Being Called “Religious” Should Not Be Perceived As Something Negative

Zac Wierschem
Sep 6, 2018 · 6 min read
A Glorious Candlelight Procession in Lourdes, France

It’s 11:32am here in Houston, Texas and I just had a very humbling and sobering experience about being “religious” and the call to be “bold” without being “repulsive.”

Person: “Are you religious?”

Me: “No, I wouldn’t say that, I just like my faith.” — avoiding the label of being “religious”

Because of the hyper-polarization in the society we live in and the fact that a large percentage of the loving people that surround me would not consider themselves religious, I have grown in an unhealthy self-conscious sensitivity to my expression of my Catholic faith and sharing what I believe with others, including my friends who may think and believe differently; because the thought of losing anyone I love for any difference in belief absolutely pains my heart.

— And I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. —

So for those who feel similarly and are exploring a curiosity, here’s a story of why I believe we need to work on breaking any self-imposed negative emotional response to being called “religious” and why it’s not a bad thing to be “religious.”

I had just attended Catholic Mass at 8:15 in the morning when one of the regular church ladies came up to me and offered to take me out to breakfast because she heard about my discernment of the priesthood and my pilgrimage to many holy sites in Europe and the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine). I was honored because I am a broke, unemployed college graduate living at home (currently) so any offer of free food and being able to share my experiences is welcomed; but little did I know that I wouldn’t do much of the talking but I would be the one listening and, more importantly, witnessing.

We began talking about me and where my life is, spiritually, after my pilgrimage but then the conversation quickly shifted to her life and her bold and true devotion to God. And by bold, I mean that she is BOLD. Like Bold-BOLD. She was telling me that when she took a trip to Italy, she met a man begging on the street and spent nearly a week (of her own traveling time) endlessly searching for a job for that man by pleading with owners of businesses she had just met, praying 6 Rosaries one day, and asking priests to pray for the man as well. She’s not even from Italy, she’s Vietnamese; so she has some serious guts and a spirit of boldness that has constantly inspired her to action. I mean to Pete’s sake, she is the one who interrupted my prayer at the end of Mass to invite me for free food. And that’s surprisingly biblical:

“Jesus said to them, ‘Come have breakfast.’” — John 21:12

After that and after breakfast, I get “volun-told” to come grocery shopping with her so that we can continue the conversation. When we get to the checkout line we were speaking on what will be difficult in the future if I become a priest, God-willing; and the young man helping put our stuff on the conveyer belt heard us and said in response to our discussion, “Not being called a child molester.”

I still can’t believe that actually happened.

The church lady suddenly stopped and asked him more probing questions, but in a way that authentically felt like she wanted to hear him. The young man shared that he is not a regular church goer but believes that the solution to the problem is to let priests get married because it’s only time until the sexual energy within them has to be let out.

I held my tongue because I was fearful of any ideological friction and a potential debate.

But she went deeper.

She boldly replied to his comment saying that priests don’t get married in order to be a symbol of totally disposed love solely for God. She was fighting for what the Catholic church holds to be true.

I stayed silent and averted my eyes from the situation out of fear.

That was quite a full response from the church lady and I’m not sure the young man fully understood what she said, especially as someone who is not a usually church goer. If that were me, I definitely would have awkwardly cut the conversation and changed the subject, but she pressed even more and asked him, “If you could ask God a question and He will answer it what would you want to know?”

The young man was taken aback by the question that he was not prepared for, smiled, and continued his work thinking about his answer.

The church lady then asked me to pray for him before she further responded. I started praying but then she said, “Pray out loud.” I honestly felt really uncomfortable and began to pray out loud in a soft voice, and could tangibly feel the discomfort of the young man as well as the cashier who hadn’t said a word.

I forgot exactly what the young man said, but the church lady said, with total confidence, that God will answer his question.

And we left.

She was unapologetically religious. Unashamed of what she believed to be true and felt so convicted of it that she was willing to defend it and guide others to the truth that she had encountered in her heart of hearts.

Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel

I reflected on that experience and what it possibly can mean for my life and why God put me in this situation of fear in the face of boldness. I reflected on a story she told me of a lady who didn’t know that the church lady was near her and that lady said clearly to her son, “That Asian lady is SO religious.” And then her son realized the church lady could hear and began to apologize to the church lady, as if being called religious was a demeaning comment. But she replied, “There’s no need to apologize, it’s actually a compliment.” And she laughed after she shared that with me.

I was afraid and fearful for her during that whole encounter at the grocery store. I was afraid to share what I hold to be true, to test the water and call people up to the truth I believe rather than call them out for believing something different. Do I really deserve the title of being called “religious” if I am unashamed of what I believe if it creates any small friction with another person’s belief?

Nails are made smooth through the friction of the filing pen, so it is with the truth — friction is necessary.

So no. I shouldn’t be ashamed of what I believe and I shouldn’t be scared of who I am in the face of others who believe differently. It’s not a bad thing to be religious. Being religious is not synonymous with closed-mindedness — look at the history of science and how integral Catholics were in scientific thought. Being religious is not synonymous to opulent greed — look at the work of Mother Teresa and the hundred of thousands of religious people living the vow of poverty. Being religious is not synonymous with terrorism — look at the millions of peaceful Muslims living all over the world leading us to a peace-filled society. Yes, broken people are a part of my religion as is the case in every religion, but that doesn’t mean that my religion is broken. Just because you use a pen with the cap on and it doesn’t write doesn’t mean that the pen is broken, it means that you are using the pen wrong. People use religion wrong, and I should not be ashamed for the truth in religion but should rather seek reconciliation for the misuse of religion.

I’m not religious because I grew up religious.

I’m religious because I’m broken too.

And broken people need the support of each other to find God and walk this pilgrimage of life towards the completeness of our mutual brokenness found in Jesus, our true peace and wholeness.

So please, by all means, call me religious. I shouldn’t be afraid of the title and all that comes with it if I truly believe what I believe.

Being called religious is a reminder that I am broken, but it doesn’t end there.

I am like a vase with a burning candle inside of it. You can only see the light of the candle if the vase is broken. So I will let my light shine in the midst of my brokenness and let God use my brokenness and weakness to let the light of His truth shine on all those He wishes it to touch in my daily encounters with humanity.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

Person: “Are you religious?”

Me: “*firmly* Yes.”

Your brother,

Zac

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