No one can live free of faith

As a token of his devotion to the species, a dog lover has constructed a chapel for canines on his 175-acre property near St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It boasts stained glass windows and life-sized pew carvings depicting various breeds. The statue of an angel-winged Labrador retriever serves as a silent sentinel.

Its architect, Stephen Huneck, acknowledges that he holds no worship services for dogs, living or deceased, but boasts that 10 human couples have chosen to be married in his canine chapel.

The building's solitary door is dog-sized and is marked by a sign that reads, "Welcome, all creeds, all breeds," but warns, "No dogmas allowed."

According to a newly released survey of religion in the United States we human Americans also frown on dogmatic expressions of our faiths, maintaining private beliefs that do not necessarily coincide with those of their denominations to which we belong.

The U.S. Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Foundation, interviewed more than 35,000 adults. It reveals that an average of seven out of 10 religiously affiliated Americans hold that "many religions can lead to eternal life." Even more Catholics than Protestants agreed with that statement, as well as four out of five Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists. More than half of American Muslims also respect religious diversity.

The survey results appear to contradict the notion that religious commitment breeds intolerance. "It's not that Americans don't believe in anything," says Michael Lindsay of Rice University's Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life. "It's that we believe in everything. We aren't religious purists or dogmatists."

It also implies that, for many Americans, religious sentiment is cherished more than the formal expressions of their faith.

Years ago I wrote a book on the subject of effective prayer for a publisher known for marketing best sellers of broad commercial appeal. As I was fine-tuning the text, my editor kept pressing me to be both less specific and more inclusive -- in short, to make the book appeal equally to readers of different faiths and no faith at all.

At length, I dug in my heels, protesting that such a watered-down book would have to preface every prayer with the words "To whom it may concern" -- not a very faithful way to address God.

Faith is important because it is all we have to act on. No one can live free of faith. We cannot help but live by beliefs that fall short of certitude, but we can do much better than be satisfied with faiths that are built of vague habit, sentiment, and tolerance.

Make no mistake: There is a validity to all the major faiths. But to allege that all are basically the same is to diminish their individual genius. Each has been tested by its adherents through the crucible of time and experience, and has demonstrated itself to enrich all believers and the world we all inhabit.

Dogs may not need dogma, but people need to know what they believe.

David Yount's "Growing in Faith: A Guide for the Reluctant Christian" (Seabury) recently appeared in a new paperback edition. He answers readers at P.O. Box 2758, Woodbridge, VA 22195 and dyount(at)erols.com.