Shades After 040
Tough one to talk about, but one thing I wanted to get across is how even if you’re not religious, it can still be a beautiful thing to behold.
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Only time I’ve ever though of as religion as a good thing. It can bring hope to many people who still believe in it.
The way people interpret religious text makes such a difference. I used to be against religion because of bigoted individuals. In the past few years, I’ve met many people who are inclusive of anyone who’s LGBT. I’m still not religious, but I can now respect people who are.
I’m not really sure if what I believe fits any strict religion, seeing as I worship with aspects of christian and catholic but with a vaguely pagan air to it if that makes sense, but one thing is that my religion is v important to me and I’m really happy this comic shows that it doesn’t make you cool just because you throw away religion, because religion can be a great thing. Also though that your religion is your choice, you aren’t inherently born into a religion, your religion is born into you. I was raised in a house divided, my mother is catholic and my dad is kind of an agnostic? Easter and Christmas and stuff were days of worship and when I was young my mom made me go to church, but I never liked it much. As I got older I learned to respect it but still didn’t like it and decided that I didn’t want to go. I searched for my own meaning in life, and my own source of faith. I was raised believing in god, but also as someone who believed in mythology I always believed that there was not just a single god. In my mind I sort of believe that all gods exist, But in times of trouble or reverence I turn to god. When I am scared I pray for safety and courage, when I worry I pray for help. Even if I don’t always notice it straight away I believe that just praying alone helps me to feel better. Praying gives me a hope and peace and stability nothing else can. I believe in god inherently, I can’t not believe. Anyway it just makes me really happy that you show religion as a regular part of daily life in your comic, instead of completely ignoring it or having your character turn to it only in desperation.
I understand exactly what you’re going for here. My parents raised me non-religious, I went to a C of E school and ended up pretty anti-organised religion, but spiritual. I love going to churches though, and other religious gatherings. The community spirit, the feel of the place and the crowd, the love that’s present at the best services.
Occasionally, it’s worth the nonsense to get that feeling.
Same here. I grew up in a strict Christian family, had the typical issues with bigots who insisted I was going to Hell for any number of reasons and corrupt perverts who the church wanted to protect, rather than trying to protect the congregation members, just a bunch of idiots and assholes who made me hate religion. With time and healing, I settled out of anti-religious hate and into just Empirical Agnostic (can’t prove there’s a god, but can’t prove there isn’t one) yet I play music in a local Methodist church band, I have helped provide music for a Lutheran church down the street, and I just put on a Christmas concert for a bunch of nuns. I love churches and religious music. I like church gatherings and the feeling of community and family which it brings together. I don’t mind that people feel at peace when they pray. That’s cool. If it works, if it lowers your stress, and so long as you don’t shove it in my face or insult my way of life, it’s fine with me, no matter the religion. I wish the world could unite in ways these people can, but without all the dogma and “praise Jesus” bits.
My problem is not with people having faith, I fully support people taking comfort or finding peace in whatever practice suits them, my only issue is when some people try to use their faith as a bludgeon against minorities. I identify as atheist but I also meditate and have some spiritual ideals, I think taking time to stop and reflect and try to look outside yourself is important in our high-stress saturated modern life. I just don’t need a highly proscribed ritual to do it, and a bunch of other people around me is too distracting, I’m much more comfortable in nature and by myself.
THIS. SO MUCH OF THIS THANK YOU TAB.
I’ve been bullied and discriminated a lot because of my fate, since unfortunately people sometimes tends to only think about religious extremists, terrorists, genocides… and seeing the other comments here makes me have fate in humanity again.
:-( -huge hugs- Here’s hoping we move on to a better world… I hope more comics like this show up, because right now I know Islam is hugely misunderstood.
So very beautiful. Thank you for conveying it.
Agreed! Thank you for this lovely portrayal of spirituality. I’m not religious myself, but I find that there are certain aspects of faith that are really compelling, like it is here
Haven’t commented for a while but this page was especially gorgeous.
I’ve been reading Khaos for years, have been following Discord and the smaller stories ever since, and never commented before. Today I’ve got to, simply to say: Thank you! Due to recent events all around the world, this page is, despite the private moment it portrays, a highly political one, and I love that you did this!
I adore the way your art and storytelling grows, I am in awe of your talent to handle and show so many aspects of life with respect (and pass the respect on), but this page is great in yet another way, which I highly appreciate. I’m looking forward to the next pages and whatever else you may create.
Oh, it is so lovely to have an alternative source not hating on religion! Thank you!
It drives me nuts when people say you can’t be a GSM and religious at the same time, and it especially engages me when it comes from non-religious people who view them as some kind of traitors to the cause. Yes, religious people have done some nasty thing and on the whole I find my life is so much easier when it’s not intruded on by it, but there is something so beautiful about faith that I’m just a tiny bit jealous of, and I refuse to begrudge anyone who finds peace with it. If people limited their crisis of religion to the actual offensive actions and not faith itself, there would be a lot less tension between religious and non-religious.
I really feel you on this one. People I thought I had a strong connection with for a cause or simply friendship betrayed me because of my beliefs or always shove the atheist way down my throat (not that I blame atheists, simply anyone who wants to force their beliefs onto someone else). What I mostly don’t understand is why do certain persons from the LGBAT community, who knows about the hardship of being not accepted for who you are, would spit on religious persons who are also part of the LGBAT.
I’m repeating myself but you really don’t know how much this page is important to me.
Many people perceive religion as a source of opression and bigotry because bigots have regularly used religion as a justification for their ignorant and apalling behaviour. Anyone who knows what the heart of their faith is truly about (i.e. love, understanding and the desire to reduce suffering in the world, not increase it) will seek to understand and love the person, not focus on the blinkered stereotype(s) surrounding what it is to be LGBAT. The problem is that there are also people in the LGBAT community who only see the stereotype of religious bigotry rather than the individual religious people so when they learn that you are religious they assume you must also buy into the religious bigotry they hate, therefore they perceive you as siding with their opressors and feel betrayed. Such people are wrong, they should at least try to understand what your spirituality means to you and at worst, agree to differ. They may not do this because their thinking is lazy (sad to say, there are some people who only object to prejudice that affects them), or they might have suffered a traumatic experience in a religious context and be responding from that trauma. You could try to appeal for understanding, if you think that it’s worth trying, or back away and find people who will accept you for who you are. I used to be a christian fundamentalist in a very hard-line church and I was a strong beleiver – at the same time my best friend was a satanist. Even in the most opposed groups you can find people prepared to see each other as individuals and build bonds of trust, respect and love.
What bothers me about it is this concept people seem to have that religion doesn’t adapt and always stays the same. Judaism has made it PART of it’s faith to adapt; we had to or we’d have died out a long time ago. Christianity I know for sure has done some heavy editing. I don’t know as much about Islam but I highly doubt it’s stayed absolutely the same since its inception. Religion and faith can change and adapt, so why can’t there be new factions of religions that are LQBTQIAP-accepting?
I’m not remotely religious myself and I’m an atheist, but sometimes people hating religion for asinine reasons bugs me.
This is a very beautiful page (and I loved the one before it as well). I’m not a practitioner of any particular religion, but understand how it can be helpful to some folks. I like how you conveyed this with Anwar.
My Mom was in a catholic boarding school in the 70s. It was not fun, and the nuns were far from acting what they were preachng. It was in fact a very violent place. But my Mom always said to me, that you have to make a difference between people using religion in a wrong way and the religion itself. She doesn’t stop to believe in god, just because someone did wrong things to her in the name of god.
And old saying is, that god created religion, but then the devil organised it. And there is something about that. Lots of stuff religious leaders are proposing is not written in their holy books. They make things up to get more power, to controll the masses, to create an enemy, to distract people so that they do not question the authority.
I would say I’m a religious person, but I don’t believe in religious authorities. I read the books by myself and getting my own opion on the stuff. It’s okay to discus about and getting other points of views, very helpful, my opion is something that can develop.
I stopped by a Catholic church on a cold Sunday morning at the beginning of this year. It was warm inside, and the songs and ambiance did make me feel surprisingly at peace.
There’s a group for queer Muslims called Imaan which is a nice and supportive place if anyone’s interested.
First of all, greetings from Perú and thanks Tab for sharing your art. I’m a christian and I can relate to Anwar cause, even when my religion and my faith is a big part of my life and of who I am, is not everything I am. From time to time, is hard to listen to people saying that they are tolerant and open minded, but to hear them questioning my faith and be intolerant to my beliefs. I like your comics a lot because you show caracters that have more than just one dimension and that are not defined in one class or with one label. Characters that certainly find who they are in a realistic way. So thanks for giving us your art (and the yaoi). God bless you.
This page is beautiful and really captured a part of my own spirituality that I often have trouble explaining. For me, shifting from the judaic practices of my childhood to my own personal belief system was jarring and unnerving. Religion is such a complex topic, especially for LGBTQIA+ persons and other minorities. I spent a lot of time struggling with aspects of that complexity before coming to the realization that nothing makes me feel more grounded than following the traditions I come from, using my body and voice to express a history, to claim my place in my culture. I dunno if any of that makes sense, but I connected a lot to this page, especially the third panel. Thanks for working so hard to express this part of Anwar’s life. <3
I went to a Catholic college and was part of the choir that sang at Sunday mass for 2 1/2 years*. Even though I’m Jewish and I was uncomfortable most of the time, it was still nice to see everyone gather in prayer and solidarity.
(*Then they changed the location and the choir director and it got all cliquey and I quit.)
Up until a few years ago, I thought “religion = fundamentalist = all religious people are freaks.” Then I made friends with quite a few religious people who were as ready to say “fuck you” to every Bible nut on a street corner as I was, and I changed my views.
Anwar looks so beautiful while praying – so happy and content, in some way. You really did a good job of showing what the text below the picture says.
This page sparked a discussion with my counsellor in which I had to explain what webcomics are and the deal with 50SoG. So that was a new experience.