Huff Post
We are all religious, every one of us.
Religion is deeply rooted in human nature and a response to certain profound and universal needs of humankind.
I write these words after reading the essay “Man The Religious Animal” in the April issue of First Things. Authored by Professor Christian Smith of Notre Dame, it limps toward the conclusion that human beings are naturally religious, but does so in such an equivocal and even schizophrenic way that one is left with the idea that Professor Smith barely believes his own argument. He argues both sides of the issue with roughly equal fervor, telling us along the way that religion is not an essential part of who we are; rather, it is closer to a capacity or a predisposition that is triggered by particular circumstances. You cannot extinguish religion, Smith says, but it is not inevitable.
I don’t think so.
Religion is that part of our being that gives expression to the human craving for transcendence. In our often ugly world, religion does not tell us what is but what should be. It responds to the conviction, present in us all, that there is something more to our lives than the fulfilling of an immediate need or the gratifying of an immediate desire. For the human animal, in other words, religion is the wellspring of optimism and hope.
Categories: Faith, Religions, Spirituality