It turns out that many of my favorite blogs are not terribly open-minded (grin).

Politics – generally speaking – turned out to be a dud. I started exploring to see what I could find. Not much, I’m afraid. For one thing, I think it’s really a very difficult time in the United States for finding open-mindedness in politics. My personal disgust and depression about American politics is a hard thing to overcome – at least for the moment. I agree in theory that open-mindedness and civility are the right way to go. However, I think there are too many issues and problems that need straightforward statements and positions – many of them in outright opposition to current policies and actions. Compromise isn’t working. In addition, the whole discourse is so contaminated and overdetermined by various interests that I almost despair of seeing the kind of change that I think we need to survive and thrive in future. So, overall, I don’t think I’m in a position to extoll the virtues of open-mindedness in political opinion just now.

So then I turned to religion. You might think, given recent posts, that the topic would be more difficult than even politics. It isn’t, though. I already have a number of favorites, and found many more with spiritual and religio-political themes.

Some of the best ones are actually institutions, or group blogs, and I got the impression that this award was really for discovery, not reinforcement. On top of that, many blogs I read don’t actually have a great deal of interactivity, or they don’t post on a regular enough basis. More than a couple had decided to take some time off.

After the initial weed-through, I had a list of about thirty blogs – to whittle down to five choices. This was not easy. At all.

There a number of great blogs with spiritual concerns of various kinds. I tend to prefer the ones that deal in some way with other concerns as well. There are many who are worthy of the award. Finally, I just picked five on the list that I have enjoyed. They have the requisite qualifications of civility, openness, receptivity and interactivity – and I feel comfortable recommending them to others. They are grounded in somewhat different traditions/perspectives, but I like the vibe on all of these.

1. T h i s * i s * i t – “Life. This is all there is. Start living.”
2. Blog of the Grateful Bear – “ramblings of a freelance panentheist { “all things are in God, and God is in all things” } . . . musings on spirituality, mysticism, Sufism, lost gospels, cats, music, healing, interfaith dialogue, gay and lesbian issues, and more.”
3. The Cartoon Church Blog – Delightful cartoons and observations.
4. Even the Devils Believe – “I hope that this blog can serve primarily as a forum for talking about spirituality, liturgy, and the many paths to love and humility.”
5. slacktivist – “Knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend.”

Winners, go here for more information.

Please comment if you can recommend additional open-minded, kind and civil blogs on the topics of politics and/or religion. I would really like to add to my list.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, an “Open Mind” is defined as:

“A mind receptive to different opinions and ideas.”

This award is given to Blogs that demonstrate respect towards others, research and consideration of opposing views, free-flowing conversation with commenters, and an overall spirit of civility and openness. It is time we recognize such commendable behavior on the internet.

Open Mind Award « Politics & Religion

This award, like the “Thinking Blogger Award” asks the winners to name five others worthy of the award. It’s a subjective meme that creates a net of civility.

It’s difficult to narrow it down to just five – I will post with my five nominations soonest. Meanwhile, I’ve placed the award on the sidebar.