Why I Left Religion: The Hypocrisy of So-Called Believers

The Greatest Commandment

When the Pharisees heard that he (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law]* tested him by asking, "Teacher,* which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

He (Jesus) said to him (the Pharisee), "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:* You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." 

* Matthew, Chapter 22 ( https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22)

Growing up in a strict Traditional Catholic (1) household, I was taught that the foundation of faith is built on love, compassion, and righteousness with God. Faith leaders told me to follow Christ's greatest commandments: to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind and to love my neighbor as myself. Yet, over time, I witnessed an overwhelming contradiction between these sacred teachings and the actions of those who claimed to be devout believers, from the laity to the ranks of church leadership.

One of the most defining moments in my departure from organized religion was the realization that many so-called religious individuals fail to embody Christ's message. Instead of love and acceptance, I saw judgment and exclusion. Instead of humility and kindness, I saw arrogance and cruelty. Instead of selflessness, I saw greed disguised as piety.

Jesus' second commandment is clear: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Yet, time and time again, I witnessed churches and their congregants disregarding the suffering of others. I saw religious institutions become political battlegrounds rather than sanctuaries for the broken. I saw leaders preach love from the pulpit but fail to practice it outside the church walls.

I left because I could no longer reconcile the teachings of Christ with the behavior of those who claimed to follow Him. I could no longer sit in a pew listening to sermons about love while watching hatred spew from the very same mouths on the street. I could no longer pretend that faith meant blindly following traditions that contradicted the very essence of what Jesus stood for.

This is not to accuse all religious people of being hypocrites—many truly live by Christ's teachings and demonstrate love and grace in their daily lives. But the institutionalized hypocrisy, the selective morality, and the prioritization of doctrine over compassion became impossible for me to ignore.

Ultimately, my departure from religion was not a rejection of faith itself; instead, it is a refusal to align myself with an institution that so often fails to practice what it preaches. If faith is to be meaningful, it must be lived sincerely, not merely professed. And if love is the greatest commandment, then it should be the foundation of everything we do—not just an empty phrase spoken in church.

If following Christ means loving others as myself, then I am following Him more truly now than I ever did within the confines of organized religion.

Definition:

1. Traditional Catholics adhere to pre-Vatican II doctrines, liturgy, and moral teachings, often preferring the Traditional Latin Mass over the modern Novus Ordo. They emphasize strict interpretations of Catholic teachings on faith, morality, and social issues, resisting what they see as liberalizing reforms from the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965).