Christianity: A Religion or a Way of Life? -By Segun Ogunlade

Christianity has only been in existence for some two thousand years. When you compare its age with that of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Confucianism, Judaism and Shintoism, it is fairly young. Yet, it has gone on to amass the highest number of adherents. As at today, there are over two billion people in the world that profess call themselves Christians. Beyond these facts, many things about Christianity are controversial. One of such things is what Christianity is. Whether it is a religion or a way of life is a contestable topic between Christians and non-Christians.

According to many Christians, Christianity is not a religion but a way of life. To say they imitate Jesus Christ, its central character is not enough reason to agree with that assertion. Thus, in what ways is Christianity then a religion? To answer the question, one needs to examine some obvious features of some of the world’s popular religions. For a movement to be termed a religious movement, it must the following features: a set of beliefs, a set of practices, rituals, a set of rules and a set of code, creed and a cult. More importantly, there is a deity to whom obeisance is done and all prayers directed.

A close look at Christianity shows that it has all of these features. One of the major Christian beliefs is that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died and resurrected. This belief is the nucleus of the Christian faith. If you express your faith in the salvific work of Christ, it means you believe it to be truth. And once you admit the truth of your faith, then it forms your belief. Besides Jesus and his death and resurrection, Christians also believe in God as the father of all, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth and guidance, and also the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day. Almost all Christians affirm the doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine that maintains that God exists eternally in three persons. They all believe that there is reward and punishment in Paradise and Hell for good and bad acts. All these points to the fact that Christianity has a set of beliefs that is fundamental to it. Hence, it fits the description of religion as consisting of a set of beliefs.

There are some practices/rituals that are also important to the Christian faith. The two most important are the Baptism and the Eucharist/the Holy Communion. While Baptism is the ritual of initiation into Christianity and a rite of entry into the Christian Church, the Eucharist/the Holy Communion is the culmination of the Christian life. Baptism makes the believer a neophyte i.e. a new creature, while the Eucharist/the Holy Communion strengthens and deepens the believer’s incorporation into the Christian fold.

Other ritual/practices include prayer to God through Jesus or Mary as the may be. There is also burial rites for the deceased, marriage rites for men and women that are ready to be fruitful and multiply, and also confirmation, etc. All these qualify Christianity as a religion and not merely a way of life. Remove all these basic rituals/practices from Christianity and the flaws about it being a way of life becomes glaring.

Also, Christians believe in the supremacy of the Scripture and thus is the number one constitution. It contains the basic code of conduct for Christians such as the Ten Commandment and the Golden Rule. It contains ethical codes for Christian living and is the compass for navigating their human journey. They belief the Bible is infallible and inerrant and that it is the mouthpiece of God because through it, God communicates His intention to them.
Every cult has a single charismatic leader, an insular structure, hierarchical structure with a dichotomy between the leaders and the followers, puts financial burden on members who also live by some ethical codes. Christianity is all of these things. For example, Jesus Christ is the charismatic leader around whom all beliefs and obedience are commanded. However, these days, many religious leaders are beginning to show themselves as the charismatic leader around whom their followers’ belief centred; about insular structure, many Christians pride themselves as belonging to ‘The Way’. They believe Christianity is the only true religion and disapprove of other religions as being incapable of bringing salvation. That is why Christianity is the most evangelical religion. Christians always seek to bring everyone to their fold; there is also a hierarchical dichotomy between the priestly class and the laity. People in the priestly class in some denominations such as Catholicism and Anglicanism wear robes that signify their position.

Furthermore, apart from Pentecostalism, every Christian denomination has a world governing body responsible for directing its affairs. The heads of these governing bodies are usually elected and someone remain in office until their death; Christians are also encouraged to pay their tithes and offering as a means of appreciation to God for blessing the works of their hands. In some churches, believers are encouraged to sow special financial seeds and even give their first salary or gain in the year as the first seed offering; About ethical codes, Christians have a list of dos and don’ts. There is a concept of right and wrong and what is expected of the believers at all time. All these features are found in other religious faith such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. where the believers don’t argue that what they profess is simply a way of life.

Despite these obvious facts that stares us in the face that Christianity is a religion like Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., many Christians are adamant that Christianity is a way of life and not a religion even when they admit that Christianity truly has all the above mentioned features. They contested that Christianity is a way of life modelled after that of Jesus Christ. For me, this claim is rather subjective than it is objective. After all, adherents of other religions also imitate the way of life of their founders and it is not an exclusive feature of Christianity.

Jesus himself said he would build his church on Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:18. The word translated ‘church’ in this verse is the Greek word ekklesia. Ekklesia in ordinary Greek usage means an assembly. This shows that Jesus intended to build a new followership. In that new fellowship, the righteousness of the believers is expected to be greater than that of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He declared himself as the link between those that believe in him and God. Add this to Matthew 9:17 where he said new wine should be put into in a new wineskin which could be translated to mean new beliefs should be built on a new foundation, and then his intention to start a new religious movement becomes clear. Although Christianity bore some resemblance to Judaism, the two are different in essence and ideologies.

The only argument that could support Christians claim that Christianity is a way of life and not a religion is that despite all the rituals, practices and other things attached to it, they are not its essence. Jesus sought people that would be dedicated to his service. He wanted people that will become like him. He wanted a community of people that would be both the light and the salt of the world by following his examples. His early followers to a large extent lived up to Jesus’ expectation of living that they were called Christians by the people that observed that they modelled their lives after that of Jesus. Christian could be said to mean ‘little Christ.’

But after the generation of those that were first called Christians, many things have changed about Christianity that it is difficult to say if current Christians still based their lives on the model of Jesus or that of their church leaders. It is hard to say if Christianity is still a religion that extols a personal intimate relationship with Jesus or if it is now based on a personal intimate relationship with the man on the altar. Christianity has assimilated and syncretised many beliefs that are not original to it that it is no longer true to itself.

So, to the question of whether Christianity is a religion or a way of life, the answer to that depends on the individual perception of the term. If a person calls herself a Christian because she believes in the basic Christian tenets of belief in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, resurrection, heaven and hell, then Christianity is a religion to her. But if she consciously follows the examples of Jesus while the belief in the metaphysical is subjected to that conscious following, then Christianity is a way of life for her.
However, for me, Christianity is both a religion and a way of life. The two of them are fused. If you remove the basic rituals such as baptism and the Eucharist/the Holy Communion, you would have stripped Christianity of its major ritual without any real commitment. Yet, without the person of Jesus at the centre of those rituals and practices, they are meaningless. But whatever you believe about Christianity, if you don’t live by what you believe, you are one of those people that Jesus call hypocrites. Belief should be matched with the correct behaviour to make it matter.

Shalom!
Written by Segun Ogunlade