Public Piety

Earlier today, I stopped by Wendy's on my way to a meeting. While I was there, a woman approached me, said that she had seen me praying over my food, and offered me a pamphlet produced by her church. That encounter resonated with me, and I found myself being glad that I had prayed in public, and I was glad that she had publicly practised her religion as well.

I believe that praying and performing other religious acts in public is a very good idea. Of course, it's a good idea to do religious things in public because it's a good idea to do them at all, but it's especially good to do them in public because that allows other people to see you being religious, which can encourage them to be more religious as well. I think that there is not quite enough religion in the world today. Perhaps we ought to make a habit of practising our religion in public to remind others that it is still normal and acceptable to be religious, even in public.

Of course, we don't want to be obnoxious about it, and we certainly don't want to feign religiousness just to make a show if it. We shouldn't be hypocritical; our religious expressions must be genuine. But part of that genuine religious expression is being exactly as religious in public as we are in private. If we pray over our food in private, we should also do so in public. Studying the scriptures in public might be awkward, but might be worth doing, if it's convenient enough, and there are other ways to show piety in public as well. We can sing hymns, we can maintain our standards, and we can share our beliefs when they come up in conversation. We don't want to overdo it and be see as some kind of "religious nut." The goal is to be honest about who we are and how we act, and the hope is that other people will grow to see our religious actions as normal.

Beyond merely being a good idea, I think that it's important to be religious in public. There are many people who are willing to be non-religious and even anti-religious in public. We could use some religious examples in the public square as well. So, don't hide your piety like someone putting their candle under a basket. Instead, be the light on the hill, so that others may see your light and hopefully be drawn toward it.