Re: Spirtuality within cohousing
From: Shava Nerad (shavaphloem.uoregon.edu)
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 19:10:44 -0500
Rob sez:
> I know of a group of Mennonites who are forming what may be the first =
> religious based cohousing community.  They are ENOURMOUSLY touchy about =
> it and very exclusive, only members of their own church are involved.  =
> In this case, they very strongly feel that the core value of their =
> community is religous based and have gotten offended by being told that =
> "cohousing can't be spiritual". =20

OK, so I have to say SOMETHING.  I've been sitting on this issue because
I figure a lot of other people are saying good things about it, but I 
have to chime in here...

<a href="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~shava/idyll";>Erisian Fields
Cohousing of Lane County OR</a> was specifically started as a pagan-
friendly NON-EXCLUSIVE cohousing community.  We seriously believe in a
diverse environment, based on tolerance.  And that means that we are
a community where we can feel comfortable expressing our spirituality,
and welcome anyone who can feel comfortable with that.  Our email list
includes persons interested in possibly eventually living in our 
community who are atheist, agnostic, freeform mystic, pagan, Unitarian
Universalist, buddhist, and catholic.  Singly, and in combination --
and some of the combinations are pretty non-trad, too...

The mennonites are probably better organized and funded, tho, and will
certainly have something set up before we do...! ;)

Civil liberties are based on the idea that a minority -- religious,
ethnic, whatever -- sometimes needs to be protected from the oppression
of the majority.  However, I believe that we need to think really hard
about when we cry for help!  Living with diversity often means giving a
little slack to those who might *lightly* tread on your toes, without
malice.

The analogy I would use is this:  if BPaiss and them had set up to have,
say, a {punk band, string quartet} volunteer from one of the coho
communities to play during lunch, and you found the music disagreeable,
would you have the same level of outrage in your hearts?  There is no
harm from this cross-cultural experience you have been "subjected" to,
that I can see.  I'd be sorry if it spoiled your lunch, but it might
stretch your taste, too.  If that makes me arrogant, I think I can live
with that.

The problem some folks seem to have had is not that religious expression
was present, but that spiritual expression was used that conflicted with
their particular world-view.  RELIGION IS SIMPLY THE TENETS OF YOUR
WORLDVIEW.  If your worldview is fanatically agnostic or atheist, it is
still religiously so, if it fails the lunch-music test, seems to me.

Can't we all just get along?

Shava Nerad
shava [at] ns.uoregon.edu

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