In light of the Pope’s recent comments regarding same-sex unions, I am disheartened for all of us in the LGBTQIA+ community. Though I identify as Episcopalian, I am still frustrated at the Catholic Church. For someone as public as the Pope to regard who I am as “sin” hurts. And for me, whose faith in organized religion hangs by a thread already, this only further solidifies my belief that religion is not actually there to help those who need it most but to maintain a social order for those in the center.
Think about it. The Bible tells us to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” but when it actually comes to loving — which encompasses a multitude of actions — those who would claim to hold most tightly to such a verse seem to do so with conditions in place. Sure, they’ll love their straight white middle- and upper-class, able-bodied relatives and friends who think and pray as they do, but should even one of those characteristics stray from the mainstream, the conditions win out. Of course, not everyone within organized religions are like this (I’ve met many people from different sects who support me to this day), but when the Pope, who speaks on behalf of one of the most influential religions, publicly regards marginalized people as sinful, it’s not loving. And since love is at the core of Christianity (Jesus regarded love as the greatest commandment, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He also said the second commandment was of equal importance, which comes into play here, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”), this contradicts those core tenets.
So if this particular strand of religion isn’t about exercising love, what is it about? Power. This religion bends according to the will of those in power. And often it is used to justify actions otherwise deemed unlovable. But those who devote their lives to a particular religion are told to blindly follow its tenets, “having faith”, which is another way of keeping its followers from critically analyzing anything their religious leaders spout in the pulpit. In other words, a sheep mentality is encouraged, where the leaders are the ones with the answers, and the followers are told to simply accept it, “even if they don’t understand it.”
This, of course, applies to the extremist side of religion, not to those who actually use religion for good. I’m pleased to say that I have been embraced by those within the Episcopal faith. Never have I ever felt so loved and accepted by a religious group. Not once have I felt like an outsider in their midst, feeling encouraged to question that which my leaders profess, not because I doubt it but because wonderful people have shown me that a critical mind is necessary to my journey in growing closer to God. I just wish all religions were like this, but unfortunately, they are not.
Everyone is probably thinking, “Well, your title doesn’t make sense then. If religion has helped you, why are you professing the opposite?” Because religion alone cannot help you. You have to be proactive in working out its tenets for yourself, according to your own life and circumstances. Religion is not going to magically take care of all your problems. That’s why blindly following the tenets of anything is detrimental not only to you but to an entire group of people. If all of us followed every tenet of a particular religion, we would be miserable. These rules are man-made, written by those who are unable to take into account the particular life experiences of every single person. It’s not because they’re inept. It’s because it would be impossible for any of us, even me, to take into account every person’s experience and spout it into a workable, form-fit religion. In other words, it’s not practical. That’s why you have to make it work for you.
So I stand by my statement. No, religion is not here to help you on its own. Otherwise, a lot of us could be missing out on rights that we deserve and are entitled to simply because we are human. This includes the right to marry, even if we are LGBTQIA+.
