My Religion is a Religion or Yes, I am Religious

Everyone (that includes you) ought to read this blog post titled, Me and Jesus Broke Up. It inspired me to write my thoughts in the following post.

It is a common belief among 21st Century Protestant Evangelical American (and maybe non-American?) Christians that being a Christian is not about being a part of a religion. This view creates a distinction between religion and relationship with God and claims that the difference between real Christianity and all (other) religions is that real Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus and not religion. I have to admit that in the past I have held onto this view and used this vocabulary, but I have since repented and embraced the word 'religion'. Let me explain why.

A claimed distinction between religion and relationship with God is a false distinction. Religion is essentially your approach to God/god(s)/the spiritual realm. Some approaches to God/god(s)/the spiritual realm involve much intricate and formal ceremony while some are almost completely informal. However, whether your approach to God/god(s)/the spiritual realm is formal or informal, ceremonial or casual, it is still how you relate to God/god(s)/the spiritual realm. And thus we might even be able to say that religion is (or at the very least informs and involves) your relationship to God/god(s)/the spiritual realm. (Sorry for the annoyance of the repeated "God/god(s)/the spiritual realm" phrase, I just wanted to be all inclusive and accurate)

So when we say that following Christ is not about religion but relationship, I think we are saying something almost nonsensical. In fact, I think it may be arrogant and demeaning to people of other religions. We can't claim epistemological superiority by claiming that we have somehow transcended religion, because we haven't transcended religion and that is not a bad thing. My relationship with God is the central component of my religion, not the abolishment of my religion.

When I used to say following Christ was about relationship and not religion, what I really meant was that my religion is about a grace-filled intimacy with God, not a merit-based and distanced relationship to God. If this is really what we mean, than we should use a vocabulary that more accurately communicates this without claiming to have transcended the entire religious dialogue.