Graduating from religion

I feel like religious communities abuse the word faith.

Especially when religious communities say “people of faith” followed by “people of no faith,” or any, no-faith narrative. I feel gut-punched because it feels presumptuous, condescending, arrogant and disrespectful to people like me.

My life experiences forced me to “do my homework” on what I believe and do not believe. Thus, helped me graduate from religion. I believe all people deserve to see their religion as a schooling to learn and grow, then graduate and take those good things they’ve learned out in the world and make the world a better place. Perhaps seeing the religion from which they graduated as their alma mater.

Graduating from religion helped me realize many other things I have faith in that are outside the religion realm, but also helped me realize some of the things I’ve had faith in, as well as some values I have always had that I now realize were undermined by my listening to so-called religious authorities. Some things I learned from religious authorities, I’ve had to unlearn.

I feel like religious communities unknowingly or subconsciously speak as if they have a monopoly on the “faith-no faith” narrative and subconsciously and perhaps subtly want to maintain that dominion and the media, perhaps naively, repeats that narrative in the stories they report.

The faith-no faith narrative affects society in subtle, divisive ways.

Jay Larsen

Spokane