May I Ask a VERY PERSONAL Question? What is your claimed religion?

[Robson]

Poll question: May I Ask a VERY PERSONAL Question? What is your claimed religion?

May I ask your religion on an anonymous basis? I'm curious where we are coming from on DU as far as religious beliefs.

It is entirely confidential. Comment if you wish. Some believe that certain religions have too much influence.

My own belief is that basic religion isn't a bad thing, but over identifying with it and especially over zealousness is a negative whether you are a Christian Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Hindu etc.

Leaders use religion to divide and to manipulate us. Some of us like to believe that we think for ourselves. I like the word "manipulate" because I believe that we the people are over manipulated by big business, especially big media and government without us even knowing it. They play us as the fools we are and sometimes we allow it under a vestige of our religion that may not really represent our current beliefs.

These options are listed in no particular order.

[Neoma]

1. Atheistic buddhist.

Not really personal, I tell anyone who asks.

[sam sarrha]

29. ever checked out the Wheel of Life, the gods also exist in Samsara in their own realm,

[Neoma]

35. I choose not to believe in that.

[sam sarrha]

116. having been tortured by extremist fundamentalist christians as a child i really like the thought the

gODs suffer as everyone else,... not very Buddhist i acknowledge.. but we all have to start where we are..

[Neoma]

139. I hope you don't mean physically.

You're not the only one that's been 'tortured' by fundamentalists though, most of my relatives are psychopaths in their own right. :hug:


Anyways, originally buddhism wants you to pick and choose your beliefs: "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." -Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), 563-483 B.C.

[sam sarrha]

163. being forced to self humiliate by praying thru with the appropriate crying and begging forgiveness t...

to the congregation for sins you didn't commit while being belittled by the pastor for not Meaning it.... being healed repeatedly and demeaned because you werent healed cause because you didnt love jesus enough, in a prayer session where the entire congregation puts their hands on you and wails and screams in a crush of bodies and hands and arms all over every inch of you.. Free Holiness Pentecostal off shoot holy rollers

the big variable here is that i am autistic.. these events were an attempt to heal me and cast out the demons that caused my problems.. WAY way too much input and stimulation.. it was the most terrifying events of my life.. i was 5 to about 9 there.. till we moved away.

[Zhade]

170. That's child abuse.

NT!

[Hekate]

186. The story of Indra's Ants is a beautiful illustration of the Hindu version

:-) I love telling Joseph Campbell's version of that one to my mythology classes. All creation moves through the Wheel of Time and is subject to the same laws...even the gods.

Sam, you have had an incredible journey. In Buddhist thought every person's life is a succession of "lives", each moment and thought being born and passing away. How you lived through your Pentecostal period and came to this moment is a wonder.

But even gods come into being and pass away, and come into being again.

Hekate

[Jemmons]

100. Join us in the Skeptical Buddhist Sanga in Second Life if you care

;)

[karlrschneider]

2. I VOTED

:D

[donheld]

109. Yes you voted, but

You left Chad hanging so we couldn't count it. :D

[MrSlayer]

3. Atheist. But I do enjoy dabbling in the worship of the Greek gods.

A multi-god pantheon is much more fun and makes much more sense than the boring, single schizophrenic God.

[Jacobin]

13. You would have enjoyed the Bacchus parade at Mardi Gras this year

The guy who plays Tony Soprano was the king this year.

:thumbsup:

[rockymountaindem]

4. Jew Crew here n/t

[ikojo]

60. Also an MOT!!

Good shabbos to all the yidden on DU!!

[Mojambo]

5. Atheist

I generally label myself a "Don't-care-ist" though.

[knowbody0]

6. born again savage

[Jacobin]

7. Evangelistic Atheist

[PurityOfEssence]

178. You again.

Feh.

(Nice to hear from you, though...)

[Robbien]

8. Surprising. Around two dozen votes so far and no christians

I figured there would be plenty of christians running around this place.

Huh.

[Jacobin]

16. was raised as a Presbyterian

Not a crazy branch of the cult, but I prefer my Thomas Jefferson

[tibbir]

41. I was a member of the Presbyterian church growing up

but it was a liberal church as they go.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Agnostic with Buddhist leanings.

[ocd liberal]

10. I was actually baptized in a Methodist Church

before I was one year old. My mom is the real atheist - I just follow her lead.

[Little Wing]

11. Universalist

[marlakay]

208. I am a universalist too nt

[TahitiNut]

12. Deist/Unitarian/Spiritual ... non-sectarian.

:shrug: The "Cult of the Hot Dog Vendor"

[Selatius]

155. I thought I was the only Deist around these parts.

:thumbsup:

[Double T]

14. Pagan

[Beaverhausen]

160. Me too

[Double T]

162. For your thoughts...........

[OhioChick]

15. Catholic n/t

[bullimiami]

17. interesting that you seperated jewish and jewish orthodox.

I guess its true that the reformed and conservatives pretty much just fit in but are jewish but the orthodox make a big show of it.
jewish is not just a religion, its religion, culture and ethnicity all wrapped up though.

Im not a good jew. I went to hebrew school and had a bar mitzvah but I really dont care much for any organized religion.
Of course jewish holidays are not just religious but a cultural/family/historic event so Im still involved.
I virtually never set foot in a temple although I feel right at home if I do.

[Bicoastal]

44. Funny....

...how no one's identified themselves as Orthodox yet.

Maybe because it's Friday Night? LOL!

[bullimiami]

54. not really. orthodox jews tend not to be very liberal.

[Bicoastal]

74. No, no, no...

Orthodox Jews? Using their computers on the Sabbath?

[Leopolds Ghost]

108. What about Orthodox/Coptic Christians?

After all they have as much of a claim to being the "true church" as Catholic/Protestants do.

The only problem is, according to some national churches, you are either a good Christian who respects civil authority or you are an "evil Communist". That might skew the sample. Funny, that...

Orthodox Judaism have at least had some success in not becoming ENTIRELY associated with the policies of the state of Israel, unlike, say, the Spanish Catholic Church or the Russian Orthodox Church. I mean, there are plenty of devout Orthodox Jews who are not Temple Zionists.

[Perky]

136. the Orthodox are underrepresented in this poll

they can't logo no to after sundown

[MedleyMisty]

18. Other

I like the Buddhist philosophy, but I don't believe in rebirth or karma as a spiritual force.

I found a Buddhist forum, but it was way too dogmatic - but then most of the posters were former Christians (with a high percentage of ex-Catholics for some reason - any ex-Catholics here want to theorize about it?), so maybe they just hadn't lost old habits.

So anyway, yeah, I would have went with atheist but then I saw Buddhist on the list and after all, I am spiritual - it's just a spirituality based in logic and reality without any belief in the supernatural.

[tnlefty]

19. Officially I, as well as the members of my immediate family, are members

of the Episcopal Church. After the church was targeted for infiltration by rwing nutcases, we no longer attend. We "home church" by just trying to be decent human beings.

edit: member(s) really does need the s to be plural :blush:

[NoPasaran]

20. Recovering Catholic

[ComerPerro]

73. Exchange from Kevin Smith's Dogma:

"I think God is dead"

"Ahh, the sign of a true Catholic"

[HooptieWagon]

21. Carnal Christian

[bonito]

22. I would guess same one as God's

But it's not known to me,

[gratefultobelib]

23. "other"--I imagine many here at DU are like me--having been raised attending a

Christian church (Methodist for me) where we were taught the Bible as literal truth. Once we reached an age of intelligent reasoning, though, we were not comfortable with some of the tenets of our various Christian faiths and became----Democrats!! :) OK, just kidding. Most of my liberal friends are not church goers, nor are any of my kids.

[Robson]

24. I'm a member of the church of "The Golden Rule"

I voted Christian but in reality I'm a non-practicing and actually a strong proponent of the Church of the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Treat your neighbor as you want to be treated.

But it certainly is NOT the "He who has the gold rules".

[whistle]

25. Spiritual

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

26. Deep Spiritual Faith In God That Is Personal And Mine Alone.

[kysrsoze]

193. Bravo to you. That's all you need. Sect is irrelevant. It's what you ARE

I'm a Lutheran and I don't care what anyone else is as long as they aim to help those who are less fortunate and preach sharing and caring. Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Hindi and everyone else are completely fine with me as long as care for others (including animals - God's gift to us all) is a priority. I don't understand how right-wing "Christians" can choose to completely ignore Christ's insistence on helping those who are poor, lost, persecuted, etc. Instead, they use religion as an excuse to feel like they are some how more privileged and deserving than everyone else. That mindset is selfish and completely sick.

The meek shall inherit the earth.

[TechBear_Seattle]

27. Confirmed non-believer

Chew on that for a bit. :hi:

[sam sarrha]

28. please note Buddhism is Not a Religion, its a View.. a method of training the mind ..there is no gOD

or creation involved everyone is responsivle for themselves;no babysitters, it is based on a logical statement, 'there is suffering/discontent which is caused by grasping or wanting things to be other than they are, and sense there is a cause there is a resolution.. the 8 fold path', which is simply a system of living that reduces desire/grasping while training the mind to be able to view subject and object as one... ie: Emptiness

[Manifestor_of_Light]

37. yup.

Buddhism does not talk about god or gods, although it does talk about ghosts.

From my understanding, if you are a Buddhist you are an atheist, since Buddha, Kwan Yin and others who are venerated are enlightened beings, or Bodhisattvas, and are NOT gods.

Trivial off topic P.S.: Robert Thurman is the first American who became a Tibetan Buddhist priest.

Uma, his daughter, is named after the alternate name of Shiva's consort, Parvati. That's from Hinduism.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

49. Yup,Yup

Buddha doesn't care if you believe in no Gods or lots of Gods. I am an atheist and consider myself a Buddhist and see no conflict in that.

[sam sarrha]

117. the Hungery Ghosts are a perceptual level of spiritual developement, the term is a translation that

doesnt really explain it in our language

[Manifestor_of_Light]

179. Thanks for that explanation, Sam!

The nun teaching our English class had talked about the asuras, the hungry and angry ghosts.


Hmm, sounds like a description of what we would call "lizard brain"??

[sam sarrha]

207. apparently the Hungry ghosts are a metaphor of those that are not satisfied the good things they

see they see as bad things, they see good food as crap and piss, they have ravenous thirst and hunger and if they eat or drink they experience horrible pain.. they constantly seek relief but can not identify it , although it is in front of them

that was what my Tibetan Friend related to me,

[NashVegas]

229. Depends on Your View of Religious Purpose

Religion is (IMO, of course) a method to function in a world that we have so many questions about, but no concrete answers. Ask almost any Catholic and they will tell you the rituals are just as important, to being a Catholic, as the doctrine is.

[Random_Australian]

242. Well, you know what they mean; I mean, atheism is listed as a religion.

Which it clearly isn't.

[flying rabbit]

30. Somethings going on

But I am not quite sure what it is.

[KG]

31. Marxist-Trotskyite

:hi:

[Bicoastal]

32. Muah-hah-hah!!!

This is Friday night!! Do you think any Orthodox Jews are going to be using their computers? :9

[Lisa]

33. my family was Shinto-Buddhist, though some converted to Anglican

I was raised with a mixture of Christian and Shintoist customs (for the longest time I just assumed that the Japanese Obon festival was Church of England!). Right now I would classify myself as a practicing agnostic ... though if I had to choose an organized religion, I would probably go with either United Church of Canada, or Unitarian (a major reason being that neither of those denominations make a big deal of anybody "having to choose").

Major props, by the way, to the United Church -- who came out strongly against the Iraq war, and in favour of environmental sustainability. They are urging their congregations to stop buying bottled water -- due to ecological impacts, and the privatization issue. In addition, on a personal note, my cousin and his family are very involved with their local UCC church, and people really rallied around when he was diagnosed with cancer last year.

[Robson]

48. Churches do provide support

To their credit religious institutions /churches do provide tremendous support when tragedy or illness strikes.

As humans we will all need such support at times. Of course families also provide support.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

180. No church I ever went to would lift a finger to help me find a job.

They just wouldn't do it. I was NOT asking for a freebie. I was asking for honest work. And I am no ditchdigger in the skills department.

I don't think much of them.

[spoony]

239. Then don't think much of those

particular churches. Condemning any entire group for bad experiences with a small segment of that group is harmful to both the person doing so and society at large.

[Colobo]

34. Agnostic, thanks to...

A quote from Miguel de Unamuno's novel "San Manuel Bueno, mártir" (translation by me):

"Truth is perhaps something terrible, something intolerable, something deadly; simple people would not be able to live with it. <...> What is needed is for them to live happily, under an unanimous feeling, and with the truth; with my truth, they would not be able to live. Let them live. That's what the Church does, make them live. True religion? All religions are true because they give spiritual life to the peoples that believe in them, because they give them solace about being born only to die, and for each nation the true religion is their own, the one it has created. And which one is mine? Mine is to find solace in giving solace to others, even if the solace I give them is not my own."

This novel made me an agnostic.

[knitter4democracy]

36. And again, the Eastern Orthodox Christians are left out.

I just love clicking "other." :eyes:

Yes, I realize there was a Christian "other," but that means we're the same as Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, and other forms of Christianity that have added to the Creed and seriously changed the faith. We go back to the beginning and are older than the Roman Catholic Church (Roman church came after the one in Jerusalem, and we still have a patriarch there).

[femmocrat]

158. Yep. We are relegated to the "other" category.

Having grown up in a Catholic neighborhood, we were always considered "outsiders". I guess I'm used to it by now.

[knitter4democracy]

201. We're taking our kids out of the Catholic school for next fall.

My daughter started calling it "her church," the parish church attached to the school. *sigh* Next year's first Reconciliation and First Communion--which she's already had. The crossing herself thing has already been an issue, so I don't want a fight next year over all this. We'll be better off in the public school, anyways.

[Zhade]

173. You guys are welcome to the atheist slot, since atheism isn't a religion.

NT!

[knitter4democracy]

200. Thanks for the giggle. I needed it.

You're right--I've always felt atheism is more of a philosophy, not a faith. I guess that's self-evident in the definition of the term, so I wonder why people say it's a religion. It's not like atheists have buildings they decorate and come together in regularly for group worship of some kind.

[Zhade]

220. Why the laugh? It's not a religion, or a philosophy, or a belief system.

It is the utter LACK of these things.

[knitter4democracy]

223. I giggled when I thought that could've clicked that instead.

First of all, it would really throw off the poll (kinda funny), and the idea of telling our priest (a good friend of ours) that I had to click on athiest because there was no Orthodox option made me giggle. That's why. Kinda the whole existentialist thing--clicking a button to tally religion and not having mine there.

Please forgive my ignorance, but how is atheism a lack of philosophy? In the words of Dogma (a great movie, I think), is it just a good idea, not anything dogmatic or believed?

[sarcasmo]

38. A proud Atheist. We have started no Wars.

[otherlander]

83. Except for Stalin.

But you all can just excommunicate him from your atheist club. :evilgrin:

[Zhade]

174. ...done in the name of Stalinism, not atheism. Nice try.

But a lie.

[ContraBass Black]

187. The statement was "We [atheists] have started no wars," not "No war has been started...

...In the name of the non-existence of a god or gods."

[Zhade]

219. Ah, that's a fair point.

NT!

[otherlander]

188. Try?

To do what?

[tibbir]

39. Unitarian Universalist

I don't know what I really believe though.

[Colobo]

40. Have you considered agnosticism as an option?

[tibbir]

43. That's where I probably am

but I'm not 100% on it. :D

[hedgehog]

68. I wonder how many here caught that joke!

[tibbir]

71. I'm glad someone did!

[hedgehog]

126. I love good natured religious jokes such as Garrison Keillor tells;

the ones picking up the foibles of Catholics , Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Unitarians and Lutherans. It's like the best ethnic humor.

[Jack Rabbit]

184. You have qustions, so do we . . .

(From a UU promotional film)

[deutsey]

215. Agnosticism and atheism is permissible within UUism, fyi

[Nevernose]

87. We should form a committee...

...and discuss it over coffee.

A few old UU jokes:

Unitarians believe in -- at most -- one god

What do you get when you cross a Klansman with a Unitarian?
Someone who goes out at night to burn huge wooden question marks.

How many Unitarians does it take to change a light bulb?
There is no fixed number but the committee must have a quorum.

How many Unitarians does it take to change a light bulb?
First, let's decide just what we mean by lightbulb, and how one might be changed. And then let us examine whether it truly acknowledges the dignity and worth of the light bulb to ask it to change.

How many Unitarians does it take to change a lightbulb?
300
• 12 to sit on the Board which appoints the Nominating and Personnel Committee.
• 5 to sit on the the Nominating and Personnel Committee which appoints the House Committtee.
• 8 to sit on the House Committtee which appoints the Light Bulb changing committee.
• 4 to sit on the Light Bulb Changing Committee which chooses who will screw in the Light Bulb.
Those 4 then give their own opinion of "screwing in methods" while the one actually does the installation.

After completion it takes 100 individuals to complain about the method of installation, another 177 to debate the ecological impact of using the light bulb at all, and at least one to insist that back in HER day, the lit chalice was quite enough, thank you very much!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

102. I got a few more for ya!

I'm a godless secular humanist myself. And the first Unitarian, Michael Servetus, was barbecued at the stake at John Calvin's "Geneva's #1 Barbecue Place". Not a good start. He was also hated by the Catholics and Martin Luther. I'm not sure who the first Universalist was but I hope he had better luck.


Who do Unitarians pray to? To Whom It May Concern.

When is the only time they say "Jesus Christ" in a Unitarian church? When the sexton (custodian) falls down stairs.

What do Unitarians worship? The Giver of Life -- The Coffeepot.

Variation on Klan joke above: Did you hear what the Klan did when a Unitarian family moved to town?
They burned a flaming question mark on their lawn.

[Nevernose]

104. I've added those to my UU jokes file

Of course, I'm not allowed to actually publish any of them in the newsletter, since not everyone in the newsletter committee has a sense of humor. I keep them just in case, though. Someday, the rest of my congregation will develop my sense of humor.

Godless secular humanist these days myself, btw. It's weird that I go to church a lot more often since I stopped believing in God, isn't it?

[Hekate]

118. Unitarian jihadists unite!

:-)

Hekate

[Manifestor_of_Light]

181. They never throw anyone out, either, because they have no creed!

Did any of the other religions think about the fact that when you get judgmental and throw people out, you lose your source of income?

[Faux pas]

42. Agnostic who lives by the Golden Rule and Ten Commandments.

n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

57. interesting

So, according to the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before the one you're not sure exists.

Cool.

[Faux pas]

64. Aw come on, how about I live by 8 of the Ten Commandments?

picky, picky aren't we?

[Bill McBlueState]

130. eight of ten is better than most right-wing Christians! n/t

[ElizabethDC]

45. Episcopalian

I do resent that some do use religion to "divide and manipulate us," because it gives the rest of us who are relgious a bad name.

[GreenInNC]

47. Episcopal here also

[A HERETIC I AM]

149. Raised Episcopalian, confirmed in the National Cathedral in DC, now Atheist....

I find more liberal, progressive thinking christians are Episcopalians than almost any other xtian faith.

Must be something in the Holy Water!

My Father was CIA and we lived in Greece and Australia when i was younger. We attended an Anglican Church in Athens and an Anglican church in Alice Springs.

It seems to me that there are many Universalist Unitarians that started out as Episcopalians as well.

Well, an open window (mind) lets much light in.

[KoKo]

232. Episcopalian here...but fallen away over the Iraq War...

I'm still a Protestant, though. Just drifting. It was the WAR...I couldn't take the hypocracy and a few other differences with the lack of fight back against the fundies and pandering to the heirarchy.

[KoKo]

233. Atheist or Agnostic? Or just "fallen away" over issues? n/t

[Raine]

46. I was raised Lutheran we belonged

to the liberal branch not the conservative one.

[kysrsoze]

194. I agree. There are Lutheran sects I don't agree with

I'm happy to be an Evangelical Lutheran because they tend to focus heavily on social justice, gay rights and most importantly, assistance for anyone who needs it. We have a number of AA sessions going on every week and participate in food programs, fair trade, Habitat for Humanity and general community outreach. If your church, or whatever you call your spiritual community, doesn't support these types of programs, you should LEAVE and find one that does.

[Bjornsdotter]

50. Raised Lutheran

...now a firm atheist.

Cheers

[lumberjack_jeff]

167. I was asked to not attend a lutheran sunday school...

does that count?

[Madspirit]

51. Second generation atheist

...with Buddhist influences. You might note, Buddhists never push anyone around.
I think religion itself actually is the problem. Anything that teaches blind adherence to anything is suspect, in my book.
Just fyi, I used to work for Madalyn Murray O'Hare...RIP.
Lee

[mentalsolstice]

52. I'm Catholic

However, the Church has strayed in many ways, and refuses to grow in many other ways. So I'm non-practicing, yet I still find it to be the best fit as far as my basic beliefs go. The past few years have been very painful for me, and I don't take my non-practicing status lightly, I reflect on it daily. Like most Catholics I don't interpret the whole Bible literally, instead I use it (particularly the Gospels) as a guide for living with my fellow human beings.

Do unto the least of your brethren ...

[and-justice-for-all]

53. I am glad to see so many NON-THEIST here...

..It warms my souless vessel to be among other NON-THEIST. In my town I am a rare breed, rare on the fact that I speak out and do not hesitate to say I am such. The "Nazi believers" in my town have never seen my kind...

I really do not have that much of problem with those who do believe whom keep their religion personnal, like it should be. Its these Fundi assholes I can not stomach and I DO NOT tolerate their bullshit.

[A HERETIC I AM]

151. You're a Heretic!

Welcome to the brother(sister)hood!

:hug:

The difference between an Heathen and a Heretic is simply that a Heathen keeps his/her mouth shut!

[AnnieBW]

55. Wiccan, here

I'm a polytheist.

[necklace]

56. Religion does not divide: people divide.

If you truly investigate any one of the religious doctrines, really investigate them, you can see that at its core they are all saying the same thing; that which is beyond words. And because it is beyond words, the teachings of these "religions" are uniting in its own mysterious ways.

However, it is human nature to divide as a way of justifying one's existence by demeaning another. If it is not in the name of religion, it is in the name of some other ideology. If it is not religion or ideology, it will be politics, racism, sexism, nationalism, homophobia, etc...whatever one wants to use to prove that one is better than the person next to them. By justifying oneself in this way, one does not take on the responsibility of their actions and their lives.

Why is it so difficult to see this difference? Why is it that the teachings and the doctrines are thrown out with the those who have completely misinterpreted these teachings as if these teachings have no merit? Why do we assume that these misinterpretations are the truth instead of finding out the truth for ourselves? Isn't it possible to see that the interpretations are not what the teachings point to?

[Robson]

61. Agreed

I agree that religions per se don't divide. Leaders use religions to divide and consolidate power. Most of the people of the world believing in different religions could live side by side until a leader evolves and starts to play one religion against the other.

To Saddam's limited credit in Iraq as a secularist, he didn't overplay the religion card although he did obviously favor his Sunnis over the Kurds and Shiites...all being Muslim. There have been leaders such as Hitler who took one religion and ostracized it in order to gain power. It occured in England. Others such as Stalin ostracized all religions.

I'm not really religious so I don't see myself ever being manipulated by a Rove to turn against others because of their religion beliefs.

[necklace]

70. Just because you don't ally yourself with a "religion"...

does not mean that you are impervious to manipulation! By identifying yourself as "not religious", only means that you have chosen a "religion" that rejects all other teachings. It could possibly be that you may be more susceptible to manipulation via aversion therapy because of the rejection of this rejection.

Also, being religious does not mean that one is gullible and easily manipulated. And while there are those out there who divide this world by whatever means is available out there, it does not mean that being "religious" means that one is narrow-minded.

If you investigate into the core of any religion - you investigate the teachings of that religion without all the stories and drama attached to it - and you investigate to see what that truth is, you will see that what is being pointed to is beyond religion or no-religion.

I believe that if we all were to see the truth, the world would be a different place!
:-)

[Jonathan50]

122. Out of all the thousands of different religions on the planet

I only believe in one less than you. That is unless you believe in more than one religion.

[necklace]

148. Does it matter if I believe in one or more religions?

If one can see that all spiritual teachings are the same at its core, what difference does it make that I follow one or a thousand? God is God; Love is Love; Truth is Truth. Whatever name it may take on, it is only semantics!!!

:9

So to say that I believe in one, means I believe in all of them; even yours!!!

[Zhade]

175. Not having a religion is hardly having a religion.

Take a basic logic class.

[necklace]

185. Your logic isn't logical! Atheism is a religion!

It is the religion of renouncing all other forms! In its own way, it has become a religion, as it is the BELIEF that all the spiritual teachers of the past and present are not valid and that these teachings have no value!

To truly not have a religion means that one will embrace all the spiritual teachings in all the forms available with no judgment or bias. Can you truly say that about yourself or are you practicing the religion of denial???
:headbang:

[enki23]

191. oh lordy...

:eyes:

[Zhade]

221. You're wrong. I do not believe as you describe.

Not being in my head, you cannot do anything but acknowledge that *I* know what I do and don't believe, and you DON'T. Period.

I lack belief in supernatural bullshit. It's that easy. My brain does not accept it, since there is no supporting evidence for gods.

I really don't give a damn if you can grasp that or not.

[necklace]

235. You have proven my point, Zhade!

You have chosen the religion of atheism, and your emphatic hostile tone only proves that you are quite a fundamentalist at it, as most atheists I know.

Atheism is a religion; it is a religion that "believes" that rejects the teachings of Christ, the Buddha, Krishna, Allah, and all the other teachers of past, present and future. It is the practice of not examining and investigating these teachings for oneself.

I'm not proclaiming to know what's inside your head, and quite frankly I don't care. All I am saying is that atheism tends to be practiced as a religion as much as the other proclaimed religions. Only those who are not confident in one's beliefs feels the need to make these distinctions. Those who are secure in their beliefs embrace all teachings, for they can truly see that their beliefs are in all and vice versa!

Only those who insecure will respond with such hostility and anger! At least that has been my experience.


;)

[Pastiche423]

58. Agnostic

[Bill McBlueState]

59. there should be a "Christian - Orthodox" option

knitter4democracy makes a good point upthread.

[Robson]

63. Sorry ran out of options

The option list was maxed out. I should have eliminated orthodox Jew as it is most likely less represented than Orthodox Catholic.

[knitter4democracy]

203. What's an Orthodox Catholic?

Eastern Orthodox Christians aren't Catholic. Eastern-rite Catholics, like the Marianists here in the States, are Catholics, but they're not Orthodox.

I know this seems a small point, but I get so tired of one-third of Christianity constantly being left out simply because people don't know that much about us. It gets frustrating.

[Robson]

216. Question

Is this the same, or something different from what you are speaking http://www.orthodoxcatholicchurch.org/ ?

I've heard some refer to Cathlolic as Greek Catholic Orthodox or Russian Orthodox Cathlolic church. There are probably many opinions on this so I don't know who's right.

[knitter4democracy]

227. Very different.

Catholic and Orthodox are different churches. It's a long story, but the short version is that we were all one church until the Great Schism in 1054 when we split into Western (Roman) and Eastern (Orthodox). If the term Catholic is in there, they're under the Pope in Rome. If they're Orthodox, then they're under their patriarch for their region.

See, the Church was originally run by the council of bishops (later patriarchs when the Church got bigger). There was no head of the council, and everyone had equal voting rights. Each patriarch runs his region like a head bishop and doesn't answer to any other patriarchs. They are nice to each other, most of the time, and they're all on the council and work together.

The Russian Orthodox are under Patriarch Alexii in Moscow, while the Greek Orthodox here in America are under the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople/Istanbul. The Ecumenical Patriarch is kind of the leader of the council, but he's considered equal to everyone. Given the history of that position, everyone in the Church tends to listen to him and take his opinions very seriously. He's not a Pope, though.

The Pope in Rome as total sway over the entire Roman Catholic Church, regardless of region. The Orthodox Patriarchs don't have the level of power he does, though they are powerful enough within the Church.

As for your link, they are an anomaly. If I understood everything there properly, they are an independent Western-rite supposedly Orthodox Church. Still, since they have ancient ties to the Eastern Orthodox churches, it would make sense to lump us all together, just as all Protestants are lumped together in most polls and yet have massive differences between them.

[Rex]

62. None.

nt

[rebel with a cause]

65. My own religion

made up of what I believe personally. Taking some from different prophets, strongly leaning on the idealistic teachings of Jesus. Believing that it is better to do good/what's right that earn a lot of money/own a lot of property. I will probably die with the same amount of property that I came into this world with, only leaving behind more junk and debt(funeral expenses). ;-)

[SoCalDem]

66. Secular Golden Rule-ist

and a smidgeon of "Do No Harm-ist"

[baldguy]

67. I'm a recovering Catholic

Now - maybe an Atheist Christian. Jesus had a lot of wonderful things to say; claiming to be God doesn't add any value to them

[Blue_In_AK]

69. Raised Christian-Protestant

but now more universalist. I feel like I'm a fairly spiritual person, but I see both good and bad in organized religions. I haven't regularly attended church in quite some time.

[ComerPerro]

72. secular humanist

[uppityperson]

93. secular humanist here too.

[cmd]

75. Try to follow the teachings of Jesus

but can no longer call myself a Christian. The term has been too diluted.

[mnhtnbb]

78. Me too. Considered myself Christian Protestant for most of my adult life--even sang

in church choirs for a number of years. After the experience of living
in MO and NE for 12 years among some of the most hypocritical people I'd ever encountered, I gave up attending any church when we moved to Chapel Hill, NC.

I do miss the music, but don't wish to be associated with organized religion.
I don't need to be a member of a church to be a spiritual being.

[Nikki Stone1]

76. What, no "Secular humanism" option? (We libs get accused of that all the time)

,,,

[Marrah_G]

77. Wiccan

[magellan]

79. Secular humanist

Which I guess falls under 'atheist' rather than 'other' since I'm a non-believer in any faith.

[The Straight Story]

80. Wow, I am a minority here

Now when people rail about my faith and refer to me as an idiot can I bitch?

:evilgrin:

[Leopolds Ghost]

111. No, but if anyone calls you "surprisingly articulate" watch out ;-)

[On the Road]

81. Very Personal?

That stuff is all over the street here. You can't get away from it.
(But I won't tell which one I voted for.)

:smoke:

[Nevernose]

89. A Lutheran minister once said to us in a sermon:

You're not supposed to talk about sex, politics, or religion. But that's simply not true. You're not supposed to ARGUE about those things.

But EVERYBODY loves talking about their faith.

Obviously, he meant almost everyone, or at least everyone minus you :), but the general principle remains the same.

BTW, the Evangelical Lutherans are a great bunch of Christians -- green/socially responsible investment plans, acceptance and ordainment of gays, teaching of evolution in Sunday school, and their employee health plan covers abortion. I don't go there anymore, but still, overall, a great religion.

[otherlander]

82. It's not that I don't believe that there's a God

so much as that I don't care if there's a God. I could almost call myself a secular Taoist, because I've studied the Tao Te Ching, agreed with some of what it said, and learned from it, but I'm really not, because then I would go from studying and learning to accepting as a system. And I've seen that accepting something as a system- whether it's a philosophy, a religion, a political ideology, whatever- and using that to guide your decisions instead of looking at each situation independently and asking yourself what you feel would be for the greater good, is one of the most dangerous things a human being can do.

[phattyt]

84. Other: Existentialist philosophy

I believe that the only unmitigated truth in life (spiritual, in specific) stems from what we, ourselves, observe. I don't hold myself accountable to any particular belief or doctrine but instead construct a world view based on my own experiences and thoughts. As Sartre once wrote, "In anguish I apprehend myself at once as totally free and as not being able to derive the meaning of the world except as coming from myself."

That being said I have absolutely no problems with those people who are particularly religious. I just have always had a hard time wholly believing in religion since it requires one to put tremendous faith into something that is largely subjective and completely unprovable.

[Leopolds Ghost]

98. My empirical belief in Epiphenomenalism is sort of a mystical version of Existentialism.

Epiphenomenalists believe that consciousness is either an attribute of all
existence or a passive phenomenon generated by / reflecting on experience.

As such, consciousness can never be directly observed, only inferred
(via nth-order self-consciousness).

Similarly, we don't really know what things "look" or "taste" like.

These variables are known as qualia.

In its most extreme (and simple) form, The fact that we exist can
be taken as proof that qualia exist, and therefore something must
be conscious of our existence.

There are many baffling mind-body experiments done by psychiatrists
that can be interpreted as empirical evidence of Epiphenomenalism.

For a simple one, consider the taste of Lettuce.

When people who normally detest Lettuce (like me) become vitamin defecient,
they may develop a craving for Lettuce. The taste of Lettuce becomes desirable.
Think of the story of Rapunzel, for instance...

This happens despite the fact that the qualia associated with the taste of Lettuce does not change in a way that our brain can recognize.

The standard one (much more easily misunderstood) is color: it is axiomatic that the qualia associated with color are inseparable from conscious experience. When your brain imagines color, it imagines only the idea of color. At other times, your "camera window" is on and the brain experiences color directly. No single part of the brain can be identified with this "observer", the point through which an image is "processed", although it is possible to map the raw data in a two-dimensional portion of the visual cortex itself. Every cell in the brain takes in info from every other cell processes the image slightly differently. The only AI that is able to repeat this process is the self-programming analog matrix circuit, a neural-network configuration in which all channels are open simultaneously.

The most difficult-to-understand corrolary of Epiphenomenalism is the implications for Time. For instance, time could in fact be crystalline or multiversal according to this theory -- every moment of every possible world exists simultaneously -- and all our conscious mind, being merely an epiphenomenon of existence, percieves is what our mind told us "just happened" -- i.e. short term memory.

According to this theory, we may be already fated to make every decision that lies before us, in which case our only moral authority is in the form of self-consciousness; i.e. we may be fated to voluntarily do the right thing but we are fated nonetheless; the soul has no control. Doing the wrong action is thus axiomatically wrong, i.e. it has a negative effect on the world and our future behavior; not because we "chose" wrong. This is why I believe in universal salvation.

The multiversal version of this phenomenon is that every time we make a decision or take an action, we open up an alternate time-line in which a version of ourselves exist -- infinitely and simultaneously. This requires both a belief in higher-order dimensions (possibly including consciousness itself) and a belief in Monist panpsychism, the doctrine that "we are all one and everything/everyone in the universe is an extension of everything/everyone else" and that physical/spatial differentiality (entropy) is the only thing that keeps the universe from collapsing into God.

An alternate explanation of the same phenomenon is scarier: that our conscious self did not exist 2 seconds ago, and will not exist 2 seconds from now; we may have multiple interrelated conscious selves winking in and out of existence in our brain, followed by an eternity of darkness (which of course would be perceived as an infinetisimally small interval, since the conscious perception of time is dependent on a reference point).

It is also possible that darkness is an illusion generated by the brain and that the "white light" encountered by crash victims is an indefinite period of (actual) non-existence. It is possible to put one under using anesthesia for an indefinite period of time and they will not experience the passage of time at all: sometimes, when they wake up, they may either be completely un-self-conscious or their short-term memory is completely turned off, meaning they are un-self-consciously lucid and have no memory or recollection of it; they may also be unconsciously lucid, period, as in the case of patients who suffered from delusions or sleep disorders while engaging in outwardly normal speech and activity: the patient remembers experiencing something entirely different than what his rational mind was doing.

This may be evidence of the "zombie" hypothesis so often dismissed as an
ad-absurdum argument by opponents of Epiphenomenalism. The trick is not
to be horrified by the thought that we are all zombie automatons, but to
rely on Occam's Razor.

[Nevernose]

85. Until very recently I CLAIMED to be a Christian

But I was never really "there" if you know what I mean. Now I'm usually an atheist -- secular humanist -- and occasionally an agnostic (maybe it's God working in mysterious ways, or maybe it's just mood swings :)).

The funny thing is, now that I'm an atheist? I go to church a lot more regularly. Sure, it's a Unitarian church, but it's still church.

[Leopolds Ghost]

86. Radical Early-Church Anabaptist; just to be contrary, I was raised Lutheran and still go there.

Various tenets of radical early-church Christianity include:

(taken from en.wikipedia.org/Anabaptism and other sources)

* Red-letter interpretation of Bible (what Christ actually said)

* Personal inspiration by holy spirit (i.e. mysticism)

* Refuse to interpret Bible according to "tradition and ritual"

* Insist on the re-baptism of individuals at adulthood (actual
practise of re-baptism varies, but adults must voluntarily
accept Christianity, not a declaration that an existing
Christian has been somehow "saved"; adults can't choose
religion for their kids)

* Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's: this is extended to a
general doctrine of nonviolence and/or civil disobedience;
Anabaptists are not allowed to engage in tax revolt because
they are not libertarians: Anabaptists are not supposed to
covet personal property; Money is the property of the secular State.

* All things should be held in common; total democracy

* All temporal lords and rulers rule by the sword and must be
passively obeyed (or passively resisted) but not honored or
assisted; the Christian commuinity has no rulers except the
teachings of God

* Total nonviolence: The Anabaptists refused to fight the Turks,
who were taking over Europe at the time; "Better to be ruled
by a Turk, who does not claim to believe in Christ's teachings,
than by a false Christian who governs by the sword"

* Many sects believe(d) in the doctrine of universal salvation
originally promoted by Pope Gregory, but insist
that people follow Christ's teachings in this life,
on the ground that, well, evil is wrong

* The World seen as prone to evil, while death is an escape from
evil of the World; Christ's role was to teach people to live
on earth the way they were originally supposed to before the
Fall; Catholics now teach a variant of this doctrine (i.e. they
have replaced "this is the best of all possible worlds and the
Powers that Be are ordained by God" with "mankind is generally
prone to evil and is likely to fail, but isn't allowed to give
up; they must continually fight for social justice.") This is
the opposite of the Calvinist/fundamentalist position.

* Christians not allowed to tell other people how to behave;
they must choose to do the right thing

* Belief in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth:
Jesus came to teach us how to live, not how to die

* Most of the early Anabaptists were imprisoned, tortured and
executed, often in conjunction with Peasant revolts in the
1300s-1600s.

* Teachings of Paul are subordinate to Acts

* MOST Anabaptist communities oppose(d) racism and sexism, citing
early Church practice, although they tend to agree with Paul on
matters of sexuality (i.e. "If you're actually going to have sex,
get married") while some of the more apocalyptic communities
advocate free love, although this didn't always work out too well;
cf. Munster commune of 1532.

* Opposition to Calvinism

* Later sects advocating a slightly-watered-down form of Anabaptism
include the Mennonites and Brethren. The Quakers and Shakers are
later, Anglo variants.

* Because they governed both spiritual and temporal matters
by direct democracy of all adult community members, Anabaptists
had a major problem with sectarianism, as groups excommunicated
each other (nonviolently, of course) over issues as minor as
whether to spend money on a house. This was known as banishment
or shunning, since imprisonment and the death penalty were not
accepted punishments, and freedom of conscience was a central
value. However, groups insisted that people who did not choose
to follow the teachings of their group chose not to be a part
of the "true church" community. This has resulted in small
Anabaptist groups with their own ideas, such as the Amish and
Old Order Mennonites. Unfortunately none of these groups
recognized the other and because it is a pluralistic religion,
when one group gets a wierd notion it is used to tar the whole
movement.

* General belief that the early church was subverted by the
Roman emperors and bishops and survived only thru persecution,
and that small churches like these are the heirs of the
"true church" (sometimes one group claims to be the only
true church, but this is fairly extreme; others merely hold
that the "mainstream" churches are mistaken in their teachings.)

[Leopolds Ghost]

90. I'm also an Epiphenomenalist.

Epiphenomenalism is the only rational explanation for existence.

An understanding of Epiphenomenalism (a VERY obscure and unpopular viewpoint in America today) helps tremendously with an understanding
of basic tenets of mystic Christanity, Buddhism, and Monist pantheism
(the doctrine that the Universe is God and everything is an extension
of everything else.)

[PerfectSage]

95. mystic Christianity sounds like gnostic christianity

Did you ever read: The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra?

Is the mind an epiphenomenom of the brain, or is the brain an epiphenomenom of the mind?

[Leopolds Ghost]

101. I haven't, but I should.

I don't know if I'm a gnostic panpsychist or "merely"
a radical mystic Epiphenomenalist Christian.

I do think the notion that we are all one and that we
are all part of God, so to speak (originally propounded
B.C. by mystic Jewish, Hindu, Taoists, and, I suppose,
Buddhists) is comforting, though.

I believe that Buddhism and other eastern religions
have a lot of good insights about the nature of
reality, which do not conflict with what Jesus taught
people like me.

I don't agree with the pagan/folk-tale Hinduism (Brahma raping
his sister and that sort of thing). As the early christians
said, it's not that we don't believe in your gods, we do...
we think they're demons sent to decieve mankind... Of course,
the Hindus say the same thing about Jesus and Buddha, arguing
that they are incarnations of Rama intended to play tricks on
people. ;-)

People forget that the reason Christianity is so popular is
because the Catholics (most especially the Jesuits) were so
syncretistic.

When they went off to convert some tribe, assuming it was
not done by the sword (and they rarely had the military might
to do so without persuasion) they often simply argued that
the tribe ALREADY worshipped God and/or Jesus and the Holy
Spirit, they just didn't know it yet. This was a more intellectual
argument than you might think, not simply a cop-out. Many of
the Jesuits really do/did believe that God had inspired pagans
with no knowledge of Jesus. Similarly, lesser gods or spirits
ere in fact angels, since the Catholic and other mainstream
churches never actually argued that other immortal beings
didn't exist! Interesting, no?

The most interesting example is the Incas, who practiced
a religion so like catholicism that the Incas used the
Jesuit argument IN REVERSE, arguing that the Jesuits were
in fact Incas, and tried to convert them -- and many Peruvians
continue to practice this syncretistic form of religion today.

Of course, other Catholics, like the conquistadores and the
Turks, simply had a tunnel from the altar to the graveyard
and gave people a choice and put people to death... most
rulers have engaged in this sort of thing, not just priests.

You got bludgeoned to death if you didn't accept the local
lord's temporal rule, either. And yet we recognize the
legitimacy of these regimes, and their ethnic homogeneity
based on centuries of discrimination which are being repeated
here in the US, yet we call their religious beliefs illegitimate
for engaging in the same murderous practices as the rest of
their society... It is not fair to single out religion as
at fault when a nation is engaged in typical human ethno-fascism
and using religion to oppress the masses... it's like saying
skin color is to blame for racism. Either all forms of coercion
are illegitimate, or none is.

A lot of people seem really frightened by notions like
Epiphenomenalism, Existentialism, or Monism. I have no idea why.

Generally speaking, they seem to desire control and self-affirmation -- which the mystic viewpoint does not offer them.

Funny how right-wing beliefs also appeal to those who desire control and self-affirmation.

[PerfectSage]

147. religions are like paths that all lead to the same place.

They're supposed to lead to what Jung called "wholeness" or the "self"; to help an individual use their creative forces within to reach their full potential as a human being.

But when a religion becomes an organized religion, the socialization process/cultural software they employ ends up creating fragmented persons living in the ego.

The difference is ethics, whole people listen to their conscience, whereas fragmented people listen to their cultural software, the ego.


Funny how right-wing beliefs also appeal to those egomaniacs who desire control and self-affirmation. :rofl:

[Leopolds Ghost]

244. Well, not just reach ones full potential but...

Also to reach self-awareness of the limits of human understanding, a
concept that goes beyond physics and into the philosophy of metaphysics /
epistemology (philosophy is sort of the grey area between physics and religion.)

Note that metaphysics (epiphenomenalism, etc.) is a logical discipline that deals with the problems also addressed by theologians in a more symbolic, less rigorous fashion. The mind-body problem, the origin of the universe before the big bang, whether we are all one, the nature of time and the role of the observer within it, etc.

[manic expression]

236. One quick thing

Hindus do not think that Jesus and Buddha were avatars trying to "trick people", that specific Hindu idea is that god manifests itself in many ways, and that it can teach different things. Not a trickster in any sense of the word.

And no, the world began with a sacrifice according to the Vedas, not with a raping.

Those are just a few things that caught my eye.

[Leopolds Ghost]

245. I meant no offense. I realized that the Brahmins went very early on

beyond the level of folk-tale theology dealing with pantheons of gods and their peccadillos, and did a lot of serious thinking about the nature of reality and the nature of "God" and the existence of "Gods/spirits" or independent actors... much of which inspired Buddhism, too.

The Greeks did the same thing, let's not forget.

It was all part of a common civilizational region, which we don't really realize today, since the Christian/Muslim schism caused an iron curtain to fall between so-called "Europe" and "Asia".

[H2O Man]

88. All of the above

and more.

[PerfectSage]

91. I voted buddhist, cuz ya gotta love a religion with no god, dogma or priests

and because being raised a dutch protestant calvinist left me with a profound dislike of organized religion.

The ego is your greatest enemy. lol

[bentley]

92. Spiritual

I believe in God, but I don't believe in religion. I'm truly blessed to have such a wonderful friend who loves me and has faith in me, as I have in Him.

[renate]

195. welcome to DU!

:hi:

And what a nice definition of God.

So far (I haven't finished reading this thread) it looks like nobody here has an idea of God that involves damnation, judgment, hell, etc. I think that's lovely.

[bentley]

210. Thank you.

[ConsAreLiars]

94. You left out Realist.

It seems rather simple, even obvious, that if people put their energy into helping one another, people will be better off than if people put their efforts into harming or punishing others.

Whatever metaphysics gets wrapped around that basic truth is just a matter of personal aesthetics, not anything that should matter to anyone else.

[Erika]

96. I am an atheist. It is not my religion.

I have no religion.

[ComerPerro]

103. out of curiosity, do you object to the term "non-believer"?

I could see how that phrasing would be consdescending and offensive.

[Zhade]

176. Nonbeliever is accurate; atheism as religion is false.

NT!

[ComerPerro]

183. yes, atheism as religion is false. But I was wondering what the poster, as an atheist,

thought about the term "non-believer".

After all, atheists contend that there is no God, no external, supernatural, all powerful force. Therefore they don't subscribe to any form of religion.

But therefore, why should they be labled "non-believers", a term that seems to imply more of a denial of God than an affirmation of His non-existance.

It would be like saying, "there are two kinds of people. Those of us who do believe in magic gnomes who live in our underwear drawer, and the non-believers".

[CarbonDate]

198. "Requestors of evidence" doesn't have the same ring....

But I have "ATHEIST" on my dog tags, so if I die in a fox hole, there will be an element of satisfaction there....

[Zhade]

217. Most atheists DON'T contend there are no gods; for example, I do not.

I simply lack belief in any of the purported ones, due to the lack of evidence for their existence.

[ComerPerro]

238. you are not an atheist. you are agnostic

atheist, aka atheism, literally without theism, theism being the belief in existance of a god or gods

agnostic, literally, without knowledge, as in, without opinion or knowledge of any god or Gods.


Atheist: there is no god or gods

Agnostic: who knows.

[DireStrike]

230. How's your dog's vocabulary?

Consider the label "non-believer" a sort of code-word used to communicate with believers. It needs not have any deeper meaning or implications for an atheist.

...yes I'm aware I just analogized the religious to dogs. I just did it for distinction. Really.

[ComerPerro]

237. so you say that "non-believer" is a term atheists themselves would use?

[yurbud]

97. no agnostic?

[Leopolds Ghost]

112. Falls under "Don't Know/Not Sure"

"Undecided/No opinion"

Prompting pollsters to shout:

"2,000 years of Christ's rule!
HOW CAN YOU STILL HAVE NO OPINION on his time in office!"

"well... I watch a lot of cable TV... I don't really follow the Saints...
I don't care if the Bodhisvattas win in 2008, so long as we get out of Iraq..."

before marking you down as:

"American Idol-Worshipper"

:evilgrin:

[Leopolds Ghost]

113. Also, the Jain and Baha'i Faith is not mentioned... Buncha spoilers....

If it hadn't been for 500 Jains in Florida, we wouldn't be dealing with
the Mosquito Infestation Problems we have today... what with their refusal
to kill mosquitos even when the alternative is Bush. And the Baha'i faith
alienated the center-left in 19th-century Iran with their far-left ideas,
leading to theocracy we have now! Buncha spoilers... No wonder they were
left out of the debates ;-)

:evilgrin:

[yurbud]

119. it's not don't know, but unknowable. And we have a name: Egg Nog. Egg Nog STICKS.

[slackmaster]

248. But I DO know that I don't know

I'm not unsure at all.

[Obamarama]

99. Baruch atah adonai Eloheinu

Jewish here :-)

[snowbear]

105. 88 athiests, 160 other religions so far on your poll...

Kind of an odd, and you're right -personal- poll.

But keep in mind -- --you never know who's clicking the poll buttons on DU.

We have a lot of "paid-to-lurk members" who like to manipulate responses both on on-line internet polls, as well as our very own DU polls.

[PBass]

106. There should have been a "None of your damn business" category. (nt)

[snowbear]

107. Ohhh... you are right!!

I didn't think about that, but YES... .. that is definitely what this poll was MISSING!!

[Robson]

168. It's called not replying.

If someone asks a question that is none of their business, it's best to not even reply. Let them think about it and stew. BTW the poll options were full.

[Esra Star]

110. Brianite

[Leopolds Ghost]

114. Splitter!

[Esra Star]

150. Is that from the "People's Front of Judea" or.....

the "Judean People's Front?
I always get confused about His allegiances.

[rainbow4321]

115. Unitarian Universalist. n/t

[mmonk]

120. My label is Catholic,

my belief system runs agnostic to disbelief, much more so since bush and Cheney's rise to power. Credibility, especially with American Chrsitianity, is low with me at this time. I know I shouldn't let the religious loonies affect me like this but it can't be helped.

[Random_Australian]

121. One implicit atheist here. :)

[cgrindley]

123. Atheist/Cultural High Church Episcopalian

I do not believe in any god or gods, but I enjoy celebrating my ethnic and cultural identity by attending an Anglo-Catholic church. I frequently fall into using deist language to describe the natural world.

[PhilipShore]

124. Jewish Catholic

[Perky]

125. Any one else not supriesed that there is not a single Jewish Orthodox among us today?

Keeping the Sabbath no doubt.

[ulysses]

127. agnostic. n/t

[EndElectoral]

128. Why wasn't AGNOSTIC included?

[slackmaster]

249. I don't know

I don't think anyone really knows.

[Hubert Flottz]

129. No Pref.

Same as when I was in the Army.

[npincus]

131. "claimed" religion?

what does that mean?

[ComerPerro]

214. in what religion to you profess to believe?

[Kerrytravelers]

132. Catholic. Hate the current pope and won't tithe or attend mass until he's OUT!

Not holding my breath for that, either. He seems to love the negativity power can afflict on others.

[tammywammy]

133. Christian - Methodist

:)

[HeeBGBz]

134. What? No FSM?

Arrrrrr.

[PassingFair]

212. Ramen! nt

[goodhue]

135. Jain

But I voted Hindu because it is closest. Actually, to get personal, Jainism is my spouse's faith background and is presently the religion I most closely identify with. I was actually raised in a western Zen Buddhist household. Before my parents became Buddhists in the 1960s, they were Unitarians.

[Jack Rabbit]

137. Other: Unitarian Universalist

.

[Uncle Joe]

138. Southern Baptist, Methodist, Buddhist, Agnostic hybrid

Jesus is the Son Of God, as we all are children of God and he believed in recycling just as the Buddha did.:)

I believe comets are sperm cells and barren rocky planets such as the earth; are eggs, the universe is basically a uterus, but for the sake of decorum, I will not speculate as to the meaning of black holes.

[KitSileya]

140. I voted.

Christian Catholic, tho I grew up in the Lutheran-Evangelical state church of Norway. I'm a convert. I'm liberal. I firmly believe that in due time, the Catholic Church will recognize that God believes in equality, that homosexuality is not a sin, and that Jesus is a liberal social democrat.

I also believe that the best way to be a Christian is not to go around proselytising on the street corners and condemning people, but rather by example, by living a life filled with charity. I believe that there are as many ways to God as there are people on earth, and while the Catholic Church is my path, it may not be the path of other people. I believe in the separation of state and religion, I believe in freedom of religion, and I believe in the miracle of the Eucharist.

That may make me a good citizen but a bad Catholic, but I'm sure God understands. I certainly cannot cast the first stone, and I hope that I have the guts to stand as shield should others want to throw rocks.

[notadmblnd]

141. I was raised southern Baptist

but currently don't believe in any organized religion. I tend to think that religion is for people that are weak and use religion as their crutch to get through life.

[jschurchin]

142. I'm a confirmed Lutheran

although I was raised roman catholic. The roman catholics have their panties on too tight for my taste:rofl:.

[Skidmore]

143. Look at all those godless libruls on DU!!! My word!!

:evilgrin:

[misternormal]

144. Pagan... n/t

[Bigmack]

145. "I was raised an Irish Catholic....

... but now I'm an American."..... George Carlin.

I was an agnostic... thanks to 4 years of Jesuit High School.... but Carl Sagan and time made me an atheist.

[porphyrian]

146. Agnostic. I don't believe anyone here knows for sure.

A lot of people choose to believe one thing or another, for whatever personal reasons, but no living human on Earth has access to definitive proof of the existence of God, an afterlife or any of the other outrageous, if attractive, claims made by various religions. And, in my experience, those who claim they do are either mentally ill or have an ulterior motive, usually profit. The only people who know for sure are dead, and they pretty much ain't talking.

[Arugula Latte]

152. I love this Mark Twain quote: "Faith is beliving what you know ain't so." nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

182. Everyone should read "Letters from the Earth"

And "The Mysterious Stranger". He points out the ridiculousness of xtianity and their idea of heaven, etc.

His infant son died, his brother was killed in a steamship explosion on the Mississippi, his wife died, two of his three daughters died, and by the time he wrote Letters From the Earth he was pretty cynical. He was survived by one daughter, a pianist, and she had one daughter who died in the early 1960s, leaving no heirs. So that is why "Letters from the Earth" was not published until the 60s.

He also pointed out that you could be a polytheist and be a Christian since one of the Ten Commandments says "Thou shalt not have other gods before me."

:evilgrin:

[spoony]

240. So...

where does that put faith in humanity? faith in yourself? faith in etc...

And what does that quote have to do with the poll question?

[Johnny Appleseed]

153. Luthern (nt)

[Momgonepostal]

154. Mormon nt.

[Kazak]

156. UU,...

from birth. :)

[HappyWeasel]

157. neat

I went to a UU church several times. I was baptised in a Catholic Church.

[proud patriot]

159. other

I'm a combo of all the religions I have encountered

[Critters2]

161. UCC nt

[ncteechur]

164. Raised Southern Baptist.... now Episcopalian

[lumberjack_jeff]

165. somewhere between agnostic and "christian - other". n/t

[burythehatchet]

166. Burythehatchetarian ..... orthodox

[Zhade]

169. atheism is not a religion; it is the lack of one.

It is not the belief in no gods; it is the lack of belief in any.

Just pointing that fact out.

[Robson]

171. Is There An Orthodox Jew In The House?

The Sabbath is over. Is there an orthodox Jew who uses a computer and is on the forum?

[bigwillq]

172. I was raised Catholic

But I no longer practice any type of religion.

[brothernature]

177. Religion is a western construct

So I use the term hesitantly, but for the sake of this discussion, my "religion" is harmony with the Earth Mother, from whom all things were created, and to whom all things return. Westerners might think of "Mother Nature" where the Hawaiian people recognized Her presence as Honua. I can expand on that if anyone is interested.

In better times, people recognized that the feminine is more conducive to progress and harmony, while the masculine provides support. When we return to those ways there will be peace and prosperity for every living thing.

[New Earth]

189. you left out "spiritual"

as do most polls like this on DU :/

What about the people who hold very spiritual beliefs, believe in some form of "God" but do not practice any specific religion? We are out here, and we have nothing to do with atheists :/

[BlooInBloo]

190. I claim religion is stupid.

[FreeState]

192. Mormon N/T

[renate]

196. Buddhist who believes in God

I personally would say that God is Love rather than some singular, localized intelligence who guides events or decides whose prayers are answered and whose aren't.

I definitely believe in some higher intelligence but I think it's everywhere and in everything and everybody, and that everything is connected. Having taught myself when young that God is a dude who lives in the sky (my parents aren't religious but it's kind of hard in this country to escape the influence of the Bible) I feel a little guilty about letting go of my allegiance to that dude in the sky, as if he'll be disappointed in me, but the God I believed in was never mean or vindictive anyway, so no worries even if I turn out to be wrong.

[LittleClarkie]

197. so where are the agnostics putting themselves then?

I always rather admired the big shrug.

[youthere]

199. raised protestant...but now would probably call myself a gnostic deist.

[spanone]

202. No, you may not.

[marmar]

204. I guess I'm what you'd call a Deist. I believe in a higher power or energy, ....

but I don't believe in particular faiths or sects or denominations. I grew up Lutheran, attended Lutheran schools all my life, but now I really resent the force-fed dogma.

[Avalux]

205. I don't have a claimed religion.

I believe in a higher power and that all human beings should be treated with respect and dignity. I do not feel the need to define myself with rules and restrictions.

[Eric J in MN]

206. I'm a Jewish atheist.

I like Jewish culture, but I don't believe in the supernatural.

[Massacure]

209. Ask me again after I die please.

Until then, I'll just say agnostic.

[Trekologer]

211. I am a Lutheran

There are two main camps of Luterans in the US (there are other smaller ones but they are mostly in limited geographic areas). The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The Missouri Synod is more conservative and (in my opinion as once being a member) can be characteriized as Catholic-lite in terms of social stances. The Evengelical Lutheran Church in Ameirca is the more progressive side. This should not be confused with Christian evengelicals or the evengelical movement because there is absolutely no relation. The ELCA's offical teachings are that Luther's reformation didn't end with nailing a sheet of paper to a door but is an ongoing process and we need to constantly question and be critical of documents and beliefs.

[Maat]

213. Religious Scientist (no, not Scientology, not Christian Science).

I'm a Religious Scientist ( www.rsinl.org ), and one with a Universalist (independent, honor-all-paths tilt). I identify as 'Non-Christian," although some in my church label themselves as a "non-traditional" Christian.

We honor all spiritual paths, and believe that all are part of the One and equally divine.

Mine is a welcoming, open, and inclusive church, without a holy text or rigid dogma. GLBT couples feel very comfortable in my church, particularly in light of our view that all are "perfect."

[Zhade]

218. How is it that this SOLELY RELIGIOUS THREAD is in GD and not R&T...

...despite a number of requests it be moved (and not just by myself)?

[krispos42]

222. Militant Agnostic: I don't know and you don't either, punk!

:rofl:

[Moderate Dem]

224. Presbyterian

[appleannie1]

225. As a Christian, I am appalled

at what is being done supposedly in the name of my religion. But then Jesus said "many will come doing the work of Satan in My name, by their deeds ye shall know them". He also said "you can only have one God before you, you will EITHER worship God OR money. You cannot worship both". And we all know the deeds of Bush and what they worship.

[frogmarch]

226. Atheist

but I do enjoy my collection of god statuary. Here's my favorite:

[DireStrike]

228. Other - I worship Norse gods while listening to furious metal riffs

The dead will ride on bifrost... and they're coming by the storm!

Also a random hodgepodge of christianity, buddhism, shinto, reincarnationism. Yes there are contradictions but these are beliefs. It doesn't have to make sense. It all works out in my head.

I don't know whether I believe that we live after death. That's the important question for me - all issues with life can be settled in an afterlife if there is one. And about half the time, I'm a pure atheistic physical determinist - there is no afterlife, no justice - we're all just serfs and recycled worm food. Sometimes I believe and sometimes I don't. Some beliefs are always in the back of my mind since I was raised catholic. I keep thinking I'm gonna be judged by a big bearded man on a throne in the clouds. I imagine the conversations we would have. I find EXTREMELY seductive the idea that there is a place that can be reached where all is happiness and security. All humans do.

I trust any god to have given me the wisdom I need to figure it out myself, and to forgive me if I don't. No book is sacred, nor any truth. I trust any unknown or unknowable (super)natural forces to keep things moving as they're supposed to. And I trust that either justice will be meted out or it doesn't matter at all. I don't have to be saved - I am safe. We all are.

Oh yes, I forgot to say that I consider my formal position... drumroll... AGNOSTIC! This is from a strictly epistemological point of view. As closely as it can be defined, the big truths are unknown or unknowable. Perhaps even unknown unknowns! Kekeke. Flying Spaghetti Monster? Could be. Toaster in orbit around mars? Yet more likely. Intuition is not a good guide for these subjects on a philosophical level. You must deal in absolute dead truths... which will get you nowhere. Unless, in the afterlife, everything is revealed to you. *Fingers Crossed*

[NashVegas]

231. I Come Closest to Humanism

Although I fail to go along with the precept that there are rational answers for everything.

[derby378]

234. Quaker

Which, in a small nutshell, means I stress the need for ending the occupation in Iraq and any other armed conflict, through peaceful means if at all possible. I also value simplicity in life and practice, believe in the ideal of social justice, and think we should find new and more humane ways to treat the most unfortunate among us.

I'm a bit of a renegade Quaker, however, because I also support gun rights - it's a delicate balancing act. I think one can own a firearm for purely nonviolent, recreational purposes; I also think this does not create a conflict with one's own ideals of peace and nonviolence. I'm sure there are many who would disagree with me on this point, however.

[Bucky]

241. As Jesus once said, "I think it's important just to believe in myself."

Hmmm, that comes off as kinda conceited, don't you think?

[imperial jedi]

243. I am a practitioner of the Jedi Religion.

[dysfunctional press]

246. born-again fundamentalist atheist.

i was baptized, raised, educated k-12, & confirmed as a lutheran...missouri synod- the 'show me' synod...but ultimately they couldn't show me much.

[slackmaster]

247. Other - Agnostic

I really don't know what the ultimate truth is. Proving that a God (or gods) do not exist is problemmatic on many levels.

I do know one thing: All of the different flavors of the various world religions can't all be right, but they can all be wrong.

Leaders use religion to divide and to manipulate us.

It doesn't work on Agnostics. ;-)