"Today, I quit being a Christian."
With those words last week on Facebook, Anne Rice delivered a wake-up call for organized religion. The question is whether it will be recognized as such.
"I remain committed to Christ as always," she wrote, "but not to being `Christian' or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to `belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and deservedly infamous group. For 10 years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else."
You will recall that the author, famed for her vampire novels, made a much-publicized return to the Catholicism of her youth after years of calling herself an atheist. Now, years later, she says she hasn't lost her faith, but she's had it up to here with organized religion.
"In the name of Christ," she wrote, "I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life."
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I object to the media using the name "Christian" to refer only to right-wing ideologues. They ignore the great majority of Christians who are not part of this loud minority.
With all the media coverage given to religious conservatives, it's not surprising that Anne Rice wants to divorce herself from any church ("More followers of Christ refusing to be Christians," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 5).
She and the media should be aware, however, that there are many progressive Christian churches across this country that support civil rights for all and work constantly to care for those who are homeless, poor or in need of help.
Please stop representing all members of the Christian faith as conservatives by your use of language.
Marita Nelson
Hawaii Kai
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