Summary of your religious beliefs
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Dr. MB
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« on: February 08, 2021, 04:08:59 AM »

Inspired by the summary of political views thread.

Here's just a template. Feel free to add or remove things:

Religion:
Denomination: (if applicable)

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)?

God: Do you believe in God? Is there more than one God? Is this God all-knowing and all-powerful? Does God interfere in your daily life? Does God talk to you?

Afterlife: What happens after we die? Heaven/hell? Reincarnation? Nothing whatsoever? If there are multiple versions of the afterlife (for example, heaven and hell), who goes where and what determines that?

Prayer: Do you pray? How often do you pray? Do you do it in a certain way? Do you pray to God (or gods) or to something else? Do you say your prayers out loud or in your head?

Worship: Do you go to church/mosque/synagogue/anything else? How often?

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Do they exist? Are they present here? Have you ever seen one? Are certain people condemned to roam the earth?

One True Path: Is your religion the only way? Do people of other faiths have equally valid beliefs or not? Are your religion's followers saved while the others are condemned for all eternity?

Spiritual objects: Do certain things in the earth (for example, crystals or plants) have spiritual properties?

Religious law: Do you follow religious law or morality codes? For example, fasting or abstinence until marriage? Is not doing so a sin?

Spreading the word: Should it be a mission by people of your religion to spread it to as many people as possible?
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afleitch
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« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2021, 07:17:05 AM »

Religion: None.

Denomination: Queer. Humanist.

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? Raised Catholic. Long journey of discovery and concern for my health led me to move on from that belief. There's nothing noble in 'suffering' the contradictions.


God:Not important. Probably the best answer, I can conceptualise god differently now and would be Muslim if I believed in god, but the belief isn't quite there.

Afterlife: Return to a state of non existence.

Prayer: No. Got nothing from it for years and used to think I was doing it wrong.

Worship: No. Except attending weddings and funerals.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: No.

One True Path: No. Just don't be an asshole.

Spiritual objects: No. They can have medical and psychoactive properties. And being in nature is a 'spiritual' experience but it's materialistic. And the material is beautiful.

Religious law: No.

Spreading the word: No. Stand up for yourself and your story and make your point when you need to. It's either going to reach people or it won't.
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Battista Minola 1616
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« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2021, 09:24:25 AM »

Oh, that's interesting. I like these things when they have a template.

Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Catholicism

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? Obviously the fact that I live in a very Catholic country, that my family has historically been all Catholic, and that I was raised in the faith is relevant, but as for why I am not anymore a cringe contrarian agnostic as I was for some time, the answer is that I had a sudden and strange religious awakening/conversion between August and September 2020 (which was in part sparked by this forum honestly).

God: I believe in one God with three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I wouldn't say He talks to me directly, but I think He interferes with my life in some sense.

Afterlife: I accept the existence of Heaven and Hell, but I don't have particularly thought out convictions about the afterlife. I may be a quasi-universalist.

Prayer: I pray (almost) daily. The content and form of my prayers can be highly variable, but I usually pray at night. I pray quietly, but if I lived by myself I'd probably do it out loud.

Worship: I go to church, I wish to do it every Sunday but lately I have been inconsistent for reasons too complex to get into here.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: This is not a topic I ever think about, but I have never seen any such creature.

One True Path: We are saved through Jesus Christ, and obviously I consider the Catholic Church 'superior' in a sense, but beyond that I can't say. See the Afterlife section.

Spiritual objects: I find a spiritual connection in some natural entities at times (for example the starry sky), but most notably I think there is something spiritual and metaphysical about Mathematical objects (some more than others).

Religious law: I mean, everyone follows their own morality code, no? In my case it is now shaped by religion, although for many things it could be argued that religion has just given a grounding to what I already 'felt' but were unsure about.

Spreading the word: Very surprised to be saying this phrase in this context, but I basically agree with afleitch's answer above me (though I personally think that is a form of "spreading the word" too).
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« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2021, 09:48:29 AM »
« Edited: February 08, 2021, 09:52:35 AM by Alcibiades »

Religion: None. I describe myself as an atheist. Technically I suppose I am an agnostic, as I acknowledge there is a possibility there is a god or gods, but I consider this so unlikely as for the difference between atheist and agnostic to be purely academic in my case.

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I was raised in a fairly typical nonreligious household; that is to say religion didn’t play any role in our lives (except for church on Christmas Eve), and we didn’t ever discuss our belief or lack thereof. I went to a CofE primary school, as it was the closest to our house, and I suppose when I was young I had a superficial, childlike belief in Christianity from hearing about it all the time at school. I gradually grew out of this, and by the time I was 12 I knew I was an atheist, having realised this to be the most logically and morally consistent position, and that suggested on balance by the overwhelming amount of evidence, in my view.

God: I don’t believe in a god or gods in any form.

Afterlife: There is no afterlife. We re-assume a state of nothingness, identical to that of before we were conceived.

Prayer: I don’t pray.

Worship: I go to my local Anglican Church every Christmas Eve out of tradition. It is a beautiful old building, and there is something alluring about the ritual of it, but it obviously doesn’t hold religious significance for me.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: They don’t exist.

One True Path: I believe my beliefs to be reflective of reality. Obviously I don’t think those who don’t also hold them will suffer any retribution.

Spiritual objects: One can find, for instance, natural beauty has a positive impact on one’s mental health and wellbeing, and that it can provoke wonder, but I don’t believe that anything possesses “spiritual” qualities in the traditional sense.

Religious law: Not applicable.

Spreading the word: I also agree that afleitch put it well. I’ll debate others about my beliefs if they’re willing (as an intellectual exercise; I know I’m very unlikely to change their mind). I think the world would be better overall without religion, but I don’t pretend to actively seek the realisation of this, although I will always stand up for the separation of church and state.
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True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
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« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2021, 11:44:35 AM »

Denomination: Queer. Humanist.

Prayer: No. Got nothing from it for years and used to think I was doing it wrong.

I think of Denomination as something mutable, so I'm a little surprised to see you list a sexual orientation as part of a denomination.

You may well have been doing it wrong. Personally, I view prayer as a means of asking God to help oneself achieve the best, and or give em thanks. Anything even remotely similar to prosperity gospel type prayer would be wrong in my opinion.
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muon2
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« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2021, 12:34:53 PM »
« Edited: February 08, 2021, 01:58:45 PM by muon2 »

God: Do you believe in God? Is there more than one God? Is this God all-knowing and all-powerful? Does God interfere in your daily life? Does God talk to you?

I think that viewing these questions in this way leads to inherent confusion and contradictions that don't get at the nature of my belief. At the core I conceive of God as being everywhere at all times.

Invisible physical fields, like the electromagnetic and gravitational fields, are everywhere at all times. They each comprise one universal field, yet they each manifest themselves as multiple particles when the situation is appropriate. For example the electromagnetic field manifests itself as physical photons, such as the ones moving from the screen to your retina to convey these words. Those photons are many, but the field is one - and they are and remain the same thing! The gravitational field is everywhere at all times, and its force is universal. Gravity controls the movement of every object in the universe, even as the movement of those objects in space and time inform the nature of the gravitational field.

So, if God is ever-present like a physical field, why shouldn't God similarly be manifest at times as multiple entities that are still part of the one? The absolute question of God as one or many would be no more applicable than it is in discussing electromagnetism. If God is everywhere at all times, then it can naturally follow that like gravity God can exert an influence on all things even as all things in the universe provide information to God. Is that all-knowing and all-powerful? It might or might not be depending on what those terms actually mean to the person asking.
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afleitch
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« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2021, 01:13:06 PM »

Denomination: Queer. Humanist.

Prayer: No. Got nothing from it for years and used to think I was doing it wrong.

I think of Denomination as something mutable, so I'm a little surprised to see you list a sexual orientation as part of a denomination.

You may well have been doing it wrong. Personally, I view prayer as a means of asking God to help oneself achieve the best, and or give em thanks. Anything even remotely similar to prosperity gospel type prayer would be wrong in my opinion.

It's more of just a 'subheading' tbh. I think my queerness and humanism is 'active' that is distinct enough from just passive non-belief.

I've felt disconnected from prayer from 5 to 25. Same with confession and communion. It was just a ritual that I used to existentially worry I was getting it wrong while everyone else was doing it right because it always felt hollow.

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Former President tack50
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« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2021, 01:50:54 PM »

Here is my attempt, which is probably very underwhelming since I deliberately keep myself ignorant on the area of religion. To quote 1984: "Ignorance is strength" Tongue

Religion: None
Denomination: None

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)?: I grew up in essencially a "CINO" family (Catholic in name only). My parents didn't even bother baptizing me and they also never went to church (very recently, my mum started going to church again for a while, but even she doesn't go all that often). Being completely irreligious has always been a part of my upbringing and I've never felt I was "incomplete" or "unfulfilled" in any sense where becoming more devout would help.

God:
If asked directly "Do you believe in God" my answer would probably be yes, but not because I actually believe in God, but rather because of a Pascal's wager kind of deal

In reality, God's existance is not important in my day to day life so I just refuse to answer the cuestion. There are some questions which are best left unanswered. Just don't think about it. The rest of the questions therefore are not applicable.

Afterlife:
I do not know and there is no way for me to know. My hope, based on nothing but wishful thinking is that if an afterlife does exist; the just and good people are elevated while the wicked are punished and left to repair the damage they've created somehow.

However this is purely wishful thinking unsubstantiated on anything; and if anything whatever few empirical evidence I can gather while here on Earth would lean towards the opposite (for example I definitely don't believe in something like karma; plenty of people get away with evil stuff all the time)

Prayer:
I never pray. Closest thing is me thinking to myself "Damn, I wish X thing happened", which probably does not count.

Worship:
I often go to churches and cathedrals while I am doing tourism, but that is not in order to worship but rather because churches are in themselves highlights of many European cities (in fact I deliberately avoid going during mass or other worship ceremonies).

I think I went to Mass like 2 times as a kid and found it boring.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: All evidence points towards these not being a thing. I have seen like ghosts once or twice as a kid, but I think that was just little me being scared of darkness so it does not count Tongue

One True Path: I do think that in an ideal world, people would adopt a position towards religion like mine and outright stop caring. "Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers".

However, this does not mean that I don't recognize many religious teachings as valid. For example there are some Bible quotes I genuinely think are good teachings, and if I am not mistaken islam teaches to care the poor (which by itself is a good teaching I suppose even when I think out of all major religions, Islam is probably the worst). However while religions probably have some good teachings, you should never fully buy the package, especially not as immutable "Word of God".

Spiritual objects: There are no spiritual objects or anything like that on Earth.

Religious law: I don't follow any religious law. Just follow the morality standards and laws of whichever society you find yourself to be in and you are good to go. And if there are some morality standards you don't like you can always try to get people to frown upon immoral stuff or to support stuff that you think is morally ok but many people disagree.

Spreading the word: Active Dule style atheism if anything probably creates a backlash so it should not be done. The appropiate way for my lack of religion to spread would be that religious grandparents raise up parents that are "religious in name only"; which in turn end up raising completely irreligious grandchildren.

I am in favour of stuff like say, laicité laws like there are in France, but more as a means to force parents to raise their kids secular than anything else. And yes, the laicité laws probably create a backlash too; there is a careful balancing act.

My take is that whatever Europe did in the late 20th century should be done everywhere. Or you can go full communist and declare "Religion is the opiate of the masses"; then purge it like the Soviets or China did, your choice Tongue
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« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2021, 03:33:51 PM »

Religion: Christian
Denomination: Catholic

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

God: I believe in one all-knowing, all-powerful God in three persons. He is present in some form or fashion in my life but does not talk to me directly.

Afterlife: Heaven, hell, purgatory--of these three, my belief in purgatory is strongest.

Prayer: I pray every day, but I don't spend quarter-hours on end in highly structured, stylized prayer the way many Catholics do (and the way I aspire to tbh). It's generally just ad hoc throughout the day and then for a minute or two before going to bed.

Worship: I tried to go to Mass on every day one is supposed to, before the pandemic.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: I believe in all of these in the abstract, but I'm skeptical about most individual claims to have interacted with them. I skew Mulderish for a highly educated person my age, but not full Mulder.

One True Path: I think my beliefs are reflective of reality but I don't think you get automatically sent to turbohell for disagreeing or anything.

Spiritual objects: Many, many things about the world around us are outward signs of inward grace. I have animistic/"folk Shinto" tendencies towards certain items in my immediate environment--trees, gravestones, especially old and well-used household appliances, and so forth.

Religious law: I fail to see the point in following a religion that doesn't attempt at least some degree of modification of its devotees' behavior.

Spreading the word: What afleitch said (or, more precisely, what Battista Minola said).
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muon2
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« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2021, 04:37:17 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.
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« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2021, 05:40:02 PM »
« Edited: February 08, 2021, 09:16:31 PM by Associate Justice PiT »

Religion: Christian
Denomination: Eastern Orthodox

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I began pondering the question when I was persuaded that human efforts were insufficient to reach the objective truth at the core of reality, and that we could only attain truth by the grace of God, if He were to exist. I investigated the question with an open mind, and realized that theism is so much stronger and more logical than I had been led to believe before. A friend of mine converted to Orthodoxy and invited me to attend a Divine Liturgy around that time, which solidified for me that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

God: I believe in one God in three persons, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and timeless. He works all things according to His plan, and sometimes that involves speaking directly to us. I have never heard Him myself, but I have seen His works made manifest in my life. In particular He manifests Himself and His sacrifice in the chalice of Holy Communion, where we partake of that sacrifice as a royal priesthood and obtain remission of sins.

Afterlife: We go to Heaven or Hell depending on the state of our soul, where we will experience a foretaste of what awaits us after the Day of Judgment.

Prayer: I pray morning and night, every day. Mostly from a book, but I also mix in personal petitions. I pray to God, and I also pray to the saints to intercede before God for me, but much less often. I would estimate it at 90% God, 9% Mary, 1% other saints

Worship: I go to church every Sunday morning. I also go Saturday evenings as possible, and we also have weekday liturgies that I go to when work permits it. I assist the priest in serving at the altar during the liturgy.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Angels and demons are very real, with angels being immaterial servants of God and demons being fallen angels. Ghosts and spirits do exist in a sense, but not as they are presented to us. They are generally demons seeking to lead people astray.

One True Path: Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and His body is the Eastern Orthodox Church. Other Christian sects have flaws in their teaching, but I believe that they broadly lead to salvation. Non-Christian sects have more serious problems, reflecting the distance that exists between them and the Gospel message, but I have faith that God will judge their adherents justly and that there are virtuous non-Christians who will join the faithful in the Heavenly Kingdom. We have a saying that we know where the Church is, but not where it isn't. Thus, there are certainly members of the Church out there who are known only to God.

Spiritual objects: God sanctifies inanimate matter as He does human souls, and can fill them with grace. We see this with churches, icons, holy water, chrism oil, and more.

Religious law: I strive to avoid sin, which is not a law in the strict sense but has the effect of being such. Along these lines, acts such as fornication are strictly forbidden to us. Fasting is important as a means of turning towards God and letting go of material things, which have the effect of separating us from Him and therefore from Salvation. Not fasting isn't necessarily a sin, but it does make one unfit to receive Holy Communion.

Spreading the word: Evangelizing people to the faith is important, yes. But contrary to what people think of when they hear that, we don't favor the practice of knocking on doors or street preaching. Active evangelism has its place, but what matters most is bearing witness of Christ by being lights in the world, showing people what He has done for us.
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« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2021, 07:20:06 PM »

Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Episcopalian (formerly UCC)

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)?: I'm a cradle Christian, so it's always been part of who I am. Although I didn't feel particularly strongly about my faith until early 2012 or so, and didn't start attending church regularly until 2013.

God: God is fundamentally incomprehensible to the finite mind, but it is possible (and sufficient) to acknowledge God as the One who creates and orders creation, and indeed logic itself.

Afterlife: This is definitely something I'm less confident about speaking on, and this is a subject that I prefer to be secondary to all other Christian teachings. Obsession with one's own fate puts God and the fate of others second, which to me is contrary to Christian teachings. I an agnostic on Hell and view it as more as a state of mind which we've all experienced. I lean toward a quasi-universalist position and the existence of Limbo, and reject the notion of eternal suffering in favor of annihilationism.

Prayer: I try to pray every night. I pray novenas (nine-day prayers to saints) once a month. I'm progressively trying to incorporate more prayer in my life, including silent prayer before meals and the usage of Anglican rosary beads.

Worship: I attend weekly online services and do not intend on returning to in-person church until after the pandemic dies down.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: I have both seen and felt the physical touch of spirits, but that stopped after I left my hometown. I grew up in Connecticut, which is pretty much America's capital for hauntings and ghost sightings.

One True Path: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All Christians are saved. There is also a path to followers of other faiths and no faith at all, and while religions may be similar in values they are not all the same and it is impossible to reconcile Christianity and Hinduism in the same way it is impossible to reconcile my Anglo-Catholic/Arminian beliefs with Calvinism.

Spiritual objects: Same view as PiT.

Religious law: Religion is pretty pointless unless it holds some moral code to conduct oneself by in addition to belief. Fasting has never been part of my religious life. I believe that sin should be avoided, but more emphasis should be placed on fulfilling God's grace.

Spreading the word: I believe that it's very important to spread the word but it is increasingly difficult to do so now that, thanks in large part to globalization and mass media, the Word has more or less already been spread. With the aid of the Holy Spirit I successfully guided my best friend to Christ.
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« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2021, 08:27:33 PM »

Religion: Atheist
Denomination: Internet Troll

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I was never brainwashed as a child to believe anything else, so I remained at the default state of humanity, which is atheism.

God: Which one are you referring to? Be more specific.

Afterlife: Total nonexistence, of the same kind prior to our births. That which can be created can be destroyed, and human consciousness is no exception. This fact is the most terrifying element of the human experience, and we invented religion as a means of coping with it.

Prayer: Only sarcastically.

Worship: Performed every day by watching Christopher Hitchens Owns Christians Compilation #32 on YouTube.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Lol.

One True Path: Nietzschean/Hobbesian Hierarchical Domination

Spiritual objects: 2% milk and good barbecue.

Religious law: Legislating morality is immoral.

Spreading the word: I do it on this forum every day.
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« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2021, 08:59:21 PM »

Religion: Christian
Denomination: Baptist

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I was born into a family that started taking Christianity seriously when I was a little kid.  I didn't take it seriously until a few years ago, however.  The evidence for the resurrection and the reliability of the Bible are probably the biggest reasons why I'm a Christian.

God: There is one God, who is three persons.  He is all knowing and all powerful.  I don't think God has talked to me, but I've felt His influence in my life.

Afterlife: Everyone will go to heaven or hell.  God determines who goes where.

Prayer: I pray every day, to God, but not out loud.

Worship: I should go to church every week.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: I don't spend much time thinking about this, but angels and demons certainly exist.

One True Path: Christianity is the one true faith, and I believe that it is the only way to avoid hell.  This isn't something I enjoy telling people as I have a lot of friends who are Muslims, Buddhists, and atheists.  John 14:6
Quote
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Spiritual objects: No

Religious law: There are some laws that should be kept.  The Ten Commandments are still binding on Christians, for instance.

Spreading the word: Yes (Matthew 28:19)
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« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2021, 09:21:24 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.

I certainly don't disagree with Augustine on that point. But there's little support for the idea that any one particular religion is more or less consonant with scientific observation or generally-agreed-upon philosophical axioms than others.

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I was never brainwashed as a child to believe anything else, so I remained at the default state of humanity, which is atheism.

I've never understood this talking point. Most serious research into psychology of religion suggests that the "default state of humanity" is intense but unsystematic superstition.
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« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2021, 09:33:20 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.

I certainly don't disagree with Augustine on that point. But there's little support for the idea that any one particular religion is more or less consonant with scientific observation or generally-agreed-upon philosophical axioms than others.

     There's also the issue of determining what the proper conclusions are of science and reason. There are opinions that are commonly accepted in biblical scholarship that subtly presuppose the falsity of traditional Christian beliefs. Thus I see many Christians unknowingly deny important teachings as part of "not contradicting science or reason". I won't go into detail about these points since I don't want to derail this topic, but this presents a substantial epistemological problem.
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« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2021, 09:56:12 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.

I certainly don't disagree with Augustine on that point. But there's little support for the idea that any one particular religion is more or less consonant with scientific observation or generally-agreed-upon philosophical axioms than others.

     There's also the issue of determining what the proper conclusions are of science and reason. There are opinions that are commonly accepted in biblical scholarship that subtly presuppose the falsity of traditional Christian beliefs. Thus I see many Christians unknowingly deny important teachings as part of "not contradicting science or reason". I won't go into detail about these points since I don't want to derail this topic, but this presents a substantial epistemological problem.

Perhaps taking this a bit further from the rails than you intend, but I think the error some would make is claiming that there is a proper conclusion for scientific reason applied to religion. Historically science sets goals, but not conclusions. I feel that analogy can be a better approach as a scientist's tool for reason and analogy has a strong record in theological discourse.

I don't see analogies as a means of proof per se, but as a means to reject falsification of religious claims. That's important since reason tells us that there are inevitably definitive statements that cannot be determined to be either true or false. Thus such statements must either be accepted or rejected on faith alone.
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muon2
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« Reply #17 on: February 08, 2021, 10:01:35 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.

I certainly don't disagree with Augustine on that point. But there's little support for the idea that any one particular religion is more or less consonant with scientific observation or generally-agreed-upon philosophical axioms than others.

I think there are some that are less consonant than others (eg young earth creationism). But I also find that there are those who think that because some religions are less consonant with scientific observation then religion in general is not consonant with science and reason.
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« Reply #18 on: February 08, 2021, 10:56:32 PM »

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? A series of ~experiences~ in my late teens and early twenties. All stuff very specific to me individually. Life got a lot sweeter when I stopped trying to reverse-engineer arguments from first principles.

Interesting. For me it was quite the opposite and life was "sweeter" when I could look to first principles in the manner of Descartes. In a college class on the Early Middle Ages I found Augustine's view that religion should not contradict science or reason to be particularly enlightening.

I certainly don't disagree with Augustine on that point. But there's little support for the idea that any one particular religion is more or less consonant with scientific observation or generally-agreed-upon philosophical axioms than others.

I think there are some that are less consonant than others (eg young earth creationism).

Obviously there are beliefs present in some religions that are flatly false, yes. What I meant is that there really isn't an empirical way to "decide between" Christianity (writ large), Buddhism (writ large), etc.

There's also the issue of determining what the proper conclusions are of science and reason. There are opinions that are commonly accepted in biblical scholarship that subtly presuppose the falsity of traditional Christian beliefs.

Ah yes, the old "Mark must postdate the destruction of the Temple because in it Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple" trick. I know it all too well. (And in that particular case, considering how lousy with doom prophets first-century Judea was, you don't even need to believe there was anything special about Jesus to see though it!)
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« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2021, 05:21:08 PM »

Religion: Atheist
Denomination: N/A
Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)?

God: God does not exist and never has. There is no reliable evidence one exists. I used to believe until I read the Bible and realized just how false or hateful many of the verses are.

Afterlife: When we die, we become nothing. We simply cease to exist. There is no afterlife.

Prayer: No. I used to, but stopped when I realized nothing ever came of it and it made me look stupid doing it.

Worship: I hate it. My devout Lutheran parents force me to because I live with then. Once I move out, I will never set foot in a church again.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: No. They are all fake. Hogwash.

One True Path: Is your religion the only way? Do people of other faiths have equally valid beliefs or not? Are your religion's followers saved while the others are condemned for all eternity?

Spiritual objects: No.

Religious law: Morality should not be legislated. Sin is a scare tactic invented by ultra-religious nuts.

Spreading the word: The word of atheism, yes.
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Clarko95 📚💰📈
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« Reply #20 on: February 10, 2021, 11:30:15 AM »

I'll change up the format with two of my own quotes, but also will answer some of the bullet points fro the template:

Not really a fan of religions that say "Here is the one and only true prophet, if you do not embrace him unquestioningly in this one, singular chance you are given at life, you are doomed for all of eternity", so that's basically all Abrahamic religions.

When I was 12 or 13 and was taking the classes for confirmation in the Lutheran Church, I openly challenged my pastor on this during the class. He seemed amused by my fervent questioning "But why? But WHY?", but also a bit happy that he was at least getting some response from our small group of five pre-teens/teenagers.

I just couldn't fathom why God would basically condemn huge swathes of his children, whom he supposedly loves, just because they happened to be born before he chose to send his prophet/savior down to Earth, or lived someplace remote and out of reach of salvation. Furthermore, could God not understand that people will defend their own pre-existing belief system against some interloper who claims to have The Word? Why condemn them for that? And finally, why is it that you can be a horrible person and violate so many of his commandments, but be saved through faith alone, while someone who was a good person and lived a life in accordance with the ideal then be condemned for simply not believing?

I also find the Catholic Church's idea of a purgatory for Virtuous Pagans to be unsatisfactory, mostly for the same reasons above. If this is how God actually is, then God is an as*hole for creating a system where so many of his own children are set up to fail from the very beginning, through no fault of their own but God's fault. I also find the Muslim idea that Christians and Jews are People of the Book and thus get a chance for a "get out of jail free" card when they die and go before the gates of Heaven and Mohammed is like, "So yeah, you guys were 95% of the way there, here's the full truth, do you accept this or not?" and you have a chance at salvation. How arbitrary is this?

It's straightforward in terms of consistency (I don't "church shop") and yet complex in terms of faith: raised in a dual-nationality, multilingual, dual-religion household. Father and mother agreed to have us raised between both Lutheranism (ELCA) and Brahmo Hinduism.

Went to church regularly and was baptized, also attended every major event at the local Hindu temple.

Both of my parents have always given us a lot of space and freedom when it comes to religion, and have never tried to force something onto us. However, my mother was by far the strongest and dominating influence.

We still keep traditions on both sides, but my mom was far more interested in the actual "instilling values" part compared to my father, and is also much better at keeping Bengali Hindu traditions, e.g. only eating vegetarian after someone passed away (which is something that I do myself now that I live alone). I still celebrate Christian holidays such as Advent, St Martin's Day, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, All Saints' Day, and Epiphany, but this is also just a factor of now living in a country where these days are taken seriously by the public.

At this point I don't really see any point in identifying as a Christian. It has done really nothing for me, either in finding meaning in the world or daily life. It means nothing to me, other than holidays I organize dinner parties for or go light candles in a cemetery. In retrospect, it's a huge mistake IMO for churches to confirm people so young, since I did not understand at all why I should have been confirmed in the Lutheran Church and was clearly pressured by my father's and the congregation's social expectations.

But I can't really identify as a Hindu, despite finding far more meaning and relevance in the teachings and values, since I was never really immersed in it as a child, can't speak Bengali, and Hinduism is a very place-specific religion. Furthermore, it is very clear that many of my family members, whether they are still back in Calcutta or are in the West, are stereotypical of the hybrid British-Indian-educated Bengali middle class, in that they repeat the stories of Hinduism to their children but clearly don't truly believe in it themselves (they are probably closer in actual beliefs to Unitarian Universalism), and yet they are very much about keeping traditions and observing certain holidays (much as Unitarians still keep certain Christian traditions like Sunday worship).

I don't really identify as anything, simply because I've never needed to. If asked, I just say that my parents agreed to raise us between Lutheranism and Brahmoism, and just leave it at that. I do believe there is *some* kind of higher power, but I don't really think much beyond that and just try to be a good person. 

Afterlife: Idk, and tbh idrc. I like to think there is something but if there isn't, that's also comforting in a sense

Worship: only drop in to church / temple on the big days, go through phases of trying to go regularly and not showing up at all for months at a time. I do take both Christian and Bengali Hindu religious days pretty seriously, and use it as an opportunity to pause, reflect, and read/re-read the meaning and importance of certain holidays. Even though Sweden is a very secular country, it's still fundamentally a Christian country, and many people take the holidays very seriously and do things like go to church for the community and tradition, and do nice community-oriented things such as lighting candles in the graveyards on All Saints' Day. It's much easier to take traditions seriously when you live in an environment where there's a stronger sense of community and tradition.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: don't believe in these at all

Spiritual objects: do the objects themselves have any power? No. But do they have spiritual value? Yes, absolutely.

Religious law: Sort of, but it stems more from personal values that I don't fully attribute to religion. Nothing is explicitly religious about eating vegetarian between the time someone dies and their funeral, it's also a region-specific thing. Some things, like not having an issue with fornication/promiscuity but believing that adultery is a severe wrong against your partner stem also from a principle of harm and breaking trust, but can also be religious.

Spreading the word: No. Perpetuating values is good, but those can exist outside of religion as well. Personally I recoil from anyone of any other religion openly soliciting people to try to convert them, whether it's Evangelical missionaries going to Central America, Hindu fundamentalists trying to convert Muslims and Christians in India, Muslims trying to convert Christians or other religious minorities in the MENA region, etc. Something about it is so off-putting to me. If you set up shop outside of public transit and just smile at people, say hello, offer literature, and strike up conversation with people passing my, no problem. If you make yourself available and people come to you, that's fine. Also please stop putting literature and postcards in my mailbox, I get excited when I have mail and dislike the waste of paper.
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« Reply #21 on: February 10, 2021, 01:47:12 PM »

Religion: Atheism, Nontheism, Skepticism, Freethought, Ethics, Logic, Wisdom

Denomination: Unitarian Universalist comes closest (raised Swedenborgian)

Religious law: See Dhammapada verse 183 (shun evil, do good, purify the mind and heart)

One True Path: Dhammapada verse 183

Spreading the word: I don't do this but it is a good idea, and especially to debunk fallacies in religion


I don't believe in any of the following
God:
Afterlife: (although it might be nice if it were true)
Prayer: (meditation yes, but not prayer)
Worship:
Spiritual objects:
Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons:

I do believe that good and evil exist


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« Reply #22 on: February 10, 2021, 01:56:24 PM »

Religion: I believe that the Jesus Christ described roughly in the NIV of the Christian Bible lived, was the Son of God, died for our sins, went to Heaven, and was resurrected, and that He is my Savior. However, I am not necessarily a believer of Pauline Christianity.
Denomination: None

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I made certain pacts of God in my twenties that if certain things happened, I would be a follower of Jesus for life, and those things happened. I am a flawed follower for sure, but the fundamental principle I will never give up now.

God: Yes. God is everything, all powerful, all knowing, and communicative.

Afterlife: Some people go to Heaven, some people just cease to exist, and some people go to Hell.

Prayer: I pray about once a month.

Worship: I don't go to church or any social religious events.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: These do not exist.

One True Path: There is no One True Path.

Spiritual objects: Objects don't have spiritual properties, but they can be meaningful. For instance, a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.

Religious law: I don't follow any religious laws. I am too flawed to live up to any, anyways.

Spreading the word: I don't try to prostelyze.
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« Reply #23 on: February 10, 2021, 03:05:14 PM »

Religion: Christian
Denomination: Episcopalian

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? Born into it, grew up going to church every Sunday, baptized & confirmed into the church — the usual cradle Episcopalian experience.

God: Unsure. If pushed, I'd agree that there is probably a God who created the universe; more skeptical of the idea that He actively controls and intervenes in the world today.

Afterlife: Will figure this out when I get to it.

Prayer: Not exactly, but I've been trying to get into the routine of doing the daily readings from the Daily Office.

Worship: Pre-pandemic, weekly, but I have not found a church out here yet and have found the Zoom stuff to be a poor substitute. I enjoy going and hope to resume soon.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Not willing to state outright that these aren't real — I am skeptical, but I nevertheless side with the people who say you should paint the ceilings blue to ward off haints.

One True Path: Seems arrogant for me to decide. Whatever moral system is motivating someone to do good works is probably alright.

Spiritual objects: Two main categories here — as several posters before me have noted, there is spiritual value in nature. I have also always liked all the rituals (the candles, the incense), which I suppose falls in the category of objects.

Religious law: Of course — this is most of the point of the thing, isn't it? I try to follow both the substantive rules of conduct and the procedural rules the church has for ceremonies like Lent. I don't think failing to do so is "sinful" necessarily, especially the latter category, but it is a good way to structure your life.

Spreading the word: I generally think the resources spent on evangelism would be better spent on programs addressing poverty, hunger and disease; the converts follow from seeing that.
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libertpaulian
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« Reply #24 on: February 17, 2021, 12:28:37 PM »

Inspired by the summary of political views thread.

Here's just a template. Feel free to add or remove things:

Religion:
Denomination: (if applicable)

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)?

God: Do you believe in God? Is there more than one God? Is this God all-knowing and all-powerful? Does God interfere in your daily life? Does God talk to you?

Afterlife: What happens after we die? Heaven/hell? Reincarnation? Nothing whatsoever? If there are multiple versions of the afterlife (for example, heaven and hell), who goes where and what determines that?

Prayer: Do you pray? How often do you pray? Do you do it in a certain way? Do you pray to God (or gods) or to something else? Do you say your prayers out loud or in your head?

Worship: Do you go to church/mosque/synagogue/anything else? How often?

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Do they exist? Are they present here? Have you ever seen one? Are certain people condemned to roam the earth?

One True Path: Is your religion the only way? Do people of other faiths have equally valid beliefs or not? Are your religion's followers saved while the others are condemned for all eternity?

Spiritual objects: Do certain things in the earth (for example, crystals or plants) have spiritual properties?

Religious law: Do you follow religious law or morality codes? For example, fasting or abstinence until marriage? Is not doing so a sin?

Spreading the word: Should it be a mission by people of your religion to spread it to as many people as possible?

Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Lutheranism (Mainline)

Why do you follow this religion (or lack thereof)? I didn't pick God...God picked me, thanks to His grace.

God: Do you believe in God? Is there more than one God? Is this God all-knowing and all-powerful? Does God interfere in your daily life? Does God talk to you? Yes, I do.  One God, Three Persons.  He sustains me by His love and grace.  He communicates with me, not necessarily orally, but through peace and comfort, as well as by those around me.

Afterlife: What happens after we die? Heaven/hell? Reincarnation? Nothing whatsoever? If there are multiple versions of the afterlife (for example, heaven and hell), who goes where and what determines that? I believe in Heaven/Hell, although I always hope that more will be saved in the end than not.

Prayer: Do you pray? How often do you pray? Do you do it in a certain way? Do you pray to God (or gods) or to something else? Do you say your prayers out loud or in your head? I try to pray daily, using the Daily Office.

Worship: Do you go to church/mosque/synagogue/anything else? How often? Weekly, pre-pandemic.  Since mid-March 2020, as often as I can virtually and whenever they're gathering in-person.

Ghosts, spirits, angels, and demons: Do they exist? Are they present here? Have you ever seen one? Are certain people condemned to roam the earth? Demons, devils, angels, spirits, etc. in fact exist, although not to the extent that the TBN types say they do.

One True Path: Is your religion the only way? Do people of other faiths have equally valid beliefs or not? Are your religion's followers saved while the others are condemned for all eternity? Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; however, other religions can communicate valuable truths for life (for example, Muslims are devoted and disciplined people).

Spiritual objects: Do certain things in the earth (for example, crystals or plants) have spiritual properties? As in...can I communicate with the river?  No.

Religious law: Do you follow religious law or morality codes? For example, fasting or abstinence until marriage? Is not doing so a sin? Morality and virtue ethics are an expression of loving and serving one's neighbor, not as a way to earn favor with God.

Spreading the word: Should it be a mission by people of your religion to spread it to as many people as possible? Yes, although methods may vary.
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