Thoughts and Confessions on Free Religion

The following explanations and thoughts are free confessions and statements about and concerning Free Religion. They do not claim to be universally valid, but are intended to represent examples of the various beliefs and worldviews that can be found in the Free Religion community.

WE BELIEVE THAT…

We believe that humans have a capacity for both good and evil.

We believe that with a balanced upbringing and a stable environment, the good will prevail.

We believe that poor upbringing and bad role models can give evil the upper hand.

We believe that we have a responsibility to nature, the community, our fellow human beings, and ourselves.

We believe that it is possible to bring about change.

We believe that people are constantly searching for the path that seems meaningful to them.

We believe that there is no life after death; we live in the here and now.

We believe that Free Religion is both a pioneer and a guide for humanity.

We believe in freedom.

We believe in love for one another—we are free-thinking in our religious beliefs.

AS PEOPLE OF FREE RELIGION…

As people of free religion who understand their own lives as part of the all-encompassing life and who are aware of their own responsibility for meaningfully shaping and leading their lives, we work across divisive religious boundaries to realize our religious ideals: freedom, reasonableness, and tolerance.

Freedom

– in the sense of personal self-determination –

is the foundation of our religion,

instead of attachment to external professions of faith.

reasonableness

– in the sense of constantly reviewing life experience-

is our guiding principle in our religion,

instead of blindly accepting unchecked tradition.

tolerance

– in the sense of a willingness to constantly learn new things

and be open to new wisdom –

is the path of our religion, which considers many views and customs to be equally valid.

I CONFESS MY COMMITMENT TO

I profess my commitment to daily renewal in myself and my neighbor, so that I may live my life fearlessly and proudly, kindly and wisely, and complete it without any concern for punishment or reward.

I embrace the world as a task that must be solved, my will must be continually inflamed so that ever more noble forms of life may be created in ever new spaces.

In all things that come to pass and happen, I experience with faith the incomprehensible workings of God, inconceivable and unknowable, and yet the eternal content and meaning of all existence.

I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY MIND AND HEART

I bow in reverence before the eternal power which, transcending the limits of all human-like personalities, acts uniformly throughout all worlds and also governs me.

With all my mind and soul, I believe in the beginningless, infinite, living, supreme being of the cosmos, the universe, the nature of God, which cannot be exhaustively described by any image or name. From it I, like all that exists, was born; I have come into being from the womb of the starry world, the world of organisms, the world of human development, in order to live out my life as a conscious reflection of the divine universal being according to its great inner laws of constant perfection, and to dissolve back into it when I die. It will preserve my trace forever, just as it once, since eternity, wove my seeds.

All art and science and morality—death, suffering, and bliss—hope, work, career, personal and community life in family, state, humanity, all of nature and culture—resonate harmoniously and solemnly together in my religion.

I BELIEVE IN THE SELF

I believe in the self. Conscious of my own self-determination and my ability to be creative, I find my everyday life worth living. Other terms traditionally used to describe what I refer to here as “self-determination” and “creative being” are “personality,” “divinity,” and “Buddhahood.”

I believe in others. Since I believe in myself, I cannot help but also believe in my neighbor, who is another independent, creative self.

I believe in community. Both my self and my neighbor’s self are independent. But that does not make us completely independent of each other. It is the uniqueness of each self that makes true community possible. Community is the interdependence of people who are both dependent and reliable at the same time. This is the source of social solidarity and human love.

I believe in the trinity of self, others, and community. Community has its own distinctiveness, which differs from one’s own self and from others. Although these three are distinguishable from one another, they are one in the sense that each presupposes the other two. None can be given preference.

I believe in the unity of nature and human existence. All things in the universe and the human beings who make up the trinity of self, others, and community are one.

I believe in the religious community. I can only live my true self when I belong to a religious community; this is the driving force behind all community.

I believe in a particular form of religion. As far as I am concerned, I belong to the Free Religious Association in Tokyo. But no single religion can claim religious truth for itself alone or contain it completely.

I believe in free religion. The core of religious life must be the endless striving and searching for universal and supreme truth through one’s own religion. Such a process of religious striving, that is, the living impulse of religion, is what I understand by free religion.

I BELIEVE IN HUMAN NATURE

I believe in human nature:

Every sin we commit is against the law of our humanity.

I believe in freedom, strength, and joy:

because they represent the highs of life.

I believe in the majestic mountains, the timeless stars, and the wind that blows from the waters.

I believe that all things are subject to the law of development:

No creed, no religion, no form of government or human community, no ideal of beauty, no moral law is final and perfect.

I believe in the possibility of development:

to a slow and necessary improvement in human society.

I believe in openness; it will never disappoint you.

I believe in an invisible force that is hidden in all that is good.

I believe in the immortality of every good deed and every good thought.

I believe in the creative value of suffering.

I believe that knowledge breeds compassion.

I believe in the forgiveness of sins:

because every person is worthy of forgiveness.

I believe in the satisfaction that comes from a job well done, in the admiration of those we love, in the healing power of fulfilling our duties, and in the power of the human spirit to accomplish the tasks set before us.

All these things are the elixir of life—the perfect comfort.

I raise my hands despite all my mistakes, follies, and fears and say:

Life is good—so good!

I BELIEVE THAT HUMANS ARE PAR OF NATURE…

I believe
that humans are part of nature, part of what has emerged from itself.

I believe
that human life is unique.

I believe
that people live to be happy.

I believe
that humans have the ability to be good or evil.

I believe
that people have the right to be free.

I BELIEVE THAT THE INNERMOST AND MOST IMPORTANT CONCERN OF HUMAN BEINGS…

I believe
that a person’s innermost and most important concern is their religion, and that this is, as it were, the heart of their humanity.

I believe
that this heart is not opposed to the spirit, but rather brings about all moral and reasonable life.

I believe
that this religion can only flourish in freedom, and that it therefore does not condemn other faiths or exclude them as false.

I believe
that truth should always be coupled with love, because otherwise it becomes inhuman, and that love must apply to everyone in order to achieve justice.

I believe
that people can only find fulfillment in relation to their own inner selves, their fellow human beings, and the entirety of all existence, and that moral, responsible decisions can only be made within this network of relationships.

I believe
that every single human being is more important than possessions, ideologies, or organizations, and that the human dignity of every person is an indispensable asset.

I believe
that it is more important to live here than after death, and so I want to recognize and honor life in all its diversity and fulfill its tasks as long as it is given to me.

I believe
that I share in the mystery of all existence and am eternally secure in its fundamental forces, but that it is important to be able to stand before myself and what I have made of the gift of life with confidence in the hour of death.

I BELIEVE IN THE CREATIVE POWER IN EVERYTHING…

I believe
in the creative power in everything that exists, even if my understanding fails me.

I believe
that everything that happens has its meaningful place, even if I often doubt it.

I believe
that my path does not lead into the void, even if I cannot see where it leads.

I believe:
This creative power wants to realize itself in me and in all people from the depths of our being.
It overcomes my resistance and makes me whole.
I can entrust myself to this power.
It lets me become certain again and again:
Yes is stronger than no,
being is stronger than not being,
love is stronger than fear.

This power unites me with all people and beings in reverence, gratitude, devotion, and service.

RELIGION IS FOR ME…

For me, religion is:
what moves me deep inside,
what concerns me deeply,
what is essential to me.

The important thing is that I have to decide for myself.

No dogma, no rule, no commandment helps me.

I feel like I’m part of the universe and am committed to living together with my fellow humans, animals, and plants.

I can form a worldview. It will be largely shaped by my intellect. Religiosity, on the other hand, is my innermost concern and compels me to make decisions and take action.

My actions are determined by my own value system, not by society’s morals, nor by the dogma of a church, nor by what I consider to be an unjustified paragraph in a state law.

Art in any form can very well have something to do with religion, as can work, love, humanity, and other things. It all depends on the motivation of the individual.

I will not allow anyone or anything to dictate this motif, this melody of my life. I firmly believe that it comes from my own center, whose depths are rooted in the origin of things, which is the principle behind the becoming and passing of life.

A great calm comes over me when I truly and genuinely understand and feel that I am part of the infinite. What I think, where I go, what happens to me—I am always part of existence, whose laws I respect.

From the feeling of connectedness with all living things, I develop responsibility, love, and strength!

This eliminates the deadly isolation that leads to anxiety, depression, and feelings of meaninglessness.

It is pointless to ask the question about the “meaning of life.” It does not bother me that such questions cannot be answered. On the contrary, a final uncertainty deepens my attitude toward life. Not everything has to be rational.

I rejoice in the sun, without which life on our earth would not be possible, and I stand in awe and wonder before the mystery of life, which unfolds before my eyes in such diverse forms and colors of beauty.

At the same time, I see the destruction caused by humans, which they have brought upon themselves because they have not paid sufficient attention to the laws of nature.

Shouldn’t we humans muster the strength, according to our disposition and in our own way, to help make our planet and our coexistence on it more humane?

That is also religion.

UP TO THE SUMMIT…

We dedicate our lives to that “higher loyalty that denies the gods and rolls the rocks,” as Sisyphus teaches us, and we conclude with him “that all is well.”

Although condemned to a life that includes pain and suffering as well as the absurd, the uncertain, and the unknown, we say with Camus: “Yes, yes, yes to everything.”

Guided by the motto: “A question is more important than an answer, and effort is the most important thing of all,” we climb to the summit. Our path becomes steep and our breath short, but we have “a dream” with Martin Luther King and we “follow the ray of light” with Merlin. And when the light begins to fade, we will be glad to have accomplished something valuable, even if it is only a smile at our human failure.