I have spent 30 years living in a tolerant and close knit community of caring people from a wide variety of faiths and belief systems. In this community we check our religion at the door and enjoy the opportunity to experience our true nature. However, in the last year I have allowed myself to be exposed to the most extreme right wing religious and political rhetoric online, and rather than getting smart and getting out I waded in. I chose to do battle with those who are have been poisoned by extreme religious and political dogma and who are addicted to proselytizing. I deeply regret doing so and I’m now returning to the pathway of peace.

It’s my contention that we are all spiritual, where we recognize it or not. It’s further my contention that it’s religious doctrine and dogma that divides us. So my answer is “yes”. I believe it’s possible to drop the restraints that extreme belief systems have built in to them to distinguish them from all others , to divide and to set apart. I further believe that unless and until we do that we members of the human race will continue to wound, maim and kill each other while claiming God is on their side.

Thanks for the visit and for your comment as well.

I was thinking about the sentence “Check your religion at the door.” I wonder if there’s a way for leaders to still be spiritual after checking their religion at the door? Can we drop the divisive, more extreme beliefs to leave a universal morality and compassion that we could all agree on? I’ve been working on figuring out what that kind of spirituality might look like for all of us after we strip away the dogma.

Thanks for this great post!

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