It Only Matters if You Hit a Point

This feels like a strange topic to me. Not like, strange because the topic itself is odd, but strange because I'm not quite sure how to frame my viewpoints on it. I mean, I easily lean towards more modern religion, although I see the appeal in have to traditionalism of religion as a steady rock. There is something about tradition that is inherently appealing to human nature; the knowledge that things will not change day to day.

But the topic brings to mind the recent controversy of United States nuns and the criticism by the Vatican as too radial, or in our case, too modern. According to the Vatican, the nuns were not focusing on values they would want to be pushed to be upheld, such as abortions, and instead the nuns were focusing more on the poor, addressing gay issues, just more modern ideas that contrast with the more traditional stance the Church has lately been taking. And the fact I would easily side with the nuns tells me that I stand on the side of modernism, which I did already know.

Inherently, for all the comfort traditionalism can give, its unbending nature is a problem. To many of today's problems are linked to the unbending nature of religion, too much controversy over how everyone wants the world to be. And when change comes, there seems to be a reaction by religion to bunker down on their traditional values, leading to the clashes we see today. So part of me views traditionalism as harmful to the world, that religion has to be allowed to bend is the world is going to become more peaceful and accepting.

It's not even modernism or traditionalism to me, but the ability to be flexible and view all people as having the rights to have rights. I do not feel like I have a stake in religion, but I have a stake in how the religion affects the world. So there's nothing wrong with wanting to hold traditional human values, as long as you aren't harming another person in the process, or recognizing that not everybody holds or will hold the views you do.

So I suppose that's it. I guess you can't be absolutely traditional if you are willing to be flexible so as to prevent the kind of conflict religion is in the middle of throughout the world, but there is no reason to change yourself to be completely modern. I'm not even arguing for a middle here, just enough willingness to recognize that the world is not always the same. But then again, some of the extreme religions don't even feel like pure traditionalism, but instead a reaction and an interpretation of the text. And religious texts have been re-interpreted all throughout history, so I do believe that religion will continue to change in one way or another. Framing it as traditionalism vs. modernism makes it feel like one side verse another, when religion is like a spectrum. There is nothing wrong with a person's religious viewpoints until they reach a certain part of the spectrum, where people start getting hurt.

And there I go rambling again. I do not care what your religious views, whether or not you are more traditional or modern, as long as you believe it is okay that all people deserve rights. Since I am not very religious, I do not see any reason to have a stake in the debate beyond that one hope. As long as religion is able to respect everybody than I think that many of our problems could be solved. So that is all I can say I want. Yeah, I believe I am going to end this post with that opinion.