Should I go to religious services just to make people happy?
I’ve been going to religious services, like Christmas Eve, with my parents in order to make them happy. But at this point I feel as if there is a lack of mutual respect for my beliefs, so I have no desire to go. Do I stick to my guns, or do I go to religious services with my family on holidays?
Why we should ask and answer more repetitive, annoying, offensive questions
I am Pagan, and I have always hated the repetitive, annoying, or offensive questions that occur every time I come out of the broom closet. Until a nativity scene changed my mind about those repetitive, annoying, and offensive questions.
Down the rabbit hole of über-Christian marriage advice: Do I really have to be spiritual to have a strong connection to my partner?
My partner and I are atheists, so I feel a little confused when some of the über-Christian marriage advice resonates with me. I’ve been reading it because I enjoy reading things that make me think about our relationship and how to keep it strong. But all of it is supposed to be “Christ-centered.” Do I really have to be a Christian or otherwise spiritual to have a strong connection to my partner? Do I have to pray to a deity in order to be a good wife and build up my husband? Should I convert in order to save my marriage!? (Okay, I’m exaggerating.)
I’m queer and religious: Yes, we exist
I’m happily engaged to another woman, and yet, I find myself adhering to more conservative religious dress standards. I have seen glimpses of others like me online — the ba’al teshuvah lesbian on Tumblr who actively dates women; the queer “frum from birth” Jew who got a tattoo to commemorate his struggle with traditional Torah observance; the genderqueer Muslim I went to school with who wears a hijab; the Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecostal LGBTQ activists who blog for other queers in their denominations.
Christmas: Emotional baggage topped with a bow
My fiance and I are from different cultural/religious background. He’s Jewish, and the closest thing I have to a set religious upbringing is Catholicism. What we both have in common is a tendency towards atheism and skepticism. We had a number of discussions about various holidays, but there was one issue that we never could get resolved: Christmas.
One day I hope to be enough: my experience growing up with dual ethnicities
“Jew-Rican.” “Christmukkah.” “I’m Jew…ish.” These are just a few terms I created or adopted over the years to add levity to the confusion people would experience when they learned about my ethnicity. I grew up on Long Island, New York, where there was a very high population of Jews. It was common to see symbols of both Christianity and Judaism, especially in public schools. Seeing Stars of David alongside Christmas trees and crosses on school windows, the walls of department stores, and in newspaper advertisements was commonplace. This dual expression of spirituality perfectly reflected my own household.
I think I’ve had three husbands: Navigating spousal career changes
Preacher’s wife. Teacher’s wife. Accountant’s wife. Huh? Yeah, I’ve been all three. And in the relatively short (five years) of marriage, I have found that with each career change my husband embarks on, I am challenged with re-learning how I perceive myself, my husband and our relationship.
6 tricks to finding fellowship for non-traditional spirituality
As a non-theist pagan, I felt like I was seriously missing out on that fellowship and community that my dad has found at his church. It’s hard to find that when you don’t belong to a mainstream religion. Or if the local branch of the mainstream religion you belong to is full of assholes, because who needs that? But here are the options that may prove helpful if you feel like this is missing from your life.