Words such as “religion,” or “faith,” often have different meaning depending on the person being asked. Obviously, faith has an actual accepted meaning, “strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.” That definition, however, leaves so much room for individual input that it almost can’t actually be used. Faith is a deeply individual practice, and because of that, has to be defined differently from person to person. My personal faith journey has always been a complicated one, and because of that, my definition for faith changes often. When I was younger, faith was just something I had because my parents had it and it was taught to me in school. From a young age, I had a very limited understanding of what religion was or where it came from. …show more content…
I needed to practice my faith in a public place surrounded by others who were doing the same thing I was. I believe that faith is not something that can be practiced alone, without the input of others. Faith is something that requires the input of others in order to properly develop and flourish. I believe that Emile Durkheim was right when he said that religion is a social phenomenon more than anything else. Personal beliefs are linked to those of the people around us, if for no other reason than we all want to fit in. While this could be viewed as a bad thing in the context of religion, after all, it is supposed to be a deeply personal thing, it is also incredibly beneficial. Something as complicated and rich as religion needs to be shared. There’s a reason that we all gather together to celebrate at mass, because faith is meant to be shared among as many people as possible. The Word of God was meant to be spread to as many people as possible, so it would make sense that faith require involvement from