Questions of religion have challenged me ever since I was a young girl. For me religion is a title, a name by which people identify themselves or others. It is a set a rules, traditions, and perceptions dictated by those who have written down the teachings of great figures and spiritual persons. “Overly religious� people or those too caught up in names to really know god have always terrified me. Faithful people, those who can see god in all men, women, and children regardless of the name by which they call him have always inspired me. These people, with the clarity of thought to know that god made us different with different needs and varying wants but made us and therefore claims all of us, have always given me hope. Sometimes it is hard to recognize the faithful because they either refuse organized religion or are deeply associated with one. But if you listen, truly listen, to their heart and pay attention to their actions you will know them as faithful.

It has always confused me when people try to tell me that you have to claim affiliation with a religion and a building in order to know god. If he created me, orchestrated my life and my journey, then how can he not already know me? And if it is about me knowing him then would choosing one religion and one house not be the equivalent of taking one class in school and proclaiming mastery of that topic? For me, god cannot be found in only one text, one style of praying, or one house. Like professional education, religion is costly. I cannot afford to pay for membership to all in order to know god as I want to…have you ever heard of the poor man’s copyright? I have the poor woman’s religion. It is simple and does not cost more than you are capable of paying. Are you ready for it? It is called an open mind and open heart combined with the ability to reason and question. You study people, how they act in good times but more importantly in bad times. You go to the library and read all the books of worship available (and if the library only has one religion’s text you question). And when you need to be reminded that god is in all of us you visit a friend’s or relative’s house of worship. I have found god in people of varying religious commitment and of different religions. They have taught me compassion, cooperation, humility, patience, faith, and love. Most of are in my family and friends circle, others were instructors or peers at different stages of my schooling, and the rest were those rarities in history and or current events.

Rajagiri College of Social Science is a catholic school. You might have a class where your instructor is a priest or in one where a few of your peers are priests or nuns. These men and women clearly wear the cloak of religion but in them I have also found faithfulness. They do not talk about their religion as something they are forcing someone to join or using to denounce someone else’s. They speak of active participation in life, working for a better world, and diligent cooperation which to me are words of faithfulness. Since starting my field work I have been out to many different locations most of which are catholic parishes. The majority of the visits with the priests and nuns have been pleasant and inspiring. But there was one that has been weighing on my heart (and the inspiration for this long blog). Keep in mind I have been questioned about my religion but not my faith ever since I started field. Are you catholic? Are you Muslim? Do you go to church or mosque? This particular priest, while I was accompanying an outreach worker, asked if I was lazy when I told him I do not belong to a house of worship. Lazy, really? I always thought it lazy to accept religion without questions or the use of one’s own faculties. Religion is a guide by which you follow to help you get closer to god and just like Mapquest sometimes the information is not always accurate. How many missed opportunities must one take before they begin to question? A question cannot diminish faith. And when people refer to blind faith are they or are they not acknowledging that they have failed to look at the world around them…is god not everywhere?

I cheer for those who use religion wisely and worry for those who have allowed it to lead them astray. The next time I am asked if I am a Christian (that is usually the first choice) this is what I will say: “Yes, yes I am a Christian but I am a Muslim too. I am wherever god is and my guides are those willing to teach me his truths. When I say my prayers I am Muslim. When I sing songs of worship I am a Christian. When I practice forgiveness I am both and when I relinquish judgment too. When I do acts of kindness without expectation of reciprocity my blessings are counted and I need not wonder in which book they are recorded. So yes, yes I am a Christian and a Muslim for that matter a Jew too. I am wherever god wants me and wherever his light shines through.�…okay I will not say all that but I will be thinking it as I shutter at the ignorance of someone entrusted with god’s message of faith and faithfulness.

Happy days from India!