Is Questioning Your Religion Bad? Or Is It Healthy? {Bias Day 12}

Is it okay to question our religion?

For many people around the world, religious beliefs are sacred. Whether held for a long time or new to the faith, lives are oriented around beliefs in a divine power.

This famous quote by A. W. Tozer explains it like this:

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

Should believers never have doubts? Should they never question what they believe? Are they immune from blindspots?

Overcoming Biases in Religion

Here are ways to work through four biases regarding religion. Questioning religion isn’t a bad thing, in fact, it can be a healthy way to develop a stronger faith.

(1) But It’s Mine! Why We Can’t Let Go—Loss Aversion {Bias 8}

I grew up in a very conservative church. I held tightly to my rigid beliefs throughout my youth and teen years. But as a young adult, I began seeing scripture in a new light.

I had to face my LOSS AVERSION BIAS, my tendency to hold on to my old faith because it was *my* faith. I’d owned it for a long time. 

Truth doesn’t change, but our understanding of it does. We need to release immature beliefs when we discover more accurate truths, even if it’s painful

(2) Are Taller People More Successful Than Shorter People? The Halo Effect {Bias 9}

If you’ve had a favorite pastor or teacher that you really admired, you understand the inclination to believe that if they’re right about one thing, surely they’re right about everything.

That’s the HALO EFFECT. It’s our tendency to make an overall judgment based on a single trait, such as, if our pastor is a skilled speaker, he also must be a godly husband and a knowledgeable bible scholar.

But reality doesn’t work that way. All of us have flaws. And none of us should be judged by our best trait nor condemned by our worst trait.

With our religious beliefs, while we need to seek counsel from others, we still need to look beyond the pastor, the author, the teacher, and dig out truths for ourselves.

Mom’s advice was right: Don’t judge a book by its cover.

(3) If You See Differently Than Your Group, Beware—Community Bias {Bias 10}

COMMUNITY BIAS is seeing only what our group wants us to see. But what if we start seeing differently?

This one can be painful.

Have you ever changed churches due to a church split or a difference in fundamental beliefs? If so, you know the agony it can cause. We don’t like leaving our groups, and especially not our spiritual families.

But questioning the beliefs and practices of any group is a positive step. We don’t need to blindly follow the crowd. And if we do find discrepancies, ideally we can work with the group to come back into harmony. 

Eliminate any hindrances to questioning your group’s beliefs. If the beliefs are true, they’ll hold up. But if they’re not? You need to know, so together you can change them.

Stay curious.

(4) I Knew It All Along—Hindsight Bias {Bias 11}

HINDSIGHT BIAS gets us into trouble when we become a Monday morning quarterback. We get judgmental about what happened, and wonder why nobody but us saw it coming.

Within our religious communities, we often blame someone’s downfall on the “slippery slope” we saw them on. We say they should have known better.

But in reality, we don’t know what they knew or didn’t know, and we’re in no position to judge.

Humility is key to fighting our bias to correct our memories after the fact. Remember, we’ve never been able to accurately predict the future, so we couldn’t have known all along what was going to happen.

Don’t be too hard on yourself when you lapse. We all learn as we go and nobody gets it right all the time. 

Bottom line: Don’t be afraid to question your beliefs. By remaining open to a clearer understanding of the truth, you can grow a more mature faith.

Do you ever question your religious beliefs? Please share in the comments.

You are on Day 12 of the series: “How to Uncover Hidden Biases.”

Previous: Hindsight Bias {Bias Day 11}
“I Knew It All Along! Really?”

Next: Bias Quotes {Bias Day 13}
“Don’t Be Afraid of the Light—5 Quotes”

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