So a previous thread on rituals got me thinking. I do see why it could be of value. I have always enjoyed the music and sights of a Catholic Mass or even a Lutheran Divine Service. Why should I allow politics or outsiders ruin that for me? Does it matter if the Christian God is real or not? If I find a typr of peace in making Islamic Salat does it matter what Muhammad may or may not have done?

Mormonism is all in. It does not accept lurkers. In fact to gain access to the higher rituals one must be a full member for a year, pay your money and pass two interviews.

I could care less about the politics of those sitting next to me. I can enjoy a mass ad not think twice about if others around me belive the earth is 5000 years old, or if they except science. I don't care how they will vote on gay marriage or where they stand on abortion or contraceptive access. I seek a connection to the outside world, fee of the politics of 2012. A time snd place for everything.

I seek freedom from fundamentalism. A world where I can't to thst because I am <insert lable here>. I will eat what I want. Drink what I want. Abstain from what I want. The of freedom is using what you find value in and rejecting what you do not. I realize I can participate without having to change a whole world view.

Yah, I am with you there. I am definitely not a fundamentalist. I had a friend who was/is Atheist, but who figured that by exploring ideas from other religions I must think he should do what I do.

I see religion and spirituality much like art, I like abstract art and I like realism and I like folk art, and I like sculptures and paintings and so many other things.

I have never read the Koran, but I love the geometry of Islam and I have explored some SUfism (Hinduism plus Islam basically in a unique twist). The worlds most famous poet is a Sufi.

I personally love a sense of connection to things that are timeless whether architecture or religion, or food. I like foods that have been around for years in traditional cultures. I don't eat them in traditional ways. I may change how I do this or that. i may mix it with something from another culture. But I like the sense of connection.

I am not any sort of Orthodox Christian, but I can 'love my neighbor as myself' or 'turn the other cheek' perhaps at times and see it as an option not an obligation that is a 'sin' against a God if I do not follow it.

People often think that leaving Mormonism or any religion has to mean throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and the bathtub, the sink, the cabinets and the room, then sometimes the entire house. Sometimes the place just needs a renovation and some new furniture and a fresh coat of paint.

Sometimes they can be reinvented like an artist reinvents a classic. People serve lots of hamburgers in the country, but each place may have its own twist or its own side with it. The classic stories are often classics for a reason. They often spoke to something in people and they often offered people insights of some sort. Yes, they often manipulate people too especially when combined with theology. But there is a lot of grace and beauty in a lot of cultures and often their cultures have roots in their religions.

Like the old adage says 'sometimes you don't need to reinvent the wheel.' You may want to soup it up, add a new kind of tire or tube inside the tire. You may want a bigger or a smaller wheel, some barbearings, but you don't need a whole new wheel necessarily. You may need a different car to go on the wheel, but even there, you may still want to draw on what others have done.

I like that imagery , wonderer...very nice way to put it

I also the global connection. With a mass I feel connected by chants the same phrases as people in east or se Asia are, or Africa or wherever. It is not about belief in a God or gods, or about lost car keys vs starving children. Jusr a reminder that they are things beyond my little corner of the world.

God of Lost Car keys vs. 'law of attraction' is an interesting contemplation (not that I am a 'law of attraction' devotee or anything, but it is another concept that some folks use).

Also concepts of auras and chakras are interesting in context of 'the God of lost car keys' vs. the starving children. I haven't done much thought/consideration on that, but worth considering and comparing how the theories may play out. I get disturbed by some law of attraction purists just like I do with religious purists.

Rituals can be as simple as a bath with oils and some meditative music or as complex as a ritual of a few different people getting together to do some sort of pagan ritual (which I have never done, but sounds fascinating and a bit scary to me).

I suppose that there is a difference between enjoying a “performance” for lack of a better expression, and supporting an organization.

Giving money to an organization that will mistreat people with the power that money will give them is not right in my opinion. Stopping by for a performance might be fairly benign, even in a corrupt organization.

I have been to a Mosque in the Middle East, enjoyed hearing the call to prayers, and been to a Mass, and a musical performance, in a Cathedral, and sat in on a Pentecostal service on a Pacific island. I enjoyed each of them.

DNA - Good thoughts on considerations around the giving of funds to religious groups. I think that is a good consideration and of course it depends on how much one gives to the organization and perhaps what one gives elsewhere.

I have never been in a mosque, but I have considered it. A friend invited me to go to the Sikh temple, but I have not been. I have not explored Sufism as much as I may enjoy exploring it. I have been inside a few Hindu temples. They are pretty amazing visually. I have been in Buddhist temples. Cathedrals. I have not given money to any of them in any major note. Sometimes a minor donation.

I like the idea of holy water. I like the dots they put on your head at Hindu temples and the food they give you. The buddhist temples sometimes put wine in your hand. I sat in a sweat lodge once and liked that.