You know, I think that to a great extent, religion is folklore. Maybe that idea won't sit very well with the religious or antireligious people here, but I think there's a lot of truth in it.

Many people here have said that religion is a system of control, imposed upon people to ensure their behavior and compliance. I don't buy that - there are very few religious groups today that are able to exert any real control on members. Also, most religious creeds and rituals evolve from the community experience of the group - they are not ready-made creeds that are imposed on people.

I acknowledge that there are many people (although not many here) who believe that their religious beliefs and practices are absolute truth, bestowed on them by the Almighty. That's certainly not true in the Roman Catholic Church that I've belonged to all my life. Many of our rituals and traditions evolved from Jewish and pagan traditions. The stories of many of our saints are often mostly legend - although many are very wonderful legends. Our liturgy is a marvelous blend of many traditions. And of course, the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures stem from many sources and many traditions, all with a basis in legend, myth, and oral history. It's a very messy faith, one that doesn't fit neatly into any pigeonhole - but I find that wonderful. I find that wonderfully rich blending of tradition in almost all religious groups, and I find it fascinating and good. My religious faith is one of the most deeply important aspects of my life - but I don't see it as a system of authority or authoritative answers to the questions of life. The Catholic church may have a structure that seems very authoritative and doctrinaire, but that authority and doctrine has very little effect on the day-to-day lives of most Catholics. The basic beliefs and practices of Catholics are quite simple, expressed in a wide diversity of traditions.

So, I see religion as folklore. It's a true, honest search for the meaning of life, expressed in many rich, colorful, and clumsy ways. I treasure the religious traditions I was brought up with - but I also question them. I also have high regard for most other religious traditions, and for the sacred meaning they have for people. This is not to denigrate religious faith in any way - for all its flaws and foibles, faith is the only way we can touch the hand of the divine power that is beyond us, whatever name we give to that power.

The hand outstretched in blessing is folklore, too. It's something Catholics and people of many faiths have done for ages, a very natural gesture - and one that can have a lot of meaning.

-Joe Offer-

P.S. Mary, maybe you'd enjoy taking a look at the Catholic Book of Blessings. Most any priest has a copy you can see (although probably you can't take it home, because it's in constant use). It is the collection of the official blessings used by the Catholic Church for various occasions - from the blessing of a home to the blessing of animals, and some situations that are kind of corny. Again, it's rich in tradition and meaning, and it's wonderful folklore.