Organized religion is dead to me.

[MinneapolisMatt]

I'm sorry it has come to that. But their hate is destroying my beloved LGBT community, and I will have no part of it ever again.

We will someday overcome these defeats. I have to believe that. Someday I will be able to marry my partner of almost 11 years in any state I wish. But it sure as hell won't be in a church.

There is no defense for organized religion in my eyes right now. NONE. So don't bother.

Someday, maybe others will see the pure evil churches do in God's name and walk away from those wicked, fear-mongering, bullshit, complete farces that are called "houses of God."

The rage I am feeling right now is so great, I need to stop typing and have a good fucking cry.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Religion is destroying our educational system as well. All bad. No good.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[paulsby]

27. oh please

that's a bit excessive.

DESTROYING?

fwiw, i went to an EXCELLENT private school run by a religious group: the quakers.

catholic schools have also offered excellent affordable disciplined education at pretty reasonable costs to middle class and working class people for decades.

there is good AND bad. it is not all bad. that's rubbish

[Tsar_Bomba]

40. Wrong, the sooner the GLBT community addresses this the

better off they and we all will be. Stop apologizing for religion, it is crap. It is a man made construct and its unnecessary and unwanted. On this issue there is no gray area, its right or wrong and religion is wrong.

[pipi_k]

43. I don't think anyone is apologizing for religion...

myself least of all.

I detest organized religion. Absolutely.

But the person you're replying to is only saying, in reply to someone else, that religon is NOT "destroying education".

There are many things I admire about religion, like the music...the architecture of churches and cathedrals...

As an institution, however, I think religion sucks...especially when people use it as justification for repressing, or being violent to, others.

But it's not all bad.

[paulsby]

46. i'm not apologizing for anythign, i'm simply stating truth

that religion's influence on education has not been all bad, as claimed. it's an absurd claim

[pipi_k]

41. All three of my grandkids go to a private Catholic school

and although it's not run by nuns, all the teachers are women.

Tuition is reasonable, and parents can get financial aid through the associated church, and tuition can be paid in installments through the year.

I'm not religious, and neither are my kids, but neither of them has a problem with sending their children to a Catholic school. I think the grandkids are getting a real good education, and the school is smaller, so my grandson, who needs special attention, is getting it. In fact, what impresses me is that ALL the teachers know ALL the kids, even though it's K - 8.

[paulsby]

47. that's a good counterexample

catholic schools really do offer good bang for the buck ime.

i went to a quaker school, but i admire the work catholic schools have done

[ensho]

36. kick

nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. *hugs* I am so sorry that more of us Mainers didn't stand up for what is right.

[Teaser]

3. right there with you.

Gives me yet another reason not to attend a Christmas mass with my family.

I'm straight, married, and to that extent participating in the system that oppresses you. I'm sorry for that.

One day this country will forget this crazy obsession about sex. But apparently not yet.

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Don't mourn -- organize!

The liberal/younger crowd stayed home. We lost. Solution: make sure our movement and its campaigning apparatus starts getting the vote out in off-year and ho-hum elections.

The fight ain't over. It's only getting started.

--d!

[maglatinavi]

29. Dogmudgeon

Don't get mad, get even!!!

[Tesha]

5. Demographics assure us that this will eventually change.

Today's youth have much different beliefs than the old codgers who
automatically vote against gay rights. The codgers will die; the youth
will finally begin voting reliably as they get older.

Tesha

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. *hugs* for your awesome optimism for the future. But in the short run this still sucks for

an awful lot of people.

[Lindsey]

6. I'm with you on that one. Organized Religion is ruining the

world. I prefer to be a spiritual person and not a religious person. I hope you feel better. I'm also a member of the LGBT Community.

[Skittles]

7. it took you this long to figure that out?

they've always been about intolerance

[MinneapolisMatt]

15. Being raised in a fundie house

until I was 18, and dealing with being gay, your damn fucking right it has taken me a while to figure out how I fucking feel about it.

Realizing your whole childhood was basically a LIE is traumatic shit.

Sorry, but now's not the time for sarcasm with me.

[Skittles]

17. sorry Matt

truly sorry

[MinneapolisMatt]

19. It's OK.

Really, I hate being so upset about it, it's not you.

Sorry I lashed out.

[Skittles]

20. hey - we're making progress

gay folk and those of us who support our gay brothers and sisters will win in the end and I think I'll live to see it.......and I remember rampant angst over "mixed marriages" - yup

[anonymous171]

8. Religions die if they don't get with the times

New ones pop up, but the old ones never come back.

[csziggy]

44. Large powerful institutions do a lot of damage as they die, though

And that is what the more extreme religions are doing - trying to take their societies down as their own organization fails. Christian, Muslim, whatever, they would rather burn down the house that allow it to be restructured.

I gave up religion forty years ago and it has not hurt me. But I am more and more frightened by the death throes of these evil organizations.

[MadMaddie]

9. It's been dead to me for a long time!

I carry my faith with me, I don't need to join a church to decide I am a good person who lives by the golden rules.

It really is time to start taxing churches. They get to have their cake and eat it too, perhaps we should start initiatives all over the country to do just that.

[harry_pothead]

10. In my adolescene class today, we talked some about GSA alliances in high schools

One of the credential candidates gave a talk to the class about his experience visiting one. He said 5 of the 10 students were devastated by lack of or expected lack of family acceptance. For all 5 families, it had to do with religion.



Proud to be an atheist, proud to support my gay brother.

[dysfunctional press]

11. organized or not- i have no use for it.

and i firmly believe that we won't be able to make the 'next step' as a society/civilization until people get past the myths and superstitions that religions are based on.

[Frances]

13. I used to have good feelings about

some of the good things that religion did, but the way that the Catholic and Mormon heirarchy behaved in Maine and in California has turned me off to those two religions.

To be fair, however, the Unitarians and some other churches have been supportive of gay rights.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

14. So, the Unitarians aren't organized?

I mean, maybe THEY don't consider themselves organized, but still.......

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. Yes they are organized.

And yes they are a recognized denomination, although not generally Christian. They were very active in anti-slavery and woman's suffrage movements in the 19th century.

They started out as two denominations - the Unitarians who believed in one god, and the Universalists, who believed in Universal Salvation. The first recognized Unitarian in history was Michael Servetus who was lured to Geneva by John Calvin and then barbecued by John Calvin for heresy.

I know lots of atheists, agnostics, pagans, secular humanists, and the generally confused and questing who go to them. I've been a UU for thirty years. I cannot handle Christianity or the other Abrahamic religions, and I have found a home there. A place where you can ask questions, admit that you left a church because you were looking for a deeper meaning that wasn't there, and get the community and friendship of a church without the dogma.

UUs are a non-creedal church. You don't have to say you believe in anything.

More info www.uua.org

[Critters2]

26. The UCC certainly isn't. Trust me on this. :) nt

[Neecy]

16. Prepare for tomorrow, my friend

The Mormon front group who funded the hatred in Maine is going to take another victory lap - right in our goddamn faces.

All it takes is a little Mormon dough to bring out the bigot in people.

[madfloridian]

18. I am so sorry.

[imdjh]

21. deleted - pointless

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Mpls Matt, I'll have you know that my church (in Mpls) performs several

same-sex ceremonies per year. This being Minnesota, they have no legal standing, but please don't lump all religious people into one basket. You'll find a friendly reception among the UCCs, the Unitarians, and many ELCA Lutherans, too.

[Initech]

24. I gave up on religion a long time ago.

[Eryemil]

25. Proud atheist here. The New Age "spiritual but not religious crap" is cowards

[Beregond2]

28. "Destroying our community?"

How does losing something we've never had "destroy" us? Not to mention, you are lumping all religious into the same category, which is just ignorant.

Personally, I would NEVER get married, even if they did make it legal. Wander voluntarily into that swamp of legal entanglements? Not likely. I am fully capable of making a lasting commitment without society's blessing, thank you.

[Libertas1776]

32. You are entitled to your opinion

but I am sure the majority of the rest of us would much rather prefer those "legal entanglements" such as the right to visit a sick spouse in their hospital bed in addition to all the other legal, financial, property, taxes, etc benefits that "society" recognizes as the hallmarks of marriage.

[LostInAnomie]

30. It's all just idiotic superstitions anyway. The sooner the world is rid of it, the better.

I'm glad more and more people are coming to realize it.

[LeftyMom]

31. Superstitious, ignorant people generally do superstitious, ignorant things.

[TexasObserver]

33. Try UU and you will find you are very welcome.

I am not a member, but I know a bunch of them, and they're very liberal and totally behind GLBT rights.

Unitarian Universalists.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

45. The seven principles of Unitarian Universalism:

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:

* Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
* Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
* Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
* Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
* Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
* Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.


=========================
from www.uua.org

[TexasObserver]

48. I go to their services a few times a year.

One of my adult children is a member and very active. I support some of their social outreach programs. He's been to UU headquarters back East, just to go there for the experience.

[mmonk]

34. My wife keeps asking me why I don't do to church anymore.

She think politics shouldn't keep me from going. The problem is, American Christianity has played too big a role in our backward spiral for me to devoid myself of negative thoughts on the occasions I go. Therefore, why put myself in a negative or bad mood? I find no god there at present. I wish I could ignore the problem but I can't.

[Jokinomx]

35. The final break from religion can be a very difficult one.

I wasn't even raised in a strict religious family, but to finally come to the conclusion that religions are not necessary was a difficult one. In fact over all, religions have been far more detrimental to our society than beneficial.

They are all based on bad interpretations of old writings. They instill fear and hate in the populace and try to disguise themselves as all that is good and holy.

Good luck in your search for your answers. You took a great step forward in the evolution of your soul.

Peace

[seabeyond]

37. has been for about 8 yrs for me. nt

[Echo In Light]

38. "I'm glad to see more people leaving the church and finding god." - Lenny Bruce

[bullwinkle428]

39. Reform Judaism is fully supportive of same-sex marriage...

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been brought up in such a culture of tolerance and acceptance.

I absolutely loathe the way so many denominations choose to couch their own hate and prejudices in the context of their teachings!

[SidDithers]

42. Enthusiastically recc'd...

Sid

[Joe Fields]

49. The evils of religion are uppermost in determining the history of the world.

You have every right to feel neglected, abused and cheated by these entities.

They have done far more harm in this world than good, and the proof is in how far we've come as a civilization, and STILL cannot accept same sex marriage within the christian community.

[Arugula Latte]

50. Shhh! We're not supposed to say anything against religion or the tsk-tsk-tskers will come

and tell us that WE'RE bigoted and intolerant of religion's bigoted intolerance.