I know that for some people religion is foremost in their lives and that for those people their own belief tends to be of marked importance. Others do so with other things: their careers, their marriages, their children, their research projects, their volunteer work, etc. Never forget that it is great mistake for such people to then generalize outward and to assume that since they see all through their own filter that others must have the same filter. People don't. The viewpoints from which we approach the important questions and solutions in our lives are as varied as we all are. I don't first think religion when I think about death. In fact, I don't think of religion second, third, maybe even further down the chain, depending on the person and based on my own filters. Maybe that is because I have helped nurse my mom through a terminal illness, helped as a teen when a neighbor died suddenly, dissected a cadaver in gross anatomy class and handled more bones than I can enumerate for a university's comparative collection. My experiences give me my own take on the major aspects of life just as other's do for them. Sandee helps people mourn. Others, or maybe at times the same people, find comfort in Sara Ferret's aid. That does not make the work they do religious nor does it make the constructs that they present religious. What they are doing is helping people put aside the painful part of their experience and again visualize the ferret as vital and filled with joy. It loosens the tears, it relaxes the back, it relieves the pain in stomach, head and heart -- it helps people move ahead to heal. Are there people who choose religion to fill these needs? Yes, but just because there can be an overlap in functions provided by religion for some people and the Rainbow Bridge for others does not automatically make what Sandee and Sara provide a religion or anything even approaching one. Be careful how you filter, Anonymous. Be careful to not cause harm through your failure to recognize that not everyone looks at this world in the same way that you do. Humans are not a monoculture, and that is as true spiritually as it is physically. What works varies among us. There are ways to present one's own take now and then without misunderstanding and without depriving others of useful help or of those whom they appreciate. We may not all be served by Sandee and Sara, but enough of us are helped that as a community we need to appreciate that and to honor our fellows with respect and love. That is true, too, for the FML which is longest lived ferret list ever in the computerized world and true for other constructive lists. Not all lists of posts suit all, but many serve enough that they are positive pleasures in our lives and deserve to be respected as useful fora and always helped rather than harmed. I guess I am saying that no one is fully suited to every type of post so it's best to scroll past those which don't suit, because if any of us selfishly puts our own private take above those of others we do harm. Besides, there are so many religion sites for those who have it as a primary joy in life that there is no harm in ferrets having their own different corner of the internet and no reason to poo in their corner. It is possible to present one's own views without hurting others. The careful placement of a website URL under a signature now or then (being careful to not overdo it and not be obnoxious in choice, frequency, or topic), the discussion in a friendly way of on-topic ferret things (with OT promptly taken off-list), etc. all serve. Yes, I realize that you are having difficulty recognizing that not everyone sees things in your way, but from my years on the FML I have run into almost no one who sees a religious aspect to the work of people like the Sandee authors. I can't speak for anyone else but those who react as i do aren't approaching it as a religious construct, but as a comforting fictional one which helps with healing. There have been times when I was wound so tightly with grief that I couldn't even cry over a ferret lost. Then a note about that dear one would appear in Sandee's column and I'd cry and cry, and I'd remember how strong my lost love had been and celebrate the ferret's life, because it is the life and not the death in which I personally find joy. Be careful when stomping that those you stomp aren't those who are doing very real good. Don't confuse accomplishing it in ways which simply differ from your own with not being constructive. [Posted in FML issue 4360]