ORGANIZED RELIGION IS GOOD

A central tenant of the Cultural Catechism is that “organized religion” has done more harm than good—or worse—that it has killed a lot of people throughout history. This persistent myth arises from a category error fueled by the erosion of our language. It results in the untethering of men from God and each other.

The category error is that the inanimate (organized religion) wreaks havoc rather than the animate (people). A category error is the mistake of attributing a quality to something that one can only assign to things of another category. Inanimate things or concepts cannot do anything, so it is a category error to assign actions to them. Thus, it was not Islam that flew Boeing 767s into the Twin Towers on 9/11, it was people who did that—very evil people. Nor was it Christianity that filled the torture chambers of the Spanish Inquisition with agony, but rather people—very evil people.

This category error leads us to blame the religion cited by an unbalanced and evil person who claims to have committed an act of violence in its name, rather than the person himself. Because it is hard for a balanced person to understand the motivations of a murderous psychopath, we assume that there must be a deeper explanation for his desire to kill and maim. And, because we are intellectually lazy, organized religion provides an easy explanation for the evil that men do. Thus, the myth that it is the religion rather than the man that is at fault whenever a person commits evil in religion’s name.

The erosion of our language provides fuel to this myth by obscuring the true meaning of both “religion” and “organized.”

“Religion” comes from the Latin word religãre which means to bind or tie tightly, which is also the root for the word ligament. Anatomically, ligaments are the connective tissue between bones or cartilage. Anthropologically, ligaments are the bonds that unite people. Thus, religion is the spiritual ligament between both man and God and men who worship God. It is the connective tissue formed by our understanding of the devine as spoken prophetically through the people raised up for that purpose. Thus, religion defines our relationship with God in the way that “family” defines our relationship with our wives and children.

Paul reflects this definition of religion in his letter to the Ephesians (4:16) when he describes the church as being “joined and held together by every supporting ligament, (which) grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” It is the connective tissue of religion that holds the church together and builds it in a dynamic and transformative way. Religion binds us relationally so that it can grow us spiritually.

Because our language has eroded, people view religion as a set of arbitrary and static rules. They see the binding of the ligament but not the growth it fosters, which causes them to think of religion as a transactional relationship rather than a transformational one. I obey because you say I must, not because you love me and want what is best for me.

Likewise, the meaning of the word “organized” has also devolved. Organizing something simply means to arrange it in a systematic way, to provide it structure and order. The antonym of organized is chaotic. A chaotic system is one that is in complete disorder and confusion. A disorganized religion would not be useful to anyone because its lack of structure and order would cause confusion. In fact, it is that kind of religion that has done more harm that good.

But an organized religion is a structured belief system that clearly defines the transformative relationship between men and God. It holds the body of believers together fostering spiritual growth.

It is good. Organized religion is good.