Tomorrow is the 4th of July, America's celebration of Independence from British colonial rule and the Freedom that the new nation won. This historic drive for freedom included freedom of religion, incorporated into the U.S. Constitution in the Bill of Rights. The first amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
But religious freedom has never been an easy road in America or anywhere else. Religious fervor is a powerful human emotion that can be wielded to motivate action for positive change in one's own life and inspire collective action. But religious fervor can also be used to manipulate the individual by weaving destructive collective delusion. The history of religion, including American history, amply demonstrates this. When the social order has no religious freedom, or when spirituality is dictated and coerced, our innate individual capacity as well as our collective capacity to grow, discover, and expand life withers. No single human being, no school of thought, or religion has the complete, ultimate, final truth on Life or God. Life resonates with diversity in a weaving beyond our capacity to grasp its totality. This is the root of spiritual humility.
One of the great blessings of the 21st century is the availability of information and communication of varying viewpoints, including a vast array of ideas of spirituality, world wide religious history, ancient, foreign, and newly emerging concepts of Life--all of which can potentially contribute to a greater realization of transcendence and our own religious practice. Even the ideas we discard, shape and hone our understanding of our own beliefs and spiritual experiences. If we are courageous enough to grow beyond the safety net of fixed ideas and rigid belief systems, we enter a time of expanding consciousness where we (individually and collectively) just might find new answers and solutions to the problems we have created. Doing that requires freedom.
Let this Sunday reveal your own sense of spiritual independence and freedom. Consider the path you have taken and the role that freedom and independence has played. Keep it in your heart for the 4th of July, 2022. (Susan Nettleton)