Organized Religion and Transcendence

I happened across this book in the library, and the first two paragraphs of the introduction sum up how I feel about institutional religion very well. We'll see how the rest of the book goes.

Every human life is a profound mystery. Deep and invisible currents make us who we are, and the world around us is full of secret intentions and laws. One response to all this mystery is to treat it as a problem to be solved and to do everything possible to be informed and in control. But another way is to bow down in ignorance and confess our limitations. Religion and spirituality, for eons intimately connected, offer creative ways to become people of depth and compassion through embracing mystery.

The religions have a precious cargo, but they often fail in their job by moralizing, intellectualizing, and defending themselves to such an extent that their real purpose is obscured. Today people all over the world are abandoning the religions in disgust and anger. Still, everyone has a an instinct for transcendence. People know intuitively that some kind of spiritual life is necessary, and so many are searching on their own or joining new churches and communities. They distinguish sharply between the personal spirituality they have found and the religious institution they have abandoned.

- Thomas Moore "The Soul's Religion"

I would say that a majority of the people who attend are unaware of the inherent limitations of organized religion. Some are willing to overlook the limitations because of the benefit they get from it (social, moral, intellectual etc.). Some are frustrated and angry, but see no other option for a spiritual life (That was me for a long time). Some play the system for their benefit. Some just leave and strike out on their own. I guess I have chosen the later.

My experience the last few years has been that people I used to label "unchurched" still sense and long for transcendence. They find it in sex, drugs, music, nature, and anywhere that provides it. The problem is that they find the church completely irrelevant to their lives, so they will not find it there. To make matter worse most corporate expressions of church either don't have a clue or make no room for it. So church becomes more marginalized and "circles the wagons", and the "unchurched" keep looking at Christians like they are from another planet, and the world keeps going 'round.

I really don't have much else to say about it. At the moment organized religion is not relevant to my spirituality either.