Which do you most identify with? (more inclusive poll - 54 options)

[Kingpoleon]

Calvinist

Burn the Heretic!

[Blue3]

Are there any options missing that should be included, particularly the Christian subdivisions?

It might be worth making a distinction between Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox.

Are there many theological differences between the two?

[AncestralDemocrat.]

Catholic.

[°Leprechaun]

I identify most with pacifism, and some religions are better than others on this.

I also identify with science, logic, and math.

All religions are quite interesting to study and psychology plays a role in understanding the various world views, religions, philosophies and how they relate to politics.

[Alben Barkley]

Technically agnostic, and in fact I'd argue anyone who claims they are NOT agnostic is a bit nuts. By definition, all it means is you don't know if there's a god. Which is not something possible for anyone to know. Therefore, agnosticism is the only rational position.

However, what you KNOW and what you BELIEVE are separate things entirely. You can be agnostic and still BELIEVE there is or is not a god, etc.

So, with that said I consider myself an agnostic and a deist. Because I don't know but believe there probably is some sort of "god," but not one that resembles the god of any religion or one that interferes in "his" creation. I find a personal god very unlikely. More like some kind of supernatural force that is beyond the (current, at least) capacity of humans to comprehend and that set the universe in motion; the pantheistic idea that the universe itself is "god" also has some appeal to me. Combined, there's even "pandeism." But I'm not sure exactly what form the deity takes, so I just stick to calling myself an "agnostic deist."

I guess technically I could be considered a "Christian deist" as well, like Thomas Jefferson -- who famously stripped the Gospels of all references to the supernatural, but still believed in the importance and wisdom of the teachings of Jesus. And I have Christian values so internalized at this point due to my upbringing and culture that there's definitely still some of that sticking with me. But to be honest, I could now only still consider myself "Christian" in the very loosest sense.

In fact, in the eyes of most religious people, I have no doubt that I am essentially an "atheist" for all intents and purposes because what I believe is so far removed from what they do. But I do not consider myself an atheist. I think there's too much wonder in the universe, too much unexplained and possibly unknowable, to say it's all just a coincidence that came from literally nothing. That to me sounds almost as implausible and magical as the craziest religious stories. There almost has to be SOMETHING more going on, even if we can never know precisely what or why. And absent any other real explanation for the origin of the universe, calling whatever the hell caused it "god" sounds as reasonable as anything else.

[Kleine Scheiße]

Considering moving my vote from Hindu - Smarta to Hindu - Other. My personal behavior is not as closely aligned with my faith as it really should be to claim any real lineage, but I wonder if I might be suffocating my own practice by enforcing upon myself this expectation for some "Zeal of the 'Convert'" dramatism which may not ever come. Nor would such even be necessary, and I know this, but will it ever feel like "enough?"

It is apparent that it doesn't have to feel like enough to be enough; and it is apparent that there is no need to alter my practices, beliefs, or behaviors to suit anyone's preferences or definitions toward any facet of "identity;" but it is not apparent that my actions do well by "Hinduism."

I try; I am young; I have only been involved with Hinduism for just over four years, and I did not start calling myself a "Hindu" until year four. I suppose I could be doing worse (read: less authentic, less respectful, less productive), but at the same time there is so much more that I could be doing. I'm sure some born into the tradition feel much the same way, minus the "only been involved with" plank. It is difficult to hide from the perception, however, that they have far more right to approach the subject in such a way than I. Perhaps it is so and I shouldn't think about it too much; perhaps it is and I should. Perhaps it is not so and I need to think more to realize this; and perhaps it is not so and why concern myself? In all reality, the answer is "all of the above," which rightly raises even more questions. What luxury to have the opportunity to marvel therein.

None of these labels have inherent meaning unto themselves, and this may as well be semantics for some, but it may be a little while before I'm totally comfortable incorporating that particular reality into my personal psychological broach of this topic.

[afleitch]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

I have just checked that answer, do you still feel 'reverence' for the sun? I used to do the same for certain constellations.

[afleitch]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

I have just checked that answer, do you still feel 'reverence' for the sun? I used to do the same for certain constellations.

Of course, in a base sense like all living things I'm conscious of the circadian effect the sun has on me. And from a knowledge derived sense the fact that what formed the sun, what formed the earth is the same 'stuff' that led to me. I can't get traditionally spiritual about it, because it just is. But that 'reverence' is definitely still there because it grounds my outlook on life and death.

To quote from Phillip Pullman;

'We'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams... And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won't just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight...'

That's the only spirituality I have.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

How is the God of Islam described differently from the God of Judaism and Christianity?

My understanding of Islam is very elementary, but if my knowledge is correct then Muslims worship the same exact God as the other two religions.

[Big Abraham]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

How is the God of Islam described differently from the God of Judaism and Christianity?

My understanding of Islam is very elementary, but if my knowledge is correct then Muslims worship the same exact God as the other two religions.

Well, in most iterations of Christianity, God is described as triune, which is considered shirk in Islam

The Islamic god also appears to be less personal than the Jewish one (at least in orthodox conceptions), which is why he can only be known from natural signs (and not represented in pictorial form) and spoken about in parables

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

How is the God of Islam described differently from the God of Judaism and Christianity?

My understanding of Islam is very elementary, but if my knowledge is correct then Muslims worship the same exact God as the other two religions.

Well, in most iterations of Christianity, God is described as triune, which is considered shirk in Islam

The Islamic god also appears to be less personal than the Jewish one (at least in orthodox conceptions), which is why he can only be known from natural signs (and not represented in pictorial form) and spoken about in parables

Fair enough. So then why is it generally agreed that Jews, Muslims, and Christians all worship "the same God"? The only real similarity is that these religions are monotheistic, but otherwise their perceptions of God and His relationship with man and nature are very different.

[afleitch]

I didn't realise how old this thread was While I still like my answer back in '15, and I'm still an atheist if I had to pick a standard religious belief, rather than generalised spirituality, I'd be Muslim if I wasn't atheist. My Muslim friends have tried and if anything they've defined a 'god' in probably the most 'okay, I can go with this' manner, but I'm just not there.

How is the God of Islam described differently from the God of Judaism and Christianity?

My understanding of Islam is very elementary, but if my knowledge is correct then Muslims worship the same exact God as the other two religions.

Well, in most iterations of Christianity, God is described as triune, which is considered shirk in Islam

The Islamic god also appears to be less personal than the Jewish one (at least in orthodox conceptions), which is why he can only be known from natural signs (and not represented in pictorial form) and spoken about in parables

^^^

That's a far better summary than I could have written.

It's been 10 years since I effectively ceased to be religious (I checked Atlas on this one, it's basically a diary at this point!) At that stage I had already abandoned trinitarianism which was fundamentally weak and, to me (and I respect that people think differently) a clear construct. Adoptionism squares that circle at least in part and it was clear to me that was the intent of early Christianity. But by that point I had sort of accepted there wasn't a god at all, or anything remotely godlike humming along in the background. Since then I've spoken with apologists for Islam, or to be more personal, friends (mostly queer) who are Muslim and it going to the point where I effectively agreed with them on the nature of god, but not acceptance (rather than active belief) of god. If I ever changed my position on that, then I would more than likely take time to consider Islam.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

It's been 10 years since I effectively ceased to be religious (I checked Atlas on this one, it's basically a diary at this point!) At that stage I had already abandoned trinitarianism which was fundamentally weak and, to me (and I respect that people think differently) a clear construct. Adoptionism squares that circle at least in part and it was clear to me that was the intent of early Christianity. But by that point I had sort of accepted there wasn't a god at all, or anything remotely godlike humming along in the background. Since then I've spoken with apologists for Islam, or to be more personal, friends (mostly queer) who are Muslim and it going to the point where I effectively agreed with them on the nature of god, but not acceptance (rather than active belief) of god. If I ever changed my position on that, then I would more than likely take time to consider Islam.

This is interesting. It makes me think about my sister. She has a Muslim boyfriend and they debate about religion fairly often. If I have understood correctly, when they first met she was re-approaching Christianity but did not clearly believe in trinitarianism, and discussing with him has (paradoxically?) contributed to her embracing trinitarianism fully.
I should note that my sister is very young, younger than me. When you joined the forum she literally was in my mother's womb.

[Kingpoleon]

Fair enough. So then why is it generally agreed that Jews, Muslims, and Christians all worship "the same God"? The only real similarity is that these religions are monotheistic, but otherwise their perceptions of God and His relationship with man and nature are very different.

That’s hardly true. All three religions trace the beginning of religion back to Abraham. All three were inseparably influenced by Hellenic Philosophy and Metaphysics, particularly that of Aristotle and Plato. All three agree upon Jerusalem being a holy city - which is the issue Samaritanism, another Abrahamic religion, and Judaism are split over to this day. Finally, all three agree that the Old Testament is, to some degree, authentic Scripture (although Islam and to an extent Christianity view it as corrupted).

I wouldn’t say they “worship the same God” - I would say they share a religious ancestry(Abrahamic), as well as a philosophical ancestry(predominantly Hellenic), and could be recognized as agreeing upon a host of metaphysical concepts as a result.

[Blue3]

Any newcomers or changed beliefs?

[LBJer]

I'm Jewish, but an atheist in terms of religious belief (being an atheist and Jewish are not inconsistent) so I chose "Atheist."

[FT-02 Senator A.F.E. 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

Muslim - Sunni (Hanafi)

[Kingpoleon]

Well, in most iterations of Christianity, God is described as triune, which is considered shirk in Islam

The Islamic god also appears to be less personal than the Jewish one (at least in orthodox conceptions), which is why he can only be known from natural signs (and not represented in pictorial form) and spoken about in parables

None of the great theistic traditions (predominantly Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) deny that God is a person. Classical theism, as advocated by David Bentley Hart, Brian Davies, Edward Feser, and others, has it that God is infinitely more personal than we are. Being in the Thomistic tradition pure actuality, and in neo-orthodoxy wholly other, we can similarly only speak of God by analogy to beings, which by their very nature exist between Being and Nothing, between Actualia and Potentia. Theistic personalism, as advocated by William Lane Craig, Richard Swinburne, and Alvin Plantinga, turns God into a passable, contingent being - a demiurge who, if he exists, must necessarily do so only by virtue of an impassable and necessary being who is nevertheless more personal. Theistic personalism is a conception of God which arose in the last couple of centuries and is far less intellectually respectable than classical theism.

[Utah Neolib]

Pagan-mono-theism-agnosticism

[LabourJersey]

Any newcomers or changed beliefs?

This doesn't really count as a full-on change in belief but in the past year I have become a lot more Anglo-Catholic/high church/Catholic adjacent than I used to be, as I was raised a fairly middle-of-the road Episcopalian.

I've read a lot more about Catholicism, the differences in theologies, and have gone to a couple Masses actually. I really doubt I'll ever convert to Catholicism (there's still a gulf in theological and ethical thoughts between the Catholic Church and myself) but I do appreciate some facets of it.

[Kingpoleon]

Any newcomers or changed beliefs?

This doesn't really count as a full-on change in belief but in the past year I have become a lot more Anglo-Catholic/high church/Catholic adjacent than I used to be, as I was raised a fairly middle-of-the road Episcopalian.

I've read a lot more about Catholicism, the differences in theologies, and have gone to a couple Masses actually. I really doubt I'll ever convert to Catholicism (there's still a gulf in theological and ethical thoughts between the Catholic Church and myself) but I do appreciate some facets of it.

I know a lot of post liberals who admire Catholicism. Its most fervent admirer is a fairly well known postmodern libertarian socialist sociologist named Steve Fuller, perhaps the most erratic thinker of our day.

[If my soul was made of stone]

Any newcomers or changed beliefs?

This doesn't really count as a full-on change in belief but in the past year I have become a lot more Anglo-Catholic/high church/Catholic adjacent than I used to be, as I was raised a fairly middle-of-the road Episcopalian.

I've read a lot more about Catholicism, the differences in theologies, and have gone to a couple Masses actually. I really doubt I'll ever convert to Catholicism (there's still a gulf in theological and ethical thoughts between the Catholic Church and myself) but I do appreciate some facets of it.

I know a lot of post liberals who admire Catholicism. Its most fervent admirer is a fairly well known postmodern libertarian socialist sociologist named Steve Fuller, perhaps the most erratic thinker of our day.

Close contact and interfaith dialogue with Catholics has affected my own practice quite a bit as well, although I'd say that I remain under the broad pagan umbrella and there are still many aspects of Catholic theology and doctrine that I can't reconcile with my own principles. My path has always been quite syncretic, heterodox, generally opposed to the doctrine and attitudes of larger pagan currents, and infused with a postmodern air of self-awareness, so it wasn't much of a stretch to say "maybe Mary and St. Hildegard are aspects of the Mother Goddess too", with all due respect to the folk who I'm massively removing from their original spiritual context.

[Blue3]

A good thing about Catholic theology that I like is that it does try to reconcile itself with reason and science, and try to figure out a philosophy that unifies the various beliefs beyond "it's just what's written down." But the downsides are it then loses some of the spirituality that still seems strong in Eastern Orthodox, and relies on some beliefs and especially rituals that the Protestants don't because they aren't in the Bible.