Rationally beliving

In Habits of the Heart, Bellah talks a lot about the role of religion in the development of the self, even though the act of belonging clearly belongs to the realm of community. he says "Tocqueville saw religion as reinforcing self-control and maintaining moral standards but also as an expression of benevolence and self-sacrifice that are antithetical to competitive individualism." (223) but what does that mean: that's what I found myself asking. Now I grew up in church but I do not see myself as particularly religious, so it stands to reason that he is not speaking to me as he said earlier that being religious and believing are different. Religion is the place where normative behavior are placed above almost anything else. Self control is something that I needed to understand before I was allowed to express myself. Likewise, there is a sense of what have I done wrong that can only be found in religious services. There isn't many places that ask you to punish yourself and then forgive yourself.

But while the world is telling us that we need to show why we are better than someone else religion asks us to see and praise the good in others; to realize that we are not as good as we think we are and accept the fact that there is room for improvement. Now the self sacrifice part is tricky as most of us see that as laying ourselves down for others. At least that is where my mind takes me, the soldier who covers the grenade with his body to save others being the clichéd example. But I think what it really means is what Eric Thomas who I've posted about before says, "to be able at any moment to sacrifice what you are for what you will become." (The secrets to success). This seems to be exactly what Bellah means for us to realize.

The last thing I have is a prayer that I believe is the at the heart of this idea:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.