How Do You Create a Religion of One’s Own?

Unique Perspectives: How Do You Create a Religion of One’s Own?

By Kim Stevens

What does it mean to create a religion of one’s own? 

I first learned about this concept when I read a book by Thomas Moore called (no surprise) A Religion of One’s Own.

Moore writes about how creating a religion of one’s own is about creating your own way, your own rituals and your own personal philosophy, a spiritual style that’s totally unique to you. 

This idea is just so cool.

I’ve studied many philosophies, religions and ideologies and while I don’t have one thing that I think is The Thing, I do find there are certain universal truths they all share. The more I read and learn, the more I can decipher this distinct golden thread. I watch as it weaves its gleaming magic through each of the things I love in a way that makes total sense to me.

And that’s the key here – it makes sense to me. Creating a religion of one’s own means creating a religion that is uniquely and unapologetically for me. In my religion, I get to create my own way. I get to take pieces of Christianity and Buddhism and yoga teachings that speak to me, and cobble them together to make something beautiful.

Thrumming behind this concept is, of course, the creative power and nature inherent in all human beings to make life what we want it to be. Life can mean anything. We get to create that definition, just like we get to create a religion that fits for us. 

Reading Moore’s book was like giving myself a permission slip to craft a religion that’s completely mine. OK, his words told me, you can take geology and saging and the mountains and Native American rituals and make them your own. 

So, I did. And what I’ve learned through this highly personal process is that it doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else. It only needs to make sense to me.