On religion

I've been having a lot of thoughts about my spiritual views, beliefs and questions.  I want to start jotting things down as they come because I don't have them all sorted out or organized in my mind (not sure if I ever will?)  I know I need to do a lot more reading and soul-searching about all this, but I need a place to start.

These thoughts have largely been prompted by my near-visceral reaction to the Catholic church's reaction to the work of American nuns.  It simply outraged me.  It is such an obvious play for control over women and in the 21st century, I'm just so tired of it.  I ache for these nuns who are trying to do good work in a church they believe in, and yet are condemned for it by a leadership that I think knows deep down it is treading on such thin ground keeping women out of its administration.  I'm angry at the church, but also angry at women (myself included) who stayed a part of such an organization.  The pope and his cronies may be archaic and abusive in their views of women, but we women aren't doing any better by not breaking away.  If we aren't part of the solution, we're part of the problem.

Religion:  a tool for the powerful to control the weak and ignorant.

I just finished Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book, Infidel, and it really stirred me to start thinking more critically about these things.  Her book ultimately attacks Islam and its treatment of women, which clearly is on a much baser level than that which the Catholic church is doing; however, both religions are trying to stifle women -- be it literally with the cloaking and ostracizing of women in Muslim countries, or more figuratively with the church's stance against women in leadership roles.

There is so much more to say on all this.  I'm glad to have started, and I plan to be back.