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Did You Inherit Your Religion?

by John_Penberthy

The vast majority of people in the world automatically and
unquestioningly inherit their religion from their parents. For
something as important as religion, why are we so reluctant to
shop around?

One Saturday morning I was sipping my coffee and reading the
newspaper when the doorbell rang. This was an unusual occurrence
as we lived in a somewhat isolated log cabin in the mountains
outside Denver. At the door stood two attractive college-age
girls who wanted to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah�s
Witness.

Normally I would politely say, �No thanks� and return to my
paper, but that morning I decided to engage with them. After
hearing their initial pitch, I asked one of them, �Are your
parents Jehovah�s Witnesses?�

�Our whole family is,� she replied.

�Do you think religion is an important thing for people to have
in their lives?�

�Very,� she replied, and I agreed.

�How many other religions have you studied and investigated?�

�None.�

�Is a car an important thing in your life?� I asked.

�Well, yes, but not as important as religion.�

Again I agreed. �What kind of car do you drive?�

�A Toyota.�

�Is that what your parents drive?�

�No.�

�Why not?� I inquired.

�Because I like Toyotas better.� She was starting to get
impatient but politely continued to humor me.

�How do you know?�

�Because I like the way my Toyota looks and drives, plus it was
inexpensive and gets good gas mileage.�

I nodded toward my Toyota sitting in the driveway and agreed.
�How did you know that about your car when you bought it?�

�I test drove different cars and talked to my friends about
their cars.� she said, increasingly exasperated.

�So you checked out lots of different cars before deciding on
your Toyota,� I gently summarized, �but your religion, which is
much more important, you inherited from your parents without
knowing anything about the alternatives?�

�Yeah,� she replied rather sheepishly, catching my drift.

�I�ll tell you what,� I said. �Spend the next five years
investigating and the other great religions of the world and then
if you still want to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah�s
Witness, we�ll talk.�

The girls, realizing they had a hopeless case on their hands,
thanked me for my time and left.

The vast majority of people worldwide inherit their religion�one
of the most important things in their lives�unquestioningly from
their parents, without ever investigating the alternatives. Many
arrogantly believe that their religion is the only way to
salvation and that the vast majority who don�t share their
beliefs will go to hell. Some believe that other religions are
heresy, and a few will even fight and die in the name of their
religion.

However, most people are incurious about religion and simply
want to be told what to believe without personal investigation.
Such investigation is, after all, a huge task which most people
are not cut out for. This is OK; there is nothing wrong with
inheriting the religion of our parents. This is why the Dalai
Lama encourages people to follow the religion of the culture in
which they were raised, as opposed to proselytizing Buddhism.

It seems that those who do inherit their religion would
acknowledge their limited understanding of other religions and
adopt a posture of tolerance, not dogmatism, toward them. Sadly,
it seems that the less one knows about other religions, the more
likely s/he is to be intolerant of it, fueling the fires of
fundamentalism. Yet Islam has just as much meaning and validity
for those in the Middle East, and Hinduism has just as much
meaning and validity for those in India, as Christianity does for
those in the West.

Did you inherit your religion?

John Penberthy is the author of the spiritual allegory�now in 11
languages�To Bee or Not to Bee (Sterling Publishing). Available
in bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, throughout North
America. View the 60 second Preview and send free ecards at <a
href="http://www.ToBeeBook.com" title="http://www.ToBeeBook.com"
target="_blank">http://www.ToBeeBook.com</a>. An endearing gift!

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