The Science of Mind is the study of Life and the nature of the laws of thought; the conception that we live in a spiritual universe; that God is in, through, around and for us.

                                                       Dr. Ernest Holmes

SOM symbol

What is Religious Science?

Religious Science is a spiritual philosophy for the modern man and woman. It is based on the truth which arises in every culture in the form of science, philosophy, and religion. Religious Science views religion as a source of wisdom for revealing the truth about the seemingly unknown forces that shape our universe. This enables us to participate in our own life as a co-creator with the Divine.

Religious Science was founded by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world’s spiritual paths for most of his life. In 1927, he wrote The Science of Mind, which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of the world’s faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles of Religious Science. He never intended to begin a new faith, but was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.

Are you Christians?

Religious Science and its founder, Ernest Holmes, come out of the Christian tradition. We believe in the teachings of Jesus and use them to create a “Heaven on Earth.”

Dr. Holmes studied all of the world’s religions, and synthesized what he saw to be the truths running through them all, free of any particular dogma. He began the philosophy with the intention that all churches, especially Christian ones, would embrace the philosophy and incorporate those teachings into their own. When that did not happen on a large-scale basis, he allowed the people around him to talk him into starting a church to make sure the teachings would endure. His original intention was not to start a new religion.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

In Religious Science, Christ is viewed as a universal principle rather than a person. It is the principle of God expressing through humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was a human personality through which the Christ Principle, or Divine Personality, expressed itself on earth.

Ernest Holmes said, “Religious Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus; but it does affirm the divinity of all people. It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God; but affirms that all beings are children of God. It does not deny that the Kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus; but affirms that the Kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me.”

Is Religious Science related to Scientology?

No. Religious Science should never be confused with Scientology.

Is it a cult?

No. Religious Science teaches that each individual has the power over and the responsibility for his or her own life. Religious Science highly discourages the following of or dependence upon any one person, including founder Ernest Holmes or any present ministers or teachers. Religious Science challenges people to think for themselves and only believe what rings true for them. One must look into one’s own heart for truth.

Is this Christian Science?

No. Ernest Holmes studied with many of the spiritual leaders of his time, including Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Religious Science attracts many from the Christian Science tradition.

Do you go to doctors?

Yes. Religious Scientists believe God is expressed through doctors and medicine just as God is expressed through all of the physical universe. Religious Science believes in spiritual as well as physical healing. Religious Science practitioners often work in conjunction with doctors and other physical and mental health practitioners to facilitate healing.

Is this New Age?

Religious Science is a New Thought philosophy. Many people with New Age leanings are attracted to Religious Science, and some of the practices of Religious Science such as meditation are also practiced by those who consider themselves New Age. However, Religious Science does not consider itself a New Age religion. Religious Science honors all paths that lead to God, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age, or any other spiritual paths.

What about meditation?

Meditation is the time-honored technique for taming, training and transforming the mind. Religious Science endorses all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind-stilling techniques. It is through meditation that we come into a state of God communion and thereby experience a greater sense of unity of all life.

What about prayer?

Religious Science honors and endorses all forms of sincere prayer. In addition, it teaches a unique and scientific form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment. This is a powerful, affirmative method of prayer developed by Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science. It involves a five-step process that embodies all of the elements of the creative process of life itself.

What is an affirmation?

The term affirmation is normally associated with a verbal statement made about some goal we are trying to achieve, or some experience we desire to have. However, the act of affirmation is really much more. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement, act, or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we “act as if” our highest aspirations are already a reality.

What about sin?

The original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or “miss the mark” of spiritual perfection. A sin is not a thing, it is merely an activity that produces an undesirable effect in our lives. In other words, we are effected by our sins, not punished for them.

What about evil?

Religious Science does not deny the appearance of evil. However, it teaches that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. According to Religious Science, the only presence acting in the universe is God, which is always good.

Do you believe in the devil?

Religious Science believes that, since the only power acting anywhere is God, the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else, is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life.

Do you believe in heaven and hell?

Religious Science believes heaven and hell are states of mind. We can choose to create our own heaven or hell on earth. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with the life that surrounds us. We experience hell when we don’t understand why something unpleasant is happening to us. When we go through the transition the world calls death, we take our beliefs with us to the next plane of existence.

What about death?

Religious Science teaches the eternality of life. It accepts that our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. Even though we may have a body, we are not just our body – we are the life that animates our body, and that life is infinite and immortal. As we become increasing identified with our divine and eternal nature, our underlying fear of death begins to dissolve and our experience of life become more joyous.

Do you believe in reincarnation?

Religious Science neither endorses nor rejects any particular theory or concept of reincarnation. Since life is eternal, there are an unlimited number of possibilities for its evolvement after the experience of physical death. In Religious Science, we accept that life is ongoing and we deal with what is before us in the present moment.

Do you believe in miracles?

Religious Science teaches there is only one miracle and that is life itself. Everything that occurs in our lives is simply the result of our consciousness operating through the Law of Mind. Those events that seem to be miraculous in nature are actually the Law acting at a level beyond our awareness. As we evolve our consciousness, what previously seemed miraculous becomes a natural, normal and understandable way of life.

Why is this called Religious Science?

Ernest Holmes used the terms “Science of Mind” and “Religious Science” interchangeably. He believed religion and science were truly complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed that eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings, and the universe. His beliefs have been borne out by many modern scientists, who have found that the universe is truly made up of energy. Religious Science, along with all of the mystics of the ages, knows that energy is God.

How can I learn more about Conscious Mile Spiritual Center and Religious Science?

Please join us for Sunday service at 10:00 a.m. at 1230 Montlimar Drive. You can also call our offices at 251-343-0777.

To learn more about Religious Science and the Science of Mind philosophy visit Religious Science International at http://www.rsintl.org/ and United Church of Religious Science (United Spiritual Centers) at http://www.religiousscience.org