Many people have a rather stereotyped opinion of “religion”. When they think of religion they think of fundamentalists: Protestants such as Pat Robertson, Catholics such as the Pope, Muslims such as Osama Bin Laden.
But there is a more tolerant, accepting, humanist strain of religion. There are even religions where it doesn’t matter very much whether you believe in a god or not (Buddhism, Unitarianism)
And not all religious traditions are opposed to polyamory. And accepting polyamory doesn’t require rejecting religion.
Why do I care? Because I’ve discovered that I am quite a spiritual person (whatever that means! Apparently it’s something different from what fundamentalists mean!)
But please don’t panic, “non-religious” people – I’m basically a skeptic, an agnostic!
I am developing a lot of new respect for Quakers. I’ve always had a good deal of respect for Unitarians-Universalists -- I’ve been one for about thirty years.
Unitarians talk about respecting “the dignity and worth of every human being” and promoting “the free and disciplined search for truth.”
Quakers talk about “integrity” and “honesty.”
Of course, I’m also a Pagan – which does incline me toward “polyness” (polytheism).
For me, spirituality is tied to “opening up” to other people; i.e. – “relating”
I suppose it’s a scary thing for me when I really start getting to know someone.
I think we really begin a relationship when we start knowing one another enough to get scared. That’s when you need to decide whether to trust someone, whether to face your own fears and insecurities.
This is when a relationship stops “being about sex”, stops “being about fun” – when people decide to actually care about one another; when they decide this interaction isn’t just about satisfying selfish needs.
I suppose, for me, that leap you take when you decide to become involved with someone even after it becomes scary; when you decide you want to know them for more than just selfish reasons; when you decide you care enough about them to face your own insecurities – that is part of what I mean by “religion” or “spirituality”.
And, for me, I do it with more than one person at a time.
My “polyrelating” is part of my “religion”.