I Don't Know If I Am Blessed, Thank You.

I don't attend church. I don't pretend to attend church. I can't remember the last time I actually prayed. I did say "om" in my last yoga class, but I don't think that counts. When a neighbor asks how I'm doing, I do not say, "I am blessed, thank you."
This shouldn't be a problem, but as a woman of color, I think my lack of religion is really killing my sex life.

Of course, Mr. and Miss Too Blessed to Be Stressed are getting some. What's a better stress reliever than sex, a reading from the Daily Word? If you've ever listened to the Purple Rain soundtrack, you know that African Americans don't necessarily have a problem mixing sexuality with Christianity. I don't believe that being an agnostic or atheist is a necessarily a problem for African Americans, either. It's coming right out and saying than you are not part of an organized religion or even "spiritual" that freaks a lot of people out. And I've had conversations with non white people of different backgrounds that address similar attitudes.

Perhaps ethnicity doesn't play as big a role in this as I suspect. Still, by being honest about my beliefs, I am limiting my dating options and that has different implications for me than it does for people who aren't black. Eliminating people from the potential date pool might sound like a good thing to those of you who are bombarded with offers, but I'm not so sure it's a wise move for me. I wonder how many more responses I would get if I checked off Christian instead of agnostic on my online dating profile? Of course, I don't want to get involved with any holy rollers, but what would be wrong with an Episcopalian, for example? I am not opposed to all religion. It just doesn't do much for me. One of my biggest fears in dealing with the faithful is that I will offend them, that I will roll my eyes or smirk once too often at their blessings and testimonies. I've put up with worse guy behavior than going to church or saying grace at dinner. Could a faithful man put up with my irreverence and skepticism?

If only there was a dating club or website for black agnostics. BlagnosticDate.com?