. >> reporter: he calls himself a loyal catholic, but maintains too many churches emphasize teaching, which can leave us stranded in a "religious comfort zone." >> we ask catholics to believe that mary was a virgin and jesus is god and you know, that's no skin off your back. i believe that. believe that, believe that, believe that. so what? >> reporter: rohr says that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and that religious doctrine has its place. but he maintains that a rigid adherence to doctrine is sometimes part of the problem. >> without honest self-knowledge religion ends up, i'm going to say it, being more a part of the problem than the solution. i mean, we've seen it now for centuries, that people who call themselves christian can be utterly racist, utterly sexist, utterly greedy, no questions asked. this is the kind of religion we end up with when you don't do your shadowboxing. >> reporter: shadowboxing, to rohr, means taking a hard look at our flaws, our weaknesses and biases. it's an important first step, rohr says, toward uncovering what he calls "the true self." >> th