On Religion and the Church

Religion comes in many forms, but a key part of it is faith.  The point of this post is not to analyze the religions of the world, but remain grounded in Christianity/Anglicanism.  Each person’s approach to faith and religion will differ, and I do not subscribe that there is a “right way” to worship, the only correct way is the way that allows one to connect with God.

The church is not merely a building or an organization; while it sounds sappy, I believe the church is inside each of us. 

As a building, it is a place to worship and glorify God, a place for the gathering of community, and often a place of beauty.  Contemporary society has moved away from the church and it is no longer the centre of the community (which I find a shame, as the space/building could be used for non-worship functions, such as gatherings, concerts, etc.).  I try to regularly worship God at church, whether it be a Sunday/weekday communion or one of the daily offices.  However, at the same time, the church is not confined to the building, and there may be times when people cannot attend church for a variety of reasons, but worship can still occur.

As an organization (i.e. the Anglican church), it is a community of like-minded people who share a common understanding/set of beliefs, and depending on how you want to define it, it is the Christian Church, or a specific denomination.  I see the Anglican Church as a community with common traditions, doctrines, worship practices.  As a branch of Christianity, it is catholic (small c) and reformed (of the Reformation), existing in an in-between world of the Roman Catholic church and other protestant denominations.

Though the church should embody the ideals of Jesus Christ and Christianity, one cannot deny that the church is run by man (people), and is therefore not perfect.  The church/organized religion has made many mistakes in the past, it has caused a lot of suffering, injustices, and conflict in the name of God, but those were acts of man.  Even at the local church level, there is often a lot of drama between parishioners, which at times can be very unchristian.  However, one hopes that the Church should strive to transcend the weaknesses of man and follow the teachings of Jesus: to love, to accept that we are all imperfect (sinners), to forgive, to respect the dignity of others, to do good works and contribute positively to society.