Do you go to church (or synagogue, mosque, temple, etc)?

[More Than A Feeling]

Poll question: Do you go to church (or synagogue, mosque, temple, etc)?

If so, how often, on average?

edited: changed "Yes, more than that" to "Yes, more than 3-4 times per month"

[Betsy Ross]

1. I am an observant Jew.

As such, I don't drive or ride in automobiles on the Sabbath. Living about 7 miles from the nearest synagogue means I don't get there on a weekly basis.

[arwalden]

7. What About Ambulances?

Or other vehicles for emergency trips to the hospital?

[Betsy Ross]

19. Nearly all Jewish laws can be broiken to save a life. n/t

[BOSSHOG]

2. I was born and raised Catholic

was an altar boy and contemplated the priesthood when I was 10 years old. I quit going to church in the past three years because everytime I went to Mass (two different churches) the message was the same, hate homosexuals, hate liberals, hate secularists. That's not why I go to church. If the priest wants to kick my ass fine, but why so much attention put on people who aren't in attendance? I turn a deaf ear to the hate coming from the pulpit. Obviously they don't need my money.

[rurallib]

12. I was raised much as you were

Catholic schools etc.
I quit going to church when I married a non-catholic. Recent events (fundies in gov't) has made me do much more reading on religion. The more I read the more I realize it's just an acceptible brand of magic. Therefore I have basically turned at least agnostic. If there are "higher powers" they are nothing like the crap that is being foisted on us.

[BOSSHOG]

15. Catholic schools indeed

I was cuffed about by the nuns like all of us were but I did get a good education in the mid 60's. I married a Catholic and we are both aggravated with the crap coming from the pulpit (me, more so than my wife.) Higher powers certainly are way the hell above the guys in the pulpits.

[hunter]

23. Catholic Mass adapts itself to the local politics.

It shouldn't, but it does.

In some places the Catholic Church seems to be doing their very worst to compete with the neighborhood Christian fascists. In other places the Church is very liberal.

My own parish leans to the left. I'm not sure what I'd do if it leaned to the right. I'd probably leave.

If a priest ever came out with a message against homosexuals, liberals, or seularists, I'd be tempted to stand up and make some scene. I'd certainly express myself to the priest outside the church, and I'd write some pretty fierce letters.... not that I don't do that anyways. Bring on the ass kicking.

But I probably wouldn't attend Mass in a right wing Parish. It wouldn't be a spiritually uplifting service for me. I'd find another faith. It's a broken Mass if one is forced to listen to some ignorant twit spewing hatred, and priests can indeed be ignorant twits, if not worse...

Other religions have similar celebrations, and it's not as if God is boycotting those. I've felt at home in many sorts of churches. Maybe that's unusual, because I know Catholics who feel it's a crisis every time they do something like stepping inside a Lutheran Church for a friend's wedding. I also know people of other faiths who are afraid of Catholic services.

[Dorian Gray]

24. My church

(Catholic, in Brooklyn) is mostly Carribbean. They focus more on the needs of the people in the community (because there is a lot of poverty in the neighborhood). All the churches in my neighborhood (Prospect Heights and Park Slope) lean very left. Though the one I choose to go to focuses on the political the least. I don't go to Mass for politics. I go to Mass for Spiritual communion. (I focus on politics the other 6 days of the week!) :)

[hunter]

26. This is one of the things I enjoy most about the Catholic Church.

You can attend Mass almost anywhere in the world -- sometimes without leaving your state!

[CottonBear]

3. I sometimes attend events & services at a Unitarian church in my town. nt

[Itchinjim]

4. Other. Lapsed Catholic here.

I only attend mass for weddings and funerals.

[Selteri]

5. I consider myself to be very spiritual.

I try to live my life the best I can in how I work with other people as how I perform my worship to that which transcends my own existance. I don't have the answers, but I know I've seen and experienced enough things to think that the universe is much more complicated than we can even concieve still. I don't think any religion has the answer because most of them forget the big universal message, be good to each other. Nobody is perfect, the best we can do is just to try to make the world a better place in our wake and invest in the future by producing intelligent and criticially thinking children that might gain the answers that elude us.

[Minnesota Libra]

6. I am very spiritual but I don't think we have to.................

............go to church to be spiritual either. I do, however, go to church on occasion.

[Mikimouse]

8. Confirmed at 13, left the church permanently at 14, never looked back...

I was very much influenced by two things. The first was my Lutheran minister, who actually tried to live what he professed to believe, and the second was the poem 'Abu ben Adem'. I consider myself spiritual in the sense that I have had some experiences that could not be explained any otehr way but to believe in a higher power.

[More Than A Feeling]

9. I'm curious, how did your minister trying not to be a hypocrite

contribute to your leaving your church? I guess my assumption was that such a person would be very inspiring and make someone more likely to stay.

[Mikimouse]

20. After he confirmed me...

He had a massive heart attack within two weeks and died at age 37. No other minister that we had ever even came close to the level of human insight that he demonstrated. I should have made clear that he really had nothing to do with my leaving.

[Dr.Phool]

10. I used to attend the Church of Monday Night Football

But, I quit attending after the death of Pope Cosell the 1st.

Still miss the communions though. Chicken wings and beer.

[texastoast]

11. I've always felt closest to God

in/under a tree, in my garden, walking the fields. Buildings don't do much for me. I go every day.

[Dervill Crow]

13. Wicca here.

My group gets together two or three times a month, scheduling around the dark moon, full moon, equinoxes, and solstices.

Our church is wherever we are.

[More Than A Feeling]

14. That counts!

:D

[Mojorabbit]

16. Neo Druid here

Same thing. Under the trees is my temple

[sakabatou]

17. Too many bar and batmitzvahs has kinda turned me off

So I go only to the high holidays and some other holidays.

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. Every time I help someone, I am at worship

Which means that I go to "church"/"synagogue"/"mosque"/"temple"/etc more often than the average American, but still nowhere near often enough :hi:

[Goblinmonger]

21. Other

I am an atheist (I know, many of you may not know that) and I go to a UU fellowship every weekend that I can. My family goes as a unit.

[CatholicEdHead]

22. Still go almost weekly

though I am hanging on by a thread now. It will not take much of a shift for me to move on. I am in a left of center area so things are bearable for the present.

[trotsky]

25. One thing that's kinda neat...

is that America has NEVER, not even in the Puritanical colonial days, had a majority of citizens going to church services regularly.

A lot of lazy Christians out there.

[Igel]

27. Haven't been to church in over a decade.

I can't find a suitable group. The ones with most of the beliefs I have usually have a few clunkers that move them towards being cults; the one's that aren't over in the cult direction seldom are compatible with the beliefs that I hold.

It's what happens when a denomination explodes into a thousand little splinters.

[Desertrose]

28. Haven't done church for over 30 years...

Buildings have nothing to do with my connection to Spirit....don't need anyone else to help with my connection....its just there and being in nature in a peaceful setting makes it easier to find & stay in that space....but its "all life"...everything we do is our connection to Spirit...there is no special time or place....we are merely spirit having "human" experiences. (Don't need no church or preacher or "book" to tell me about that)

:)
DR

[WritingIsMyReligion]

29. No, and I'm spiritual.

An odd young "heathen"--I believe in the soul and the spirit, and not their "creator."

[Zebedeo]

30. Yes, I attend Sunday

services regularly. In addition, I offer praise and thanks to God throughout the week. I like Christian music and particularly Gospel music.