When we were children we imitated our parent’s cooking by making mud pies. It is common for religion to be a similar kind of mimicking the words and actions of the pious dead. How can we tell the difference between real religion and this kind of make believe? It’s actually no more difficult than distinguishing between pies made of real chocolate and those made of mud. Real religion nurtures us by opening us to reality. It actually illumines our path. Real religion calls us to our full capacity, and calls us to give others every right we claim for ourselves. If religion does not do all these things, we must seek deeper. There is nothing wrong with learning from those whose religion consists of imitation, but we never want to eat the meal they have cooked.