Religion isn’t a 'feel good' solution, teaches Argentinean bishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 1, 2010 / 10:25 am

Bishop Jorge Lozano of Gualeguaychu in Argentina warned this week that relativism in the faith is what leads many to seek their own individual well being in religion and consider it a “feel good” solution.

“We are in a climate of narcissism and hedonism, and we run the risk of being led by a self-referential conscience, in which the 'I' becomes the center of the universe and the only thing that matters is what 'I' feel like doing, what 'I' want, what 'I' desire, like someone who is constantly staring at themselves instead of looking at others,” he explained.

“This can happen at a community level also,” the bishop said. “There are communities that are hedonist and only care about themselves, without taking into account the other communities around them.”

This is a kind of relativism that invades the faith, he continued, and leads people to say, “I live the faith my way, the way I see it.”  “We sometimes here this said at family gatherings or among our friends.  Someone says I am of this religion or I see the faith like this because it works for me, etc.  Or someone says, ‘What’s important is that you feel good,’ as if religion were some kind of medicine for an upset stomach, a sentiment for self-satisfaction,” the bishop stated.

We are living “in a time marked by uncertainty, with songs that tell us: ‘everything changes.’  And we see this in people who think one thing today and another thing tomorrow.  We see it in young people who can’t decide on a career or are uncertain in their jobs.”