Why Religion Isn't a Dirty Word

Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I follow Jesus, not religion?” On the surface, it makes sense. It emphasizes the relationship we have with God, not just the rules we follow. Especially for people who think that Christianity is a long list of do-nots: do not drink, do not smoke, do not lie, etc., it’s refreshing to hear someone say they’re not religious. But what if they’re just misusing the word religion?

If you look up a dictionary definition of religion, it will be something like this from Merriam-Webster: “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.” That’s not technically wrong – I mean, it is the dictionary! Here is the way I would define it: Religion is the means human beings use to experience God.

It is not that religion is good or bad by itself, because that’s not the point. Religion, including everything from a church gathering to daily scripture reading and prayer, are the major ways we use to experience the presence of God. The acts of religion do not save, God saves. But in order to know God, we must take action to know him, and we do that through the structures, habits, and disciplines we call religion.

Put another way, consider these thoughts from William Law in his book, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, on what the rules of religion offer us:

“the strictest rules of religion are so far from rendering a life dull, anxious and uncomfortable that, on the contrary, all the miseries, vexations, and complaints that are in the world are owing to the lack of religion. For all the wants that disturb human life; that make us uneasy to ourselves, quarrelsome with others, and unthankful to God; that weary us in vain labors and foolish anxieties; that carry us from project to project, from place to place in a poor pursuit of what we know not - are the wants that neither God nor nature nor reason has subjected us to, but are solely infused into us by pride, envy and covetousness. So far, therefore, as you reduce your desires to such things as nature and reason require, so far as you regular all the notions of your heart by the strict rules of religion, so far you remove yourself from that infinity of wants and vexations that torment every heart that is left to itself."

In other words, a disciplined religious life does not diminish joy, but actually frees us from the internal miseries and restlessness that plague most people. True religion brings your desires back to what God, nature, and reason intended—and that's where real peace lives. If you want to experience God, you start with the actions we call religion.