Today's Religion

I've been thinking a lot about religion over the past year, and my thinking has lead me in a direction I could not say I had anticipated. Instead of becoming more religious, I have lost my faith in God altogether.

I do not find that to be a bad thing, for obvious reasons (one being that I chose to let go of my faith myself) but instead a step in the right direction: I am making my faith (or lack thereof) my own. I am not taking what anyone else says and just agreeing with it, but I am identifying parts and pieces of what I see in the world around me and integrating them into my own collage of beliefs.

For example, I don't belong to a church anymore, or any christian organization, from which to derive my beliefs. I am around such groups, but as I recognize myself as an outsider, I feel free to openly disagree with what they say. I don't have to be swayed or directed towards something not my own, but I see and hear what is around me, and use my own discretion on what I choose to accept.

I do not believe in a god. I do not believe in morality. I do believe in people. I believe in the here and now, and to some degree the future and the past. I accept that other people do believe in God, and I have no problem with that. I am no one to try and project my beliefs onto anyone else because all I have is exactly that: my belief. It belongs to me. Mine. My own. No one else's.

And I like that. As great as it would be to be in the company of people who  share in my beliefs, I have a freedom that I could never attain among such a community. I do like to (and try to whenever such an occasion presents itself) give and receive feedback on philosophical and religious questions with open-minded individuals. Frequently, they can shed light on a perspective I previously never considered as plausible. I don't want to feel alone in the world, but I acknowledge what other people can bring to the table.

Other times, I shun away from people I fear may not be so communicable about a differing set of ideals, and I don't like confrontations that leave either party feeling belittled or pitied. Those are not positive human interactions, and I can't imagine any religion would want such an occurrence. My only conclusion is that open-mindedness is necessary in inter-faith communications. (I don't need to bring in commentary about how badly it is missing...)

Anyway, I'm very interested in what people have to say about religion in general. I don't intend to stop my search for answers here. This may be only an interlude in my quest, but this is where I am today.