Divorced Life

[pt_tangles]

In reading a thread in NFP today (This One if you're interested), I was struck by the number of people who chimed in with some varient of 'My religion/being Pagan doesn't influence my charity work/political views/views on community/etc'. I seem to remember reading a thread about this not too long ago (damned if I can remember where, tho).

It makes me wonder how common a view that is. Is it something inherant in Pagans to have their spirituality divorced from the rest of their lives? Do your beliefs not influence or impact your life outside the altar room?

For myself, I hold the spiritual beliefs I do because they are a part of who I am as a secular person. My religion isn't really something that I can think of as 'seperate' from my day to day life. There are some disconnects ... there are some situations where I don't feel comfortable being 'the real me', but I strive to integrate those times, and they are a lot less than they were.

I am me. Religious me ... Secular me ... it is all me. Thoughts?

--Phae

I will prolly X-post this to a couple of places.

Comments

[pt_tangles]

Ok, now I am confused. If they are no longer aware of where things are seperate and everything is mixed together, how can they even make the claim that the one has no bearing on the other?

--Phae

[pjvj.livejournal.com]

LOL. I think it is so intermixed they are no longer aware of the influence it has on the other parts of their life. Not in a your-too-stupid-yourself way, but in a fully integrated, so much a part of them, they do not see a direct cause and effect relationship between them.

I see what you are saying, but I'm thinking along a different line. My way, the people are quite advanced in the "melding process". Perhaps I'm giving too much credit to too many pople for being that "evolved"?

I don't hold parts of myself so sepaerate, so consciously making the direct link from pagan belief---->political stance isn't so clear cut. I can do it, but I've become accustomed to my spiritual beliefs being such an intregal part of who I am as a whole person that I have to really think to say what belief lines up with up with what issue in many cases.

And you could just be right. Maybe Pagans divorce their religious beliefs from their other beliefs with a cold hard line.

[pt_tangles]

Ah, ok, I think I get that ... so it's kind of like people reacting against the idea that 'being Pagan' is *the* reason for what they do and think (as if it were the only reason). Where as if I were asked if my religious views influenced my political/societal views, my response would be 'of course, it is a part of who I am'.

Just different interpretations of the question.

--Phae

[pjvj.livejournal.com]

Yeah, kinda like that. It may be a very simple thing such as society puts less value on beliefs that stem from religions than on ones that stem from "pure logic", so in essence they are saying their beliefs are right because of logic over faith or what have you just to be taken seriously.

I really think people are more intergrated than they often believe. Short of mental issues it is pretty impossible to have one set of beliefs live completely independent of all others done to the subconscious level.