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.”
Should I stay or should I go? Exploring a journal prompt from chapter 2 of “Changing Paths”
Excellent post from Jarred reflecting on one of the journal prompts from Changing Paths.
Hello dear readers! It’s Friday morning so that means once again exploring a journal prompt from the wonderful book, Changing Paths…
Should I stay or should I go? Exploring a journal prompt from chapter 2 of “Changing Paths”
This is old news, but interesting nonetheless. BRIN (British Religion In Numbers) collated a number of datasets and research results from a variety of sources in 2017, including data on women and LGBT+ people in churches, both of which would go a long way towards explaining why people are leaving churches in droves.
Continue readingReligious 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.
So the Pope has offered the blessing of same sex relationships—while still saying that same sex relationships are sinful. You can’t bless something with one hand and condemn it with the other.
This is more of the same homophobia with a slightly better public relations spin on it. A turd augmented with glitter.
Continue readingChanging Paths challenge day 21 — family
There are two types of family — the one you were born into, and the one you choose. If your birth family is problematic for some reason, you can create your own.
Continue readingAlthough Unitarianism * / Unitarian Universalism wasn’t my path, I still value many of their ideas and values. They’re green, they’re LGBT+ inclusive or at least welcoming, they were the first to ordain women ministers (the Universalists in 1860, the English Unitarians in 1904), among the first to welcome LGBT+ people (1970 in the UK). Many 19th century Unitarian ministers were opposed to slavery, most notably Theodore Parker. They don’t believe in original sin. They frequently refer to God as She or Mother (and have done since the 19th century). They respect other faiths as valid paths to the divine. They characterize their path as a free and responsible search for meaning. They also have really nice hymns. And they welcome Pagans and have an organization for pantheist, Pagan, and Earth-based spirituality. Iolo Morgannwg, whose prayer is used by OBOD Druids, was a Unitarian. There are many connections between Unitarian and Pagan ideas.
* in the UK they’re called Unitarians; in the US they’re called Unitarian Universalists.
Why it wasn’t my path: it healed me of my wounds from Christianity, for which I am forever grateful; it’s a kinder, more rational, more liberal form of church—but despite the inclusion of ideas from other faiths, it still is a form of church.
Changing Paths is published by 1000Volt Press and is available from all the usual online stores. Ask your local bookseller or library to stock it!
The goal of the book is to help you decide your own path by guiding you through the perils and pitfalls of the terrain, and asking questions to help you deepen your understanding of the reasons for your desire to change paths.
I came to terms with being gay in 1996. At the time I was an evangelical Christian and tried to keep my faith for two and a half years. It didn’t work. I realized that even if I accepted I was gay, my upbringing had taught me to hate myself and see myself as worthless so I needed a change.
Part 2: My First Witchcraft Book
I made many new friends to support me. The friend group I got involved with consisted of a lot of witches and Pagans. I asked one of them for a book recommendation. They recommended Cunningham’s book. I fell in love. Magic resonated with me. And the God and Goddess were full of love and acceptance.
From a series of Mastodon toots by Jarred the Wyrd-Worker detailing his spiritual journey. (Read the rest on Mastodon)
There was a guy in one of my classes — let’s call him Jonathan — who was openly gay. I had never knowingly interacted with, or even seen, anyone gay before. … He just stood and sang, a capella. It was honestly beautiful in its own right — Jonathan has a great voice. But, as he sang, all my feelings coalesced into an understanding. He was singing about what Black folks experienced and still experience in America — something I had never been taught. He was also, I think, singing about his own experience as a gay man — something I had also never been taught.
— Read more at Rochelle, “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child”. NonNumberChar, Medium
Changing Paths 