Religion Poll

[Kobuk]

This is mostly just a poll to get statistics on what everyone does and doesn't believe in. While discussion is fine, I hope everyone can be civil.

[Doc]

I'm not religious whatsoever, but I have a Bible and a Book of Mormon from when I was.

[Loc]

Athiestic Buddhist. Don't believe in god, don't believe in a soul, believe in reincarnation in the very literal, scientific way, and think religion should be kept separate from all laws, and should be taught in schools only to promote acceptance, rather than to try and convert (so yeah, I don't think prayers should be "taught" in schools, nor do I think intelligent design should be taught as fact).

[T-Yoshi45]

I consider myself an Agnostic Christian, I know well i could be wrong about life afterwards and whatnot and that i can never fully know on this mortal coil. but i choose to believe it cause i wish for there to be something after this, Also i figure if i'm wrong i lived well and am none the worse but if i'm right i'll be all the better. Prayer should be allowed in school but on an individual basis rather than facility led and all systems of belief should be taught in a minor way for understanding and allowing people to choose for themselves what they want to follow.

[Amducious]

Atheist

[Beag L. Howler]

While I do believe in a higher power and an afterlife, I don't believe in a "Hell," or any other negative afterlife. I personally believe that either we go to Heaven or whatever the afterlife is like, or just die.

A lot of my religious beliefs, though, do lean more towards the Christian side of things. While I tend to disagree with some of the influence religion has in politics or social issues, I guess I could call myself a casual Christian? I need to go to church more often.

[animagusurreal]

On "prayer should/should not be allowed in schools" - I assume this refers to the debate on whether public schools should teach/encourage children to pray in school (which I voted "no" on...because I voted "yes" on separation of church and state, which I believe protects both church and state.) Children are, to the best of my knowledge, allowed to pray in public schools if they choose to do so (which is fine). And of course, prayer is allowed in private religious schools.

[Subzerus]

I do not believe in god and I'm an atheist buuuuut... I had a really good philosophy teacher last year and he read a couple of pages of the bible, it's reaaaaally hard to read but the old... uhm "testament"? (I don't know how to say it in english  ) The one that's not about Jesus. It was written by the Jewish people and it was not related to church and all and it had some serious meaning behind it. Church has also done good and bad things, some good being: The perception we have now of time wich before was circular but then we got before and after Christ wich gave us a linear perspective of time. It also gave us the ideal that we now have that a good man should be one that help not the one that is the most powerful (although there is some conflict with other this with that one).

But it's also done a lot of things like... Witch hunting and burning... Or... killing innocent for various reasons such as other religions, not being heterosexual... etc, etc.

So... uhm... Christian religion did some good things and bad things... I think I just rambled a lot and got nowhere...

[Iara Warriorfeather]

I was raised to be Episcopalian, and frequently went to church until I became a teenager (and until my pastor came out, at which point my mom hurried us away from church; I still to this day disagree with her actions).

I was devoted to reading the Bible in youth, and read many verses of Scripture that weren't read in church (i.e., The Song of Solomon). I learned in my teens and early twenties that much of the Bible was lost in translation, and its words were corrupted by several kings in England. From that point forward, religion no longer meant as much to me.

I do believe there is some kind of afterlife, where rebirth can occur. I also strongly believe we are protected in this life, to some extent, by a being or deity or force in the Universe that is greater than anything we know of in the tangible realm.

I also believe that I am drawn to certain animal species, which serve as guides during sleep and meditation, giving me gentle encouragement in waking life.

I enjoy meditation and long walks to clear my mind, yoga and also being in Nature to experience spirituality. Religion is not necessary to feel spiritual.

[Hashira]

When I first used these forums in 2012/2013, I was veeery serious about my Catholicism, and I regrettably used my faith to try to change others and other things that no doubt hurt them or annoyed them. That was about the time I found out what being transgender was and I realized it was who I was. I grew up with a very negative opinion of LGBT+ people, so to me being anywhere on the spectrum was baaad. I entered into a pretty serious denial and put other LGBT+ people down to feel like I was gaining favor in God's eyes. What made it worse was that I had a crush on my bisexual best friend, so you can guess how I handled that. It's honestly surprising to me that I dated a pagan girl for almost a year during the height of my religious ... career?, and that I didn't get on her case for it very much.

Now, I'm an atheist and a nihilist, and I accept myself as bigender, demiromantic, and asexual. I've been learning a lot about counter-apologetics, as well. What got me here, the polar opposite of who I used to be? I guess I realized that no matter how hard I prayed I would never change who I really was, and I saw no way to justify my gender identity with my faith, so I told myself I would do whatever made me happy, instead of being miserable trying to make God happy. It took a while before I could actually admit to myself that I had no faith, but since the day I was able to I have never thought about going back or joining any religion.

I really wanted to write this because I haven't really gotten to talk about my journey with religion before.

[Mariah]

I go to church, a Lutheran church, but only because it is my source of income at the moment and I like getting a paycheck even though I'm not yet out of high school. Not because I have a problem with church, but because I am, as a matter of fact, not Christian. Instead...

I am a Witch, and have been confirmed as a Witch since I was thirteen years old, though I was raised in a mix of Christianity and the Craft. I used to be more involved in Christianity than I now am, but have since drifted from that path and settled into the path of a Witch. It just feels so much more right for me personally - which is not to say that I have anything against other religions and/or spiritualities, because I don't. Actually, from a very young age my mom taught me the bare-bones basics of a wide array of religions, so that I would have some understanding of other faiths and have a perspective on which path was right for me. (As it happened... it was the very same one that I first started on.)

I very firmly believe in both the God and the Goddess, though I do not connect with the Christian ideal of God very well and actually tend to feel a stronger connection to my Goddess than my God, though I suspect that when the time is right, I'll be spending a few weeks or months strengthening my connection to my God. My belief in the Divine is basically "All gods are one god" - all gods, even the God and Goddess, are simply aspects and manifestations of a single Divine being/energy. This means I might call upon a single specific god and/or goddess for a specific ceremony or magick working (for instance, I might ask Athena and Odin for wisdom or invoke Thor and Artemis for strength and energy), but in the end, these are simply aspects of the Divine energy that make it easier for me to focus my mind on the working. It's half spiritual and half psychology, really.

I do believe that there is an afterlife, though I know not what form it takes - one of my favorite interpretations is that of the Summerland, the place of warmth and light where souls go to rest between incarnations. I do not believe in anything resembling the Christian Hell. I do not know for sure, but I think that perhaps souls who have done malicious things in their past life are reincarnated into a different form. I believe that life is made of lessons, and it makes sense to me that in order to learn all of those lessons, a soul would need several lifetimes - considering it can take years for a single lesson to finally stick (I speak from experience here).

I do in fact own a Bible; there are at least two and probably three or more Bibles in this house. My copy is an illustrated children's Bible, simply because by the time I would have graduated past it, I had begun to drift away from the Christian faith already. I keep my children's Bible, though, and I very occasionally pick it up and read it - there are still lessons to be learned from the Bible, as I believe there are from any faith (and, anyway, I like the pretty pictures ). I have read full versions of the Bible, though I don't think I've ever read it cover-to-cover.

I have very strong opinions on the separation of church and state. It honestly makes me angry when anyone indoctrinates children into any religion, especially when the children aren't given a choice, especially when they're taught that other religions are evil and intrinsically wrong. It's one of the biggest seeds of injustice, cruelty, and misunderstanding in this world, in my opinion.

As far as prayer in school, I wasn't 100% sure what you meant by that, so I didn't answer. I approve of prayer being allowed if the child wants to and to whatever god or goddess that child wants to pray to. I disapprove of prayer being enforced with or without the child's consent.

Needless to say if you get me started on religion I can go on for quite a while

[Old Rabbit]

I believe there may be a God, but not in the way most organized religions do.

Not one who creates a being only to treat it like a plaything.

To me all organized religion have been directed by people who have their own
agenda. So I feel it best to follow my own beliefs, and not follow others who
may or may not have my best interests in mind.

Religion is a personal belief for each individual to decide for themselves.

[Acton]

I am very orthodox devoted  in my Christian faith. I often refer  myself as Anglican in practices Reformed in my theology.

[Takanuva]

I'm extremely devoted to my faith as a member of the LDS church. (Mormon, if you guys don't know the proper name). I'm 16 and a member of the Priest's Quorum, which means I hold the authority to use the Aaronic Priesthood and regularly bless the sacrament and show my love for church and my beliefs through service, peace, and the acceptance of others' beliefs. I regularly attend 3 hours every sunday, and an hour and a half on tuesdays for youth activities and am a Boycott (9 years and running!), though I do need to work on reading my scriptures more.

I can definitely say I believe in God, the Atonement, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a big part of who I am, and I wholeheartedly believe my church is the true church and that its beliefs and principles can be found in other religions as well. I actually adopt some Buddhist philosophies regarding asceticism, greed, and happiness after I read Siddhartha Herman Hesse and fell in love with the messages of the book. I also go to my local Temple to perform service via baptisms for the dead.

As far as gay marriage and LGBT issues, I have total acceptance. I don't agree 100% with some things like Tumblrisms, and the transtrenderism stuff it's brought, but insulting and harassing people isn't going to bring people to the religion, or improve my own standing with God. I wholeheartedly believe that the Priesthood is real, and that it holds real power. I magnify my calling and worthiness to the Aaronic Priesthood through my service to others and God, and I can testify to its power and influence on my life.

I was on a backpacking trip for most of last week, and it was a difficult hike. It was non stop trailblazing and river walking for 12 hours a day, two days in a row, with a grueling hike in and out at severe inclines without rest. As me and my Bishop, as well as several others hiked through after the final swim, it began thundering and lightning really bad. 3 times lightning struck less than 100 feet from us, the closest being 60-70 feet away. The sound was deafening, and we were all freezing cold as our clothes were completely soaked through. I remember we all regrouped and stopped for a break so the end could catch up with us, and I volunteered to say a prayer to Heavenly Father for warmth, safety, and comfort. The air was electric, and the spirit of the Holy Ghost was palpable. I was crying as I pleaded of our safety, that we would all have the strength and endurance to last the hike and that no harm would befall us.

Not even 30 seconds later, the lightning had stopped and the rain had lightened. I also remember praying 3 times on the hike back up and out of the canyon, as I had injured my knee earlier that day and was having difficulty walking. I was on the brink of passing out, yet I made it to the top safe and unharmed with the assistance of my fellow brothers. I feel blessed to have the gospel in my life and to wield the Aaronic priesthood, without them I'm nothing. All 24 members of the priest's and teacher's quorums are nothing less than my brothers, and my leaders fathers. The love and camaraderie we hold for each other is nothing short of incredible, and we're all united by common beliefs and goals.

After I graduate high school, I plan on serving a mission so others can hear the gospel and my testimony, and even if I do speak to no one, the time I'll have devoted to service will be well worth it. Sorry if I got a bit preachy, I thought I should share my testimony, beliefs, and how organized religion and more specifically the Church of Jesus Christ's Latter Day Saints has changed my life.

[animagusurreal]

I'm an atheist.

I was raised in a mostly secular household. My mother believes in a general sort of "loving God" and my stepfather just says he's "not as atheistic" as I am, but none of us are very religious.

Living in America, most of the people I know, or am likely to meet, are Christian. I don't generally bring up my atheism unless someone asks me directly about my religious beliefs. (It's not really a belief, it's a lack thereof, so it doesn't really come up much otherwise.) I actually only know one other atheist outside of the internet, and I only found out he was one because a mutual co-worker was trying to convert us both to Christianity. Interestingly, my half-brother, who grew up on the opposite side of the country, and who I mainly know through Facebook, is also an atheist.

I've been approached by many evangelists over the years. I understand that they believe they're doing a very good thing, but I've yet to hear an argument for joining a religion that I've found at all convincing . (The closest I came is that at one point, I leaned towards Deism, based on the "Watchmaker" analogy: if you find a watch in the woods, you don't assume it just came together by itself, you assume someone made it. But the universe is not a watch. We know exactly what purpose watches are made for, because we make them ourselves. The argument is somewhat human-centric.) I attracted a particularly large number of evangelists during my college years, when I guess they assumed that I was young and adrift and searching for something. I once had a bus driver who knew what time my girlfriend and I went to the college campus, and ambushed us with his pastor at the student commissary. Another time, on a street corner while waiting for a walk signal, I had this memorable exchange with a fellow pedestrian:

EVANGELIST: Hey, you wanna come to our church? We have rap music.

ME: (truthfully) Actually, I'm not really into rap. I'm more into Broadway musicals.

EVANGELIST: Oh yeah, I don't really like rap either. So, what musicals do you like? Do you like "The Wiz"? (sings and dances) Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road! Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road! Don't you carry nothin' that won't be a load! Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road! (speaks) Yeah, that's a pretty good musicalllllllll...drama!

I didn't go to his church, but I do respect his willingness to sing in public.

[Old Rabbit]

Though I am not into organized religion, It does give many people
purpose in life.  I am sure in most cases those who do feel very
religious wish to help others where they can.

Unfortuantly there are always those who use religion to control others. Lie
or mislead to achieve their ends. Be it harmful or helpful to mankind. Usually
though one persons ideals are flawed, and should be given much scrutiny.

Carl Marx wished to make a better world, but he apparently didn't understand
human nature. Unfortuantly others misused his teachings. Some believing they
could make it work by using force. It is folly, our brains have basic wants, looking
for self reward. Some might say "I am not selfish", but we are wired that
way for survival. Fortuantly we can choose to not be selfish today, and usually a
person will give all for it's child, and family (more wiring) So to succeed society or
a religion has to deal with these desires  or it will fail eventually.

[Nataku]

I'm atheist and happily so.
Both grandfather's were Christian preachers and both had drowned me multiple times attempting to rid me of 'm inner demons.' Glad to know I was so well liked by my family.

I don't need to fear the repercussions of some imaginary sky person-thing to know how to be a decent sentient life form and not treat others like crap. If other people need that fear in their lives to make them be decent people, so be it; but otherwise I see no need for such fantasies in my life. Afterall, the furry fandom is proof we've got lots of people who can write a way better fictional story than the stuff they put down in bibles, qurans, and whatever else they call em.

[some_random_wusky]

I'm wiccan but I do go to Christian church with my family. I don't mind. All religions are the same anyway, only the little details really change. I do not really believe in "god" in a traditional sense, either.

[Robert_Silvermyst]

I am a spiritualist. I have a shrine at home that I use to pray to the Divine. I believe that God does exist, but comes to us in different forms, different Aspects. I follow the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, so you could call me Pagan. I was a Catholic raised by my parents, but the hypocrisy I saw frequently in it drove me away. Not many seem to remember Jesus' one commandment 'Love one another as I have loved you.' Even though I'm no longer catholic, I still follow that teaching.

I believe that our soul is comprised of the ba (True eternal soul), and the ka (The personality or 'me' of this lifetime). I beleive that when we die, we are judged. If we are judged worthy, we may enter the Duat (Heaven) as a unified whole. If we are found unworthy, our ka is devoured/destroyed and our ba returned to Earth, to be reincarnated with a new ka.

[Rocket T. Coyote]

I'm a lifelong cranky Catholic and got that way challenging radical nuns in public. You see, my sister came home from school one day to proclaim "Sister told us the MX Missile is EVIL."

 I have called into Catholic Q & A radio shows and may even have been on Vatican Radio. When the local padre suggests we do something out of the ordinary at Mass, I'll post a question about it on one of the forums, then share the results with fellow pew-warmers next opportunity. That way, more can share in the revelation. "See--You ARE allowed to sit or kneel after coming back from communion!"

I believe in the power of prayer. All prayers are answered. I got the job that I prayed for after all.

I believe--and my faith teaches--that animals have sensitive souls and should be treated humanely. A bit of research turned up a number of saints who had animal friends--some of them wolves.

[Chipper Blu-wolf]

I voted Catholic as I've been raised as such, and I do believe there is some sort of spiritual beings out there.  Case in point, a while back a good friend of mine was really sick, got a doctor's diagnosis for a disease that was incurable, and given a set amount of time he was likely to live.  Three months later....healthy as a horse, and nobody can explain quite what happened, or what's up, but he isn't sick, and he's traveling the world helping people in need as a pastor.  Do you believe in miracles?  I do.

[HazardJackal]

At one point i theorized that everyone is their own god, and that we've all just forgotten that gods are no different from mortals, both in form and ability.  And that's why people don't talk to me about religion... but to each their own or whatever.

(If you're looking for a serious answer, the best i can give you is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

[Holt5]

I'm a born and raised Catholic - although some people might find some of my personal spiritual beliefs a bit unconventional. I think there are some strictures that could do with reiteration, but all-in-all I find the Catholic Church to be the true religious authority if there be one. As per doctrine, I believe in a spiritual church as much as a physical church, whereby even people who do not know of Catholicism, or of Jesus, may be part of it without ever knowing.

I also believe, to a large extent, that "atheism vs Christianity" (and many other "us vs them" debates) is a false dichotomy. All of us are essentially looking for the same thing when we're citing both physical and theoretical evidence for our respective beliefs. Neither side has a good reason to skew facts (granted, many do nonetheless), which typically means we're just looking at the same facts from a different viewpoint. As such, I see atheistic viewpoints in many cases as being beneficial to my own beliefs and values, even if they miss the mark in certain places from my perspective. Interestingly enough, that was a viewpoint I adopted from someone who describes himself as spiritual but not religious - evidently tired of people making their beliefs a point of contention rather than a point of contact. 

The concept of an afterlife is something I believe in, although I disagree with the stereotypical "golden pearly gates" and "boiling lake of lava" images (same goes for God being a giant bearded guy in the sky xD). I believe in a heaven and a hell, but I also believe that the dualism associated with it is a bit oversimplified. Is it a state? An actual "place"? Some extraterrestrial dimension hidden inside of our known dimensions, in a correlative yet independent union with human thought processes, allowing them to continue some rudimentary function after physical death? Don't know. 

Do animals have souls/spirits? I'm not particularly qualified to give a solid answer on it, but I know that animals exhibit many of the same emotions and even show off a significant level of intelligence compared to humans in some cases. Whether that warrants considering them spiritually inferior or not, I'm not entirely sure. I don't, however, ascribe to the idea that they're just biological clocks - there's more than that going on in a lot of animals.

Maybe I'll edit this over again sometime, but I guess that covers the basics?

[Fenny the Fox]

I do believe in God - as to it being a singular god (like many Christians I know), I am not so sure. I think there is more than can be explained going on, if we look at the many interpretations of gods and spirituality around the world, than by a single God. That said, I feel there is an overarching, prescient, able spiritual being - my view of God.


I am, arguably, Christian. I do believe in the idea of a sacrificial part offered unto us by previously said God.


I do believe in the concept of Heaven. But Hell...I am not so certain. I definitely do not believe in a literal, fire-and-brimstone Hell.
I think I fall more to the thought of the Jewish tradition that Hell is the shame and punishment we face now for what we do, and that it is never too late to back up and accept salvation. That being out of alignment with the will of God is Hell, essentially. And that each soul will be allowed to reach God regardless of past doings and such.


I don't believe in reincarnation. At least not in any major way - I suppose there are odd circumstances I might see it as being a possibility, but I am not entirely sure.


I do believe in the concept of a soul. And the idea of spirits as a reality in our world (I also draw somewhat from the animist perspective), that all living things -possibly non living things as well- are connected spiritually to each other and to us.


I do have a Bible. I do read from it. And prefer to do this myself, than to attend any church or such.


I think church and state SHOULD be separate. But I also believe that if students want to pray, or if they choose to be lead in prayer by a teacher, they should be able to do so in schools. But without coercion or inclusion of anyone that does NOT want to be a part of such.

[Solo (The Lone Wolf)]

I am an atheist have been from an extremely young age. however the school I was in went to church every fortnight while I was in year 3/5 not hundred percent certain was over 4 years ago. I hated every minute of it as I am the type who requires an explanation for everything. anyhow we had to on Wednesday morning and after a while I just started coming to school late because of it same with swimming but I got out of that one.(still cant swim proper ) the school had every right to do so however i believe that there shouldn't be such thing as a Christian school due to it being a government school  (Sunday school different due to being run by church but anyhow.) due to it being forced upon the children who should form an opinion free from what others believe as that leads to them never quite discovering their opinions until a later age. (apologies for any gobbledygook in my post I often go off on a tangent.)

Lastly would just like too add I believe in reincarnation to a certain extent.