A New Religion Specifically Designed - Autism/Aspie Friendly

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What would you think of coming up with a new religion that was specifically designed to be Autism/Asperger friendly (i.e. a refuge for people on the autism spectrum)? It is something that kind of popped into my head this morning and I haven't stopped thinking about it.
Call it the Church of Aspergia.

That's silly! Why would it be a religion?

Hmmmm....Interesting...

You know, outside of doctrinal issues, that is a great idea:).

Along those lines, it'd be cool if there was a community like this for AS of any religion. They could discuss their specific ones, links to churches that put sermons online, etc. My church is very AS friendly, for the most part. Our pastor is ADD so it's nice and dark and non distracting in the sanctuary. I just struggle with the amount of people there when I take the kids to their classes, so sometimes I won't go just on that.

I don't know about creating another religion for ASD people. However, I could imagine a form of spirituality that might be good for people on the autism spectrum. Some people might think I'm crazy, but it would be interesting to have classes for autistic people to improve on their intuition/ extrasensory capabilities, because psychic experiences seem to be prevalent for some people on the spectrum. Maybe, with a strong enough intuition, there would be improved knowledge in how to respond to social situations without needing to overanalyze?

What is it that makes religion what it is?

The realm of credible nonfiction is where I spend most of my time. Facts and figures, descriptions of real things that I can see or at least measure with instrumentation, these are my thing. However, I also appreciate the entertainment, motivational and comfort value of fiction. It's that gray area in between fiction and nonfiction that gives me trouble.

If something that sounds implausible or unprovable, similar to fiction is presented as nonfiction, it's confusing. What should I do with this? What is the intent? What do others expect of me if I am to fit in? Is it OK if I draw a blank when it comes to prayers or saying grace at the dinner table? What if I don't feel like talking to anyone at all, let alone to possibly imaginary beings?

Sometimes I wonder if the entire concept of monasticism wasn't designed with autism in mind.. Seriously, seclusion, spending huge amounts of time on repetitive, intricate tasks, intense, obsessive study.. not caring about looks.. abandoning ideas of social status.. not to mention the fairly large numbers of aspies who label themselves "asexual".. I'm willing to bet that cloistered religious orders have been havens for people with autism for hundreds of years. (Not like the church higher-ups, they frequently DO care about social status and stuff, but monks and nuns in the secluded orders that are focused on study and stuff. Many also have specialties that largely resemble autistic special interests.. And how 'bout Gregory Mendel? The guy dedicated his life to figuring out the reproductive patterns of pea plants, for cryin' out loud!)

Hence memorized prayer.

And in some orders, you don't have to talk to anyone at all except for "possibly imaginary beings"... maybe take a vow of silence?

Ummm... It seems to me a religion sould have a "universal" quality, something that make sense to the human condition. Making a religion specificaly for autism seem to me quite narrow and limited.

Well it iss a very... silly idea a religion for autistic well you stated Aspergic people called Aspergia the religion sounds frankly ret*d lol

SASPERGIA I almost coughed up my sandwich that is the most unimaginative name EVER

how about the isolated ones or The Lost or The Order of the Introverted or The Seekers of Knolos

Maggiedoll wrote:

The idea has always been attractive to me (except for the religion part) Karen Armstrong, who writes about religion from sort of cultural anthropological position, was once a nun. She did not have a good experience and now after years of research and writing no longer believes in a personal God. I'm not sure she would describe herself as an atheist. She refers to herself as a "failed heterosexual" which I immediately related to. She's straight but finds relationships confusing and restrictive. She also has temporal lobe epilepsy. Her autobiography is The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness-OK I'm done rambling.

In centuries past, excess children were dumped on monasteries/convents as a way of getting rid of them. If a European noble had too many daughters and couldn't afford dowries, he simply ordered them to become nuns. In Asia, infanticide of girls has been common for over two millenia, so the excess boys have traditionally been ordered into Buddhist monasteries.

This has traditionally resulted in a bunch of NTs who are all of the same gender being forced to live their whole lives together in close quarters basically as aspies. This means all the strangeness that goes along with that, including rampant homosexuality and incessant power struggles. Often, aspies find it MORE difficult in monastic orders than they do outside.

In Byzantine Christianity, there was a tradition of the hermit, usually a single man who would elect to live all alone and renounce the flesh to live only for God. It's safe to say that the vast majority were likely autistic. Copts and other Arab Christians still have hermits. The hermit never caught on in most of Europe.

I think that any religion suited for aspies would emphasize seeking God/the Divine all alone, without intermediaries or congregations. Maybe that's why Buddhism appeals to so many of us-in its purest form, one seeks the path to enlightenment as an individual. Something similar to Pauline Christianity as practiced in the early days of persecution might work too.

Islam seems to rely way too much on mob mentality, on losing oneself in the crowd. I only know of one Muslim on these boards, and he was born into it and struggled with it constantly, ultimately joining the Bahais. Another idea might be the original form of Quakerism, which dumped all intermediaries and advocated contemplating God alone, in silence. George Fox, who founded it, may have been aspie just based on that, but we'll never know for sure.

*immediately adds most of her books to an amazon.com wish-list* She does look very fascinating.. I'll hafta do more reading. I tend to read a bit obsessively about religion. It looks like she's written a lot about Islam, as well. (Love comparative religion.. I was raised more or less without religion, so I was always kinda searching.) TY!

Hey...I am all for it. Although there can't be any money, politics, slander, fear or hatred involved.
Though a religion may be formed around these basic principles,
they certainly defy the definition of any church.

If I am right with God, then He is right with me.

True, but in orders that don't allow people to be forced in, that would be less of a problem. And different orders attract different kinds of people. A teaching order or one concerned primarily with evangelism might not be full of aspies, but a cloistered order focused on solitary tasks, study, and meditation would be more likely to appeal to people with with AS. While I guess there are still places in the world where people do get forced into religious life, most orders want people who want to be there, and focus quite a bit on discernment of the religious vocation.



I guess it depends on the degree of AS and the specific symptoms. Some don't want to be around other people at all; others want to be allowed to make mistakes, say things wrong, and do away with the general BS of social politics. While social politics are rampant in some orders, I think in others it's less so. You can't take the stories about one order and translate them to another. For that matter, if it's an order that takes long-term vows of silence, that would limit it an awful lot. I don't know what goes on in all of them. But I think some people find peace.
I attended Quaker meetings for awhile. I liked them a lot, but never knew quite how to get into things. There was a process for becoming a member and stuff, and I just didn't quite get it. Again it was the problem with not knowing how to approach people and all.
Islam does tend to be more of a social religion, but I think it does have some good points. I always liked the "God is greater" thing, but I think it should be used back at them a bit more. Whenever someone tries to put something dogmatic or generally small into any kind of discussion about God, I just want to say that. Like whenever someone tries to define God too narrowly, or say that something must be a certain way because how else would something work, it's like "yes, but God is greater than that." My mom had this belief when I was growing up that God was the infinite dimension. (Or existed in the infinite dimension? Maybe a combination.) Like most religions, I think an awful lot of the original spirit has been swept away from Islam. I've had a particular interest in Sufism (mystical Islam,) which I think is really amazing. Most forms of mysticism kinda boil down to the same things, though. When you believe in coming to know God through prayer and meditation, the humans you follow become less important and the dogmas don't end up ruling quite so much. I've known some Muslims I've really liked a lot, though.
Like when someone tries to define God by a name. As though any sounds or syllables could actually encompass God.
When I read about Baha'i I kinda did a double-take.. it was an awful lot of what I'd already been saying. Especially about the value of diversity and all that.

First thing my parents ever taught me: All groups of people are bad. There can be good individuals within those groups, but groups bring out the worst in people.

lets go back in time and remember that thing called the crusades

yeah thats what selective religion does at the best of times

and doesn't the whole god aka guy in clouds grey beard creadted the world in 6 days NOT 7 he took a break on sunday, its true contridict the whole aspie logic thinking, wellI am simply logic and I find religion dumb except buddhism I like that one got some great mantras but who would you worship? a religion has to follow a god or an established school of thought and plus the religion will ultimately fail because you are trying to promote something aspies are not perticularly fond of doing

Speaking of hermits I've only recently come across the anchorite. The anchorite walls themselves up with only a small space for passing in food and (I guess) out waste.

Maggiedoll-I tried Quaker meetings too and didn't know how to get in the group. I also found myself thinking of errands I needed to run while I was supposed to be opening up spiritually. I respect the Friends for their totally anti-war position and their dedication to service. They believe there is a divine spark in everyone. It's a lot easier to "love thy neighbor" if you choose to love the divine spark and not all that excess ego baggage. But anyway as far as religious people go I think there are those that talk the talk and then there are those that walk the walk. In my town a few years back there was a 3 day salvation sellathon hosted by the son of a certain household name TV evangelist. As I clean offices, it happens that one of the places I do rented space to the team that was going to pull it all together. They were there for 9 months to organize a 3 day gig. The amount of waste was amazing. I easily hauled out 100 gallons bags of trash every week. The people they hired locally to temp were nice if not sicky sweet but the big cheeses were A$$Holes!!-They threw fits if there was a drip in the bathroom faucet,threatening not to pay rent because things weren't up to par in a 40 year old building.They were imperious and arrogant but they could talk the talk when they needed. All I could think of was the amount of people that could have been fed with all that money they wasted. The 3 day thing was only to scare people into "getting saved". I thought the whole thing was disgusting.