I prefer to use the simple phrase of “a search for God.” The secularists prefer the historical approach. They start with Hinduism in 2000 BCE coming forward to the Mormons, or the Church of the Later Day Saints in the 19th Century CE. They trace the religious experiences and traditions of the founders as carried forth and expanded into a discrete religion. The expansion depended upon military conquest, world trade, cultures, urbanization, and hierarchy.

The Eastern Religions tended to be more focused geographically, while the Western Religions spread rapidly over a much broader area. Some have formal scriptures, or religious guides, and others are more informal. The Egyptians had a strong naturalist religion that didn’t survive the empire. The Eastern religions of Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, and Taoism originated somewhere around the 6th to 7th centuries BCE. (These are not shown on the map.)

Culture and Society are often used as synonyms. Social norms of acceptable behavior are what the current political debate is about. The Trump Administration successfully used a strategy to tell the public that it was going to return America to the norms of 100 years ago. It also wants to control every aspect of American Society.

Race always has been a major issue in this country even after the days of slavery. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s brought major changes in law and practice. People of color still are discriminated against and treated as less than. Thus, the big push today is against diversity, education, and inclusion (DEI).

The Church
What Some Call Organized Religion

I get frustrated when people criticize the failures of the church, when we know that it is made up of people who are fallible. When we see buildings, we tend to see them as some kind of business. The church is more basic than a building. The church is the community believers. We share our faith, basic concerns, hopes, worries, and support. Sunday worship is the means to testify publicly, but it is not the totality of the church. We have many other activities, missions, and functions.

As an organization, it is easy to get tied up with egos, selfishness, agendas, etc. Beautiful stained-glass windows are inspirational, and music is an important aspect of the life of the church. Educating our children is an important function of the church, and it should not be passed off onto the public schools. They already are over-burdened.