A simple answer, with more behind it
No, Moinhos Velhos isn't a religious retreat, and we don't ask guests to hold any particular belief to stay here. We describe ourselves instead as a spiritual retreat, one that welcomes people of every faith, and none, as genuinely equal, without ranking one tradition above another.
What that looks like in practice
Our yoga temple reflects that openness quite literally. Because yoga has shaped so much of our work here, the temple holds a number of statues from the Hindu tradition, which we understand as depictions of different aspects of the divine rather than objects of worship, alongside images from a wide range of other spiritual traditions and teachers. We sometimes draw on daily readings from Eileen Caddy, co-founder of Scotland's Findhorn Foundation, and we mark mealtimes with a simple moment of thanks for the food in front of us.
And Christianity, specifically
We're not a Christian retreat in any formal sense, but there's a thread of Christian thought running through how the team here thinks about this place, a sense that Jesus, himself an advocate of fasting, helped guide the retreat's founders toward establishing a place of fasting and detoxification here, in this particular valley. It's one thread among several rather than the whole story.
The invitation
What we ask of guests isn't belief in any particular framework, simply an open mind, a genuine curiosity, and a bit of humility about traditions that might be unfamiliar. If that sounds like you, whatever you do or don't believe, you'll fit in here just fine.
