Religious Freedom

[tracilicious]

For the first 19 years of my life I was actively involved in a very strict religion, and for the past six I haven't been involved but have still followed the basic precepts/restrictions of said religion. I'm posting this because we've officially set ourselves free. Officially in that if people ask I will no longer say I am part of that religion. I haven't sent in a letter to the religion or anything, as I don't really feel like it's any of their business.

Today I celebrate the release of guilt of not attending religious meetings three times a week, of not believing everything the religion taught, and of not really caring whether there was an eternal future in store for me.

I also celebrate the regaining of my faith in God. For a long time I've felt that if this religion didn't have the truth about God then God simply didn't exist. I just finished reading somewhat of an expose written by a top ranking member of the religious organization. It was revealing in that I discovered that much of the organization doesn't actually have much to do with God, but rather with upholding policies and making new rules. I no longer claim to have all the answers about God or the bible, but I can be a nondenominational Christian without really worrying about the exact details of every bible prophecy.

Freedom from religion feels like an entirely different outlook on life. I no longer feel obligated to assume that 99% of the people on earth will die, or to group people into categories. I haven't done either of those in longer than I can remember, but it's what most members of that religion do. Don't get me wrong, I think nearly every member truly loves God and Christ, and most are very good people, but that's what they are taught. The flaws are with severely organized religion, not with individuals.

Michael and I both have a handful of family members that remain in the religion. Some we'll tell the truth to, others we just won't talk about it with, and some wouldn't be able to handle it. We'll probably lie to the last group and tell them that we just don't go. Our closest friends that live out of state will eventually find out and cut us off. It won't be their fault, but it will suck. That's life though. The most important thing is to be true to ourselves and find our own path to God.

So welcome me to the free world! This year we'll celebrate our first Halloween, our first birthdays, etc. (Well, not sure about Christmas yet.) Religious meetings feel like suffering and I will probably never go again. Ah flexibility!