness