Human beings crave a sense of belonging. We need to be able to say I am a… "Blank." That's why people are avid fans of sports teams, political parties etc.

I had a conversation recently with my fiancee's mother. She tried to convince me that we should have a Rabbi marry us. I flat refused. She argued that it wasn't about religion but rather about respecting a beautiful ceremony. While I get her point, I totally disagree. I'm not going to have my marriage start with a definition of this and not that. Especially if we have a family one day, I don't want my kids identifying themselves by religion. We are already societally obligated to segregate by nationality, race, gender, etc. I don't think it's necessary or productive to add a specific religion into the mix. That said, if I have a curious child who wants to explore any particular religion, I would encourage them to do so. When I was a teenager, I started visiting a Zen temple in Ann Arbor, mainly out of curiosity. My mom got upset and asked me why I would want to join a cult when I already have such a nice religion. I love my mom, but she's not exactly the worldly type. I can look back and understand a lot of the ways she parented now that I thought were nuts at the time. But on that one I think she missed the mark by a mile.