Religious belief and practice should only be voluntary, but, of course, that is not allowed for many. Children, of course, dont normally get to decide things for themselves. Family members, including spouses, so often go along in the faith to get along. Coercion is employed by the strongest and best-positioned to impose religious will. Even violence or death, disassociation and other abuses can come to loved ones who venture into exploring or joining other beliefs. Or who simply want to be inactive from that true faith. Pressures are enormous and reprisal can be swift.Freedom of religion is non-existent in much of the world. Of course, one way many people practice religion is through weak observance, even faking it, playing lip service, showing up to a religious service only when they have to. They can close their eyes and go through motions and look the praying part. They can take jobs that conveniently prevent them from going to services. Their minds may buzz with doubts and disbeliefs about the belief system or faith that they publicly belong to. But geographies, of course, make many people hopeless religious prisoners and there is no other safe religious option.Being non-religious in America is OK, if you can get away with it, if peer or family pressure permit it. Of course, just about every faith community deals with its deadbeats. It tries motivating its low-functioning followers those, perhaps, on the rolls who are largely missing, largely disengaged, quick to turn down requests for help that would reaffirm their pledges of commitment when they joined. Much of whats wrong with organized religion is affirmed by the majority of Americans who take a pass on faith practices and do their own things on weekends. Religions incessant misbehavior, betrayals and excesses give many the ammunition they need to balk at calls to get involved. So I was intrigued by the Rev. John Yockey, a priest in St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc, Wis., who was dismayed by those Catholic parents who were registered with the parish but couldnt get their rear-ends to Mass. Being registered afforded parents a $1,400 tuition savings for children they send to the parishs school, with grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Yockey wanted more commitment out of parents, saying, Parents are the primary educators in the way of faith. This is a call to inactive parents to renew their religious practices.Yockey found that only about half of the parents showed up regularly for Mass. He imposed a new rule that parents who want the $1,400 break must show up 70 percent of the time for Mass or expect to pay the full tuition cost, $4,500 per child. The priest said he expected 20 percent of parents would balk and drop out, but only one of the 170 families found it objectionable. He said it comes down to accountability: Special consideration goes to those who show commitment and action.It remains to be seen whether the higher numbers in the parish pews equate with greater spiritual engagement or are just people begrudgingly changing habits for a price. Force-fed religion can’t make believers.

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