Pretending To Be Religious & Moving Past Culture
Kind of a different post, but I wanted to explore this a bit - especially since I've been feeling demotivated with this blog. I don't really allude explicitly to where I'm from because there's something comforting about being just being a voice on the internet - without all the bundled preconceptions that comes with the cultural and the physical. But, I do live in a predominantly religious society currently.
It's ridiculously exhausting.
Mind you there's no danger for me openly declaring that I have no horse in the religious race, but it opens the door to a world of headache. Like the well-meaning, good-natured person trying to convert you and save your soul, or even the less well meaning giving snide remarks or ensuring you lose out on opportunities. In a society that values the collective and not individuality, in which group-think is the de facto modus operandi then declaring yourself outside of that sphere is akin to social self-sabotage.
This leads most of the people outside of the religious sphere here to just sort of nod along, eyes glazed, to the casual impromptu sermons in social settings. To the invocation of earnest praise/repentance to a deity mid sentence. Often we'll give a "hell yeah man" and move on hoping that's enough.
Every so often, I break from the usual routine and look at everything from an objective lens, an outsider peering into a social circle and feeling not out of place, but a sense bewilderment as to why the heck things are the way they are. Growing up biracial and multicultural sort of gave me a super-power (read: curse) of not integrating fully within either of the two cultures I'm apart of, but learning to role-play on the fly when required.
Then that morphed into something entirely different: I can get along with people from cultures or religious background I have almost zero knowledge about. Whether or not I agree with their religious/cultural views, I try and peer in and find the individual. And usually it's there's always something to relate to:
Grew up playing Warcraft 3? Hell yeah man, me too.
Fellow caffeine addict? Same here how do you take it?
Got no game with the ladies? Sadly same bro.
You like sports? Sick dude which ones?
I personally think this is a way more beautiful way to interact with people; to just acknowledge the cultural/religious aspect, but then leave it aside and look for the individual in who we interact with.
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