Whatever religion you follow, whatever you believe in or align with, stop and ask yourself this:

Do you believe in it because it’s what you actually know? Or is it because it’s what you were told was so? What was “right?” What was “correct?”

Whatever particular belief, especially when it comes to religion, was most likely something that your parents and your society and culture put into you. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but do you believe in it because it actually works for you? Or do you believe in it because it’s “just something you’ve always done?”

Have you given it more than a cursory thought? Or is it, “this is just the way it is?”

I started out as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or a Mormon. I didn’t “choose” this particular religion, it was chosen for me. It was chosen for me because my parents were both (not very active) members of the Church. It was chosen for me because I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah which is the “capital” for the LDS Church. It was chosen for me because that was what the majority of the people that I lived with, grew up with, and interacted with, believed in. When in Rome…

Chances are, if you grew up in the United States, or in the West in general, you are probably some flavor of Christian. Same can be said for being a Muslim in the Middle East.

If your faith, whatever it is, works for you, then that is fantastic. Honestly I don’t care what you believe in, or if you believe in anything at all. I’m not here to judge what you believe in or to “convert” you to something else.

I am asking you though, is what you believe in something that works for you? Is it something that you came about via your own judgement, your own informed choice and consent? Or is it something you struggle with and it was something that was “handed down” to you from your family, your society, and your culture? Is it actually what you believe in?

My religious beliefs were handed down to me via my parents and society. It caused me a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering because I couldn’t reconcile what I was being told was true with what I was seeing with my own eyes. The answer that I would invariably get to my questions was “You just have to have faith.” And that wasn’t good enough for me.

When I stepped away from religion, it wasn’t a “clean break.” It was something that I had to do in “stages.” That too, caused me a lot of grief and pain. It wasn’t until I made a clean break with religion, in all of its forms, that I was able to find peace and contentment, and even joy in my life. That was the choice that I made a long time ago and I’ve never looked back since.

My life is full of strife, conflict, worry, and doubt, just like anyone else’s. Taking religion out of the equation has made my life better for me in the long run. Like I said, I have no regrets, except that I wish I had made the clean break sooner rather than later.

Find whatever it is that works for you and choose that. If it doesn’t, discard it and move on to something else. My only suggestion would be is that if whatever it is isn’t working, stop trying to make it work and make a clean break from it and start anew.

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