In the Father Spitzer's Universe clip below, a viewer asks Father Spitzer the following question on why we need religion and not just belief in God:
"Dear Father Spitzer, My neighbor and I keep debating the difference between faith and religion. He insists we do not need religion, just faith in God. How do I explain that religion is so much deeper than simply faith, and I need the Catholic Church to fully practice my faith?"
Father begins by answering that God does communicate with us interiorly, and we can have a kind of faith—though perhaps uninformed—through the spiritual awareness that we have.
We may even be able to find some proofs for the existence of God and look at scientific evidence for the beginning of physical reality which was created by an unconditioned, uncaused being.
However, that doesn't give us the "who" of God. It doesn't tell us whether God's loving or unloving. It doesn't tell us whether he calls us to goodness or not-goodness, what the good is, and how to be accountable to the good. Furthermore, is there some kind of salvation we should be living for? If so, how do we get there?
Ultimately Father tells us that that the question is not, "Do we need a church?" The question is, "What church?"
Learn more about the importance of religion in the video below.
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