Duane R. Bidwell

It’s dangerous to reduce everything to a “logic of the One,” because the qualities of the ultimate “one” usually look suspiciously like the ultimate reality proposed by the tradition of the person making the claim to unity.

I nodded. “Of course,” I said. “But remember that Jesus in the Gospel of John is speaking as the Logos, the ruling principle of the universe, a concept Christians adopted from Hellenistic philosophy. And we don’t know that Jesus ever said those words; the writers of John had their own purposes for including them. Those words have a context we have to consider.”
I should have stopped with “of course.”

Disclosing multiplicity carries enormous risk. Spiritually fluid people often feel anxious when deciding whether to hide or disclose their religious multiplicity. Hiding it can protect them from judgment, conflict with others, and the need to justify themselves. But concealing multiplicity also compromises their honesty and authenticity; they’re unable to be vulnerable with people they care about, especially family and religious leaders.

Yet double consciousness also empowers, bestowing what Du Bois called the “gift of second sight.” Because you live in two realities, you see things with more complexity. You are always aware of context and the ways that larger social systems shape how others perceive and receive you. You know the psyche of the dominant group as its members cannot. At the same time, you learn to decode and understand how others are seeing you. You anticipate their criticisms and micro-aggressions. You know how and when they consider you a problem. The gift of double consciousness allows you to trace the invisible commitments and values that collude to keep you in your place (as defined by more powerful people and communities). This knowledge makes it easier to resist and subvert attempts to devalue you, to keep you at the margin, and to convince you and others that you are illegitimate.