Even before the repeal, I felt strongly that the very conservative Chaplain corp might be less than fully prepared to serve those who need support dealing with LGBTQ issues, either at work or personally. Clearly internal changes would be ideal. In the mean time, how can inclusive religious organizations in the community help fill the gap for service members who need a spiritually safe place to seek help… or just a place to be accepted?

I’m curious if anyone has ideas on how to approach the chapel at the base where my husband is stationed to simply identify ourselves as a resource. Does anyone think a Chaplain would “refer out,” so to speak? If not through the Chapel, how else could we let service members know we are here?

You’re right – a lot of organized religion out there sucks, but I think Unitarian Universalism is the answer to many of your very legitimate objections to organized religion.

If your curiosity is aroused, Google the 7 principles of Unitarian Universalism. You might be pleasantly surprised that there are other people out there who feel the way you do, but who have chosen to reject traditional organized religion, and create something amazingly fair, rational and compassionate. At least I have been pleasantly surprised. I’d given up hope that there was a “church” (and I use that term loosely here) where people realized there is no difference between “divinely revealed truth” and that truth which someone figured out the old fashioned way – empirically.

Being “evangelical” sort of goes against the UU grain, but I smiled reading your post because I so strongly agree with 99% of your words, except where you say:
“But religion? Love it or leave it? I prefer to leave it. I can sleep better knowing I’m not actively contributing to the orgianized bigotry and oppression of millions of people around the world, including myself.” I challenge you to consider that there are religious groups working for just what you say you want. Fairness, justice, dignity, acceptance. Ya just gotta find the religion that welcomes people who think like you, like we, do. Go look it up. You’ll be surprised.

I’d welcome your thoughts on this.

Aloha,
Laurel

In part, it was this experience that led me to become involved in Native religion, not instead of
other beliefs, but because I realized there were people in all religions who saw a duty to others as more important than personal ideas, dependence upon dogma, and the idea that any religious organization could deny a person to believe was a ludicrous notion which condemned a persons belief as antithetical to any religion. By supporting others, you actually
defend your own belief, and make room for everyone to belong. As soldiers, that has to be how it is, because to do less you fail them, and yourself.

I understand the mental lock religion places on the minds of people who were raised in a certain religion, and on those who turn to religion in desperate times because no one else in the world seems to give a damn about them. I feel very fortunate that, although my parents were Christian, they didn’t attend church because of the hypocristy rampant in most congregations. (Though they did send my sister and me to Sunday School when we were very small, but that was undoubtedly just to get rid of us for an hour or so in order to make whoopie and produce my younger brother – yuck!)

Most of today’s religions – and Chrisitanity – usually found converts at the tip of a bloodied sword. Nearly 600 years ago Muslims gave young Turks the choice of converting to Islam or having their heads severed from their bodies, and Christianity often offered the same “choice”. If a religion can’t win followers by means of its own genuineness and must force people to adhere to its rules and regulations through terror, how much could a so-called loving god be involved?

I can’t say I’m a complete atheist because, well, I don’t want my existence to come to an end after I die. So I’m admittedly as completely selfish as the most die-hard zealots in that respect. However, I have the common sense to realize that no one – NO ONE – has any idea what comes after death, if anything. No one has ever come back from a true death where the brain has completely died and decomposition has set in, and my guess is that no matter how far science may advance, that will never be possible. If there is a god, or God, if you prefer, I doubt it has a gender or needs little cosmic pissants like us to kiss its ass and placate it in order to be happy. It would most likely be far more interested in maniuplating black holes and quasars, exploring alternate dimensions or watching Titanic in 3D before anyone else – without the annoying glasses!

But religion? Love it or leave it? I prefer to leave it. I can sleep better knowing I’m not actively contributing to the orgianized bigotry and oppression of millions of people around the world, including myself. I say “actively” here because I don’t believe in “passive” compliance to an fucked up organization; either you support it or you don’t. If you don’t speak out against it, you’re actively supporting it.