It was 5 years ago that the Church of Reality was born. At first it was just a humorous idea. I registered the domain name and started building the web site. As I wrote a lot of ideas came together. At first I wasn't sure that it would ever be a "real" religion because - like most people - I had the idea that in order to be a religion that you had to believe in things that aren't real. But that's not the way it is.
Religion is a statement of your identity and your belief system and how you evaluate truth. It is about your morals and ethics and your community. How you evaluate right and wrong. To identify with a religion is to associate yourself with a belief system. In society, it identifies you in the larger culture of people who care about those sorts of things.
Religious identity is important in society. Many wars are fought over religious issues - my God is stronger than your God. People want to know what religion you identify with so they can evaluate your moral code.
But - what of those who have no religion - or - not organized religion that matches their belief system? What is their religious identity? Are they a "nothing"? And what does that say about them. To be an Athiest is not a religion. An Athiest is merely someone who does not believe in God(s). So - what of someone who believes in reality? There is not church for them - until now.
The Church of Reality goes beyond a mere title. As I wrote about the Tree of Knowledge and Intelectual Tything and created the Order of Root and wrote the Sacred Principles it became apparent that I could in fact create a religion based on reality and perform the mission of being a religion without putting limits on reality and declaring arbetrary truths that become carved in stone and hold reality back from progressing.
The belief in Reality and the Practice of Realism is as rich and full as any other religion. It is unique and it is forward looking and it requires personal responsibility. It has all the elements of every other religion and then some. And I look back and I look forward and I think that this is an important step forward and a contribution to religious choice.