Contemplating Identity: Religion

Few things have the power to unite and divide like religious beliefs. As strong as national identity can be, many folks still travel to other countries and discover the value and dignity of other nationalities. Few, however, are willing to cross the borders of religion in search of value and dignity in other faiths. Instead, those borders are fortified against those who might shake the pillars of our convictions. Instinctively, we want to perceive other religions as incompatible and contradictory to our dogma so that we can maintain our monopoly on truth. But what if, as the contemplatives and mystics of various religions have suggested, the heart of all religions are pointing us towards the same ineffable reality? What if we could hear religious language not as rules and facts, but as a transcendent metaphor? What if we read scripture not as a religious constitution, but as sacred poetry that can carry us beyond the words on the page?

Religious fundamentalism, which insists upon a literal reading of sacred texts and strict adherence to religious customs found in those texts, often brings out the worst aspects of religious identity. These groups tend to offer grace to those desiring to join, but demand conformity in order to remain in good standing. Doubts and questions are not often received well. Alternative views are met with suspicion or even contempt. With such a highly guarded religious identity, there is little room to explore faith outside the narrow parameters of these communities.

"Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language." - Meister Eckhart

Fortunately, a much quieter expression of religious faith has endured alongside, and sometimes within, these fundamentalist movements. Monastics, contemplatives, and spiritual elders have preserved a way of engaging religious ideas with wonder and humility, rather than certainty and dominance. While fundamentalism draws dividing lines between humanity, there is another approach to faith and spirituality that sees our true humanity as inseparably united. It's an approach that doesn't hold one's religion as an exclusive identity, but as a way to transcend our individual identity.

The common goal of nearly every religious tradition, when we strip away the dogmatic language, is a path towards overcoming our isolated sense of self, or the self-identity we sometimes call the ego. While each religion has its own way of describing this limiting identity and the path towards transcending it, they all tend to move us away from self-indulgence and selfishness towards an identity that extends beyond our own self interest. Love, grace, peace, and generosity all require a giving of the self that places our ego on the sacrificial altar. Then, from within the infinite spring our true identity, we can truly love and care for ourselves and others.

"If you cling to your identity you will lose it, but if you give up your identity for me, you will find it." - Jesus

Ironically, our egos often thrive in religious circles. Our beliefs are echoed back to us to reinforce our sense of correctness. Our good deeds are put on display in a way that strengthens our feelings of moral superiority. And our sense of worth and belonging are bolstered as we speak of those who are "lost". Rather than our ego being "crucified with Christ so it is no longer I who live, but Christ in me" (Galatians 2:20), we instead protect and strengthen our ego by wrapping it in religious platitudes. Those who do risk the vulnerable act of offering themselves in these communities too often face abuse, judgment, and betrayal from those trying to guard their own religious identity and influence.

The message of all great spiritual teachers is that our true identity is not the egoic identity we have constructed. Our true identity is an embodiment of the divine breath that gives life to all things. The "Christ" of the Christian tradition is the identity that Jesus embodied, but also one that is extended to all who embody the spirit of life. Our true identity includes and transcends our individual identity. The moment we take our last breath and our brain ceases to tell us who we are, the ego will vanish. What remains is the divine life that has always existed and will continue to exist in an infinite number of expressions of itself. When we sacrifice the ego and let go of who we think we are, then we discover who we truly are.