Busted: Religious while Lesbian

This morning, I'm reacting to a rant posted on MySpace, which mocked religious people (specifically, Christians) and was written as a clarion call to the gay community. The rant painted our current political choice as "the lesser of two evils" and claimed that Obama was "just like the rest," in his lack of support for Gay marriage. He was cast as a "bible-believing, heterosexual male," and therefore not a friend of the gay community. But let's be clear, it is McCain/Palin who are actively campaigning against gay marriage and equality — and have a clear record on those issues.

But as I read it, I was keenly aware that it represents a certain widespread view in our community — that being religious while gay is an act of self-hatred. I am no stranger to that accusation, as a practicing Catholic. Certainly, the Catholic Church is defined by patriarchy and has come out strongly against gay marriage — but anyone who is a practicing Catholic knows that there is no limit to nonsensical dogma that gets disposed of by the people in the pews. The list is long there, and generally speaking, The Faithful have reconciled that Rome doesn't know what it is talking about when it comes to sex or womankind. But that has nothing to do with my relationship to God, my love of the Mass, and the values of Catholic Social Teaching that I hold dear; and so I work from the inside to create change, and I am not alone.

It weakens my resolve to know that I have to divest some of that energy and redirect it back toward my own community — who really needs to understand that we really are everywhere — even in the church pews.