From Performance to Peace: Seven Reasons Why Religion Sucks

Ever feel like your spiritual life is a performance review you can’t pass? We pull back the curtain on why religion—understood as striving to reach God through our own effort—wears people out, breeds competition, and stifles honest questions. Instead of piling on more rules, we trace a simpler, stronger thread: the gospel’s invitation to follow Jesus, find rest, and experience transformation from the inside out.

If you’re tired of the spiritual treadmill and longing for an authentic experience of faith, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs relief from striving, and leave a review telling us which reason resonated most. Then come tell us your story at religionsucks.co.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome back to Religion Sucks, the podcast where we ditch the religious performance and get real about what it means to actually know God. I'm Rich here with my wife and co-host Kirsten.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Hello.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

So you know how we've spent the past five episodes listening to other people's stories about how they've navigated the mess between religion and relationship with God. Well, today we thought we'd flip things around and get into why we named this podcast what we did.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Yeah, we're gonna do something a little different. Just the two of us counting down our top seven reasons why religion sucks.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

And look, before anyone gets their spiritual underwear in a bunch, let's be clear about what we mean here. When we say religion, we mean any belief system in which you approach God on your own terms through your own work and effort. I mean, the harder you work, the more committed you are, the closer you get to God. And if you're really good at it, then maybe, maybe you'll be admitted to paradise or reach enlightenment or merge with the divine or or whatever. Bottom line is whatever your goal is spiritually, it's up to you and how good you can be.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

You know what's kind of interesting under that definition, every belief system on the planet except true biblical Christianity is a religion, which is kind of ironic. People, I think people accuse Christianity of being organized religion, right? But religion, as we mean it, has nothing to do with the actual good news of Jesus that sets people free. Anyway, we're gonna talk today about why religion is so soul sucking. So grab your coffee, tea, kombucha, or pH balanced spring water and get comfortable. Without further ado, we give you seven reasons why religion sucks.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Your lip trumpet has some some work. I know.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Well you weren't gonna do it, so okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I will do it at the end. For number one, I will give you a little bit of a lip trumpet.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Well, number seven, religion complicates everything. And I mean everything. I mean, have you ever encountered a religion that wasn't stupidly complicated? I mean, whatever your spiritual goal is, religion just piles on layers and layers of complication. It's like building fences around fences just to keep you from God.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yeah, it's like jump through these hoops, attend these classes, perform these rituals, memorize these prayers. It's hard to understand, um, hard to keep track of, and it's hard to do.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Mm-hmm. I mean, meanwhile, the Bible, it's just one unified story from the beginning to end, and it's all about Jesus. I mean, the gospel's clear and it's simple. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you'll be saved. That's from Acts 16, 31. Jesus' messages to his disciples, or his message was even clearer, um, simpler. Follow me.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

That is the beauty of the gospel. Um, something unfortunately, I feel like a lot of people don't understand. Even Christians, people who have been raised in maybe a Christian church, don't understand it's it's our union, our oneness with Christ that changes us. That is what gives us power over sin and spiritual maturity, not what we can do in our own strength.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Yeah. Religion complicates everything.

Reason 7: Religion Complicates Everything

SPEAKER_01 4:20

I'm not that bright to remember all to be religion. That many detail. I'm not a detail-oriented person. Well, neither are you. So we're not like super strong in the administrative field.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

So, like a religion that had a lot of we would have been terrible Jews having to keep track of 700 and something laws.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

I don't know. Thank goodness.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Well, that brings us to number six on that note. Religion makes you perform instead of rest. So anyone who's been neck deep in religion can tell you that it's flat out exhausting. I mean, religion says your relationship with God depends entirely on what you do. I mean, read more, pray more, meditate more, give more, show up to more meetings.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

So on and so forth.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah, you kind of feel like you're constantly auditioning for God's approval. And those feelings of being loved and accepted, you're kind of on a roller coaster based on whether you had a good day or not, right? You can have kind of a spiritual high, you feel like you're doing pretty good, or you screw up and you're just in the depths. And I think a lot of us walk around with kind of a nagging feeling that God is basically mad at us, like we'll never be good enough to make him happy. That is what religion does. But Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 11, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I don't know about you, but I want rest for my soul.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

No doubt. No doubt. And I mean, one of the big kickers about religion is that it makes you wear a mask. I mean, you can't be honest about what you're feeling, um, what you're afraid of, what you're struggling with. Because if anyone saw the real you, it'd be game over, you'd be excommunicated, you'd be kicked out, rejected. Religion says to to keep pretending, or as we like to say in sales so often, you know, fake it until you make it.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

So that's it's interesting because we recorded an interview we haven't released yet. It's coming out in a few weeks with a friend of ours who had a child who was really struggling with depression and anxiety and self-harm. And she talks about that during the interview, how she felt like she had to wear a mask, like they couldn't let anyone into their struggles because they were afraid of being judged. And I think that is what religion does.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Hmm. No bueno. Number five, religion hates honest questions. You know, it uh it rejects the honest questions and it really shames you for asking them. Um religion wants you to have all the right answers all the time. You know, if there's doubt, there's confusion, those are treated like moral failures, like a like a sin that needs to be repented of instead of you know stepping stones to a deeper faith.

Reason 6: Performance Vs Rest

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Did you ever have a moment where you really had questions? I think actually, I think most people who would consider themselves Christians have that moment where you're like, what if this isn't true? Is this like, is this legit? Am I saved? You know?

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Well, unless you've done that, I mean, is your faith even real? Like you just don't even question whether it's the the the right thing or the truth, or I think you need to come to that conclusion, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Well, and it's kind of ironic because you you look at scripture, you look at the Bible, and you see all these heroes of the faith: Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Peter, Paul. They all had moments when they wrestled with their faith, when they didn't have it all figured out. And you know, religion says, don't ask that, just believe harder. But a real relationship with God has room for questions and doubt and wrestling. That is where the growth happens. And actually, it's interesting thinking about the book of Job. Oh my goodness, does Job wrestle with God? You know, so many questions, and God is very gracious to meet him in that.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Well, I think some of the most just rock solid, faithful people I know are the ones who spent time and gone through seasons of seriously wrestling with God. Um I always tell people, God's big enough for your questions, so bring them to him. Be honest. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Okay, number four. Religion breeds pride and self-righteousness, not love. Religion loves to rank people. Who's more spiritual? Who's accomplished more? Who's farther along on their journey? That kind of comparison kills compassion, an authentic loving community.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

I mean, because depending on who you're comparing yourself to, you're either walking around feeling superior or feeling like garbage. I mean, your acceptance is performance-based, so religion doesn't create humility and and sacrificial love. It makes you protective and territorial, it makes you defensive. You have to look out for number one because no one else will. In contrast, Jesus said he didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Um, that's completely the opposite of religion.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Yeah. It's interesting, it's always very convicting when I come across passages of scripture. Um, I was just in Romans 14, I think it was the other day, talks so much about having a critical spirit towards your brothers and sisters in Christ and judging them. You know, Paul talks about how we're all gonna stand before God. We all have to give an account for our lives. So mind your own life. Don't you know look down on your brother or sister. Anywho. Okay, number three. Oh, this one, this one gets me every time. Religion confuses busyness with faithfulness.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Yep.

Masks, Shame, And Hidden Pain

SPEAKER_01 11:02

I do that. I will, I'm gonna just confess that right now to all the listeners. This is cheaper than therapy. I struggle with this one big time. Religion glorifies being busy. If your calendar isn't packed with Bible studies, volunteer commitments, church activities, and so forth, you're not really committed. Uh, we tend to measure our importance by how busy we are and how full our calendars are. Living constantly on the edge of burnout becomes kind of an identity for us. Like it's something to brag about.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Like, how tired are you?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Right. And that's all we complain about right now. Or are you? I'm tired. I'm so busy. Oh, I'm so busy. It's like that makes us, I don't know, more valuable or you set the bar for others.

Reason 5: Honest Questions Are Silenced

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Like, well, I'm not tired. There's something wrong. Look at Jesus. He wasn't always busy. He actually withdrew, he rested, he spent time alone with the Father. And but for a lot of religious people, busyness is just another type of performance. It's just a way to prove their worth. But in contrast, I mean, those who are united with Christ through faith can can rest in their identity as a child of God. Our worth is found in Jesus' worth, not how much we can do for him.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

So Yeah. Yeah. Can you imagine if we all lived like that? If we just did what we needed to and didn't do more? Like if we all had downtime on our schedules. I can't even fathom what that would look like.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Is that an American thing?

SPEAKER_01 12:36

I th I wonder. It must be to some extent.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

I hear of Europeans taking like three months off a year and vacation and like six-week vacations.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Yeah. Or even if you think like a couple centuries ago when people would just go work their farm, do whatever when the sun went down, go to bed. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

I'd like to try it.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Don't confuse busyness with faithfulness.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Okay, number two. This is a big one. Religion makes you focus on external behavior instead of heart transformation. Religion is all about behavior modification. Don't drink, don't cuss, don't hang out with the wrong people. Got an anger problem? Here are seven steps to fix it. Struggling with anxiety? Try harder at these spiritual disciplines. If you read the Gospels, you'll see that the Pharisees were masters at this. They followed every rule, dotted every I, crossed every T. They looked fantastic on the outside, but Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. They were beautiful on the outside and dead on the inside.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

Well, and that's the problem with religion. It can't touch the root of our problems because it can't change our hearts. I mean, it can only modify our behavior, and that only lasts so long. Where you got Jesus who came to to transform us from the inside out, to take out our dead, sinful hearts and give us a new heart that's filled with his life, filled with his spirit. That's the only way real, lasting hard-level change actually happens.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Yeah. Okay, this is on the spot, so you may not have an answer for this, or you may not want to answer this. But can you think of an example from your own life about something you tried to change in your life using behavior modification or coping mechanisms before you understand the grace of God, understood the grace of God? And like I'm like, okay, such a cheesy, weird example, but even just thinking about eating too much sugar in the evening. It's like sitting down to like watch TV.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Don't eat sugar, don't eat sugar, don't eat sugar.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

Yeah, and eat chocolate. And you you set up all this is me talking. This isn't your issue. But you know, all these like rules or methods or ways I'm gonna try to not eat MMs when I'm sitting on the couch. And it it doesn't work, it never works.

Reason 4: Pride Over Love

SPEAKER_00 15:18

I mean, boundaries are good. Yeah. I mean, you can set up like as a as a man, you know, I always recommend like those that are struggling with lust, uh, you know, if if something is causing this or makes it easily accessible to see something that causes you to lust, then then, you know avoid that thing, whether it's your computer or your phone or this or that, you know, but it's inevitable that you're gonna run into something that that causes that. And and so, yeah, if you just had these, you know, set up these rules and and you're only counting on on these boundaries, these physical things that you do, then and your heart's still the same, then you're gonna find a way to do it. You're gonna find a way to, I mean, your to your sugar or to your to your porn or to whatever it is that you're struggling with. If uh if your heart's not changed, if you're not focusing on the the good of of Jesus Christ and and the life that he offers, then you're just gonna be um that that behavior modification just doesn't work, or all the right all the little things you put in place to to hide the candy or to to hide the that never works.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

I always tell you to hide the candy. That sometimes works. No, because then I'm like, I just want some candy, just a little. And then I have to go get it for you. Oh there's um I showed you a quote a few days ago, and I have no idea who said it. Sorry, I can't properly attribute this quote. I think it was someone from several centuries ago. But it said, What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies. And it's so true. Like, if my heart loves Jesus above all else, that's what my will is gonna choose, you know. But if my heart is craving, you know, fill in the blank, whatever, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life, you know, whatever it is, that's what my will is gonna choose. And then my mind will justify it.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Well, and even growing up, you know, all the the rules that we didn't maybe I didn't listen to the why behind them. I'm sure my parents did a great job of uh telling me the why, but uh if I didn't hear or or uh didn't pay attention to those and and I didn't know the the reason behind things and and uh I just went out and did them right away. Like it's the fact that I couldn't do them made me want to do them, like getting tattoos and things like that. You know, don't get tattoos and what did I do the day I turned 18 when I went and got a tattoo. Like, there's nothing wrong with it. Come on. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. The heart's been transformed since then.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

We're gonna, I think we're eventually gonna get this into a video podcast, um, and we're gonna have to show everybody your first tattoo.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

My first tattoo is so.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Even at the time, I was with you when you were getting it in that tattoo parlor and boulder. And I remember thinking, is this a good idea?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

It was a great idea.

SPEAKER_02 18:16

Uh but you still have it today, and it's very endearing.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

All right. Well, we'll we'll put it on the website for the mystery is what is rich's first tattoo. Religionsucks.co slash rich's bad choices.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

No, it's pretty good choice. It's on your ankle, it's not that obvious.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

It's supposed to be an avatar of you.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

I know. It's good. I love it. It's all right, it's all good.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Declaring my love for you at a very young age.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

At 18, we we kind of met early. We got married young. We still have years. I only get a seven year several more tattoos after that. I will say though, your taste in tattoos has been elevated. I feel like your mo your most recent one is is is good. It's nice. I've matured. You've matured. Oh boy, okay. There's the lip trumpet. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

You're welcome.

Reason 3: Busyness Masquerades As Faithfulness

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Number one. Number one reason why religion sucks. Religion steals glory from God. Philip Yancey nailed it when he said, We run from grace so we can take credit for things.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

It's so good. I mean, think about it. If you could produce goodness or lasting change in your heart through your own blood, sweat, and tears, I mean, who would get the credit? You would. You would. Yeah, you'd be strutting around bragging about how hard you were to become so spiritual. That's what religion creates. A bunch of people patting themselves on the back for how great they at least they think they are.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Yeah. God's redeeming grace through the person of Jesus Christ puts all the glory squarely on God for our salvation, our growth, and our transformation. He does what we can't. Thank God.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

And that's why we keep saying it. We don't need a self-improvement plan. We need a savior.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Mm-hmm. Well, so there you have it. The seven reasons that religion sucks. And honestly, we could have kept going, but here's the thing. If any of this resonates with you, if you've been worn out by the performance treadmill, or you've been wondering if there's something more there is. That's what grace is all about. That's what Jesus is all about.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

We would love to hear your story. Head over to religionsucks.co. Religionsucks.co, religionsucks.co. I heard you're supposed to say it three times. Yeah. Sign up for our email list. Let us know what you think. Tell us your story. Uh, we want to hear from you. We actually really do. We would love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Yeah. And we'll be back soon with some more interviews and some honest questions about faith. We've got some great ones coming up. Super excited. Um, and if you think of any other reasons why religion sucks, uh, you know, shoot us an email. Let us know. Um, until then, take care of yourselves.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Take care. I don't have anything else to say. It's like a sign out. I don't have a cool tagline.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Until then, take care of yourselves.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Stay classy, San Diego. Use deodorant.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Moisturize.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Yeah, brush and floss. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Brush and floss.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

You want to lift trumpet us out?

SPEAKER_00 21:44

No.

SPEAKER_02 21:45

Oh. All right, bye guys. We'll see ya.