Am I a religious person?

A lot of times when people hear that I study theology, they ask me if I'm a religious person or not. This has surprised me a bit since I don't remember anyone ever asking me this question back in Finland. Maybe this tells something about the cultural differences in my homeland compared to other parts of the world: we tend to keep religious matters to ourselves and hold them as more personal and intimate than elsewhere.

I don't really mind when people ask me about my faith. Actually, I'm even begging for it. It's definitely not something that one should be hiding about. People don't "light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (NIV)

My problem is, however, that when I'm faced with a substantial question like this, I sometimes struggle to formulate a meaningful answer to it. By this, I don't mean that I'm insecure with my personal standpoint. However, I feel like I cannot formulate consequential answers to important matters like these without processing my thoughts well enough beforehand.

In this regard, this writing serves me as a note for myself, but it's not only for that. As a reader, I would also like to invite you to this research. You don't even need to be a believer or have any religious standpoint to read this post - a general interest is enough.

Now, if you would ask this question from yourself, "Am I a religious person?", what would be your good answer? But before you do, let me give you my answer first and maybe the groundwork I have done then will help you to ponder a little better on your own as well.

First of all, a simple "Yes" or "No" would not do for an answer for me. Why? Because it's the most boring thing you can ever tell and it would simply give no extension to the conversation, whatsoever. Also, without a proper definition of a religious person the answer would simply be hollow at the core and mean nothing or it might mean different things to the questioner and the respondent.

Of course, in that case, we could start off by defining first what we mean by a religious person, but then we might as well sit in a lecture hall. People don't want to hear long and vague answers. They want assertiveness!

The best straight answer that I (or any Christian for that matter) could probably give is, "I follow Jesus". It's a bold manifesto. And not only that, but it also provides so much more detailed information in such a short statement that I don't think any other formulation would be even competitive with it.

I. Follow. Jesus.

First of all, it tells that you are a Christian. It tells that you acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior and that He is the only Way to God. "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." (NIV)

If you followed another religion or were an atheist, you would probably replace Jesus with something else like, "Allah", "Buddha", or "Myself". To me however, these alternatives don't sound like they have the same powerful tone to them. I follow Allah. I follow Buddha. I follow myself. They are somehow much more easier to say. The word "Jesus" has power in it.

Finally, stating that you are a follower of Jesus also helps you to make the conversation (hopefully) a little more fruitful. People might ask you then: "Oh wow, well why do you follow Jesus then? What is so special about him?" This way it also directs the conversation away from yourself and points more towards Him who is the true Lord and Life giver.

Many people are reluctant towards Christianity, because they believe that they have to change their behavior and beliefs in a way that does not match their identity. This is completely false, however. Christianity is not about becoming a religious person. It's about knowing a person, Jesus Christ. The Christian message is not a call to religious practices but to universal forgiveness and acceptance. It is a release from the shackles of religious activity to the integrity of grace.

Religiosity also has this little bit of a bad tone to it, since it often resembles a man-made effort to reach to God. That's why I tend to not identify myself as a religious person, but rather as a spiritual person. In this respect, I could call my theology as Barthian: religion is unbelief and the true faith comes through revelation. The revelation of God is made perfect in His self-manifestation through Jesus Christ, where God approaches man and not the other way around.

Spirituality is the ultimate reality of Christian faith. We Christians are and remain spiritual not because of ourselves, but because of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us through the grace of God. Spirituality connects us with the transcendent realm of God that is also present in this world through God's Holy Trinity.

All religious activity should work towards strengthening the Connection between people. One particular experience I had in the Catholic Services, was a part during the mass where people shake hands with all those around you. For me, this was a heart-warming experience and I believe it's a part of each Catholic mass to bless people around you by shaking their hands. It kind of makes you feel like people acknowledge your existence and accept you as a part of their community, even if you were a total newbie out there, like me.