How do you prove ... that you are anything?

Last Sunday's New York Times magazine had a feature story on the plight of young Israelis, many of whom were born in America and some of whom were converts to Judaism, wanting to get married in Israel and being forced to prove they were actually Jewish to the satisfaction of the religious authorities in charge of issuing the requisite legal documents. In Israel, marriage is solely the provenance of the religious. There is no comparable state alternative that is available in America, so this issue becomes a big deal.

That sparked a train of thoughts in my head. How successful would I be, would any of us be, if we had to prove our religious bona fides?

When Vicki and I came to Georgia, we had to present various proofs before we were allowed to get a Georgia driver's license. For example, we had to prove American citizenship. This was a first for us, since the last time we moved intra-state was in 1997 when we went to Wichita, Kansas. Now, I guess in response to various Department of Homeland Security rules or concerns about illegal immigratioon, the state of Georgia asks for more definitive proof; luckily, we had passports. Then, we had to show that we had established residence in Georgia. This was a little more tricky, since Demorest uses Post Office boxes, and we had to verify a physical location as our residence.

This process was frustrating, but only because we were unaware of all of the rules and regulations before we went to the DMV. We have had to prove our identity before for various governmental entities. We have always found that one set of papers from a recognized authority could be obtained to satisy the requirements for another level of authority.

But, what do I have that proves that I am a particular religion? Unlike countries such as Egypt that stamps a religious designation on identity papers, America leaves that whole question to the individual. So, could I prove that I am a Christian; could I prove that I am a Congregationalist; could I prove that I used to be a Baptist? And, what would it mean for me to be able to prove any of that?

Once again, charging ahead to generate thought and provoke comment, I ask of you who will read this: Whatever you are religiously speaking, could you prove it? And, what would it mean if you could prove whatever you are? Looking forward to responses.