Is it the right time to finally discard religious rituals?
Faith has caused a vicious war for millions and millions of years in the world. First there was the ancient Egyptian empire, then came the Greeks, followed by Romans and now it’s largely Christians versus Muslims fighting senseless wars. The current war in the world― Syria, Iraq― is a war of faith and it doesn’t need a genius to figure that out. Whereas faith was meant to instill hope and character originally, lately it has been anything but.
Lately faith is a tool for oppression (although some critics argue that religion has always been a tool for oppression since the existence of man; there’s a lot of evidence to back this up too but that’s not what this piece is about).
What god do you believe in? Whose god is superior? How do you worship him? When do you worship him? Where do you worship him? How do you worship him? Who do you worship with? Stuff like that. All these have remained to be pertinent questions in the battleground of faith.
When people claim superiority of their faith, I roll my eyes. The single and most astounding truth is that no faith is superior to the other. More often than not, we don’t choose what god to believe in. more often than not, we are born into a particular faith, meaning that our faith chooses us and not the other way round. For instance, I’m a Roman Catholic today because I was born in a Roman Catholic family.
That therefore means that I would someone else is a Muslim today because he or she is born in a Muslim family.
We have a tendency to let religious rituals veil us. Its rituals that create distinctions that would otherwise not be there. Take for example our forefathers used to pray to a god who dwelled in the sky and he answered their prayers, does that make our African God less superior to Jehovah or Allah? Hell no! So in as much as the rituals are different, the prayers pass in a single conduit to one destination. The tradition of prayer and faith has always been an easy one, but every day man (or woman) keeps devising mechanisms to complicate it by introducing unnecessary rituals into the whole litany. As long as you can talk, you can pray; but with the rules superimposed on the process nowadays, ha! It’s frightening to be in a relationship with Our Father in Heaven.
I remember a story I read somewhere about this temple in India. One day as the priest was leading the prayers, this stray cat moved all over the temple jumping and meowing. Due to the disturbance, the priest ordered that the cat be tied to a tree outside until the after the prayers. The trying of the cat onto the tree, initially a one-time temporary solution, would happen every now and then since the cat was now a constant presence at the temple. Many weeks, months and years went by until that priest died, and the cat and the congregants. But you know what? The generation that followed would always tie a cat onto a tree during prayers because they believed it was the only way their prayers would get to heaven. Preposterous, right? But not that farfetched from what we do in our churches, mosques, temples, shrines etc. What started as a remedy to prevent destruction was now a fully engrained ritual during prayer for many years. This is what rituals do to us. It is not like they are wrong, but most often than not they don’t hold any meaning other than just a habit that’s been passed down from generation to generation.
For that reason, it is important to question the essence of some of these rituals as and when we spot them. What they mean and if at all they are just part of a culture passed down to us. Just because someone else worships in a church while you worship on a mat in your bedroom doesn’t make your faith any less or more valid for that matter.
Rituals can clout so many things. Rituals form part of the way worship is done, but rituals alone without meaning to it is a meaningless void. Take the example above for instance, the tying a cat onto a tree; the initial intention of that act has been shifted into something else. Take the way most modern day Christians behave in the churches and how it all changes once they’re out. Its rituals make you dress in a certain way when going in the presence of god, talk in a certain way to god while there, talk in a certain where to your fellow worshipers while there and ultimately make yourself into someone you’re not or stuff you believe in while at the same time not being entirely sure why you do that. Rituals clout the very intention of faith by magnifying the importance of certain acts rather than the belief itself or good deeds as advised in most religions. We all are born with the intuitive power of prayer. We all know how to communicate with god the same way a baby knows how to nurse from its mother. We all know this until some religious leader comes along and tells us that we are doing it wrong. That our knees aren’t bend enough. That our offerings and sacrifices aren’t big enough. That our past of present mistakes are standing in the way, you know; just to name but a few of the reasons. This is where the whole problem stems from.
When these barriers are erected, many willing people are locked out. Take my faith for example. Christians today are more concerned about your denomination, the dress one is wearing and the amount of tithe that one is paying or the crowd you hang out with more than the person you are on the inside. I’m a Christian but I believe we all worship one true god. People worshiping goodness and kindness worship the same god. Bust for most Christians, good deeds don’t matter that much as long as your bank statement is attractive and your external appearance is appealing. That’s all. It’s all part of the rituals. That’s what has been presented as the way of conducting business. I however think that’s missing the point. That’s not faith at all. It’s a close imitation; but not quite it.
Christ Himself did not care for all that. He indiscriminately hang out with sinners; adulterers and tax collectors and lepers among others. I always laugh when I remember this one time he warned of ‘those hypocrites who shout their prayers on hill tops for all to see’, telling His disciples not to ape that. Man this guy was smart! I wonder if modern age Christians ever read that part of the bible because it exposes what faith has become all about. Christ taught integration and brotherhood. I think if Christians tried to follow this example, we would be far in terms of civilization. Jesus would want us to bring water and lend an ear to those in need. He would want us to practice kindness and compassion. He would want us to embrace the 21st century Samaritans…..stuff like that. I think that we Christians have the best example to follow. We are quick to condemn people whose sin doesn’t rhyme with our kind of sin. I don’t believe that Christians are good people any more than I believe Muslims or Atheists are. We have corrupt characters and murders professing all these faiths. Meaning that faith has nothing to do with hope and character which was the original intention of faith, I believe.
I think it’s time to truly reconsider religion and what it’s all about; because lately it has become anything but a conduit of faith and character. What it has morphed into is anybody’s guess.
Catherine Amayi is a Scientist and an Author
Email ccamayi@yahoo.com
Follow on Twitter @Catherine_amayi