Changing Paths challenge day 4: Nature. 💚🌿
Many years ago, when I was a child, I was told that the Israeli settlers had planted trees in the desert and made Israel greener. I was told this at an event organized by evangelical Christians. This shows the prevalence of Zionism among evangelical Christians. (1)
Continue readingFantastic article from John Beckett (polytheist UU Druid) on the rise of the ExVangelical movement and how to get the tentacles of Christianity out of your brain.
A weird boy, but definitely a boy: Freestyling it again for chapter 4 of “Changing Paths”
This Friday, I’ll be blogging some of my thoughts from reading Chapter 4, “Religion and Gender” of Yvonne Aburrow’s book, Changing Paths…
It’s been interesting for me as a man primarily dedicated to and working with Freyja. It seems in some Pagan and witchcraft circles that it’s typically thought that men will dedicate themselves to a god and women will dedicate themselves to a goddess.
A weird boy, but definitely a boy: Freestyling it again for chapter 4 of “Changing Paths”
Beautiful music for deconstruction from toxic religions by Alanah Sabatini, who has just released an EP of reclaimed hymns. It’s available on Bandcamp and YouTube now, and on all the major streaming services next Friday:
It’s very calming and could be sung as a group. It would work well in Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, and Pagan settings, as well as at atheist events.
You can find her on instagram & threads as @alanah.dont.wanna
Being gaily religious and religiously gay: Blogging freestyle for chapter 3 of “Changing Paths.”
This week, I want to blog about chapter three of Changing Paths by Yvonne Aburrow…
My relationship with my sexuality when I was an evangelical Christian was a complete mess, and not solely because I was gay. For those who may not be familiar with evangelical culture, purity culture is often a huge part of that, and my upbringing was no exception.
Continue reading: Being gaily religious and religiously gay: Blogging freestyle for chapter 3 of “Changing Paths.”
Sarah Zang hoped to escape her highly controlled home life in 2006.
— John Verner
She enrolled as a student at Liberty University in Virginia. She looked forward to making her own decisions, free of her parents’ strict rules. Liberty University, a Christian college, seemed like the perfect haven, promising safety and a community that shared her values.
Read the rest of the article on Substack (content note: sexual assault trauma and white evangelicals being obnoxious)
In Norway, subject to rules about not being coercive or oppressive, all religious groups can apply for state funding.
Due to the JWs’ practice of disfellowshipping and shunning people who leave, including children, the Norwegian government has removed their funding.
Friendly Atheist: Norwegian court upholds ban on state funding of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Religious trauma still haunts millions of LGBTQ Americans. Some mental health experts are advocating for religious trauma to be considered an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Religious trauma occurs when an individual’s religious upbringing has lasting adverse effects on their physical, mental or emotional well-being, according to the Religious Trauma Institute. Symptoms can include guilt, shame, loss of trust and loss of meaning in life. …
Experts say LGBTQ people — who represent more than 7% of the U.S. population, according to a 2023 Gallup poll — experience religious trauma at disproportionate rates and in unique ways. Very little research has been done in this field, but a 2022 study found that LGBTQ people who experience certain forms of religious trauma are at increased risk for suicidality, substance abuse, homelessness, anxiety and depression.
— Spencer Macnaughton (2024), “Religious trauma still haunts millions of LGBTQ Americans,” NBC News.
There are many wonderful things that we could classify as miracles: the capacity for love, the beauty of a sunny morning, dew on roses, the ability to paint or compose a masterpiece, and many other natural wonders.
Many Pagans believe in healing energies and such; but we tend to regard them as supplementary to conventional medicine—not a replacement for it. We also believe that they are within Nature, and that one day science will be able to explain them.
Continue readingEsoteric religions are ones that locate the primary source of religious or spiritual authority in the human heart, the conscience, or the higher self. Teachers are seen more as guides than as authority figures. They are only an authority on the topic of the particular path, as they are further along that path. Starhawk and the Quakers characterize this approach as “power from within” for the individual and “power-with” to describe the power-sharing approach of this type of group.
Exoteric religions are ones that locate the source of religious or spiritual authority outside the self, in religious texts which are often said to be divinely revealed. These texts are often interpreted by leaders within these religions, and those leaders tend to be given a lot of authority over their “flock”. Starhawk and the Quakers characterize this approach as “power-over”.
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Changing Paths 