Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Spirituality and Coho

[Buzz & Denise (72253.2101]

Kevin Wolf wrote:

" ...just have to be reminded that religion and co-housing should not mix in
official ways - at least that is my opinion."

Does that mean for yourself, or for cohousing in general?  If the former, then
that is perfectly reasonable.  But if the statement intends to say that
cohousing and religion shouldn't ever mix for anybody, then I must say, I cannot
fathom why that would be true.   Cohousing is simply a residential community;
as such each community is free to define itself however it so chooses.  It seems
that a community is still a community irregardless of what it chooses to do or
be.  

And to add controversy and murk to my otherwise simple and clear statement
above, another disadvantage of needing to seperate religion and coho, is you
will have a heck of a time defining "religion".  One could easily argue that
western materialism is a religion.  It has prescribed rules, values, and goals
that all "members" must follow, who are promised rewards (always later) if they
do, and there is the usual hierarchy of people who think they know more than you
do.  As in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, there is no Supreme Being.  As in
Hinduism, the belief structure varies and is often confusing.  As in Islam,
converting others, preferably the economic structure of entire countries, is
fervently practiced. People adhere sometimes blindly and sometimes with
consideration to the tenents, and "members" often "leave" this particular
religion, with difficulty, and to the scorn of the adherents. 

In my opinion, almost everybody is a member of some "religion", so naturally I
think its impossible to separate coho from a prescribed set of values.  I often
don't see a heck of a lot of difference between the identified religions and the
unidentified ones.

I use a very simple, but very stringent evaluation process when I see what
values and rules people live their lives by (whether they call it a religion or
not):  If it creates inner peace and understanding, if it helps others, and if
it's good for the planet, then the "religion" or whatever is OK;  if it doesn't,
then not so OK.
Whether science or sufism, I apply the same judgement.  (I also personally find
practicing science and sufism to be a good mix).

Please excuse the tangent, but I found this topic interesting.


--      O       Buzz Burrell  |  72253.2101 [at] compuserve.com
  --   <^-          The Province of Paonia (Colorado)
--   -\/\               "Time flies like an arrow.
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