Religion and Recovery Here are a couple of definitions of Religion: Religion is a cultural system that creates powerful and long-lasting meaning, by establishing symbols that relate humanity to truths and values.[1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system, but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect. Most religions have organized behaviors, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity or for prayer, holy places (either natural or architectural), and/or scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include sermons, commemoration of the activities of a god or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religion: •a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality" •an institution to express belief in a divine power; "he was raised in the Baptist religion"; "a member of his own faith contradicted him" My question is how has your religion affected your recovery? I am currently studying different religions and would like some views. |
Hmm... I happily returned to my childhood Sunday School God of love and forgivness when I began my AA recovery. I stay connected with daily prayers. I strive to practice the Golden Rule. :laughing: I'm a simple woman who never gets involved in the discussion of religion. |
I connected with my spiritual self when I began to recover. Spirituality, not religion, has been essential for my recovery. |
I too was raised with a Sunday school background, but somewhere in my teens other activities took the place of church and worship. Do many people return to their earlier beliefs when they start a recovery program? There is a comfort and a simplicity when thinking back. |
First, I would like to say, I think this post will be colossal. I have studied religions and philosophies, coming to understand the main, if not only, difference is faith. I think all religions and all philosophies have the best of intentions. "Religion is a cultural system..." So it has to be "socially acceptable" in that culture, or won't survive. "....but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect." You may be held accountable for more than your private beliefs (as in any society, or fellowship). "Most religions have organized behaviors, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence..." To keep it simple. To me it gets as complicated, or more, than politics, as certainly politics are involved. My religion, and how it affects my recovery? I will PM you, don't want to start a furor! |
Originally Posted by anna
(Post 2878778)
i connected with my spiritual self when i began to recover. Spirituality, not religion, has been essential for my recovery. |
I long justified my nihilism as simple atheism, and found it to be incredibly important to disentangle the two especially in relation to my addiction/alcoholism. I subscribe to Buddhism, and not surprisingly have won my longest stretches of sobriety and peace of mind during the periods when my practice was the most focused and regular. |
As a secular humanist and atheist, religion will play no part in my recovery. I have no time for superstition, nor for organised religion, which is generally based on people's fear of death, and is managed and staffed by people whose main interest is control, power and influence. For my own part, I try to make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. I do my best (well, as much as I can....) to take responsibility for my actions and base my ethics on the goals of human welfare, happiness and fulfilment. I try to make the best of the one life I have by creating meaning and purpose for myself. |
I choose: All of the above But I feel ignorant on the subject of spirituality. I assume (always dangerous) it is not organized, comes from within.... uhhh, no more assumptions. Please tell me, does it involve faith in yourself rather than something else? Whatever works, as far as I am concerned, but how would you define spirituality. Honestly, my dictionaries do not suffice, though I feel I have a spirit. |
Yes, I think spirituality does come from within and is not organized. For me, I believe in the Universe and that the Universe has a plan for me. I needed to know and to believe that there was a purpose to my life when I stopped drinking. I really don't think I could have survived without that. |
Just before I quit I started reading up on Buddhism. While I'm still kind of putting my toe in the water as far as that goes, it offers a lot of great things to contemplate and has given me a compass for this new phase of my life. |
Ste...I went to a church where the pastor spoke of the holy spirit as the part of God that resides in all of us. I take this to mean we all have a portion of us that is divine, but it is also our own. That is my understanding of the soul/spirit. I haqve studied all religions though I was raised in an aetheist/agnostic home that practiced cultural christianity. When I was trying to get sober....I decided. That vague spirituality wasn't really cutting it for me. I studied christianity and found the teachings of Jesus do work for me, though many churches don't work for me. I prayed A LOT for sobriety when drinking and I believe God answered my prayers by getting me sober. I also believe it is up to me to stay sober...but I thank God every day for this opportunity and the tools he has given me to help me along the way. Including but not limited to a healthy mind. How's that for an answer, Crew? |
P.s.- I actually like the concept of the trinity:) |
Thanks LaFemme, that was great! It's nice to learn how something so personal and important for most people has been able to aide them in their time of need. Plus if I ever find religion I want to make sure I find the one that will help me the most when the chips are down. So I'm taking notes and keeping a tally sheet.:) J/K Thank you to all who have replied! |
Originally Posted by LaFemme
(Post 2879379)
P.s.- I actually like the concept of the trinity:) Protons, electrons and neutrons. In the Hindu religion, the Dance of Shiva gets all these things moving. |
Originally Posted by ste
(Post 2879507)
Me too, it can even be related to atoms, the substance of everything. Protons, electrons and neutrons. In the Hindu religion, the Dance of Shiva gets all these things moving. |
Originally Posted by LaFemme
(Post 2879530)
That's interesting! Would love to hear more:) He also postulated this "vibration" (life) created by The Dance of Shiva (or something) is what Buddhists and others who meditate are trying to tune into, aligning their spines like an "antenna". When they reach Samadhi, (hope I got that right) they are as one with this vibration, one with the universe! |
You can be 'religious' and still not get it at all. I'm a Christian, I like some of the rituals and observances, I think it's helped in my recovery to have an HP as in AA. But in Western culture I think that religion has sort of lost track. My opinion anyway... there are some great Christians out there and good things happening, we tend to hear a lot of the negative though. Hoping not to cause controversy, religion is a very personal thing and in recovery you meet people of all cultures and faiths. I'm not in AA currently but the meetings I did attend, I was very impressed by the humility and lack of pretense of many people there. |
Hi Supercrew. Looking forward for answers is better than backwards for solutions that didn't work ;)
Originally Posted by SollytheGolly
(Post 2879060)
For my own part, I try to make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. I do my best (well, as much as I can....) to take responsibility for my actions and base my ethics on the goals of human welfare, happiness and fulfilment. I try to make the best of the one life I have by creating meaning and purpose for myself. Secular Humanism in a nutshell; We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation. We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life. We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state. We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding. We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance. We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves. We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity. We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species. We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest. We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity. We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences. We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos. We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking. We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others. We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality. We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings. Who knew there was an organized group out there that saw things pretty much like I did!!!!! Murray |
Originally Posted by ste
(Post 2878805)
"Most religions have organized behaviors, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence..." Today I have a God who would get me kicked out of most religions. My new God is a shape-shifter who changes form every time I get close to understanding him. |
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