I recently read in the news that the newly-appointed head chaplain at Harvard University is an atheist.
As the bastion of liberal, secular, American intellectualism, Harvard veered away from traditional Christian faith of any kind long ago, despite its historical roots as a religious institution founded to educate Protestant ministers.
Nevertheless, I found this appointment a puzzling contradiction in terms.
If the task of a chaplain is to serve the spiritual needs of a particular group of people, say in a prison, a military base, or a school, then the idea of an atheistic chaplain is a ridiculous contradiction in terms, unless those terms have been redefined.
And that is what precisely has occurred.
The new Harvard chaplain opined, “We do not need a god for answers. We are each other’s answers.”
There it is.
In this brave, new world, religious faith is no longer about belief and relationship with God, who loves, saves, and forgives us, but rather, a confidence in ourselves as the source of truth and meaning.
It is not that God has made us in His image, but that we have made God in our image or have simply rejected Him altogether.
Longings of the heart
But because the human heart still longs for meaning and connection, the atheistic chaplain still affirms a spirituality, one that is essentially therapeutic.
We are here to help each other find purpose, build community, and define ourselves.
In such a view, if there is any purpose in religious faith at all, it simply serves to affirm me, make myself feel good about my choices, and helps me adjust to the suffering and evil of the world as best I can.
While anyone who affirms orthodox Christianity would firmly reject this idea of religion as therapy, it is so ubiquitous in our culture that certain elements of it can creep into our Catholic practice.
If we lose sight of the beautiful and fundamental fact that Jesus Christ entered our history as a man to eternally save us from sin and death, then the mission of the Church is no longer about salvation. It becomes about the betterment of the human condition and the world.
This is not to say that the Catholic Church is only concerned about eternal life and cares nothing about this earthly existence.
On the contrary, She does more to house, heal, feed, and educate humanity than any other institution on earth, but all through the supernatural lens of faith in God and the dignity of the human person.
These great works of charity and justice help each person to know the love of God and realize their inherent worth as a son or daughter of the Father.
All of the Church’s actions contribute to the essence of the mission of the Church which always remains the same: To proclaim the Gospel, make disciples and baptize in the name of the Trinity.
Answering the ‘if’s
But if religion becomes therapy, then Sunday Mass is not about our duty and joy to worship God, but rather, our need to celebrate ourselves and feel good when we leave church.
Catholic schools are private institutions that teach a set of amorphous values.
Sin is simply the collective of bad choices and I decide what is right and wrong for me.
Any Church teaching that makes me feel bad or challenges my behavior is simply wrong and an example of the Church’s intolerance and narrow-mindedness.
The Church is simply here to do good in the world, and not much more than that since everyone is going to be saved anyway.
I may be over-simplifying the complexity of people’s religious beliefs and practices here, but I observe elements of these attitudes often enough to see troubling patterns.
We will ultimately find salvation only in Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose to free us from the evil powers of sin and death.
In the Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church, and the teachings of the magisterium throughout 2,000 years, we discover the revelation of God, by which the Lord shows His identity, His love for us, the truth of things, His plan for our lives, and the moral path of virtue and holiness which will lead us to heaven.
Our religious faith and practice are not a human construct; we did not make it up.
God has created us in love and when I receive my life as a gift from Him and live according to His will and plan, I will find a joy and peace which even the best therapy can never fully provide by itself.
If God does not exist, if there is no transcendent Love at the heart of the universe, if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then the world is a closed and dark tomb, encased in death, and shorn of any ultimate and lasting purpose.
We can create some paltry meaning system on our own, we can whistle in the dark past the cemetery at night, but in the face of death’s terrorizing power, what does any of it mean, if there is no supernatural life beyond the grave?
God has rescued us from despair, evil, sin, death, and futility in an absolute and powerful fashion in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
For this, the human heart will always long.