Trust and Faith
March 19, 2023
When it comes to Trust, it is easier to define it as something that can be calculated or proven. But the intangible side of trust is more interesting to me. I am thinking of faith.
As a Chinese, coming from almost 5,000 years of history and cultural tradition, I did not need to find another authority to teach me right and wrong and tell me what to do. Growing up in Taiwan where although we are a religiously pluralistic society, nothing can be as powerful or influential as our Confucius teaching. Our faith was embedded in this tradition. This is the reason we looked at any religion with suspicion. And after attending 3 years in a Catholic high school and 4 years in a Catholic university, I never became Catholic.
When I decided to enter the seminary, it was not because I was looking to become religious but because I was hoping to find something that is ultimately binding for our human race and can save us from this seemingly apocalyptic time. The biggest challenge my teachers gave me is to clearly define my theology or faith. It took me three years to come close and clear enough to say it in less than 100 words. The interfaith education I received taught me what is shared across all religions is unconditional love. All religions are helpful. They were created to solve the problems of our cultures. But the religious organizations were built on the same cultures that we were trying to fix. They are full of top-down structures that end up hijacking and using religions to keep the power dynamic alive. Love becomes a commodity and conditional that is only given to those who follow the organization’s rules.
Maybe this is the reason that the U.S., mainline churches are losing members and more people claim that they either have no religious affiliation or are spiritual but not religious. The term “church” or “religion” represents the hierarchy. Even the G word has become a bad word for some of us. Many younger generations have lost faith in religious institutions because of the hierarchy, especially the patriarchal system of authority. As part of my education, I have learned about a term called “religious wounding” which was what happens when a person was force-fed a religion from their family origin and never given a choice. As they become adults, they carry the oppression and abuse by the power of a top-down religious organization. So, they run away. But without religion, how do we know to do the right thing every day? What serves as our compass?
When I first found Tapestry, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, I was looking for a community in which I could feel I belonged. Often you will hear people say we UUs care more about social justice than spirituality. I don’t agree. I discovered that a community is more than just a clunk of people who hang out for food, music, hobby, and services. The reason we are so committed to serving others and fighting for social justice is that we have love and caring in our hearts, and we feel deeply connected to our humanity. This is the spirit in us, like a river that flows through all of us. Our collective self is much bigger than our individual selves. It is like a chemical reaction, when we come together, 1+1 is equal to 3 or more. This is our collective spirituality. It is mythical and there is no need for scientific proof. We UUs are allergic to the top-down, vertical, or hierarchical power structure. But just because what binds us together is bigger than ourselves, it does not mean this is a vertical power over us. This power is shared and flows through all of us. It is this spirituality that helps us do the right thing. And this is the compass we can follow.