One Year to Enlightenment: Month 5, Day 29: My Problem with African Traditional Religion

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Month 5, Day 29: My Problem with African Traditional Religion

Maybe I’m just in yet another mini-depression, but I’m starting to get sick of African religion. I think I was right to pick 30 days as the length of time to spend in each religion. If I had spent any longer on Christianity or Taoism, I probably would have blown my brains out. And I’m already starting to feel the same way about African religion.

Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of things I like about the African traditions I’ve been practicing. I love not having to go to church at designated times. I like the whole “share some wine with your ancestors and reap the benefits” thing. And I like the clever, funny, vomit-related stories about the origins of the universe. But one thing is driving me crazy: the lack of any type of scripture.

I’m a sucker for books. I’m almost certain I own more volumes than my local library. My books are in excellent condition and actually include genres other than mystery and “large print”--unlike my local library.

The point is, I like books. So maybe I overestimate the importance of books in religion, but I think some kind of scripture is important, if not essential, in a religious tradition.

I’m not saying that I necessarily believe that the scripture of any given religion is truly divine, handed down by God to some prophet who wrote all that wisdom down.. In fact, I definitely do not believe that. After reading the entire Bible back in December, I can comfortably say that some books do not live up to the hype.

Still, I like the idea of having some concrete ideas, some prayers, something tangible as a focus for worship. Pouring wine on the ground and chatting with my dead ancestors doesn’t feel like religion to me. To tell you the truth, it feels a lot like being crazy—and I get enough of that feeling in the non-spiritual parts of my life. I’m kind of looking for religion to make me feel less crazy.

So I guess the point is that I’m glad this month is almost over. Although African religions are interesting and even beautiful in many ways, I don’t think they’re right for me. I need some structure and I really need some books.

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Why Am I Doing This?

I've always been interested in religion. I was raised Catholic, went to Mass every Sunday, and went through CCD and all the sacraments that went with it. I remember times, as a child, when I thought all the ceremony and readings and decorations in church were magical. But after 16 years or so, something changed.

Instead of seeing the priest's robes as regal, I started to see the tattered edges and realized I was looking at the same old guy in the same old dress. And the readings that used to surprise me each week had become rote. It all began to seem like a boring routine.

By the time I got to college, I stopped going to church entirely. My dad, who still went to Mass every week, wasn't pleased. He started calling me "Aggie"--short for agnostic.

What he didn't know was that, by then, I didn't just question the existence of God; I pretty much denied it completely. I refused to believe that any benevolent deity would have allowed all the crappy things in my life to happen to me. So I stopped thinking about God and focused on other things.

Ignoring religion did make life simpler. I got to sleep late on Sundays without guilt--well, just the little twinges of guilt that every Catholic carries for life. But I liked the freedom of not having to answer to anybody. I was just me, and that was enough.

But it really wasn't. As much as I tried to deny it, there was always a nagging inside me, telling me there had to be something more. I tried to ignore it.

Work was a good distraction. I loved editing books, so I threw myself into it. But even work couldn't keep the wish for meaning away. In fact, it was work that eventually brought it back in full force.

I got an assignment to produce a series of books for young adults on "Religions of the World." I tried to stay objective, but I found myself fascinated by each new book: Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam.

I found something I loved about each faith, but never found any one religion that seemed like it would work for me. I already knew I didn't like the obligation of going to a Christian church on Sunday. I liked pork chops too much to be Jewish. I lack the necessary discipline for the rigors of Islam.

I started to wonder if I could create my own religion. I also wondered whether there were aspects common to all religions--things like "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"--that are universal and, perhaps, eternal truths. And that was the motivation for this project.

For the next year, I'll delve into some of the world's religions--some of the biggest and some of the more controversial--to see what I can learn, not only about religion, but about life, faith, and truth.

Obviously, I know that a single month is nowhere near enough time to learn everything about any particular religion, but it's a start, and after the year is over, I'll be able to use what I've learned to discover more about all the religions and, maybe, about myself.

One Year to Enlightenment

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Month 5, Day 29: My Problem with African Traditional Religion

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