I still feel weird talking about this during Advent, but it needs to be said. I need to figure out what religion I am.
Yes, I realize I don't need a label right now, but I like labels. They give me a sense of confirmation, a sense that the world makes sense if I have a term by which to identify, as ridiculous as even I know that sounds. If somebody else doesn't like them, I'll respect their choices, but that doesn't change what I want for my life. So I need to figure it out.
Gah, awkward phrasing. Moving on. I'm making the font smaller to make the post less lengthy.
So, here's what I believe on various things:
Sex: I'm very sex-positive, while also affirming asexuals and believing that asexuality should be more respected. I've never had sex and don't intend to any time soon - I want to put school first and don't have time for dating. But I hate, hate, hate slut-shaming and SWERF. The choice of whether or not to have sex should be a very personal thing, and that choice - made maturely and responsibly, with proper sex education backing up the decision - should be respected regardless of what it is. I also support sex work, believe that all people should have sexual autonomy, and that sexual autonomy should be respected. I'm very firm and inflexible on consent, and unless someone freely, enthusiastically, and maturely consents to sex, you don't ever even touch them in a sexual way, and the minute that consent is taken away, you back off. It doesn't matter if you were "just playing around" or some such BS. It doesn't matter if someone was drinking or had on a short dress or they're your romantic partner. Unless consent is freely, enthusiastically, and maturely given, you leave them alone - and if you don't, it's not their fault. It's yours, and you should suffer the same consequences as any other rapist.
Marriage: Everyone should have the right to get married and to have it be called marriage, but no one is entitled to get married if not everyone has that option. I also think that no one should be forced to get married and I don't agree with arranged marriage. Unless you're the one actually getting married, you don't get to decide who is getting married to whom. I believe in divorce; what good would forcing people who don't love each other to stay married do? I believe in polygamy, but not only that men should be allowed to have more than one wife. I believe that women should be allowed to have more than one husband, that women should be allowed to have more than one wife, that men should be allowed to have more than one husband, and so on and so forth (there needs to be a better gender-neutral word for 'spouse'). I believe that marriages should be equal partnerships and that there needs to be more centers for domestic abuse, whether or not that abuse takes place within a marriage. Celibacy isn't a bad thing, but no one should be made to feel like they have to be celibate (except for priests and nuns, but that's different - it's part of their job) or shamed for their personal choice of whether or not to be celibate. For myself, I see no real reason to get married but I believe that I should have the right to do so. What's the point, besides things like tax deductions? Being married doesn't make my love for my partner more valid, only legally recognized.
God: God is the Universe itself and the source of all life and love - God is love. God is completely gender-neutral, having no gender and at the same time all genders. They love everyone equally and infinitely and doesn't (I'm using the singular they here) discriminate based on religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, sex, body size, socioeconomic class, nationality, citizenship status, age, or disability but when someone senselessly harms another or feels threatened by what they don't understand, they distance themselves from God. I believe that God can be found in love and brought closer to humans through love, nature, sex, meditation, prayer, art, or friendship.
Homosexuality and Gender Diversity: Now, let's consider this for a moment...
The Afterlife: I believe in an afterlife. I believe in ghosts, and in angels. I do not believe in hell - not the fire-and-brimstone variety; that was purely Dantean and I'm not even sure why so many Christians believe in that. I do believe that if there is a hell, it's simply the absence of God. As for Heaven, Heaven is like pure light and pure love, engulfed in the love of the God who loves us so much more than we could ever comprehend but seeks to expand us and not limit us. I also think reincarnation exists and that it's completely possible to remember past lives.
As for figuring it all out, I'm currently researching religion to try to find something that I feel I can identify with. So far, Wicca seems promising, but I dislike the erasure of gender diversity that seems to be found in that.
Yes, I realize I don't need a label right now, but I like labels. They give me a sense of confirmation, a sense that the world makes sense if I have a term by which to identify, as ridiculous as even I know that sounds. If somebody else doesn't like them, I'll respect their choices, but that doesn't change what I want for my life. So I need to figure it out.
Gah, awkward phrasing. Moving on. I'm making the font smaller to make the post less lengthy.
So, here's what I believe on various things:
Sex: I'm very sex-positive, while also affirming asexuals and believing that asexuality should be more respected. I've never had sex and don't intend to any time soon - I want to put school first and don't have time for dating. But I hate, hate, hate slut-shaming and SWERF. The choice of whether or not to have sex should be a very personal thing, and that choice - made maturely and responsibly, with proper sex education backing up the decision - should be respected regardless of what it is. I also support sex work, believe that all people should have sexual autonomy, and that sexual autonomy should be respected. I'm very firm and inflexible on consent, and unless someone freely, enthusiastically, and maturely consents to sex, you don't ever even touch them in a sexual way, and the minute that consent is taken away, you back off. It doesn't matter if you were "just playing around" or some such BS. It doesn't matter if someone was drinking or had on a short dress or they're your romantic partner. Unless consent is freely, enthusiastically, and maturely given, you leave them alone - and if you don't, it's not their fault. It's yours, and you should suffer the same consequences as any other rapist.
Marriage: Everyone should have the right to get married and to have it be called marriage, but no one is entitled to get married if not everyone has that option. I also think that no one should be forced to get married and I don't agree with arranged marriage. Unless you're the one actually getting married, you don't get to decide who is getting married to whom. I believe in divorce; what good would forcing people who don't love each other to stay married do? I believe in polygamy, but not only that men should be allowed to have more than one wife. I believe that women should be allowed to have more than one husband, that women should be allowed to have more than one wife, that men should be allowed to have more than one husband, and so on and so forth (there needs to be a better gender-neutral word for 'spouse'). I believe that marriages should be equal partnerships and that there needs to be more centers for domestic abuse, whether or not that abuse takes place within a marriage. Celibacy isn't a bad thing, but no one should be made to feel like they have to be celibate (except for priests and nuns, but that's different - it's part of their job) or shamed for their personal choice of whether or not to be celibate. For myself, I see no real reason to get married but I believe that I should have the right to do so. What's the point, besides things like tax deductions? Being married doesn't make my love for my partner more valid, only legally recognized.
God: God is the Universe itself and the source of all life and love - God is love. God is completely gender-neutral, having no gender and at the same time all genders. They love everyone equally and infinitely and doesn't (I'm using the singular they here) discriminate based on religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, sex, body size, socioeconomic class, nationality, citizenship status, age, or disability but when someone senselessly harms another or feels threatened by what they don't understand, they distance themselves from God. I believe that God can be found in love and brought closer to humans through love, nature, sex, meditation, prayer, art, or friendship.
Homosexuality and Gender Diversity: Now, let's consider this for a moment...
The Afterlife: I believe in an afterlife. I believe in ghosts, and in angels. I do not believe in hell - not the fire-and-brimstone variety; that was purely Dantean and I'm not even sure why so many Christians believe in that. I do believe that if there is a hell, it's simply the absence of God. As for Heaven, Heaven is like pure light and pure love, engulfed in the love of the God who loves us so much more than we could ever comprehend but seeks to expand us and not limit us. I also think reincarnation exists and that it's completely possible to remember past lives.
As for figuring it all out, I'm currently researching religion to try to find something that I feel I can identify with. So far, Wicca seems promising, but I dislike the erasure of gender diversity that seems to be found in that.
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