Pearl describes herself as “poly-vocational”. She is a foreign relations & management consultant with an MA in International Relations & an MBA in International Business. She is a vegan whole foods advocate via her “Le Twisted Spoon” club. Pearl is also a community organiser, public speaker & sometimes a political candidate!

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”

Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.

We discuss:

00:00 Welcome

01:17 Pearl's Intro

- Foreign relations consulting & #vegan activism

02:55 What's Real?

- Growing up in #kansas USA

- A traditional African-American household

- "There's a connection between people clinging to religion & #poverty"

- "This disparity between what was taught on Sunday and what people practiced throughout the week"

- "Unsavoury" behaviour by church leaders

- Poverty, moving frequently, homeless shelters

- Church charity (food, paying bills)

- "As an adult I feel much more #spiritual & less religious"

- "If it didn't make sense to me I had a problem with it"... Santa Claus etc.

- Open-minded mum

- Church corruption & money "You have to pay to pray"

- Disparities in the #bible 

- Churches teaching Jesus but not following his example

- "Everything was taken away from the people who came over [slavery] and it was replaced with this [Christianity]"

- "I still believe there's something higher than myself"

- Christianity's role in colonialism

- #religion 's allure for those suffering ("your suffering in this life doesn't matter because *heaven*!"). "A lot of really bad things have been allowed to happen because of that principle..."

- Compassion vs. status, in-out groups, hierarchy

- Three experiences "I have zero explanation for that"

- "Is there someone bigger than myself that clearly loves me - I know that for sure"

- The problems of suffering & unanswered prayers "It doesn't add up rationally"

- "The kind of god I want to worship & love wouldn't behave in that way"

- Jesus' teachings vs. Jesus as a god

- Husband became #christian by listening to Christian radio in Paris

- Church food banks & real help

- "I don't think that maybe 'Christian' is the right term to describe myself these days"

- Even #jesus threatened non-believers with hell

- Child abuse in religious groups. Risks of authority/power/groupishness

46:03 What and Who Matters?

- Growing up - "family matters"

- "If you have something you should share it"

- "Unless you piss me off" :)

- US Marine Corps scholarship & a sense of nationality

- Justice & equality

...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.

Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Thanks Graham.