Summary of your religious beliefs

[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.