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Which Religion is Right?
By God-Musings.com | July 20, 2008
Which religion is right? Which is the chosen path, the holy grail?
As always, I like to look at things using analogies.
One species, many languages
Look at the human species. There are many languages used by many different tribes, cultures, traditions, races, etc. Basically, there exist numerous languages used by different groups of people, stretching over the millennia.
What is the purpose of language?
The purpose of language is to communicate.
Is there a “right” language, a “correct” language, with all other languages being heresy? No, there isn’t.
Asking “which religion is right?” is a bit like asking “which language is right?”
But if the purpose of language is to communicate, then any language which fulfills its purpose has done its job.
Are all languages “equals”, then? Is there a language which is superior to all others?
Well, technically speaking, it would be possible to come up with some objective criteria of what makes a “good” language, rate all the languages in the world accordingly, and thereby arriving at the “best” language in the world. Yes, it can be done.
So, no, all languages are not “equals”, per se. They have different sentence structures, they are grammatically different, they have different levels of difficulty if you want to master them, etc.
But that doesn’t in any way mean that any of the languages of the world are “wrong”. Nor does it in any way even diminish the importance of the supposedly inferior languages.
There is a different language for every different person on Earth, each serving the same purpose - communication. Of course, there are many of us who can speak many languages.
The language common to all
Supposing an English-speaking Caucasian man, a Mandarin-speaking Chinese man, as well as an African tribesman who only speaks his native tongue were to meet - how are the three of them going to communicate?
They would certainly struggle to communicate using verbal means. But they would be able to communicate using body language.
Well, truth be told, body language isn’t totally common to all. I am told that, in Bulgaria, a shake of the head is used to signal a “yes”. In Japan, making loud noises when you eat is apparently a sign that you are enjoying your food.
But body language is just about as universal a means of communication as you can get.
Through it, the three men mentioned above would be able to be friendly, hostile, or plain indifferent to one another.
We could thus say that body language is the universal communicative tool of mankind.
Many religions
So, going back to the question of “which religion is right?”, I would harbor a guess that you can tell where I am going with this.
Now, what is the purpose of religion?
We might say the purpose of religion is to teach people how to be good, or better, people. Or we might say that religion aids Man in his search for God.
Wait - but all not religions even believe in a God, in the sense we are talking about here. But we just got to broaden our minds a little bit here. Even followers of the non-theist faiths are also, in their own way, searching for their “god” in their own particular way - they are looking for peace, for meaning, for fulfillment, for joy, for that something extra, outside of mere physical existence.
Something beyond merely eating, drinking, working and sleeping everyday. And finally dying.
The “right” religion
So, which religion is right? Somehow, many people have the idea that there must be a right one.
This is particular true (or perhaps only true) of those in the monotheist faiths – many of them believe that there is only one “correct” religion, one which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. Many believe that followers of all other faiths (and those with no faith) are destined for doom.
But if the purpose of religion is to teach people to be good, to bring peace, meaning, fulfillment, joy and that something extra to people’s lives, then wouldn’t any religion which meets these objectives also have done its job?
Why must there even be the question of which religion is right?
Next question – if we don’t ask which religion is right, are all religions equal, then?
No, I don’t think so. All the various faiths are quite different. At least on the surface; some would say that if you remove all the frills and outer layers, they are essential similar at the core - that is very much a debatable point, one which I agree with only to a certain extent.
Going back to the question, no, I don’t think all religions are equal, and I most certainly don’t think they are all the same.
Some believe in a personal God. Some believe in many gods - deities, if you like. Some believe in the sacredness of certain animals. Some believe in an afterlife in another realm, while some believe in reincarnation. Some are more ritualistic than others. Some seem to pay more attention to physical and material wellbeing than other religions.
Also, just like with languages, it would be possible to derive a list of objective criteria to rate and rank all the different religions of the world, thereby being able to have a gauge of which are the “better” or “not so good” religions. It can be done.
So, no, various religions are not equals, nor the same. In fact, many of them may not even be remotely similar!But, “right” religion? By asking which religion is right, by even saying one is right, we are by induction saying that everything else is “wrong”. And who are we to say that someone else’s faith or belief is wrong?…
Laying claim on which religion is right
You might say, well, religion is different from language. It’s a life and death issue. Quite literally too.
To this, I shrug, and ponder. How different is religion from language, really? Really?
To those who are utterly convinced one’s religion is the best, the correct one, the ultimate one, or even just those who are convinced that the question “which religion is right” can be answered in a methodical and objective manner, I wish to ask a question - have you ever practiced and experienced every single religion on Earth, to be able to lay claim on Truth? I mean practiced and experienced; I don’t mean study in a textbook.
If one hasn’t, and I’m quite sure nobody ever has, then how can one so confidently, and often arrogantly I might add, claim that one knows which religion is right?
How can one claim to have eaten the best fish and chips in the world, when one hasn’t even eaten all the fish and chips in the world?
Well, one can say “this is my favorite fish and chips” or “I love this source of fish and chips” or “I would vote for this fish and chips as the best in the world” or “this is the best fish and chips I have ever eaten”; all these statements would be technically correct.
But the statement “this is the best fish and chips in the world” is technically, most definitely, incorrect.
Along the same vein, any answer to the question “which religion is right” must surely be subjective at best, and flawed at worst.
The universal language of God
Which religion is right? Once again, I parallel with the example on language I had discussed above.
Three men from three vastly different religions come together. They have no clue what each other are talking about, and can barely identify with one another’s faiths.
One man eats all meat; one abstains from a certain animal; another is totally vegetarian.
One believes in the possibility of going to heaven after death, but he will first have to face judgment; one believes he already has a direct and guaranteed ticket to heaven; one believes he is coming back as either a pig, a spider or as a Prime Minister.
And you know what? As they thrash things out on which religion is right, they each have vast amounts of “proof” and quote sources, particularly scripture, for the points they are trying to make and argue.
They could debate until the end of time, really, without being able to convince or sway one another and arrive at a consensus of which religion is right.
From the perspective of religion, they are speaking very different languages, and may never be able to understand one another.
But, ah, how about when one man is ill, and the other two care for him? When one is hungry, and the other two feed him? When one is naked, and the other two cloth him?That, my friend, is love.
Love, the universal language of God, far greater and above anything and everything on this Earth.
The greatness of God cannot be contained, nor compartmentalized. If God is the ocean, then religion must be like a pail, and our minds are like a tea cup. Try fitting the ocean in either of those.
Asking which religion is right is perhaps a little like asking which pail contains the ocean.
Or which man understands God fully and knows all the answers.
Instead of fretting over which religion is right, why not spend more time learning how to practise God’s universal language, as well as actually doing it?
And why not do what we can to broaden our minds, and make our teacups a little bigger, so it can hold a little more of the ocean?
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