Your question made me chuckle. I had many Protestant friends growing up in rural PA & I attended Baptist & Methodist churches regularly with them. I have also been 'saved' a number of times during altar calls - however, none of it felt authentic to my inner being. I studied religion in college and probably the closest I've ever come to converting to an actual religion is Buddhism. However, I also love the rich stories of All. The. Hindu. Gods & Goddesses. I think I'm not alone - as a woman of faith- to want to seek out a piece of Divinity that looks like me. Yes, I understand - it's supposed to be the other way round - (wo)man in the image of God. But I have not run across a religion that recognizes God as Mother as well as Father. Women hold the miracle of Humanity's existence within their female form. Most religions I've run across punish us for this. The founding father of Islam, Judism, and Christianity is Abraham. A man who raped a woman, then turned her & her child out to the desert because he finally produced a legitimate heir. Then listened to the voices in his head that told him to sacrifice the child on top of a mountain. Today - that man would have been convicted of attempted murder - three times over & committed to a psyche ward (for the voices) - the children would have been placed in foster care.

Vatican 2 helped the Catholic church become more inclusive - however, the priests that abused children were still protected by the previous pope. I can't possibly think those men are somehow closer to the Divine than I am.

Thank you for reading the piece & responding with such curiosity. I'm really glad you enjoyed the piece.