I’m tired of clarifying my religious views over and over again for people, so I’m going to summarize this, then, in discussion, I can refer people to this rather than reiterating the same thing constantly.
1.) I Do not hate Christians, or people of any religious affiliation. I do, however, despise what certain factions of Christianity have become. I think the bigoted, ignorant, hate –filled propaganda that is perpetuated by the media, the tea party, and the extreme conservative Republican factions of this cult have become harmful to society, in that they perpetuate intolerance and ignorance, without having anything to do with actual scriptures or practices within the cult they so wholeheartedly devote themselves to, when it supports political agendas and misogyny.
2.) I do not follow any religion myself. I respect the mythology of all religions, paganism, Norse and Celtic Mythology, Buddhism, and Hinduism are my favorites to study. That being said, although the mythologies interest me, I find it far more interesting to see how the application of these belief systems has been perpetuated within applicable societies.
3.) I am an Atheist. I celebrate holidays at my family’s behest so that my children feel included in school activities with their peers, and so that I can interact with the rest of my family.
4.) I am also a Nihilist. I do not see this as a negative, but rather an attitude of self-empowerment. If nothing has meaning except that which we ascribe to certain situations/attitudes, then the only thing that matters is the meaning with which we embue certain attitudes/actions, and can rationally and logically come to moralistic conclusions that are positive for ourselves and the people around us.
5.) I may post something about my beliefs on Facebook from time to time. It’s not really an invitation to discussion. I may find certain points of view especially eloquent or amusing. My Christian friends have no problem posting biblical quotes or thank you’s to their particular god/gods on their pages. They occasionally show up on my news feed. I have no problem with their posts, their pages are their s to do with as they wish, and I do not post on their page lambasting them because their beliefs are different. If I don’t agree with a post or I feel negatively about it, I simply ignore that post. If other people do not share the same self-restraint, then don’t complain when you are the one posting negative thoughts about my beliefs and I challenge your argument.
6.) I really don’t believe in anything spriritually. I am totally ok with this, and I do not feel that anything is missing. I don’t encourage my children to pursue such things, but I don’t discourage them from doing so either, and I would be accepting of whatever personal choices they make, because above all, religion and spirituality are personal choices.
7.) Because I feel that religious/spiritual choices are very personal, I become deeply offended when religious groups press their beliefs into legal and political agendas. People feel very passionate about such personal beliefs, and I believe that it detracts from the rationality and impartiality that should be the focus of political systems as laws and precedents are formed that affect everybody. Politics and religion were viewed as separate, nonconvergent systems until the 1940s-1950s. I do seem to recall another country in the 1940s that combined religion and politics, and this combination did not end up turning out well at all. . . As well as all of the more modern incidences that could be cited. . .
Thank you for hanging with this, I hope it provided answers as to why my beliefs are what they are, and I apologize if my flippant attitudes about these things offend people, but I can’t help but find adults who believe in fairy tales to be a little ridiculous. . .
Nocturnal Emissions 