There has been a reversal in the decline of religious adherence, with young men notably returning to the church pew and claiming that faith is highly important in their lives. Women, too, are showing an increase in each of these metrics.

I am happy to take what I see as a “win”. However, there should be some disclaimers. These signals should not be confused with a full-blown revival as other pollsters are finding that young people remain less religious than older cohorts. And on top of that, there is a large group of people who desire the benefits of being a spiritual person and yet they struggle with the religion with which faith is attached.

Why would the spiritual types not be concerned with religion? There have been plenty of headlines laying out the abuse of religious leaders. And the hostilities between major religions seem to be growing at an anxious pace in recent times.

And still, as someone who is both “spiritual” and “religious”, it saddens me to see so many people who long for connection with God and yet refuse the connection found within religion itself.

I do want to remind you of the real purpose of religion, specifically the Christian religion. We can get so caught up in these complaints about what Christianity is doing or is not that we can forget the essence of why we pursue Christian religion and not just Christian spirituality.

I believe that it is through the practice of religion we experience and facilitate a meeting with God that we might be transformed.

Many will argue that they do not like religion because it takes something away from them. But the aim of religion is not primarily to take something away, but to transform what is. The heart of Christianity is not rule following or subtraction but transformation through encounter.

We so often get the order backward. The pattern we see with Jesus is clear: people came to Him as they were, and transformation followed. Whether it was the woman caught in adultery, the thieving tax collector, the lepers, none were cleaned up first. They met Jesus and then their lives began to change.

To experience the transformative effects of religion, it will happen after you participate in that religion. Religion is a pathway of tried and true ways in which God-seekers have experienced the presence of God. As you experience God, you will change. But change is not a prerequisite to coming to God.

At one point, this was not the case. This is only true because of the person of Jesus and the sacrifice he made on the cross. God is perfect. To be connected to God, to be placed fully in the presence of God, you, too, must be perfect. This cannot be without some sort of covering, and that covering is found perfectly in the person of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus claims “there is no way to God except through me”. It is his perfect covering, his perfect Way, that allows us to enter into the presence of God.

This truth is played out best within a Church gathering. A Church greets one another with love regardless of age, race, income, education, or any other background. It is a felt reality in Church that, regardless of my imperfection, I am covered and brought into the fold of the people. We all sit at the table, have an opportunity to share and take, and each is considered an invaluable part of the gathering.

If we as broken humans can share such an invitation, how much greater the invitation by Christ to share in the presence of God.

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