What do you think about teaching intelligent design as well as scientific materialism in high school biology?
I believe that the universe is God’s body; that God is intelligent; and that on this planet, you and I are the way God gets to look at life and say, “Wow!” Therefore, I am unhappy with both intelligent design and scientific materialism — the first pushes God out of the universe, the second denies God altogether, and both assume that life is dumb. The fact that intelligent design isn’t science — in that it rejects the scientific method by positing a Designer outside of creation that cannot be verified — is almost beside the point.
In my ideal high school, astronomy, cosmology, physics, and biology would be taught in the Department of Wow! Philosophy, art, music, dance, literature, mathematics, and comparative religion would be in the Department of Meaning. Students would walk out of class in states of wonder. They would understand that life is intrinsically meaningful and purposeful, that we humans are integral to the unfolding of consciousness (at least in our solar system), and that the unfolding of consciousness (nonpersonal, prepersonal, personal, transpersonal, and cosmic) is, from our perspective, what the universe is all about. Neither scientific materialism nor intelligent design speaks to this at all.

I’m Jewish and converted to Catholicism. My mom died and I lit a yahrzeit candle for her. Her death has left me confused about honoring my spiritual beliefs and respecting the traditions of my ancestors. I asked a rabbi, and he said I wasn’t a Jew, and so he couldn’t help. Help.
Of course you are a Jew. And of course you are Catholic. And of course you find this confusing. But here’s the bottom line: We don’t need more Jews and Catholics; we need more daughters grieving openly and honestly at the anniversary of their moms’ deaths. We need more broken hearts and helping hands; we need more inquiring minds and enraptured souls. We need more people engaging life and death, rather than labels and dogma. Follow your heart in matters of the spirit. Light yahrzeit candles for your mom at home — and maybe a memorial candle at church as well.

I left organized religion because of its intrinsic narcissism and fear, but I am not sure where to go next.
I believe your instinct is right, but your rejection of organized religion may not be. Narcissism and fear — the worship of self and the fear of the other (and the Other) — are often the true foundation of religion, regardless of theology or label. If your faith is all about you and your private salvation, that’s narcissism. If your religion separates the world into those who have God’s love and those who do not, then it is rooted in fear. But you don’t need religion to be trapped in narcissism and fear. Narcissism and fear are the staples of the egoic mind, and you are born with that. Religion, at its best, helps you overcome narcissism and fear. I’m not going to suggest a specific faith, but there are many healthy religious communities with deep contemplative practices that can help you live a rich, self-surrendered, and fearless life. Keep looking.

I am seriously considering entering the Catholic priesthood, but I am not sure I can be celibate. Do you have any suggestions?
I doubt anyone enters the priesthood sure of anything. Surety would eliminate the need for faith and the working of the Holy Spirit. All you can do is face the challenges placed before you with integrity, humor, compassion, and grace. Celibacy, in particular, can be a wondrous gift, freeing you from one of the most difficult aspects of the human condition so that you might serve God and humanity with selfless love. But celibacy isn’t suppression. If you are denying your sexuality — brutalizing yourself emotionally or physically for being a sexual human being — or if you have to hide who you are from your church and your God, then the priesthood may not be your way to serve.

I am an admirer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, yet I read that he thinks children born with birth defects are being punished for karmic sins in a past life. Is this true?
As a Buddhist, His Holiness may believe in karma, but you are mistakenly mixing Eastern ideas of karma with Western ideas of sin and punishment. Karma says that the present moment arises from conditions set in motion in the past, recent or distant. Birth defects do not happen without cause, and hence are karmically conditioned. But the child isn’t being punished, any more than you are being punished if you get burned after putting your hand on a hot stovetop. Thinking that the baby is being punished allows you to dismiss its plight. Realizing that we are all karmically conditioned gives rise to compassion — hence, the true religion of the Dalai Lama.

I have been on a spiritual quest since my early 20s and now I am 60. I would love to find a nondogmatic group of people who do not debate, but share their outlooks. Where can I find such fellow seekers?
You are not alone. What I and others did in my small town in Tennessee was simply announce a public conversation. (I held mine for years at the public library, and there is another group called Conversation Cafe at a local coffeehouse.) At the meeting, spend some time listening to one another’s stories and searchings, and, if there is still time, read and explore personal reactions to a short text you find spiritually compelling. Meet regularly and in time you will find the community you desire.

How do you go back to God if you have sinned against Him?
In my experience, sinning against God is like trying to punch a wave: no matter how hard you strike, you can’t do any damage. Think in terms of swimming in the ocean. If you swim with the current, the ocean works with you. If you swim against it, the ocean works against you. While this matters greatly to you, it matters not at all to the ocean. And, regardless of which way you choose to swim, you are always in the ocean. I believe God is like this as well. You can live godly or ungodly, but God is unchanged. If you are “swimming” in an ungodly manner, you aren’t sinning against God or separate from God. You are simply working against your own best interest. All you have to do is “turn from evil and do good;” that is, stop the ungodly and do the godly. No separation is possible; no return is necessary.

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Rami Shapiro’s bio is here. His most recent book is The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness. Email questions to rabbirami@SpiritualityHealth.com.