Going back to chruch. What denominations are NOT agianst...

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Autism is a relatively new phenomenon. I don't think the scriptures have that much to say about it. You'll be more accepted than a homosexual couple.

I suggest going to a unitarian univeralist church as they are very accepting of differences by nature and have a more secular belief in Jesus than most churches. They do however believe that most religions worship the same God but he/she has many different names based on the religion. Often times in a unitarian universalist church, there will be people worshiping God in more than one religion at the same time. I had a bad experience with the penicostals, as my father is penicostal and thinks that I am going to hell because I dont believe God in the same way he does. The unitarian universalist churches believe Jesus was a man and no more or less god than we are, but that he was more of a guide.

Also check out www.rickross.com and go to the destructive cult index (or something like that) to check out the cults that may be in your area...you will be amazed how many cults there are that prey on people like you who are socially unsure-footed and they bathe them with acceptance and before long you end up brain washed...happened to me, so it can and does happen. Be very wary of campus cults as they prey on young adults who are looking for support away from home for the 1st time.

Thanks for that Jojobean, Iam looking for a church myself that doesnt worship Jesus as God and knew the Unitarian church rejected the Trinity, I didnt know they rejected Jesus divinity though so will avoid.
Same with Islam, they belive in Jesus, and that hes going to come back, but they dont belve hes anything more than a human prophet.

[I skimmed over the first page of this thread, but seeing as it derailed depressingly quickly, I didn't read the rest. Apologies if this has been covered.]

Obviously you should attend a church that believes as close to the same thing you do. You go to church to worship God in the way you deem most correct. The people should always be secondary to that.

Without knowing your specific beliefs, or the specific issues you might have because of ASD, here are some observations from my personal experience. Note that none of these are criticisms of the practices themselves from a theological point of view, just things that clashed with my ASD symptoms.

'High Church' Congregations (some Roman Catholic, some Anglican/Church of England/Episcopalian & most Orthodox)

Cons: are heavy on visual images, scents & sounds. This can lead to sensory overload & otherwise make it very difficult to concentrate during the service. They sometimes hug each other during the service, which can be a little difficult if you have space issues, and Orthodox christians like to kiss things a lot (like the holy icons), which I personally just can't do. Euch.

Pros: Depending on the culture of the local congregation, people will usually leave you alone if you prefer that. You can come & worship without having to interact with the other people too much. Services usually follow a schedule, and you will generally know what is going to happen next.

'Pentecostal' Congregations (All Pentacostals, 'Full Gospel' churches, some Roman Catholic & some Baptist & etc)

Cons: Loud music, people packed together moving about with the spirit, clapping, moaning & shouting. Services can be quite unpredictable, with people standing up and speaking as they will (or the spirit moves them). Generally people can be very keen to find out a lot about you, and will ask you a lot of personal questions about your relationship with Jesus.

Pros: None I can think of, as far as ASD is concerned. The few pentecostal services I've attended have been sensory nightmares.

'Southern Baptist' Congregations (Many baptist, methodist & some others.)

Cons: Preaching style tends to feature a charismatic man up front yelling and banging on. Can be startling on occasion. Congregations will often have an active social life that you will be expected to participate in (shared meals after the service etc).

Pros: Theologically very similar to the Pentecostal denominations mentioned above, but without the extreme sensory issues that come along with their style of worship.

'Low' Church (pretty much the rest of Christendom.)

Cons: Again, depending on the culture of the local congregation, these often have people who want to know all about you, and will expect you to participate in extra-church social activities.

Pros: Services are usually regular, following a schedule. Church buildings are usually quite plain, with few visual distractions. Music is generally fairly quiet (on the scale of things), and usually mercifully short (I cannot stand organs).

Personally, I attend a small Presbyterian congregation with my family. The church has set up a small room under the main hall where my family & I watch the service via video-link. My eldest son can be quite noisy when he stims, and personally I much prefer the room anyway, as I always feel like I'm being watched when I sit upstairs with the rest of the congregation.

This sort of understanding really only comes with time. When my son was first diagnosed, we wrote a letter to the congregation telling them about things they should & shouldn't do to help us. It's been moderately successful, so you might want to consider something similar. Fellowship with other Christians is an extremely important part of the Christian walk, but ASD throws up a lot of challenges.

Fake Edit: I'm just reading your last post. To clarify, you are looking for a church that doesn't worship Jesus as God, but does accept that Jesus is divine?

Your welcome, If I were to go to church again...that is where I would go for all above mentioned reasons

The main issues I face at church are:

* sensory issues - I get overloaded by the echoes, the people all talking as they wait for the service to begin, people making coffee outside and bringing it in, etc.

* social issues - a small church can be socially intense, "intimate". It can be harder to hide when you need "alone time".

* unstructured services run by extroverts - who suddenly want everyone to go around hugging and greeting everyone else, and saying some embarrassingly over-the-top message to everyone they greet. It is enough to make me wish I was non-verbal!

* uncritical thinking - people sharing about the wonderful coincidence that happened to them that week ... when you have heard non-believers telling anecdotes about exactly the same types of coincidences happening to them. Coincidences happen, people.

* strangers (visitors) who want to pray for you to be healed ...

* my wandering mind during sermons

* vague instructions, like "Sit or stand as you feel led" (and why would God bother to "lead" someone to adopt a particular body posture? this is not a highly moral or spiritual issue that requires divine guidance)

But there are vastly more positives: the great (even inspiring) people, the weekly renewal of spiritual focus, time with my Aspie friends at church (yes, I am not alone), mixing with people I have known for over 30 years (well it takes time to get to know people!), a church that is more focused on "loving God and your neighbour" and less focused on "believe this long list of doctrines exactly as printed here" ...

I think you can take the Church of Scotland off your list. Obviously that wouldn't matter if you're not in Scotland, but to compare with churches in your country (if it's not Scotland) it's Presbyterian.

Thats the wrong question to ask.
Like asking which religions are not against obesity.
Autism is not a "sin" like homosexuality that any religion has scripture against.
They didnt even have the concept of autism in biblical times.


The question is what denominations have congregations that are accepting of deviant individuals like the autistic.

That probably has less to do with the denomination than the individual church's community culture. You may have to shop around and go to different houses of worship and test the emotional tone of different congragations.

Which Churches or other religious organizations even take cognizance of autism of Aspergers?

These conditions are hardly religious issues for the churches. The churches would rather get down (sic) on homosexuality.

ruveyn

Pretty much all of them, you just can run into morons within the churches that are against autism, however on the whole I can't think of any Christian denomination that is actually anti-autism/aspergers, and in fact many of them would be horrified by Cure Autism NOW.

Don't be surprised if you end up being asked to speak before the congregation in an attempt to educate people about the fact Autistic People are not broken individuals, we are just different.

If the church you go to does discriminate towards you for being autistic/aspergers, then report them to someone higher up and I imagine something will be done to rectify the situation.

I would recommend you talk with the Pastor/Priest/etc. about the fact you are on the spectrum though and you should also maybe provide some reading materials for him/her (depending on what Denomination it may be a woman as a pastor) to read up on Autism/Aspergers.

I just happen to have a minister who would like autism to be eradicated, healed out of people.

Denominations are not churches, but an association a set of churches adhere to on the basis of agreement to a set of doctrine. I don't know of any Christian denominations which have formal doctrines against people with Asperger's/Autism. It really depends upon which particular church you go to, and the other people who go there, as to whether they'll treat you with hostility or hospitality.

I'm gonna suggest one of the "mellower" denominations like Methodist or Presbyterian or Episcopal. They tend to be pretty open and accepting, but like other people have said it tends to be a church by church thing. They also don't try to pray your demons out. I do have a cousin with an autistic son who goes to a fairly fundamentalist mega-church, and they actually started a group for parents with kids either on the spectrum or with issues like Tourrette's and other things. And they have been teaching others in the church about their kids.

As I understand it many aspies need to lapse into "stimming" behavior. Stimming sounds like its pretty similiar to the normal style of worship by Pentacostals, and Holy Rollers- rocking back and forth, rolling on the floor, speaking in tongues.

Just go to church-- and do all the compulsive stuff that you're usually ashamed of.. and youll fit right in!

That sounds a bit more stereotypical rather than actual. That really only applies more to the "old skool" Baptist tradition and not quite so much of current trends. One thing I absolutely hated as a child were revivals. Ugh... Three nights of heartrending persuasion that had you convinced you were going straight to hell no matter what whether you were saved or not. Endless extended invitations. 10 or more people every night making some kind of "decision."

I've heard more preachers like that than I ever wanted to.

But the trend now with Southern Baptist preaching is less about yelling at congregants and slamming Bibles on pulpits. What I see more often are preachers who are more meditative and philosophical, appealing more to the intellect rather than raw emotion. The other thing I see are preachers who are deeply persuasive and passionate in their delivery while at the same time examining scripture and helping congregations understand how that applies to daily living. "Persuasive" and "passionate" does NOT mean "loud." They speak to us like they are one of us, and many times keeping a message at a constant volume cuts through a lot better than the yelling and screaming. Suggesting that all Southern Baptist churches these days are "charismatic" is a bit of a stretch since the general trend in Baptist churches is away from that sort of thing. You tend to see this more in churches predominantly congregated by little, blue-haired ladies whose hearing is failing and who generally won't hire preachers under 55 years old. The larger, more progressive churches don't tend to hold to the old-time "fire-and-brimstone" preaching style.

If I were inclined to express gratitude to the Deity of My Choice, I would thank It for the fact I am not a Christian.

ruveyn