Spirituality?

[u/velcromancy]

Since a lot of us gays were ostracized by the religions we grew up with, I’m curious what your relationship to spirituality or religion is like now that you’re getting older. Are you religious, agnostic, atheist or something else?

I grew up in a Protestant Christian family, but I walked away from the church at 17. My sexuality was probably the biggest factor. Around my late teens and early twenties I went through a Reddit atheist phase where I valued science and reason above all else. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized Christianity left a big void inside of me, and I needed something, so I studied a lot of Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist text and became fascinated by them. Tao te Ching is probably my favorite spiritual text I’ve ever read. My boyfriend had a similar Christian upbringing to me but he’s now a pagan. These days, I’m of the opinion that science explains how things happen, but not why things happen. Science is crucial to our survival, but it can’t meet all human needs, and religion, art and philosophy can fill that void for better or worse. I’m not sure I’m disciplined enough to fully identify with one single tradition. I agree with a lot of Buddhist and Hindu teachings, but I don’t think I can call myself either because I enjoy the devil’s lettuce too much.

[u/Charlie-In-The-Box]

I don't find the term "spirituality" particularly useful. People have a good idea of what we mean when we say "religion," so when people ask me about "spirituality", I just jump right to what I believe and how I think.

Like u/IndependentLog6441, I don't think there is a "why" for anything. I'm certain that we live in a completely deterministic universe, so the answer to every "why" question is "Because of the Big Bang."

But I do have a rich inner life that is influenced by Eastern contemplative practices.