Sarahbeth Caplin's Blog, page 25

Your worth doesn’t come from a paycheck

I turned 29 last week. It wasn’t the happiest of birthdays, for a number of reasons. Aside from dealing with a family crisis (which I’m not at liberty to go into detail about just yet), there’s also a personal, somewhat existential struggle that’s been bringing me down for a while: am I where I thought … Continue reading Your worth doesn’t come from a paycheck

#MeToo and ‘Legitimate rape’

This piece originally appeared on Huffington Post. Everyone has an opinion on what rape is. I was prepared to face disbelief, given my rapist’s notoriety in our small town as an upstanding Catholic. I just never expected that disbelief to come from another rape survivor. When #MeToo started trending on social media, I mustered the … Continue reading #MeToo and ‘Legitimate rape’

Here’s how we can know if assault allegations are true

This post is a variation of Evaluating ‘grey rape,’ which recently appeared in Huffington Post. Responding to accusations of groping from Anthony Rapp, actor Kevin Spacey claimed that that interaction from 1986 was “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” implying that such actions aren’t the norm for him. Spacey wants to believe he’s a decent human being: … Continue reading Here’s how we can know if assault allegations are true

I was an Episcopalian for five minutes on Facebook

Feeling a burst of confidence and rare certainty, I recently changed my Facebook “religious views” to “Episcopalian.” For over a year, I’d left that section of my profile blank as I underwent a deconstruction period: I knew I believed in God, but I’d become rather agnostic about religion. I missed Judaism, the religion of my … Continue reading I was an Episcopalian for five minutes on Facebook

An atheist describes what drew him to the Catholic church

Bart Everson is a “religious atheist.” Yes, he knows it sounds like an oxymoron, but he’s fine with that. He wrote in a piece for the Mid-City Messenger that religion for him doesn’t have to be about God. For example, Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions, yet its adherents don’t worship the Buddha. … Continue reading An atheist describes what drew him to the Catholic church

Evaluating “grey rape”

I’ve been intrigued by a recent article in the Washington Post by Laura Gianino, who wrote about her sexual assault and was verbally assaulted by internet trolls in return. Her story is all too familiar – plenty of assault survivors … Continue reading →

#MeToo: an autobiography

Content note for descriptions of sexual harassment/assault While swimming at the community pool, a grown man came up to me and asked if I was a dancer. I told him I was a figure skater, and asked why he wanted … Continue reading →

Why I prefer nonfiction over fiction

Since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of becoming the next great American novelist. I have published a few novels, and yet none of them are quite as dear to my heart as my two memoirs. I realized something critical … Continue reading →

Richard Rohr and “double belonging”

I just finished reading Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr, which is one of those Christian books that’s part devotional and part self-help. The book focuses on “two halves” of spiritual development, or … Continue reading →

Christian women gather in Washington to protest feminism

The idea of women gathering to protest against feminism makes as much sense as vegans marching in support of cheeseburgers, but a group of Christian women recently gathered on the Washington Mall to dance, pray, and protest about a movement … Continue reading →