Understanding Faith

Maybe you want to learn more about your family’s faith, or you want to compare and contrast the different religions of the world.  To keep things clear in your head, pick one religion to start and learn as much as you can. Once you’ve explored it thoroughly, you can go back and learn about some others.

Ask your family and friends about their beliefs or religion. Don’t be afraid to bring the topic up, this does not have to be a touchy issue. Merely state that you are curious and would like to know what they believe. Many times people, even ones who have believed something their entire lives, don’t know where to start to explain their beliefs, so have a set of questions to ask them.  This will help them and give you a clear idea of what you want to know.  If you feel that the conversation is getting out of hand, or if you friend is uncomfortable, simply suggest that maybe you shouldn’t be talking about this and back off.  And don’t just listen to one person, ask as many people as you can.

Again, if you have a friend of the same faith, ask if it would be alright if you attended a service once to see what their church is like.  Ask if there’s any type of dress code and try to follow it; this will help you get a closer mindset and prepare you better for the experience.

Almost every religion has a book (the Bible, for example). Get your hands on one and try reading it. If the language gets too complicated, or you don’t understand something, ask someone to help you figure it out.

Remember, religion is something you need to figure out for yourself, whether you’ve never had one, or you have had one your entire life. It’s great for your friends and family to help you along this path, but you need to know for yourself what you believe and why.

Want to learn more? Check out these useful web sites for more information:

• Religions of the World
  The Minnesota State University of Mankato’s E-museum gives brief overviews of the top six world religions.
• Religion & Ethics
  This site, done by the BBC, gives detailed explanations of over 15 different religious beliefs; from atheism to Zoroastrian.