Reconciling my atheism with my racial/ethnic identity and my passion for different cultures
So being an atheist but also being part native american/mexican, one of the most significant things that I struggling with is that since I also have a strong love for learning about different cultures, people, and countries, and I do not believe in any religous/spiritual/supernatural things without evidence, how do I reconcile these two concepts. Since religion makes up a significant part of pretty much every culture and country around the world, I feel that this has affected my deep interest in learning about other cultures and has almost taken away some of my interest in culture and histories and thus a major part of who I am. Does anyone feel the same way? I don't know how else to atriculate this struggle. Feedback would be much appreciated.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.My now dead stepfather once told me that I think about things too much. I agree and this helps me to understand myself and others. Today I can look back and see exactly why I did certain things in my life. This is not foolproof. At a recent reunion my longtime friend Larry recalled an incident but he does not remember me being there. A book gives you different concepts of things and people have different concepts as well.
DenoPenno
Level 9
July 3, 2022
0
Welcome to AgnosticDotCom.
I think there are, for example, a lot of sports enthusiasts who have never played the sport they love to watch, but enjoy the spirit of competition and team strategies, etc.
I don't see any problem with studying religions, or even participating in them, without taking their propositional statements literally. Many religious people don't.
The only reason we even have terms like religious literalism or religious fundamentalism is to distinguish those folks from the people who simply enjoy participating in the art and culture of religion. You are not alone.
skado
Level 9
July 2, 2022
2
I love to learn. I love learning about different cultures as well. Learning about other cultures or more about your own doesn't mean you have to take on or believe in the religious aspects of whatever culture you are exploring. IMO.
I can learn about and appreciate different genres of music... but not want to listen to certain types on a regular basis... if that makes sense.
Sonja44
Level 7
July 2, 2022
4
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