In the movie 8: A Mormon Proposition, a Mormon leader says "These people imagine they are attracted to the same sex," or words to that effect. I've found that view repeated, usually with vitriol, in many comment threads on FB and blogs.*
What arrogance, I thought. How can they label someone's experience "imagined" just because it's different from theirs?
Especially enraging is how this attitude completely dismisses the anguish many youth experience as they struggle with their sexual orientation. That Mormon leader's point of view is arrogant. And the Mormon church, parts of it at least, has been extremely hateful and hurtful to sexual minorities.
However, she is certainly not alone in her arrogance.
My own arrogance in giving credence to beliefs I don't understand is something with which I continue to struggle.
Disclosure: I'm (almost) completely uneducated in religion. But I've been exposed to it enough to have opinions.
My unvarnished take on religion goes like this:
I don't get it.
A lot of religious beliefs strike me as delusional.
Religion seems to provide an artificial source of comfort and security.
I'm confounded by what people believe in the name of their faith.
Since people of different faiths view their particular faith as "right" then how can any of them be "right?" And where does that leave them since religion isn't supposed to be an opinion like politics, it's supposed to be a truth passed down from (the one and only) God?
Religions provide hope for some kind of after-death eternity. While I have some loosy-goosy ideas about reincarnation, I wouldn't say I believe in it. I just like the idea. How can people think they actually know what happens after we die?
As my smart partner once said to me, "I think that's why it's called faith."
I could go on. The list of ways I don't get religion is long.
Growing up, I didn't know many religious people. And right down there with golf, (that's another story) it was something the Gages just didn't do. I was taught not to "use the Lord's name in vain," but behind the scenes there was a fair amount of eye-rolling, pursing of lips, and talk of "religious kooks."
As I said, I'm (almost) as uneducated about religion as a person can be. I've tried, but it's so not my language, right along with that of auto mechanics, financial investments and football.
In adulthood, especially since I've become connected to the Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators, I've come to know and respect a handful of deeply religious women. Some, I love.
And we all treat each other lovingly.
If there was a Sisterhood of Big Hearts, we'd all belong to it.
I've talked about religion a little with some of them, but I don't I "get" it any more than I used to.
However, I've come to understand that, since I respect them, and think they are smart, and want to be a good friend, (the language of friendship is one I understand,) I want to have faith in their religious faith.
I want to challenge my arrogance, to the best of my ability.
I want to live by the Golden Rule.
If I don't want people to believe I'm "imagining" an important part of my life, it would behoove me to stop thinking, just because I don't get it, that there is something kind of delusional about an important part of theirs.
Maybe comparing my biases about religion to a Mormon leader's arrogance isn't a very good fit. But in the Sisterhood of Big Hearts, there is a lot of space for compassion, understanding and personal accountability, and I am going to keep trying to get it right.
*Yes, I usually avoid reading these, but they are a good way to get a pulse people's reactivity. Interesting sometimes.
What arrogance, I thought. How can they label someone's experience "imagined" just because it's different from theirs?
Especially enraging is how this attitude completely dismisses the anguish many youth experience as they struggle with their sexual orientation. That Mormon leader's point of view is arrogant. And the Mormon church, parts of it at least, has been extremely hateful and hurtful to sexual minorities.
However, she is certainly not alone in her arrogance.
My own arrogance in giving credence to beliefs I don't understand is something with which I continue to struggle.
Disclosure: I'm (almost) completely uneducated in religion. But I've been exposed to it enough to have opinions.
My unvarnished take on religion goes like this:
I don't get it.
A lot of religious beliefs strike me as delusional.
Religion seems to provide an artificial source of comfort and security.
I'm confounded by what people believe in the name of their faith.
Since people of different faiths view their particular faith as "right" then how can any of them be "right?" And where does that leave them since religion isn't supposed to be an opinion like politics, it's supposed to be a truth passed down from (the one and only) God?
Religions provide hope for some kind of after-death eternity. While I have some loosy-goosy ideas about reincarnation, I wouldn't say I believe in it. I just like the idea. How can people think they actually know what happens after we die?
As my smart partner once said to me, "I think that's why it's called faith."
I could go on. The list of ways I don't get religion is long.
Growing up, I didn't know many religious people. And right down there with golf, (that's another story) it was something the Gages just didn't do. I was taught not to "use the Lord's name in vain," but behind the scenes there was a fair amount of eye-rolling, pursing of lips, and talk of "religious kooks."
As I said, I'm (almost) as uneducated about religion as a person can be. I've tried, but it's so not my language, right along with that of auto mechanics, financial investments and football.
In adulthood, especially since I've become connected to the Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators, I've come to know and respect a handful of deeply religious women. Some, I love.
And we all treat each other lovingly.
If there was a Sisterhood of Big Hearts, we'd all belong to it.
I've talked about religion a little with some of them, but I don't I "get" it any more than I used to.
However, I've come to understand that, since I respect them, and think they are smart, and want to be a good friend, (the language of friendship is one I understand,) I want to have faith in their religious faith.
I want to challenge my arrogance, to the best of my ability.
I want to live by the Golden Rule.
If I don't want people to believe I'm "imagining" an important part of my life, it would behoove me to stop thinking, just because I don't get it, that there is something kind of delusional about an important part of theirs.
Maybe comparing my biases about religion to a Mormon leader's arrogance isn't a very good fit. But in the Sisterhood of Big Hearts, there is a lot of space for compassion, understanding and personal accountability, and I am going to keep trying to get it right.
*Yes, I usually avoid reading these, but they are a good way to get a pulse people's reactivity. Interesting sometimes.
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