Find Your Own Light
(Killers - This Is The World That We Live In)

On religion...

I don't want my kids learning about religion at an early age. I feel kids are far too impressionable at a young age and they need to pick a religion with their own free will. When we introduce it to them too early, they can't distinguish between what we want them to believe and what they have a choice in.

So what's the story about my own religious beliefs? I was raised a buddhist by my parents and grandma. I was baptized in a christian church that my family's sponsors went to. I was never pressured by either my relatives or our sponsors on what I should or shouldn't believe. As I got to university, I realized I needed to explore my spiritual beliefs a little more. So I took a few religion courses figuring that if I learned a little more, I could make an educated decision. What I found out was that my beliefs are not streamlined to one religion. My beliefs are just a patch work of multiple religions.

I think as long as this still leads me down the right path, I am ok with it. The right path though is defined by my own conscience and not anyone else's. I think the key to this is that I was raised well by my family and they instilled in me a good set of values.

So where does that leave religion? When should you have religion in your life? I don't think there's a real answer to this. I believe if religion adds value to your morals, then great. Or if you weren't brought up with a good foundation of morals and need religion as some guiding light, that's ok too. If you feel lonely in this vast universe without knowing that there's someone looking over you, then religion might be the answer.

What I don't believe is that religion is absolutely necessary for everyone and I don't believe you should just adopt the religion that's first presented to you. Educate yourself, understand your choices and then embrace it.