#16) Do We Need Religion?

Hello, and welcome to "Always Be Better" with Mel Windham.

Today I'm going to talk about religion. All around the world, religion brings a lot of comfort to a lot of people. It can also cause a lot of grief, so many will ask, "Do we really need religion?"

I am, myself, a strong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, I definitely know what it's like to believe in a religion. Several of my viewers share this same religion. A larger chunk believe in other different brands of Christianity. Yet others are Muslim, and some are Asians with religions I've yet to understand. And there are even a large chunk who don't have a religion -- most of whom are agnostic, but also a few atheists.

So why bring up religion at all? Can we skip all this talk while ignoring religion? I don't think so. Religions exist, and they play a large role in many people's lives. Being a better person means getting along with others, and learning about a person's religion can go a long way. If you listen to them, they'll listen to you.

For many, as is the case for me, religion is a deep-rooted aspect of a person's core beliefs. In some senses, it helps to define a person. And on the flip-side, people who have a terrible experience with religion will have a deep-rooted aversion to specific (or all) religions. This may also be something else you'll need to consider.

In some cases, religion can turn a person into a saint -- someone you want to be around -- someone you can trust -- or someone you may even want to emulate. In other cases, religion can turn people into self-righteous monsters -- people you want to stay away from, because you never feel like you can do anything right around them. In yet other cases, religion can kindle hate toward people of other religions.

Either way, I know that there is much opportunity for fun topics of discussion. What works? What doesn't? Why do people believe that way? How can we avoid pitfalls? Why do we have separation of church and state? And so on. 

I promise to get to these discussions eventually -- I still have to map out exactly how to proceed and make it fun and productive.

I'm certain that my bias toward my own religion will show, but I will try my best to keep these sessions agnostic. My goal is not conversion, but rather, enlightenment -- to help you understand different religions, to understand what it's like to be agnostic or an atheist, or how it is to believe in something that can't be known, or in other words, helping to understand how we all tick.

Also, you may remember from my "Sharpen the Saw" episode, that Stephen Covey includes the Spiritual as one of the aspects of our lives that needs attention. For many, this includes believing in a religion, but it also encompasses all of our individual belief systems. It may include believing in a set of morals, or learning to find peace and focus through meditation, or simply stopping to gather our thoughts from time to time. For example, many people can enjoy yoga even though they may not be religious. 

I personally believe that religion can be a great benefit to individual people, and to society, when used properly. However, it can also be used as a tool of achieving great evil and suppressing good things when used incorrectly. Either way I don't think religion can be ignored in our journeys to becoming better people, as we learn to respect other's belief systems.

Over this next week, I'd like you to look around and notice all the religion and all kinds of spirituality you may see. And just think about it. What's good? What's bad? What value do you see to individuals and to society? Is it a net positive or a net negative value? I realize that these questions may elicit strong reactions from some of you, but that's okay. I promise engaging discussions in the future, and I'll try to make it fun.

Thank you for watching, and remember, we can "Always Be Better."