United States of Religion?

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God – John 3:3 (KJV)

The recent explosion(s) at the Boston Marathon has brought up the topic of “religion” in my circle. I’ve had casual conversations, emails, impromptu chatting in the grocery store, texts, etc. People are talking! {As you may know, the two brothers being held responsible for this crime against humanity are recorded as Muslim extremist.}

For example, did you hear or read about one of the most recent surveys done on religion? A Gallup poll taken in 2011 separated people into three main categories: very religious, moderately religious and nonreligious.

Briefly defined by Gallop like this – "VERY RELIGIOUS = People who stated that religion is an important part of their daily life and who attend religious services consistently. According to their numbers, it makes up of about 40% of the population."

 “MODERATELY RELIGIOUS = was actually broken down in two ways. Either they said religion is important but they don’t usually attend worship services or they attend church services but don’t consider religion to be important." (The latter sub-group confused me. I cannot understand who would go through the effort of attending, but wouldn’t consider it important?! That concept puzzles me. ) This group comprised 28% of the population.

I don’t want to get on a ‘soapbox’ here, but I’m concerned that many of our churches are filled with people who attend the House of God for selfish reasons – perceived obligation, family pressures, desire to be noticed, to network for the career, for increased social standing, to compete for position, the list could go on indefinitely! Life Moment: ask yourself…what is MY real reason for attending church? WHY do I REALLY attend my local worship service? Or Why DON’T I attend faithfully? You can’t hide the reason from God. He knows the true, deep-down, hidden reason. It’s time to check up on ourselves!

The last but not least, the final category, Gallop said this – "NON-RELIGIOUS = Religion is not an important part of their daily life and they seldom or rarely ever attend religious services and are, of course considering themselves as strictly  “non-religious.”They made up 32% of the American populace." (That number is huge isn’t it!?)

As many of you readers may expect, 8 out of 10 “most religious states” are located in the ‘Bible Belt’ of the South. (I love that phrase! “Bible Belt!”)  Those states are: South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Utah, Georgia, and Tennessee.  (Did you know Mississippi that is ranked as the ‘most religious state’ in the Union? And ironically, the Mormon religion is ranked as “most religious group” in the USA.)

On the flip side, there are categories for “Least Religious” states too – Those states are listed as Alaska, New York, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and finally District of Columbia.  

So what does Gallup’s poll actually mean? According to their poll, they reported this, "The United States of America remains a commonly religious nation, with more than 2/3 of the citizens classified as very or moderately religious." (That scares me! Doesn’t it you? The numbers don’t add up when compared to what we see on the news every day. Or what we see happening in our neighborhoods: murder, robbery, rape, lying, bullying, hate crimes, etc).

But it raises questions and concerns. I hope that the true Believer, the real Follower of Jesus, understands that religion is NOT enough! It’s not sufficient to go through the formalities – donning robes, engaging in fancy ceremonies, singing hymns, repeating sacraments, saying structural prayer. All of the “trappings” of religion are harmful and worthless UNLESS the individual is a true born-again Believer. An excellent definition of ‘religion’ is mankind’s arrogant, worthless attempt to make himself acceptable to a Holy God by his own efforts or works.  If you’re trying to ‘raise yourself up to a higher level of being, or increase your enlightenment,’ then I’m afraid you’ve missed the boat, my friend. Please understand that I'm NOT judging you - I'm talking to you about what the infallible Word of God says. John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  The earlier referenced verbiage are religious, man-made terms, and religion will not help you commune with the One True Living God. You MUST go through His only begotten son, Jesus, to have access to God. Religion is one of the greatest and most destructive lies the adversary has ever applied in that putrid strategy of his. Religion is anything but Godly.

You’ve heard that adage…

I don’t really know who Gallup is or how it is that I haven’t been asked any questions, but I have to heartily agree with the 2011 study! Times have changed. Even though God doesn’t change, people certainly do. My beloved country, America, used to be a Godly country, which is poles apart from being a ‘religious’ country.

No, in my opinion, America has fallen from being Godly to being religious. I read recently a profound comment. The person said, “We have a plethora of gods (little ‘g’) to worship, command and control. The gods of our religions don’t tell us how to live and don’t expect anything from us so we can toddle off to our churches every Sunday and feel good about ourselves because we’re a good person.”

Somehow, I don’t think America’s gods (little ‘g’) will be able to help us from the approaching events outlined in the Book of Revelation – keep your eyes on Israel! Read Titus 2:13 – understand the glorious return of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus!

You know; the ONE God we used to have before we became religious.

Look UP my friends!