Since we just had Easter and there's no race on Easter, I decided to go into religion and Asperger's. Aspies are often truth seekers, which figures into this topic. As a Christian Aspie, this is something quite interesting to me.
Christian Aspies is where I'll start. Since this is my kind, it's easier for me to talk about and I'll even include some of my own experiences. It has been said to be like Mr. Spock goes to church, in many cases because Aspies are sometimes very logical and often feel like aliens. There's an Aspie Christian named Brant that has been a Christian radio DJ and all credit for the Mr. Spock mentioned goes to him. I've never felt alienated from church, but some do. Church can be difficult for people on the spectrum, like Christmas Eve services can cause sensory issues to come into play or the crowd at a big church could cause anxiety, if the person happened to have social anxiety. Some Aspies have been rejected at church, but I haven't experienced that since I was a kid. Our pastor now knows I'm different, but he seems to accept me, greets me and such. He talks about my smile on occasion. One thing about my personal experience that fits with very religious Aspies (more on this later) is I've memorized a lot of Bible verses. I even recited Isaiah 53, once for Sunday School at my childhood church and then last year, when my current church had a share night. There's general stuff on Aspies and religion, too.
People on the spectrum have different religious views. Some believe in reincarnation. Pagan and occultist Aspies are a significant group. I know a boy with Asperger's that doesn't believe in God. Some Aspies are very religious, some are atheists and others have no thoughts on religion , but these types are said to more rare. The nature of Aspies means whatever an individual believes, they tend to be staunch beliers. The very religious often focus on prayer, good moral values, reading, memorizing and quoting religious texts. Religion can be treated in a pick and choose way, unless it becomes a special interest. If it become a special interest, the normal rules of special interests apply and the person will seek evidence of religion. Aspies can grasp spiritual concepts and have a relationship with God, even if understanding relationships is harder. Perfectionism and legalism about religion may show in the religious Aspies. The atheists are very vocal about why religion is false, often. The atheists may have had a bad experience with religion, like being rejected at church and are now skeptical of religious belief, due to what is viewed as hypocrisy. Aspie thinking causes this.
Come back to see my Texas race weekend recap.
This is interesting. I am not a religious person although I grew up in a very religious environment (Utah).
ReplyDeleteI have a cousin that lived there (Utah) with his family for a time. And that boy I mentioned is from a Christian family and grew up in church, so he's something like you.
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