Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up with Has Lost Its Meaning

McLennan, the Tufts University Chaplain who inspired Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau's character Reverend Scotty Sloan, shares six steps of a spiritual journey. McLennan targets those who have left the tradition in which they were raised, or those who grew up without any religious background and are now open to a spiritual dimension in their lives. McLennan points out that most people don't get through all the steps and that, often, the steps can intertwine. He sees all religious journeys, be they Bah ' , Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Christian or others, as starting with a beckoning of the ""spiritual mountain."" Readers take the first step by thinking about faith, by opening themselves to the possibilities. The next step is to choose a certain path (religious leanings) and start walking up the mountain. Readers are then encouraged to join fellow travelers of the same bent and, as they grow in that direction, to encompass journeys from other traditions to enrich their own direction. Prayer and meditation, the next step, help mature the inner being. Finally, McLennan speaks of suffering and rejoicing as two important components in any religion and personal spirituality. This is an entertaining, gentle and affirming book for anyone contemplating such a journey. (Dec.)