SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

9.The Religion of the FutureWhat will be the nature of the religion of the future?This is indeed a big problem. We may say that religionis essentially divisible into subjective and objective aspects. Bythe subjective aspect we mean the religious experience of thefounder and the spirit of this which lives on in the religion of hisfollowers, transcending the limitations of time and place. Theobjective aspect is the objectively materialized content of thefounderÕs experience and includes doctrine, credo and system.It is only natural that the objective aspect of religion is conditionedby time and place. However, as a result of idealizing itsfounder and emphasizing its completeness, it tends to becomeretrogressive. In order to free religion from this stagnation, itbecomes necessary to introduce reforms continuously. However,since religion has both subjective and objective aspects,one can mediate for the other. The development of the objectiveside of religion deepens the substantial subjective content aswell as the objective side. The basic mission of religion isfulfilled when these two sides complement each other.94