Do Geese See God? Religious Biography

Religion has always been an interesting subject to me, primarily because I have never had a real answer to satisfy my questions. I personally claim the title of deist when it comes to religion, and I find great pleasure in making fun of most religions. Which isn’t really fair, because it’s easier to make fun of religion than to actually discuss it. The idea of God, or some form of deity, actually came to me at a young age. I never went to church nor were my parents religious to any length. My mom claims to be agnostic and my dad was raised Methodist (as were his parents). My grandparents on my mom’s side went to several different churches, but I recall Lutheran sticking out for a while. Regardless, during my youth I can never recall going to church or hearing of any of my grandparents going.

Back to this idea of God coming to me at a young age. Since I had not been in contact with religion during my younger years, I honestly didn’t know of Jesus or Mohammed or any of that. However, the notion of a deity was easy for me to deduce. If my limited knowledge can’t explain something, then there must be something out there that does. It doesn’t take much imagination to think of something out there doing things that aren’t comprehendible. I originally thought that this deity must interfere with life constantly, perhaps even control it. As I got older, this notion seemed silly and I’ve come more to accept the deist notion of an impersonal deity who has no presence here. It wasn’t until about a year ago during AP US History that I finally got the name “deism” to go along with my beliefs.

My personal take on religious probably differs from others. In fact, I’m sure it does. The Ye Gods thing claimed that a deity was the collective pure form of a society. A moral, ethical, and ideological epitome of society. Personally, I accept that notion, but also add another notion of my own. Not only is this deity looked up to as the shining example of society, but also I believe it offers meaning. People generally go through life looking for meaning. A reason to live. The meaning of life (which is a good movie, by the way). When this notion of meaning isn’t evident, I believe people turn toward outer-worldly means, such as religion, to give them this notion. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t like the idea of being told what your meaning is. Personally, that is something that has to be discovered on your own.

As for religion as a whole, I understand its importance (why else would I be taking this class?). I don’t see anything wrong with having a set of morals or ethics to look toward. I also don’t have a problem with believing in whatever you want to believe. It just bugs the hell out of me when people try to impose their religion on others, whether done subtly or blatantly. I have had people tell me that I will go to hell because I don’t follow their faith. Such a nice thing to say to someone, isn’t it?

I am personally waiting to see how religion turns out during my lifetime. It can’t change too much, but there has to be some subtle differences that will dictate its path in the future. I personally hope we move toward polytheism again. Poseidon was always the coolest god, hands down.