What is your religious background (if any)?

[Ruth]

I was raised Roman Catholic. I went along with it until I decided it only served (in my personal experience) as a means of getting through the day unscathed. It offered no room for variety of experience, flexibility of response, expansion of consciousness or raising of the spirit.

I still consider myself a Christian, but only so far as I believe in the teachings of Christ - and even then I'm always trying to find the most pure and undistorted versions of biblical texts. I also actively pursue many other spiritual and religious traditions.

The creator and I will work things out between ourselves. I don't need a middle man to tell me what's right and wrong. If someone asked me what my religion was, and really pushed me for and answer, I'd say Love.

Amen to the "no middle man" necessary! I have a close friend who is a deacon in his Catholic church in Colorado. We have had some wonderfully rich discussions!