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Altfriday5: Haven't done this in a while.
Feb. 20th, 2009 01:04 pm1. Do you consider yourself religious? Spiritual? Neither? Something else? What do those words mean to you?
Definitely spiritual. "Religious" to me says I follow some sort of structured belief system. I don't really subscribe to any belief system these days, though I do still have a strong belief that there is something out there. I have my own sort of relationships with deity, and I prefer it that way as I never found a ritualistic setting I was comfortable sharing with others. (That my change as I get the opportunity to explore more, but right now it's not a priority.)
I still define it like this: Spirituality is like sand. Religion is a box to keep that sand in, and it's the shovel and bucket used to shape the sand into whatever we want or need it to be.
2. How would you describe your system of beliefs about the world? Does a commonly used term (Muslim, humanist, Pagan, agnostic) fit comfortably for you or have you had to develop your own way of thinking about and describing this?
Polytheistic pagan is the best descriptor I've found. Oh, and I'm what's known as a "hard polytheist," meaning I believe that other gods exist aside from those I choose to acknowledge.
3. Were you raised in a family that participated in a religious tradition? Either way, how do you feel about that? If you were raised in a particular tradition, what's your relationship to that tradition now?
In my early years, my mother took me to a Baptist church, but I asked to stop going when I was five years old. I can't remember exactly why I asked, but I do know that part of it was that I never felt comfortable. As I got older, I tried other churches ranging from Baptist to Presbyterrian (dated the preacher's son) and then Methodist. None of it felt right, and when I finally started to read up on other religions, I wanted to explore other options.
4. What factors have influenced your decision to affiliate -- or not -- with an organized religious tradition?
As far as Christianity goes, I know the moment I started to realize "Christian" didn't fit me as a label. I went to this thing called Fifth Quarter. It was put on by one of the local churches (they do a lot of youth-oriented stuff now - some of which borders on creepy). I went because a couple of somewhat-friends were going to be there, and they offered free pizza (I was sixteen, give me a break). Anyway, the youth pastor got up on stage to talk to us about saving our souls, though he wasn't really saying it outright. It was more like, "I know what you're missing if you'd only ask me" and "You could be happy, welcomed, and loved." I started to feel uncomfortable and wondered again why it was adults never really told you straight out about Jesus and being saved. If it was so great, why did they package it and hide it behind all these other words? Then, there was a point where he said, "And look, Buddha isn't going to get you to that happiness," and I stopped listening because he mocked the followers of other faiths. I couldn't get out of there fast enough, and I realized that I couldn't ever belong there (a subsequent visit confirmed this for me when the entire youth group, being that we knew each other at school, shunned me).
As far as being a polytheistic pagan, well, there are lots of little experiences that guided me to this, but it's not really something I can explain.
5. Whether or not you consider yourself religious or spiritual, are there things you consider to be sacred? What are they?
Sex is a sacred act. Rather, I should say that sex can be a sacred act. This isn't to say I value monogamy or even virginity (in fact, I think putting stock in an intact hymen is fucking stupid and detrimental to women), just that I value the act of sex itself. It's a personal thing for me and me alone, and not something I expect anyone else to hold to.
Love is sacred too. I don't mean only romantic love, but the love of friends and family. I think it's important is that you share that feeling with someone, even if only for a short time. I guess it's because I was a lonely kid and never let too many people get close to me, but the people I did let close, and the friends I have/had, are/were important to me and special. Love is the one emotion that can really make us sacrifice for others instead of our own needs. ...and I'm not expressing this well. I need caffeine. :p
Definitely spiritual. "Religious" to me says I follow some sort of structured belief system. I don't really subscribe to any belief system these days, though I do still have a strong belief that there is something out there. I have my own sort of relationships with deity, and I prefer it that way as I never found a ritualistic setting I was comfortable sharing with others. (That my change as I get the opportunity to explore more, but right now it's not a priority.)
I still define it like this: Spirituality is like sand. Religion is a box to keep that sand in, and it's the shovel and bucket used to shape the sand into whatever we want or need it to be.
2. How would you describe your system of beliefs about the world? Does a commonly used term (Muslim, humanist, Pagan, agnostic) fit comfortably for you or have you had to develop your own way of thinking about and describing this?
Polytheistic pagan is the best descriptor I've found. Oh, and I'm what's known as a "hard polytheist," meaning I believe that other gods exist aside from those I choose to acknowledge.
3. Were you raised in a family that participated in a religious tradition? Either way, how do you feel about that? If you were raised in a particular tradition, what's your relationship to that tradition now?
In my early years, my mother took me to a Baptist church, but I asked to stop going when I was five years old. I can't remember exactly why I asked, but I do know that part of it was that I never felt comfortable. As I got older, I tried other churches ranging from Baptist to Presbyterrian (dated the preacher's son) and then Methodist. None of it felt right, and when I finally started to read up on other religions, I wanted to explore other options.
4. What factors have influenced your decision to affiliate -- or not -- with an organized religious tradition?
As far as Christianity goes, I know the moment I started to realize "Christian" didn't fit me as a label. I went to this thing called Fifth Quarter. It was put on by one of the local churches (they do a lot of youth-oriented stuff now - some of which borders on creepy). I went because a couple of somewhat-friends were going to be there, and they offered free pizza (I was sixteen, give me a break). Anyway, the youth pastor got up on stage to talk to us about saving our souls, though he wasn't really saying it outright. It was more like, "I know what you're missing if you'd only ask me" and "You could be happy, welcomed, and loved." I started to feel uncomfortable and wondered again why it was adults never really told you straight out about Jesus and being saved. If it was so great, why did they package it and hide it behind all these other words? Then, there was a point where he said, "And look, Buddha isn't going to get you to that happiness," and I stopped listening because he mocked the followers of other faiths. I couldn't get out of there fast enough, and I realized that I couldn't ever belong there (a subsequent visit confirmed this for me when the entire youth group, being that we knew each other at school, shunned me).
As far as being a polytheistic pagan, well, there are lots of little experiences that guided me to this, but it's not really something I can explain.
5. Whether or not you consider yourself religious or spiritual, are there things you consider to be sacred? What are they?
Sex is a sacred act. Rather, I should say that sex can be a sacred act. This isn't to say I value monogamy or even virginity (in fact, I think putting stock in an intact hymen is fucking stupid and detrimental to women), just that I value the act of sex itself. It's a personal thing for me and me alone, and not something I expect anyone else to hold to.
Love is sacred too. I don't mean only romantic love, but the love of friends and family. I think it's important is that you share that feeling with someone, even if only for a short time. I guess it's because I was a lonely kid and never let too many people get close to me, but the people I did let close, and the friends I have/had, are/were important to me and special. Love is the one emotion that can really make us sacrifice for others instead of our own needs. ...and I'm not expressing this well. I need caffeine. :p
