beatmom

I really sympathize with your predicament. I was raised Catholic, but fell away from the church because I was uncomfortable with some of its basic tenets. After studying briefly for conversion to Judaism (baby's dad is Jewish), I realized that Judaism was just another organized religion with its own dogma. Now I am an atheist. It was a long and hard journey for me to get where I am now, a place without God, but I am finally happy. Anyway, I think you are right to question whether you want to belong to a religious community that preaches something you don't believe in. If you look long enough, I'm sure you'll find somewhere you feel comfortable. (Or perhaps you won't, but don't settle -- not where spirtuality is concerned.) There are many communities, like the Societies for Ethical Culture, that join together to learn and do good works without espousing a particular religious viewpoint. For those seeking Christian worship, I have heard that the Unitarian and Universalist Churches are extraordinarily inclusive.