Happy Samhain, everyone [or All Soul's, Day of the Dead, whatever you celebrate. If you don't, happy Friday.]

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith? Not particularly. I started going to a Southern Baptist church when I was about six simply because the other kids in the neighbourhood did, and they did a lot of fun stuff like vacation Bible school, etc. I really loved learning about the Bible, and I had a pretty strong pull towards Deity, even when young [how many nine year olds do you know who feel they have a personal relationship with God, after all, and have lots of talks]? I loved the games, the singing. At some point I did finally ask my parents what my "family religion" was, and they were raised Baptist. Turns out I'm from a long line of Baptist ministers, with a few Presbyterians and Hugenots thrown in. But with a dad in the military and with mom being a nurse, they never had schedules for church attendance, and my mom at least always put more importance in personal faith rather than going to services. Of course, I also got my introduction to reincarnation from my mom; she was always a strong believer in that, because she had memories of a former life.

2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?

No. Once I got old enough to go to regular church, I found it boring and, quite frankly, not the life-affirming, optimistic religion I rather thought it was. I didn't hate it, or anything; I just wasn't satisfied. By the time I was fourteen I had figured out that I believed that God was present throughout creation, that in a sense there is no real separation between Creator and Created. I knew that I found myself feeling most spiritual in natural settings. Later on, I discovered paganism quite by accident, and realised that it was closest to what I believed. For me, we are all children of God. I subscribe to a sort of Neo-Platonic outlook of what we call the "God tree", where there is a supreme Deity, World-Soul, what have you, and we all have a connexion to it. But we relate best with the Gods, who descend from this Whole to a more concrete level that we can relate to. So yes, there are many Gods, and One, but the Gods and Goddesses themselves are separate, discrete Beings at the same time. Kind of like Hinduism. I have a particular Goddess I'm close to, that I relate well with. But you know, the God of my youth is still there; I'm just not sure it's the same as the one that the Christians worship.

3. What do you think happens after death?

I believe that we are reborn through many lives, learning from each one. I think there is a "place" souls go between lives, but I'm not sure what it's like. When I have spoken to the dead during ritual, they are usually in a place, but it's given form by my interpretation of it; I can't really explain what it's really like. Maybe I can only perceive a bit of it. I do believe that we can interact with the dead, given the right circumstances.

4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
Participating: the yearly descent to the underworld at Samhain to honour lost loved ones. Observing: I am fascinated by Catholic and Jewish rituals. Try watching a priest sometime with your inner eye. Those motions, those words, have power and purpose. In Judaism, the power lies with the Torah, and Hebrew, the language of prayer. Their tradition is very rich and textured, and it comes out when a prayer is made.

5. Do you believe people are basically good?
I believe people have great and equal capability for good and evil, although some may tend to lean one way or another. In general yes, I think people are basically good, with some exceptions. There are some people who seem to be "not quite right" from the start. Whether it's a supernatural form of evil, or a defect, or just their nature, I don't know. Would Hitler, Dahmer, etc. have been good if their life experiences had been different? I'm not sure. I do have faith that when evil strikes, great good is just as likely to be shown in humankind. And I believe our choices, overt or covert, large and small, do make a difference.