Thank you for reading! ❤️ There were so many things that I learned were misrepresented by my religious leaders, and humanism was a big one. They called it worshipping man or man's understanding, but I just call it caring about people and believing in our collective ability to do good.
Hurricane Katrina was also part of the beginning of my faith/conservatism "undoing".....along with a required Native American Studies course I needed for a teaching licensure in a new state. Talk about eye-opening to my young adult sheltered self. Once I finally allowed myself to start asking real questions they wouldn't stop coming....I'm actually really grateful for that now. This was great, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading, Jen! ❤️ And yes, omg, learning about the transatlantic slave trade and what the U.S. has done and continues to do to the Indigenous people and the Black community is (and continues to be, as there doesn't seem to be an end to the atrocities) horrifying and heartbreaking. It begs the question, does a nation built and sustained on genocide, slavery, and terrorism deserve to survive?
I can see why so many of us don't want to face that.
Thank you, Betsy. So much of what you said resonates with me: the supposedly pacifist church that got more and more militant in its language, the anathema that was humanism, and how delightful it is to be honest with oneself about what (whether) one believes about god. My favorite line is also “How do we reach someone who truly believes that the price of curiosity is their eternal soul?”
Allowing myself to accept that I no longer believed was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders! I've always wished I could give friends and family that same feeling of freedom.
How do we reach someone who truly believes that the price of curiosity is their eternal soul?
So relatable. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🏽 I join you on the church to humanist slippery slope! lol. It’s a wild ride.
Thank you for reading! ❤️ There were so many things that I learned were misrepresented by my religious leaders, and humanism was a big one. They called it worshipping man or man's understanding, but I just call it caring about people and believing in our collective ability to do good.
Hurricane Katrina was also part of the beginning of my faith/conservatism "undoing".....along with a required Native American Studies course I needed for a teaching licensure in a new state. Talk about eye-opening to my young adult sheltered self. Once I finally allowed myself to start asking real questions they wouldn't stop coming....I'm actually really grateful for that now. This was great, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading, Jen! ❤️ And yes, omg, learning about the transatlantic slave trade and what the U.S. has done and continues to do to the Indigenous people and the Black community is (and continues to be, as there doesn't seem to be an end to the atrocities) horrifying and heartbreaking. It begs the question, does a nation built and sustained on genocide, slavery, and terrorism deserve to survive?
I can see why so many of us don't want to face that.
Thank you, Betsy. So much of what you said resonates with me: the supposedly pacifist church that got more and more militant in its language, the anathema that was humanism, and how delightful it is to be honest with oneself about what (whether) one believes about god. My favorite line is also “How do we reach someone who truly believes that the price of curiosity is their eternal soul?”
Allowing myself to accept that I no longer believed was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders! I've always wished I could give friends and family that same feeling of freedom.
Thank you for reading! ❤️