My Religious Location: Shifting Arenas, Essay Example

As is true of virtually all children raised in faith-based homes and cultures, my initial religious location was selected for me. I was born in Romania and my parents were fully Romanian Orthodox, reflecting the dominance of Orthodoxy in the country.  Consequently, I was a passive participant in one of the most profoundly important religious moments of my life.  As an infant, I was baptized into Orthodoxy with all due ritual and solemnity. Without baptism, there is no entry into God’s kingdom or sight; it creates the Orthodox individual in every meaningful way, and in accordance with the injunction of Jesus Christ:  “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  Baptized, and my lack of awareness as an infant notwithstanding, I was translated into one of God’s own and His blessing and love was given to me.  The significance of this experience could not be known to me for years, but that in no way lessens the enormity of the Holy Baptism, which marked my first religious location.

While not as literally “momentous” as my first experience, my second personal experience with religion was essentially an extension of that first, and in place to reinforce the faith into which I had been born.  I refer to early years of schooling, and it was in Kindergarten that I and my classmates were instructed as to the meaning of God.  Bible stories and episodes were used to instill in us both an appreciation for God’s love and a fear of incurring His displeasure through sinful thoughts and acts.  It was made clear, in simple language, that God was all-loving and all-powerful, and this this love was a gift demanding love in return.  At the same time, we were taught the dire consequences of failing to abide by God’s will, just as we learned basic prayers and were expected to make them a part of our lives.  In later school years, this all became a foundation for more complex instruction.  The sacrifice of Christ was taught, revealing the full extent of God’s embrace of humanity and the awful reality in place when mankind abandons its reverence.  Church and human history was then explored, all with the intent of encouraging us to work to become good Christians for the sake of our neighbors, as well as for our own salvation.  Within this process was interaction; we were allowed to discuss meaning here, and inquire as to the spiritual and pragmatic role of God in all human life. Discussions of that role and of Church history also led to examinations of leadership and social responsibility as reflecting the faith.  In this extended experience, then, my religious location may be said to have remained the same, even as its parameters were expanded and the broader meaning of what it is to be a living, active Christian in the Orthodox faith was the ongoing lesson.

A change occurred in high school, and simply in the form of my no longer studying religion.  As I developed more into an independent human being, I continued to hold to the Orthodox faith. It was a part of my life, and I saw no need to question it or deviate from its tenets or values.  At the same time, this stage of life typically translates to a focus on other areas of personal development, so Orthodoxy was in a sense strictly foundational to my life.  It still is so, it may be said, my religious location has not appreciably altered.  Nonetheless, there is a change; I no longer attend services at the Orthodox Church, and choose instead worship at the Catholic.  From my first attendance at at Catholic Mass, I experienced a sense of peace unlike any known to me before.  This is likely due, at least in part, to the more personal aspect I perceive in the Catholic services; I feel a greater sense of community understanding and well-being, and in a way less austere than that of the Orthodox faith.  There is a warmth and a welcoming at Sunday readings I find deeply fulfilling, and this then shifts my religious location to some extent.  Still Orthodox, I more embrace the spirituality of the Catholic Church, in that I feel more free to enter into the Christian worship in a more participative way.  A further significance of this experience is that it encourages a greater openness in me regarding all Christian faiths.  Orthodoxy remains my core, but I feel enabled to know a wider appreciation of how Christianity itself actually may exist for others, and even for myself.