Defining Ourselves

Defining Ourselves

I have found that far too often people identify themselves by their heritage and not where they themselves were born.  This is seen most commonly in New England with people that have an Irish heritage.  Whenever the subject of nationality comes up, people whose ancestors came from Ireland will identify themselves as being Irish.   My heritage is Irish and English.  When I was a child I asked my grandfather if we were Irish.  He said that we are American.  Our ancestors did not come to this country to be Irish living in America, but to become American.  I understand how some of my ancestors faced racism and how the Irish were treated as second class citizens in our country.  I understand how some people find in their heritage a sense of pride for themselves.  However, I see these identifying labels as holding on to the past and holding on to what the past generations have said what we are, and an inhibitor in discovering who we are today.

Not only in heritage, but in matters of religious identity, people often label themselves by how they were raised and not by what they actually believe.  Often I have been engaged in conversation with someone and matters of religion will come up.  They will identify themselves as being “Catholic”.  This usually leads me to ask a series of questions such as “Do you believe that the Pope is a direct link to God and is the infallible voice of God on Earth?”  “Do you believe that prayers offered to The Virgin Mary, will be delivered to God by her?” These are almost always answered with a “No”.  I continue by asking “Is the Bible the Word of God?” “Is Jesus of Nazareth a physical incarnation of God?”  “Is his crucifixion and resurrection a fact and is the belief in these events and the acceptance of his sacrifice the only way to be absolved of your sins and the only path to a blissful afterlife?”  Again, these questions are often answered with a “No”.  I then proceed to ask “What do you believe in?”  Frequently, they respond by saying “I believe that Jesus was a great teacher, and I do believe in God, but I don’t go to church and I don’t believe in the Holy Bible.  To which I must tell them that they are in fact NOT Catholic, nor are they even Christian, they are by definition a “Theist”.  Sometimes they respond with “I don’t know what I actually believe in, I’ve never really thought about it that much.”  At this point, I have to break the news to them and tell them that they are actually an “Agnostic”.  I understand why people hold onto these identifying labels.  It defines a part of who they are, their past, events that made them into who they are today.  These identifying labels often make it easy to understand what their childhood might have been like or what their relationship with the older generations of their family may be like.  These labels however, do not accurately portray who they are spiritually, today, at this moment in time.

The time has come for all of us to have a conversation with ourselves.  It is time to encourage each other to really think about what we believe in and to find the right words to identify ourselves.  There are religious organizations active in influencing our legislature today.  They seek to pass laws founded upon their perceptions of morality based on their faith.  In asserting themselves to our elected officials, they will frequently toss around statistics of the American population, and of how many “people of faith” live in this country.  Based upon my experience with people and how they identify themselves, I fear that these statistics may be grossly inaccurate.  Democracy only works if the citizens are active and informed.  The most important information is knowing who you are as a citizen.

I offer these statements of belief. Which one defines you?

A “Theist” says “I believe in God.   I believe that God created all  

things, that he has a plan for all of us.  God hears our prayers and will perform miracles.

A “Deist” says “I believe in God, God the creator, but God does not have a plan nor does God answer our prayers or perform miracles.”

An “Agnostic Deist” says “I believe in a higher power, in some form of Divinity, but I do not know how to define it or explain it.”

An “Agnostic” says “I do not believe that God does or does not exist”

An “Agnostic Atheist” says “I do not believe in God, but it is possible that God or a Divine Consciousness exists.

A “Gnostic Atheist” says: “There is no God”

An “Antitheist” says: “There is no God and the belief in God is harmful to the advancement of human civilization”