It's Okay To Explore Your Beliefs | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

Your Journey With Religion Is Your Own, And It's Okay To Step Back And Explore It

Finding out what you believe is just as valid as believing.

71
Your Journey With Religion Is Your Own, And It's Okay To Step Back And Explore It

Religion is a heavy word. It means different things to different people. It can be a positive, purpose-giving experience to one person while appearing to another as a negative, self-destructive system of rules. Everyone has their own unique experience with spirituality, and we need to start allowing ourselves more freedom in this experience.

The world we live in is meant to be explored, encountered, and engaged. It is full of billions of people who each hold distinctive beliefs and outlooks on life. Those outlooks are each uniquely developed and equally important. Don't let your beliefs be a regurgitation of the beliefs of those around you. Make them yours, because they are yours.

A personal note to all those who share my grew-up-in-a-Christian-home testimony: it is okay to re-evaluate what your parents told you to believe. The God described in the Bible will not reject you because you wanted to find out whether you truly believe what is said in Scripture. It is okay to have doubts, and those doubts do not make you unloved. They don't make you any less of a Christian than somebody who takes Christianity at face-value. Jesus himself advocates for the validity of faith as small as a seed. Don't let fear of your parents' or church friends' disappointment stop you from taking a second look at your faith. Your religious affiliations, or lack thereof, belong only to you. This is your life, and how you live every aspect of it is up to you. I grapple with this myself every day. I have had to train myself to remember that my faith doesn't have to be blind to be valid, doesn't have to be unwavering to be strong, and doesn't have to be free of doubts to be authentic.

The modern Christian church often scares members away from being knowledgeable about different faiths. It presents considering other worldviews as a sin. But I beg of you: don't let anyone stop you from exploring. Attend a worship service for that religion you've always been curious about; talk to that atheist friend and find out why they really believe what they do; read that book from the author who doesn't share your faith. You will walk away from the experience a more well-rounded and educated person, and it doesn't necessarily mean you're abandoning the faith you have had before.

If you come out of your exploration and decide the truth is what you have already known it to be, this is fine. It doesn't make it any less important or any less reasonable doesn't make you less smart or mature. Developing your own beliefs about faith and spirituality is a lifelong journey you have been given the privilege of going on, and you can change your mind as many times as you want. You are not nailed down to one system of faith. You can pick and choose and reform and investigate beliefs as much as you need to until you find what makes the world make sense.

Your journey is your own, not your friends or your parents or your coworkers. You don't owe it to anyone to believe a certain way. The world is what you make of it, so be free in this fact. Nobody can take away your own personal beliefs, and nobody can take this journey but you.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Health and Wellness

5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity

It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

343
5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity
Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

The first two weeks of classes have come to an end and they have been anything BUT easy. It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

Although this seems like the best solution, it is also the easy way out. Take it from the girl who took basically a whole week off from her life because she just could not handle everything that was being thrown at her. This caused her to feel extremely lonely and even more stressed out for being behind in classes that JUST began.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends

1. Thank you for being my person.

2. Thank you for knowing me better than I know myself sometimes.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

11 Things We Learned From Brooke Davis

"What's more important? What we become or how we become it?"

188
Brooke Davis

"She was fiercely independent, Brooke Davis. Brilliant, and beautiful, and brave. In two years she had grown more than anyone I had ever known. Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday, and I'm not sure she even knows it." - Lucas Scott, An Unkindness of Ravens

Brooke Davis of the hit show One Tree Hill was the it girl - she had it all, or so we thought. She started out as a stuck-up, shallow, spoiled, head cheerleader who didn't have her life together. She slept around a lot and loved to party - sounds like your typical high school teenager right? Wrong. B. Davis had so much more to offer. Caring, loyal, and outspoken, she has taught us some valuable lessons throughout the 9 seasons that OTH was on the air:

Keep Reading...Show less
Honorary Roommate
Rachel Zadeits

For some of us, coming to college was the first time we ever had to share a room. It was a big change, but a fun one. As you meet more and more people over the course of your college career, it seems to be a pattern that you will at some point have that one friend that doesn't live with you, but acts like they do. We call those people, "Honorary Roommates" and here are 11 signs you have one in your life.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons Why It's Awesome When Your Best Friend Gets New Friends

She may not be with you 24/7 but it's all good because you're soul sisters.

2083
super friends
Gabi Morales

We all have a person, and when that person makes some new friends, we tend to forget all the great things that can come out of it. Never forget how special they are to you and why you are best friends.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments