Does Religion Really Work?

Starting at the beginning question here, religion is constantly debated and challenged. Some people see religion as a support to get through life, but not as anything more serious than that. If religion is just a set of rose-colored lenses to see the world through, does it even work? And if so, how?

Based on my own experiences, I believe that religion does work, or at least it can. The thing with religion is that you have to put into it what you want out of it. So, for religion to really work for you, religion needs to be your lifestyle. You won’t believe the payoff that comes from dedicating yourself to your religion.

If you’re wondering if this is actually true, you’re not alone. When I was younger, I wondered if the effort of religion was worth it, even growing up in a religious home. Later, when I served as a missionary in the Philippines, a man asked me almost the exact question this article is titled.

We sat in his living room, the heat and humidity pressing on us in that inescapable way they always did in the Philippines. The man was large, one of the tallest I’d met in the Philippines, and in our conversation, proved to be sincerely curious about why I and my mission companion chose to live the religion we did. After all, we were young women who could have been doing a number of other things in our lives. Why were we giving our time to our religion like this? And why was I, an American, living in the Philippines to do so?

I think he sensed that our religion held an important place in our lives. But that seemed to be the exact thing that bewildered him.

When he asked me if religion works, it actually drew me up short. Despite my own questions growing up, I had never really put the answer to this question into words. At some point, my experiences just seemed to confirm the answer. But this man hadn’t had those experiences in his life, and he wanted the answer right then. Does religion work?

In that moment, facing that man who was genuinely asking if what I was offering him was worth spending any time on, I had to pause. Miraculously, the answer came, and it’s the same answer I gave you right at the start of this post.

Religion does work. Religion is intended to be a lifestyle, and that’s what makes it work.

Religion, when it is your lifestyle, actually changes you into someone who lives what they believe rather than someone who just says they believe something and isn’t really sure.

So how do you make religion your lifestyle? Let’s take a look at what James had to say.

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone… For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

James 2:17, 26 (King James Version)

As James says, faith and action are key. So here are just a couple of my thoughts on things we can all be doing to exercise faith and action. Admittedly, these are things I am still working on, and I will probably be working on them for the rest of my life.

Recognize that growth is part of religion and perfection isn’t

I think sometimes religion is intimidating to people because they think they need to be perfect or saint-like before they are part of the religion, but they just aren’t those things. This is certainly a perspective I have heard among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches as well.

But at its best, religion is actually for people just like you and me, who know we aren’t perfect, but who want to be better. We are a work in progress, and it’s something we have to recognize and accept for religion to be a lifestyle.

Set up the little, regular habits

For me and others of my faith, this can look like:

• Studying scriptures daily
• Praying – probably several times a day, anytime I have a reason to pray
• Attending church services weekly
• Regularly visiting other places of worship, such as temples or institute classes
• Caring about other people and going out of your way to help them
• Spending time with family and discussing religion with them
• Learning from religious leaders

These things may not match up with your religion, and that’s fine! But I’m sure there are things like this in every religion – little things that can be worked into daily or regular routines and keep your mind on your faith.

The great thing about these habits is that they aren’t all religion specific. Family time and caring about people don’t need a religion to be habits. However, when making religion your lifestyle, these habits can be pretty important.

Of course, these things can be modified to fit different life situations. For example, if family is distant, friends and neighbors can help with any family needs you might have.

Surround yourself with religious images

Personally, as a Christian, I like to have at least one picture of Jesus Christ in my bedroom at all times, not to mention scattered throughout my home. These pictures help me to remember Him and His love and sacrifice for me.

I also like to have several nativities set up during Christmas as part of the decorations. The nativity scenes remind me why I really celebrate Christmas.

While living in the Philippines, I saw many homes filled with figures of saints. For those people, having those figures in their homes helped them to show their devotion to the Catholic church and remember their beliefs.

Whether it’s Christ or Buddha, having some sort of figure or image in your home will help you remember what you believe and who you believe in.

Keep going, even when it gets rough

As with any goal, making religion your lifestyle will be tiring at times. Sometimes, you flat-out won’t want to keep going.

Maybe you have to make more changes than you thought. Maybe your family or friends are challenging your decision. Maybe you think that you aren’t good enough or strong enough.

Keep going anyway.

Religion, when it is working, is a long-term commitment. Yep, long-term. Trust me, that kind of scares me too.

It’s worth it though.

It takes a lot of work. Habits don’t form overnight, and there are constant challenges that require you to choose your religion over and over again.

But at the end of it, your faith in your religion comes out stronger than anything. And the more you work at it, the less scary the commitment is.

After all, anything worth working at is worth keeping, right?

These are steps I’ve been working on for a while now. Complete transparency here, I am still working on these things. In fact, while I’ve been writing this, a couple of things have been hovering at the back of my mind, reminding me that I’m not where I should be on some of these practices.

Like the fact that I said to read the scriptures daily, and I have yet to do so today.

But I have hit points in my life where I was routinely doing many of these things. And I have seen people who have taken steps like these in stride and become powerful in their beliefs. Remember, if you’ve fallen out of your habits, you can always try again. There’s no statute of limitations when it comes to second chances with Christ.

It pays off. And making religion your lifestyle does make religion work. I’ve seen it in others and myself. It’s a process, a refining one, and every moment is worth the work.

Want to read more like this on Seeking Christ?

10 Essential Things to Remember About Jesus Christ

Teagan’s Testimony of God’s Love

5 Ways to Start Exercising Faith

And don’t forget that you can share your personal testimony on Seeking Christ too!

I love to feature other people’s testimonies on this website whenever I can. Teagan shared a beautiful one that you can read in the links above. If you want to share your testimony here as well, click here to get more information!