Religion And Spirituality Archives

Queering Paganism: A Gay Practioner’s Perspective of Wicca-Craft

By : Parker Zimmermann April 30, 2021 No Comment

I stood outside in the darkness reciting over and over, "New moon. New me, New energy.” These words of affirmation are something you might hear from a pagan or someone who self proclaims themselves a witch. I am one of those people and as such, I honor the Old Ways abiding by the laws of nature. I worship the ever-changing cycles of the moon and the natural turnings of the seasons. I watch the ebbs & flows, and the death & rebirth of the world around us by participating in them accordingly. The sacred ground of the earth mother we walk upon was beneath my bare feet. I took the time to remember this blessing as a child of Gaia like all other living things, including the plants and the

Sunday Morning

By : Shelonda Montgomery April 16, 2021 Comments Off

Original Publication: Winter - 20207372 - Sinister Wisdom 115 - Lesbian Learning I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend, Abby thinks to herself as she looks through a dirty church window. Anna Benton, the pastor’s daughter, sits alone on a church pew rehearsing her lines for the junior choir’s youth revival performance. Okay, Abby thinks. She looks at her trembling hands and closes her eyes tight. Doubt paralyzes her. She thinks the two locked eyes a few times. Thinks she saw Anna smile at her. Anna Benton is the prettiest girl at Holy Saints Missionary Baptist Church. All of the boys like her and follow her around and the congregation dotes on her because she is proper, well-mannered, polite, and a straight-A student. “What if it’s just me?”

Homosexuality Is Not a Sin

By : Shelonda Montgomery March 16, 2021 Comments Off

One of the biggest debates in society is whether or not homosexuality is a sin. Religious fanatics tote their Bibles and doggedly contend that LGBTQ+ people are destined for hell; whereas the LGBTQ+ community disagrees and maintains that one is born with his or her orientation, irrespective of religion. In the African-American community, the church is sacred and the Bible is the law. As a result, homosexuality is rebuked and condemned. On the extreme end, there is a pervading belief within the African-American community that homosexuality is a demonic spirit, which can be exercised. The idea of a demonic possession contends that evil is abounding inside of LGBTQ+ members and that they are all bestial, hedonistic, and lascivious miscreants who are devoid of morals, values, common decency. These notions are

Can We Talk About the Word?

By : Shelonda Montgomery January 4, 2021 Comments Off

“Can we talk about the word?” Emilia says. Zahra sits, writing in her brown, leather-covered notebook in Central Park at a round, white, steel table. Her yellow dress dances across her crossed legs as she slightly moves, habitually turning her ankle, which makes her gold sandals bounce. Beside the notebook is half a bottle of water and a peach. The day is kind and warm. The sun is shining bright. Several hummingbirds hover near a tree that cast its shadow over the small white table and Zahra. Zahra had been walking for some time before she grew tired and decided to rest. Now she writes, I need you here with me to - “Can we talk about the word?” Emilia, again, says. Zahra stops writing, pressing her pen on the

The Difficulties of Coming Out

By : Shelonda Montgomery November 26, 2020 Comments Off

In a perfect world, we can stand before our friends and loved ones, show them our authentic selves, and they will still love and depend on us. However, the real world is imperfect, so when I came out as bisexual to my loved ones a few years ago, some were accepting while others recoiled with disgust and turned away. For me, losing the people closest to me was undoubtedly the most difficult part about coming out because nothing could have prepared me for it. My mother and best friend of ten years were both disgusted. My mother was angry with me and my best friend essentially told me that I was possessed by a demon. I was devastated and lost. I questioned if coming out was worth losing loved ones

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Category: Religion And Spirituality

Queering Paganism: A Gay Practioner’s Perspective of Wicca-Craft

Sunday Morning

Homosexuality Is Not a Sin

Can We Talk About the Word?

The Difficulties of Coming Out

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