1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith? I was raised Catholic. We were Easter/Christmas Catholics for much of my childhood, but my parents did run my brother and me through all the obligatory CCD classes, First Communion, Confirmation, etc.
2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not? I was active, Catholic-wise, through college. Afterwards, I wasn’t able to find a parish I liked (which you’re not supposed to go shopping for, anyway), and it wasn’t that big a priority for either me or my first wife, anyway, and, besides, things sort of all went to hell shortly after that …
When I finally ready to get back into the religion game, via getting married to Margie, we ended up getting married at an Episcopal church in Pasadena. And when we decided to become Regular Churchgoers — as much for the impending bambina’s sake as for our own — it made sense for us to end up finding a local Episcopal parish.
3. What do you think happens after death? We get our noses rubbed in it, we learn what was really going on, we review what we’ve learned, and we either move onto the next grade or get sent back to repeat.
4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)? Being Catholic/Episcopalian, clearly I’m into ritual and liturgy, regardless of faith. That having been said, some of the most inspiring ritual I’ve seen has been the investiture of a Episcopal priest.
Though, looking at particulars, my own wedding was pretty damned cool, too.
5. Do you believe people are basically good? Hrm. Yeah, I guess I do. Creations of God and all that. We just have a lot of problems, sometimes, reaching our potential. (That’s why we get so many chances …)