Has religion brought you comfort or pain?

[Anonymous]

Both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's both. I am a practicing Catholic and get a lot of comfort out of my faith. I love to pray. I love ritual. I love the community. At the same time I am pro-choice and in favor of women's ordination to the priesthood and diaconate. As a female cradle Catholic, I bear this lifetime of pain from the obvious disenfranchisement, the message that we are less than men. While at the same time, I love being Catholic and would never leave, especially because if we leave, the reactionaries win. They are conflicting emotions, but not uncommon among women like me.

How awful and conflicting for you. Meanwhile, you don't mention actually believing in God. Do you believe?

Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty and in Jesus Christ, his only son.

And in language straight out of the apostles creed.

But of course. LOL.

With regard to the prior comment about how awful and conflicting for "you", I am most definitely not alone in feeling what I do. It's more of a "we", than just "me", who feels that way.

How awful and conflicting for all of you, then. Are you organized in any way? Doing something about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's both. I am a practicing Catholic and get a lot of comfort out of my faith. I love to pray. I love ritual. I love the community. At the same time I am pro-choice and in favor of women's ordination to the priesthood and diaconate. As a female cradle Catholic, I bear this lifetime of pain from the obvious disenfranchisement, the message that we are less than men. While at the same time, I love being Catholic and would never leave, especially because if we leave, the reactionaries win. They are conflicting emotions, but not uncommon among women like me.

How awful and conflicting for you. Meanwhile, you don't mention actually believing in God. Do you believe?

Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty and in Jesus Christ, his only son.

And in language straight out of the apostles creed.

But of course. LOL.

With regard to the prior comment about how awful and conflicting for "you", I am most definitely not alone in feeling what I do. It's more of a "we", than just "me", who feels that way.

How awful and conflicting for all of you, then. Are you organized in any way? Doing something about it?

Yes, there are a number of groups in US and in Europe advocating for women's ordination. There are also Catholic pro-choice groups in the US, Latin America and Europe. I am involved with one of these groups. There are also male clergy and lay men who support women's ordination. The problem is the Church hierarchy.

[Anonymous]

My faith brings me deep comfort. Other people's religion, and the way they've used it to justify standing in judgment of me/my life, is pain.

[Anonymous]

I think overall its a wash, some agony and some comfort. It became more comforting since I now focus more on my connection with a supreme being (i know silly yet comforting) and less on nitpicking religious rituals. Also very useful to not hold religion I was born into against religions other people were born into.

[Anonymous]

I believe in God and the divinity of Jesus and all of the other tenets of Christianity, but just cannot bring myself to attend church regularly nor declare myself a Christian because of all of the baggage associated with the religion/the various agendas pushed by church “leadership” (see: the recent attack on empathy :roll. My faith has brought me great peace, but my religion has definitely brought me pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe in God and the divinity of Jesus and all of the other tenets of Christianity, but just cannot bring myself to attend church regularly nor declare myself a Christian because of all of the baggage associated with the religion/the various agendas pushed by church “leadership” (see: the recent attack on empathy :roll. My faith has brought me great peace, but my religion has definitely brought me pain.

What"recent attack on empathy"? I don't follow - seriously. What do you mean?

[Anonymous]

Neither. It made me alive.

[Anonymous]

Both. I left because it caused me too much pain, but it was such a significant part of my identity for so long that I still have some level of faith, and it continues to bring me comfort. For example, there are a few favorite hymns that bring me to tears, and there are certain verses that I revisit when I am feeling distressed.