I'm curious about religious preferences here.

[Raenelle]

Poll question: I'm curious about religious preferences here.

I'm eclectic, though I prefer those religions (like Hindu and Buddhist) that extend their moral precepts to all creatures, not just humans.

[whirlygigspin]

1. The new church of the almighty dollar

(but I'm thinking of switching to Euros)

[FloridaPat]

2. Baha'i

We believe all religions were created by the same god at different times in history to guid the human race closer to God.

[kixot]

3. I'm glad you didn't force a separation

between Catholic and Christian as some neo-christian fundies sometimes try to force.

[grytpype]

4. The Goddamned Church of Jesus H. Christ

It's like the Methodists, but with more cursing. A lot more.

[TXlib]

31. giggle *snarf*

Dammit, while I was drinking soda!

Stop being funny!

[gyopsy]

5. I voted Agnostic...

because I'm really confused on the whole issue of religion right now. Not really sure what to believe anymore. My whole family used to go to church every sunday. We stopped and most of our close family friends say they don't go anymore either. 10 years ago, not going to church would've never crossed our minds.

I was raised a Catholic but the events that have transpired in the last few years has really turned me off to it. Also, the way Chimp uses "God" to hoist himself on a moral high horse makes me sick.

I'm pretty sure that's why I've turned away from orgainized religion for the time being. Not for what the religion says in its teachings but rather what it seems to represent in our society today.

[farmboxer]

6. Religion Is Used To Keep Power Over The Sheep!

Bush is using it right now. Falwell worships money, Pat Robertson, etc., they are the money preachers!

Man created God in his own image.

[hunter]

27. I am a Bighorn Sheep!

Do not ever turn your butt towards me if you are standing near a steep ledge!

http://www.desertusa.com/big.html

I especially liked this part: "Known for the head-to-head combat between males. Combat between rams has been observed to last for as longer than 24 hours."

Oh dear, that doesn't sound very Christian. Forgive me, this is the Lounge...

[freeforall]

7. No Religion. Just Spirituality.

We are all offspring of the same Source.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

8. perhaps a religion...perhaps not

Even the finest name is insufficient to define it.

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/ttcstan3.htm#1

[Lady Freedom]

9. You guys are going to love this!

As you know, I am a yellow dog Democrat. Yet, I am also a Southern Baptist!

[trof]

18. Oh Lordy

You're outed.
I'm hidin' the booze right now.
;-)
Doesn't make you a bad person.

[Lady Freedom]

49. Tell that to my preacher...

who is also my dad. :) really!

edit: That is that being a Dem isn't a bad thing.

[Az]

42. Anyone defending the wall

is an allie to me. Glad to have you with us.

[Jalixm]

10. Agnostic

But I've been attending a Unitarian Universalist church for years. More for the sense fo community than anything else.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. Where's the "Lord only knows" category?

I don't know what I am...Neither do I care to put a label on it.

[LeftCoast]

12. Wiccan

Blessed Be

[Az]

13. Question for the agnostics

When you say you are agnostic you tell us what know. Honestly ... technically... everyone is agnostic. Its the reason the question is still open. If anyone had a way of knowing the truth of this question we would have a settled this a long time ago.

The real question is what do you believe .... right now.... do you currently believe there is a god or do you not believe there is a god? Belief is different than knowing.

[ButterflyBlood]

14. I think agnosticism basically is saying

"don't know, don't care"

[Az]

15. Perhaps

But it still doesn't answer the question. If a person truly doesn't care then why bother to answer. Stepping up to answer would seem to indicate some degree of caring.

[prolesunited]

21. My thinking

is that an agnostic is too timid to admit they're an atheist. On the scale of social acceptance, I think agnostic ranks higher than atheist. Just my two cents.

I'm sure everyone is different so if you're an agnostic and this doesn't apply to you, please don't flame me. :-)

[Lars39]

24. Many shades/meanings for different people......

I voted agnostic because I'm not to the stage where I am atheistic on a full-time basis, and am honest enough to admit it. I go from anosticism to atheism to indifference, and not necessarily in that order. :) So if you're worried about us being timid or caring, the only caring I have about the topic is that I am honest with myself.

[PurityOfEssence]

25. It's important to step up and say that I don't know

Truly, in my heart, alone in the dark with that little superstition in my tummy, I don't think there's anything controlling all of this. I also think that the idea's just silly.

To many, I'd be considered an atheist; but here's the big issue: proof.

This is a political board, and we discuss things in a political context. The extreme arrogance upon which a certain belief is based is bad enough, but when coupled with the glorification of the willingness to accept without proof, all reason is topsy-turvy. Politically, if you can create an elite whose word is irrefutable, then you're undemocratic; all outsiders are inferior by definition. All beliefs aside, if you can create a pulpit from which to speak that is unquestionable, then you can kill, subjugate and lay waste at will. This is my disgust with and fear of religion IN THE POLITICAL SPHERE.

Believe what you want in private.

Sure, belief can be that from which social movements and laws spring, but the justification and mechanism must be secular or it's all witchcraft and fantasy. The forum has to be open and everyone must have the same burden of proof that what he/she proposes is good or workable. Religion in politics is worse than just privilege, it's unassailable privilege.

So yes, one can be an agnostic and still care a great deal. To me, the most important point is to stand up and admit one's limitations and be comfortable with uncertainty. Those unwilling to deal with uncertainty are scared of change and adjustment. To be ethical members of society, one must be willing to mingle and adjust. Noblesse oblige is not just a dark and cynical thing.

To stand up and say that you have the answer to the universe and that the question is closed is ridiculous arrogance. Using the mystery of the cosmos' vastness and complexity as proof of ones knowledge is preposterous. To say that one can only come up with one plausible answer, therefore it's right, is egocentric and pompous beyond measure: it presumes perfection of the speaker. All one is really saying is that one is limited in imagination. "I can't find anything else, therefore I have the answer" is equivalent to "lack of imagination is proof of brilliance".

If you encounter something that you can only explain one way, that doesn't mean you've found the answer, it means that you've found something that you can only explain one way.

It's deeply important to stand up and say "I don't know" or "I may be wrong" or "hmmm, you've got a point" regularly. Willingness to do so is the glue of a decent society. Close-mindedness and demanding that your guesses are enforced as undeniable fact are exclusionary.

So, yes, it's very logical to take great pains to make the point that you don't know and really don't much care. There's no inconsistency there at all.

There's far more to life than "Yes" and "No", there's "maybe", "who cares", "fuck that crap" and a host of other positions, ALL of which are better than the first two.

[geniph]

16. Need a couple more categories

for the Wiccans and pantheists...

[ForrestGump]

28. Pantie-ists?

Yep, sign me up for that one.

Already wasted my vote on wishy-washy agnostic, too, darn it.

[CO Liberal]

17. I Belong to the Church of the Frisbee On The Roof

:-)

[Az]

19. You mean the Frisbietarians? n/t

.

[hunter]

36. I'm shocked, shocked...

Round up the usual suspects, especially the Frisbietarians...

[Az]

20. Any other Discordians out there?

Fnord.

Hail Eris!

[smirkymonkey]

22. What about Unitarian/Universalist...

or Generically Spiritual? I suppose "other" would cover it though..

[KCDem]

48. UU is atheists with kids...

or, at least, that's what they're telling us!

[ACK]

23. Agnostic

I just don't give a shit. :-)

[TrogL]

26. Follower of Jesus Christ

"Christian" has been supplanted by a bunch of fascists.

[Redbear]

35. I like to think of it as I'm a christian with a small "c".

Jerry Falwell and Benny Hinn are Christians.

I am merely a christian.

[Blue_Chill]

29. Christian

duh.

[goobergunch]

30. Atheist (n/t)

[SOteric]

32. Roman Catholic

[ronnykmarshall]

33. What about NOYDB?

"None of your damn business"

Just kidding. I don't consider myself to of any religion. Althought I believe in "god". I quess I'd fall under the spritial group.

[smallprint]

34. note: jew = person, jewish = religion

you might get more responses if you use the proper term

[ikojo]

37. Card carrying member....

of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy....

;)

[sam sarrha]

38. Buddhism really isn't a religion, .probably closest to a psychology

[proud patriot]

39. If there was an all of the above I would of picked that

:shrug:

[mlawson]

40. Eclectic, but with Buddhist structure, I suppose. n/t

That is, reincarnation, most definitely.

[laylah]

41. I am a recovering Catholic

and attend the Unity when I feel the need. Otherwise, my .5 acre with my garden, flowers, trees, and critters is my place of worship. I am a spiritual being, definitely not religious.

[Sentath]

43. QU ?

Quaker Universalist that is ( :

[CSI Willows]

44. Though I'm Jewish by heritage....

...I'm an atheist by choice...not so much that i'm anti-God but more anti-religion. I am very respectful, however, of all religions. I prefer being an atheist because organized religion tells you how to run your life according to the Bible. But by being an atheist...you don't have to listen to others telling you how to run your life, rather being able to choose what's right and wrong yourself.

[Darranar]

50. Bascially the same for me, CSI Willows...

except I am an agnostic, and still consider myself a Jew. I wonder which one I should vote for...

[Character Assassin]

45. Student of Zen.

[FloridaJudy]

46. Most;ly Pagan

A lot of Wiccan, a generous dollup of UU, some Zen, a soupcon of Gnostic Christianity, a pinch of Secular Humanist, and sprinkle of Reformed Jew.

Fold gently together and bake in an oven-safe casserole at medium heat until brown and tasty.

For many of us, this is not an either/or question!

Belief.net has a fascinating test: "What religion are you?". Every time I take it, I get a different answer, though it's usually a combo of Neo-Pagan/Unitarian/Humanist/Liberal Christian.

I'm practicing my religion the way my ancestors did: making it up as I go along.

[Darranar]

47. Agnostic Jew...

which do I vote for?

[incontrovertible]

51. self-styled Christian

non-churchgoing arch-Protestant progressive Calvinist.

Because something had to have existed before the Big Bang.

[Aristus]

52. Liberal Christian

O8) Heh-heh.

[jonnyblitz]

53. all the atheist/agnostic votes give me hope.!!!!

:)