Reconsider Religion?
"I say that religion isn't about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It's about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness."--Karen Armstrong
Our community often seems at war with religion. Some of us make peace with it and maintain a personal faith,but most of us reject it. I'm in the latter category.
Karen Armstrong is a former nun and scholar who gave up religion only to reconnect with it as she learned more about the core teachings of all major religions. I've included her TED award winning acceptance speech where she discusses the roots of religion, which she says have been grotesquely hijacked by human ego. She also requests help in forwarding a "Charter of Compassion," which requests leaders from across various faiths to reinstate the golden rule as the central tenet of religion. It's an enlightening video for anyone open to reconsidering their thoughts on the role, impact, and purpose of religion.
3 Comments:
I think that the religious abuse of queer folks perpetrated by patriarchal religious institutions is one of the grosser crimes committed against GLBTQ people.
I believe deeply in our roles as spiritual arbiters, roles that seemingly date back to prehistoric human culture (check out Randy Conner's excellent "Blossom of Bone" for more on this), and I suspect that robbing queer people of their spiritual roles has been a great detriment to cultures around the world.
Being religious is often synonymous now with being an absolute nut, because, in America, "people of faith" have hijacked what can be a beautiful expression of humanity's own divine power.
I think these conversations around spritualtiy and queer identity are really important, and it's certainly a central aspect of my life.
Thanks for posting this.
Jaroslav Pelikan's "Jesus Through the Centuries" is a horrendously boring book with a really interesting last chapter on how religion began to be manipulated for political or personal gain.
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