Hey, Seuss!

I am not a terribly religious person. That isn't to say that I'm totally anti-religion, or that I'm immoral, or atheist, or anything like that. (Although 'atheist' and 'immoral' are not synonymous, but that's a discussion for another day.) It's just that I wasn't really raised in any church. When I was young, I went to a Baptist church with my grandparents pretty often. But I've never technically "belonged" to a church, and since we moved away from my grandparents when I was 7, I've attended church services only sporadically. At this point, my beliefs are probably most closely aligned with Buddhism, but that's only a vague comparison, based on what little I know about the religion. I'm just another godless heathen, really.

On the other hand, I can be pretty superstitious. I guess that this latter fact explains why I find it very difficult to take the Lord's name in vain. One of the few things that I had indoctrinated in me by the Christian church while I was pretty young was the fact that taking the Lord's name in vain was a Very Bad thing to do. And maybe it also has something to do with the fact that, although my parents curse fairly often, they pretty much never involve God or Jesus. So, part of the issue is the fact that I've just never gotten used to hearing it. But I think a bigger part of this hang up is the fact that, you know, even though I'm skeptical about some of the details of Christianity, I still think that Jesus was a great guy, and I can respect the fact that he doesn't appreciate me exasperatedly exclaiming his name whenever I'm having a hard time. From what I've heard, God (wherever/whatever he/she/it is) feels the same way about it, so alright, I'll try to leave them out of it. Especially since, as you may know, several religions seem to agree on that point, and if any of them are right, I'm probably going to be glad later on that I watched what I said. So I'm either A) superstitious, or B) just covering my ass in case of an emergency.

On the other hand, why respect this particular rule, and flout so many others? I have no idea. I think I look at a lot of other things (the f-word, being alone with boys, etc) as things that don't really hurt anyone else. Do I mind if the Creator of the Universe sees me making out with my boyfriend? Not really, our Lord has probably seen much less awesome things in his infinite existence, and I'd like to think he's happy for me. But do I want to personally insult him? Not so much. I heard dude once got so mad that he flooded THE WHOLE PLANET.

So, what do you think? Are you "religious" or not? Do you ever let slip a little G.D. or J.C. or even just an "Oh, God!" ? (I'll be honest, sometimes I even find myself editing "Oh God" to "Oh gosh" or "Oh man." Now you see the extent of this compulsion.)

Slightly unrelated final thought: is "cuss" a Southern word, or is it used everywhere? If anyone out there is reading this from above the Mason-Dixon line, or the West Coast, your input would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to appear unlearnt the next time I venture out of this here great state.