Day of Atonement

When RB and I were roommates, she once described Yom Kippur as a Day of Atonement. According to Wikipedia,

"The Day of Atonement absolves from sins against God, but not from sins against a fellow human unless the pardon of the offended person be secured" (Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:9). Hence the custom of terminating all feuds and disputes on the eve of the fastday (or in the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). Even the souls of the dead are included in the community of those pardoned on the Day of Atonement. It is customary for children to have public mention made in the synagogue of their departed parents, and to make charitable gifts on behalf of their souls.

I suspect she simplified it for the ease of my understanding, but for the purpose of my point here, I'll keep it in its simplified form.

I've always thought the concept of a Day or a Period of Atonement a good one. Not because I believe in institutionalized religion, because I don't. It's more that being encouraged to reflect on one's year, one's relationship with a greater being or greater purpose, and possibly even one's relationship with other people introduces accountability to how one lives life. It firmly establishes that life in the here and now is relevant. The idea that that God cares about life in the present is important, especially if one believes in God.

Consider Christianity. Modern day Christianity has evolved so that emphasis is placed on an individual's personal relationship with God. The result is that it becomes very easy to rationalize away morals or the sense of civic duty/stewardship. As long as you "believe," it doesn't matter if you steal your neighbor's cable, cheat on your taxes or embezzle from the local non-profit where you a volunteer -- you're "saved" by the grace of God.

Couple a personal relationship with God with the idea of heaven, and it's easy for that rationalization to make modern day Western Christianity both an escape and an excuse. Since this world is temporary and heaven is around the corner (for believers), there's no need for environmental stewardship or conservation. There's no accountability to the present, only to the next life. We all know at least one person that takes all the little bottles of shampoo from a hotel room before he checks out, and similarly, it becomes easy to believe that God means for Christians to use up all the resources available on this planet prior to moving on to the next life.

The idea of heaven also makes it easy to escape from ignorance and poverty. Studies have shown (and if I could find my notes from the Religion and Economics course I took in college, I would actually cite those studies) that poor blue-collar Americans (eg. Americans without college degrees that earn below the poverty line) tend towards cultish behavior where religion dictates much of their lives. And, why not? There's not much to look forward to in this lifetime. It's much easier to think that today's suffering will count towards something better in the next life. It's also easier to be told how or what to think than have to think heavy thoughts about the meaning of life while trying to eke out a living on minimum wage. And, there's the added benefit of inheriting the Earth, which is what Christianity promises the meek and downtrodden (bear with me, I'm paraphrasing here). Yippee.

My concern is that there's no guarantee that heaven or the meek inheriting the Earth will actually happen in this lifetime. And, perhaps not even the next (if there is a next lifetime). An awful lot of money and energy are spent focused on something that might never come to fruition instead of on things that might improve life in the present, make efficient use of non-renewable resources and develop better people. In essence, religion becomes a reality cop out.

(As an aside, those same studies I'm struggling to remember from years ago indicate that as individuals approach the middle income bracket, church attendance drops. I can't help but wonder if people stop going to church as they approach the mid-income bracket because they've realized there's a wealth of opportunity out there and they're busy trying to establish themselves. It's the American Dream, right?

Interestingly enough, church attendance rises in the upper middle income and above bracket. However, the flavor of religion changes. Instead of the religious extremism predominant in the low income bracket, religion becomes moderate and mainstream at high income levels (think Unitarian). Denominations move towards the center in attempt to make themselves more appealing so they can attract larger congregations (especially congregations with more disposable income). Also, a typical mid to high income churchgoer will be more educated and less willing to accept "truths" on faith alone. And, part of me thinks that people start going to church again because they make enough where they can afford to have more leisure time.)

While I'm not convinced that religion is good, I'm also not convinced it's bad. It may actually be necessary, as some people cannot operate without an externally imposed moral compass or a sense of a greater being. But, it's important to point out that there may be something missing in modern day Christianity, and that's the believer's accountability to the present and his responsibility to others. It's not just about believing in God and talking the talk. There's also the spirit of Christianity -- it's about walking the walk too.