My faith is in my fellow man. Community has always meant that for me.
I live in a nice part of town. A mix of California Craftsman, Queen Anne and 60's LA homes and apartments. A walkable town in all ways - shopping, eating, doing business or just getting out and about. I live near rail and air transport, so a "get away" is pretty convenient.
It hasn't always been this way. I've had some time as a rubber tire transient. Couch surfer. Part time work and part time guest. LOL, now, at some of the situations. Yet one thread remained true. Family, friendship and community.
When I speak of my religious upbringing and my cultural relationship within a church community - I mean that.
Not some doctrinal imprisonment, by far. I understand that point of view to an extent. Yet community trumps doctrine, imo. At least it has in my experience.
It's fairly simple for me, day to day. My faith is in my fellow man. I think there's an echo of my early entry into religious ideas there. Come what may...
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Religion was for me mostly about community throughout my upbringing. And it was a community that was invested in expressing what they believed through action in a way I still find very positive.
While I know that they are out there, this idea that religion is doctrinal imprisonment and always represents the irrational is pretty foreign to me.
I am sorry that some people are unable to recognize the variety of experiences and see the good parts. Their vision is limited and their filters distorted.
I also share your basic faith in humans, though sometimes I take it too far and get burned.
