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I can relate to this article. I have at times experienced anxiety over my disillusionment, as I call it.
I guess I'm lucky because my 'religion' is a 12 step program (Alcoholics Anonymous). I have recently returned to AA meetings because I want to stop drinking again (I was dry for 11 years at one point) and I enjoy the people (well, most of them) and perhaps I was institutionalized to a certain extant (I was 20 when I attended my first meeting).
Anyway, one of the 'Traditions' of AA - or rule of AA, if you will - is that membership is not dependent on conformity. (See Tradition 3 - Long Form). Conformity in this case explicity means belief in God. Which means I can (and have been) open about my beliefs and they can't kick me out.
To get back to the point of the article, I'm working with the theory now that there are positive, value added aspects to living a 'spiritual' life and that a belief in a super-natural being is not required to experience it.
Permalink Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:26:21 UTC | #870358