In Theory

According to the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, “the religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories.” A new poll published in December by Pew showed that many Americans engage in multiple religious practices and mix in elements of diverse traditions. The Pew survey showed that many respondents said that they attend worship services of more than one faith or denomination — even when they’re not traveling or attending a special event like a funeral or wedding. Many of the respondents said they blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs.

Does your church or religious institution embrace the mixing of religious practices among your congregants or reject this? Would you agree that we now live in an age of cross-religious diversity in this country? And how is your church or institution adapting to such change?

It is a part of the tradition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to respect all religions. Our 11th Article of Faith states: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where or what they may.”

My wife, Sheila, and I attend worship services of many faiths — about once a month — and find great joy in our experience, while, at the same time, increasing our appreciation for our own teachings.

Latter-day Saints are in a unique position among the religions of the world in our belief that Jesus Christ organized a church when He was upon the Earth, men changed it, and it was brought back to earth in the 1830s giving it His authority and blessing once again. We respect truth in tradition or practice from wherever it emanates.

Tom Thorkelson

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

People feel they can be honest about their spiritual lives and freely explore whatever practices will really help them. It is natural to integrate religious and philosophical wisdom acquired from a variety of sources.

Almost all Zen practitioners were raised in other spiritual traditions or were unaffiliated. We suggest that newcomers try Zen meditation for a few months, and if they do not feel it is making any difference in their lives, try something else.

But once someone has found a tradition or a setting that is working, I think it is important to stick with it for a time rather than hopping from one thing to another. It is common to feel resistance to giving ourselves to a practice and community, yet this is where growth can emerge.

The Rev. Deborah Barrett

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

One of my mentors described himself as a Zen Episcopalian! In his private devotions he used a Buddhist prayer wheel, a rosary and a Bible. He was skilled at leading corporate worship exquisitely using our Book of Common Prayer.

The Episcopal Church encourages diversity and differences of opinion and practice.

It can provide a place where folk focused on the world’s business and lacking time for theological fine points or rarified spiritual experience can pray in matter-of-fact, eyes-open, no-nonsense ways with those skilled with Bible study and silent prayer.

Anglican spirituality has always been pragmatic at its heart, supporting people in doing what leads to health, wholeness and holiness.

Individuals may hold various confessional positions and may have undergone differing religious experiences or no particular experience at all. What is basic is that we worship God together.

(The Very Rev’d Canon) Peter D. Haynes

Saint Michael & All Angeles Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

One of the things I discovered in my teens was that Neapolitan ice cream was best when I ate each flavor individually. When I mixed them together, the flavor was bland and unappealing. Mixing faiths doesn’t help anyone and only creates a meaningless secular spirituality. Within the distinctions of the Christian faith, we believe we offer a message of hope and life change.

This weekend, I am speaking on the commandment that we not take the Lord’s name in vain. This has traditionally been interpreted as “don’t use God’s name to cuss,” when in reality it is “Do not attach God’s name to things that don’t represent him.”

It is a commandment against identity theft. Religion defames the name of God, since it convinces people that somehow by being good, they can appease God and live anyway they want. It creates uncertainty about if we have done enough good. Suicide bombers live under the idea that the only guaranteed way to Paradise is to give their lives in Jihad. Religious fanatics use the name of God to control them.

The idea that we can pick and choose the pieces of God that we feel good about, discard the ones that we don’t and then form a belief system claiming it represents God’s plan, is to use the name of the Lord in vain. Mixing faiths is an attempt at putting a very big God in a very small box that we have fashioned.

Ric Olsen

Lead Pastor,

The Beacon OC

In the smorgasbord of American religiosity there are no boundaries to sampling from the “all you can eat” buffet. We take an appetizer from another faith, a side dish from another theology, and a dessert from another practice. Our do-it-yourself religious plate is customized and tailored to our desires.

One observer writes: “There is a difference between choosing an ice cream flavor and choosing a medicine. When choosing ice cream, you choose what you like. When choosing medicine, you have to choose what heals. Many people think of God like they think of ice cream, not like they think of insulin. They choose religious views according to their tastes, not according to what is true.”

When we mix four or five ice cream flavors together, we might think they mesh. In reality, they are only mush.

Rabbi Mark S. Miller

Temple Bat Yahm of Newport Beach

The fact that many people are trying various religious denominations, and may blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs, simply mean that they recognize that most religious institutions are not perfect organizations. Just as many Christians arbitrarily pick and choose various parts of the Bible as guides for proper behavior, while completely ignoring other biblical directives, selecting parts of various other religions allows for even more options, essentially allowing for a personal religion for those who find fault with some aspects of the “standard” religions.

Many religions promote beliefs that are contrary to common sense or scientific facts, thus the more educated a person is, the more apt they are to feel uncomfortable in such religions, and thus may search for an alternative. Many such people have stopped attending church, while others have eventually joined humanist organizations that promote good policies and the golden rule, without the necessity to believe in the dogma and unfounded claims that are part of many religious denominations.

Jerry Parks

Member, Humanist Assn. of Orange County

The Center for Spiritual Living Newport-Mesa honors all religions and believes in the omnipresence of God. While we do not mix religious systems, we do encourage our congregants to develop spiritual practices based on spiritual principles that guide, direct and empower their lives. We teach a philosophy that helps people strengthen their relationship with God and to find within themselves a deeper faith that expands their belief in what matter to most: love, peace, prosperity, and joy.

Becausewe are a spiritual philosophy, we have people from many different traditional religions. For many, the primary attraction to our faith is our belief in the power of prayer and in one God serving all of life. As we say in our teaching, “Change your thinking, change your life.”

Jim Turrell

Center for Spiritual Living Newport Mesa

We are always searching for God. We will always explore new paths and create new ways to seek God. I think the church must always honor people’s spiritual quests. God is certainly big enough to handle all our questions and doubts. The church needs to be just as accepting of differences.

But the church has a different story, a different approach. We don’t talk about our search for God, but God’s reaching out to us. So the church needs to be a place where God’s Presence is real and tangible, where people can experience God’s transforming grace, where God Moments and Epiphanies are commonplace, and where God’s values of justice and mercy are practiced.

I suspect people are on new spiritual quests in part because churches have failed to be places of grace, revelation, and Divine presence. I believe the real spiritual quest is not where we look for God today, but what does God desire to show us today.

Pastor Mark Wiley

Mesa Verde United Methodist Church

There is a difference between attending worship services of various denominations and attending worship services of various faiths. There are denominations within the Christian faith that would disagree on the interpretation of some minor doctrines, yet agree on the essentials of Christianity.

Our founder was nailed to a Roman cross in the plan of God to atone for our sins. On a political and religious level, however, He was executed because He claimed to be the one and only true way to God. He did not claim to be a Savior among many, but the only Savior. He boldly proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me.” John 14:6. He calls His followers to love all mankind, but to give no quarter to the notion that all claims to eternal life are equally valid.

The command of Christ is to “preach the gospel to every creature” Mark 16:15, not to compromise with the spirit of this world that teaches that all religious faiths are equal. I believe the church of Jesus Christ is not called to adapt to the world, but to change the world.

Pastor Dwight Tomlinson

Liberty Baptist Church