fter the discussion of Wordsworth’s poems in class, something related to Religion suddenly occurred to me. And the passage below is laden with my humble opinions.

By saying “and I could wish my days to be bound each to each by natural piety”, we can see that Wordsworth was striving every ounce of his vigor to plead for the tender hand of the Almighty and pay homage to the wondrous nature he had created. Why did he do so? In the world imbued with science and technology, Wordsworth strayed from the mainstream and went back to the basic--calling for the guidance from above to cure every single hollow and howling soul ignited by the raging fire of modernization. He entertained the notion that the re-arrival of the God would definitely make our barren mind bear fruits again. If Wordsworth were a patient at death’s door, Religion, then, appeared to be his only remedy.

Nevertheless, has the pious plea for God really saved the people surrounded by the whirlpool of vanity? I am terribly dubious of that, I’m afraid.

Then, what is Religion? Or, more accurately, what was Religion and what is it now? Do we have religious beliefs? Do we need to bind ourselves to such things? Do we simply have beliefs? All of these questions sow the seed of doubt in my heart. I doubt whether we have something to stick to throughout our life and whether Religion makes any sense to us nowadays.

In my humble opinion, I hold that Religion in the past (before the advent of modernization) meant total devotion to the mystical cause of the unknown and outright reverence for the nature, in a devout and sometimes blind manner. Though they led a comparatively oblivious life, I am always positive that people in ancient times would by no means be bothered and smothered by a grip of emptiness and uncertainty, due to the simple fact that they could always pour their souls to the god. In that sense, they would never lose themselves in the face of boundless unexplainable matters. Their souls quivered in rhythm with the strings touched by the tender hand from some unknown depth. We may be gratified that we are now soaked in such an advanced and progressive era, however, to a certain degree, I have to admit that I am jealousy of people in the past.

One day, Religion ceased to rank first in our list of priorities before we actually realized it. After the collapse of religion in the West, logic-oriented philosophy comes to power and manipulates the Western world. With the tremendous impact of globalization, people’s life around the globe, more or less, is penetrated with Western thoughts, which upholds the banner of instant enjoyment. In the world resonating with metaphysics, it seems that only by the most direct and swift taste of the materialized matters can we be released and rescued from the tatters of violence and turbulence. Thus, we spare no effort to grasp every physical and animal satisfaction and fulfillment. Gradually, religion is set aside by us and meanwhile, it cannot fight its fate—to be washed over by the wave of modernization. As a result, it is not surprising that a monk walks in the street with a pair of Reebok or a person of Hui nationality eats pork. Such is the situation of Religion, where “endemic sexual abuse” shook Ireland to its core, where the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is confronted with the lack of new blood, where people stop to act as a worshiper like their ancestors.  

With of the absence of solid religious belief, I strongly feel a clamor of restlessness raging in my body. Does that mean we are to abandon the precious nectar of human civilization tightly bound to us?

The words of Gibran, however, eliminate my anxiety. He said, “is not religion all deeds and all reflection and that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone and tend the loom? Who can separate his faith from his actions, and his belief from his occupations? Your daily life is your temple, and your religion. ”

I burst out a sigh of relief, because I finally realize that actually, we don’t have to make our deeds or thoughts confine to the strict regulations set by Religion or bother to check every fiber of our being to seek the glittering stones of Religion. Our life itself is our religion. Every move of us and every thought flashing across our mind is bathed in the sea of Religion—our insights into the world at large and our respect for life. Despite the structure of modern culture and the status of Religion, I firmly hold that we can seek a life laden with religious beliefs through the harmonious interaction of human and heave and frequent interpersonal relations. All we have to do is to respect life from the bottom of our hearts and live everyday a significant day.

The author is a student at the School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University.