Organized religion is generally a practice of spirituality with doctrine and ritual within a common belief system. Such doctrine and ritual serve a purpose, usually as a means of contemplation to understand the core of the religion and to answer questions about the path to that faith and a means of bringing its constituents together. Without doctrine and ritual, there is little reason for the followers of any religion to treat their faith system as a family or any like-minded group. Without doctrine or ritual, there simply is no religion. It is nothing more than general faith or spirituality that does not connect to a specific purpose, goal or family of followers.
There is nothing wrong with that, of course. Spirituality as a general belief in something -- anything -- beyond our mortal world that inspires a sense of morality is a good thing. But that's all it is. Spirituality. It is not religion. Thus, if you do not prescribe to the set of doctrine or ritual attached to a specific religion, you are not behaving in the manner dictated by that religion and, perhaps, under the notion of refusal, should not consider yourself a part of that religion.
This does not mean that we should not question. That's the most important part of contemplation of faith and vital to spiritual growth. Hence the purpose of doctrine in the first place. Doctrine exists to answer questions we ask about our faith. However difficult the answer is to understand, it exists somewhere, even as a guide or hint, often as a prayer or parable.
Religion as an organic entity also changes as the world and culture inevitably changes. Doctrine and ritual change as the needs of the people change. Intercourse for the single purpose of procreation, polygamy, young marriages and the use of concubines existed in a time of high mortality rates when religion needed followers and society needed a population to function. Many of these practices have been altered as the world has become increasingly over-populated.
There are, however, many religious practices that do not need to change as they continue to foster beliefs and practices that remain core to its religion. Many Christian faiths, such as Catholicism, hold the death of Christ as a sacrifice to his people to be a notion as important as the life Jesus led. Easter and the preceding Lenten season, as recognized by Christians, is one of two extremely significant events to the faith and exists to teach what Christians believe is one of the foundations of the faith: Sacrifice. From the first day to the very last, the Christian is tasked to think often about what it is like to sacrifice as he was taught to do by the Messiah's ultimate sacrifice with his life.
Without doctrine and religious text to back this up, the requirement of fasting during Lent is a rather simple notion to understand in light of what Easter is supposed to mean to those who recognize its religious significance. Asking a person to sacrifice a small extravagance is a pittance to what God asked of his only begotten son when Jesus sacrificed his life as a means of showing redemption and the immortality of the soul.
Yet as the season approaches, there is always a voice of dissension, not only from those critical of Christianity or religion as a whole, but even by those who consider themselves faithful. They may believe that a small sacrifice teaches them nothing or that they do not need to sacrifice, themselves, in order to understand the most important sacrifice made to the Christian faith. This is where faith-based contemplation comes in. These are things the individual must reconcile, themselves, often with the aid of those meant to usher the practitioner's faith. An outright rejection of the practice, however, does nothing to foster contemplation or appreciation of religious doctrine. Questions are good. Rejection, perhaps, is not as beneficial if one's goal is to understand or actually practice the faith.
More, many simply do not see the connection at all. There is a population within the church of those who call themselves Catholic, who've been Catholic all their lives, who have had access to the doctrine of the church all of their lives who have either never heard or found the answers to their query of the practice of fasting or have not been receptive to teachings that have answered such questions. Yet the answer has always been there. This becomes the duty as a vital means of examination: Find answers.
Then there is a population of those who do not see the connection who claim that no answer exists despite never having looked for the answers. As it has been said repeatedly in this article, the answer does exist. In Matthew 9:15, the bible says, "And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." There it is: A direct call by Jesus, himself, via the Bible in which followers are taught to believe was inspired by God, for his followers to fast when Jesus, the bridegroom, is taken away by his death memorialized by Easter.
And beyond both the confusion and outright refusal over the practice of fasting for Lent there is a significant population of both followers and those who object who have their own means of recognizing Lent. While this is the prerogative of people to do and it may seem harmless to foster positive action to replace ritual one does not understand, it does not promote the examination of Christianity or Catholicism by its followers. All it does is replace a notion that is clearly defined by purpose and recognition with one that is not connected to the religion, movement or observation in any way. These changes are very often positive. But such positive constructs don't need to replace a system that already exists with intent and purpose. Positive action does not need to replace. It can add. It can propel the driving force behind ritual and doctrine. It can become part of a new way of thinking that does not take away from the very core of the practice. Fast to appreciate Christ's sacrifice but also do something nice to appreciate the world around you. Fast to appreciate Christ's sacrifice but also sacrifice your time or resources to benefit your neighbor. Don't add to the confusion of the purpose of fasting for Lent by refusing to recognize that there is one. Don't question the desire of the faithful to continue to fast as a means of observing Lent.
If you do not wish to behave as a Christian, do not consider yourself Christian. If you do not understand why your Christian faith asks you to do certain things, look for answers, either through doctrine or the assistance of religious leaders whose very vocation is to assist you in finding answers. If you feel no compulsion to practice ritual that doctrine dictates even after the purpose is explained to you, do not participate. If you feel that you have personal goals beyond what ritual dictates, achieve those goals through means that do not involve changing doctrine to serve what you believe to be a better purpose. Keep in mind, always, what happened when Christianity, itself, set out to change the rituals of many cultures in which belief in Jesus did not previously exist. Ask yourself, seriously, if what you are doing is a brand of religious persecution, as well. Then ask yourself if, among all practices associated with any religion, fasting as a small sacrifice to recognize Jesus Christ's much more significant sacrifice is one that truly needs changing.
