Since asexuality is currently little-known as an orientation, there exists some degree of uncertainty over how it is/will be regarded by religion, especially Christianity, thanks to the gross parts of the Christian Church being so influential in the debate over same-sex marriage. Aydan, who has more experience with this, has written on the subject before, and my (untested) expectations from the Churchfolk I’m acquainted with are that they’ll default to secular invalidation styles (like the ever-popular “It could be a problem with your hormones”) rather than approach the matter on the basis of religious doctrine.
However, it’d still be interesting to know how Church people would respond if asked to declare their views of asexuality in terms of their theology. And while it would be good to find out, I’d rather not conduct such an investigation by just walking up into the nearest congregation and announcing, “Hey, I’m on the asexual spectrum. Are y’all okay with that?”
So I’ve been thinking about collecting a little (entirely unempirical) data by emailing some local churches and asking for a statement. I’d be very curious about what kind of results this would produce. Best case scenario — and this is unlikely — I’ll get an influx of positive, affirming responses that make me feel safer about coming out to people during coffee hour. Worst case scenario, the churches will express alarming bigotry that, if nothing else, will at least give me the opportunity to respond to it. In between the two extremes, what I’m expecting at least in part is for many of the emails to 1) never get a response, or 2) get a response that simply expresses confusion or unfamiliarity with the subject, without any outright prejudice.
While I don’t have an absolutely clear idea of what I’ll be doing with this information (since this is mostly just a matter of me putting out feelers for the sake of my own interests), I’m assuming it could be of interest to other aces, and if I actually go through with this, I’m planning to post the results here on this blog.
My biggest concern, though, is wording the email in such a way as to increase the chances of getting an actual response, and part of me feels like I’m just silly and would be making a nuisance of myself. Any input welcome.
UPDATE: Y’all talked me into it. The emails have been sent.
The Ace Theist 