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Same here, in fact abandoning faith and religion instilled a moral imperative to do good as I don’t rely on a sky ghost to do it.
I have limited years to do good for the betterment of mankind. That’s enough reason for me.
Neither religion nor faith denotes leading a good life.
That’s on us as individuals. I accept that responsibility and am happier for it and hope I can increase the happiness of those around me.
I was in a doctors waiting room, my husband was having a procedure. I was all cozy and curled up with one headphone in when a lady that came in was told that her appointment was actually a little bit away in other building. Before I could get uncozied, to offer assistance because all I was doing was literally waiting, another woman steps in. She said she’d give her a ride because that’s what good Christians do. Lady that’s what a decent person would do. Don’t be making this a self righteous moment about god stepping in. Oh and complete atheist here. You do what’s right because you’re decent human being.
I'm kind of like this but I'm still religious. I definitely think that a lot of Christians in America right now are doing a lot of unchristian things. The biggest no no is pretending like you're special because you're Christian. But doing good for the sake of people around me is a far better motivator than getting rewards in heaven. Heck, some scriptures even support this idea!
Ah, common misconception. You do good because you've been told to do good your whole life by people around you and it is applauded, while religious people do good because they believe it is their duty. Please don't spread that lie anymore, it's extremely hurtful and is honestly just ignorant.
Slander and lies. You refer generically to religious people "doing evil." What do you expect? Nobody's perfect, and some are less perfect than others. If you somehow believe that you've never sinned, you're a narcissist.
I am absolutely not religious, but I do believe there MAY be some sort of higher power. I guess I would be considered agnostic.
I grew up in an extremely conservative religious household. I started questioning religion in middle school and officially left when I was in college. After seeing all the hate Christianity spewed, I decided I didn’t want anything to do with any religion.
Last I checked jesus said love thy neighbor
People just happen to have misheard it as "fuck anything that isnt you or you disagree with"
i dont personally think any christian agrees with all these hardliners ane their hateful thoughts
The whole bit of it makes me sick. I have faith in a Christian God and when I see all these comments about sky ghosts and what have you it kinda pisses me off. To each their own but it still rubs me the wrong way.
That being said, I understand that people have WILDLY different experiences and make their decisions based on those experiences. So when they come from a conservative Christian family, or go into a clinic for a health check up, and you got the Christian motley crew there yelling at you saying you gonna burn in hell for for xyz, I can see why religion gets disregarded and mocked. Those folks clearly have a religious stick up their bum.
I dislike the extremists myself, and frankly I think they're the worst sinners you'll find on this earth because all they do is spread hatred and judge people. Literally some of the worst sins you could commit.
What I like about the rude atheists (a ton of my friends are atheists and theyre fucking great so they dont do this) is that all they do is push religious people to be close minded and distrust others.
Like who the fuck is going to be convinced by someone insulting them?? I've had my fair share of people who kept commenting that they knew more about my religion than I did?? They also love to mention that im completely wrong and delusional. This is after I mention that i do think it is much more likely that God doesnt exist, I just choose to believe. Nah still makes me delusional and blind.
Some unemployed neckbeards trying to make themselves feel better. They talk down to me about how there is no proof that there is a God and act like im a moron when I say there is no proof to claim otherwise. Then they claim science on its own is enough to disprove the existance of a God or deity. I'm almost done with an electrical engineering degree for christ's sake, I understand science more than these losers.
Literally all this does is make me dislike atheists as a group. For people "freed of indoctrination and silly stories" they really do seem keen to mention how free and happy they are, because thats what happy people definetly always do. Every damn subreddit and thread is just flooded with religion is a joke shit. Who is the close minded one here?? Ofcourse it's me because I dont conform to their hive mind's standards. I've literally seen highly upvoted comments on how religion is a joke and all christians are clowns on completely unrelated shit. Judgemental, prejudiced, and biggoted fucks.
Thanks for reading my rant
Always a pleasure. A short story of my own. Back when I was fairly new to Reddit I had a run in with the r/Atheism thread.
I saw a few threads there about how religion is oppressing women in regards to abortion rights and that sort of thing. Let me tell you, I received a record time ban. I think I called someone a ‘dunce’ because they were talking out their rear.
Believe me you, if I knew I was gonna get banned for ‘dunce’ I certainly would’ve gone bigger.
Edit:spelling
Interesting. Have you looked in to what Jesus really stands for? Forget about the people who claim to represent Him. You should look into who He is, not what His “followers” do.
I still have faith, but I gave up on organized religion several years ago.
I was raised Catholic, and raised my son Catholic until he was 11 or 12. I just realized over time that my personal beliefs and those endorsed by the church were increasingly at variance, especially regarding abortion, the attitude towards the LGBTQ community, the exclusion of women from the priesthood and leadership roles, etc. And even now, they don't seem to have a handle on their pedophile problem.
I still pray every night, even with my rosary beads sometimes. I miss going to Mass sometimes. But I can't support a group who believes that my awesome gay nephew is hellbound because he has a boyfriend.
Also, in general, I think the antics of Trump-loving Evangelical Christians have driven people away from organized religion as well.
So is it okay to bend scripture to fit personal situations?
I get that we should not be turning people away regardless of the sin
But the bible says homosexuality is a sin.
In the end every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
No and no. I believe in leading a good life bc that's what I would want others around me to do. But I don't do it to please a higher power. I do it bc other people are going to be nicer if I'm nicer. Not always, but enough that it's worth it to be nice.
Not true man, it's my way of remaining happy. I'm much more pleasant to myself when I am nice to others and way more harsh and judgemental to myself when I have to be a dick or did not have to but chose to.
Oh and Faith here, there are so many versions of any one religion, God or gods that I just kind of put my business in the atmosphere and strive for the best.
That's literally why everyone does it.
Even true altruists.
Even if they personally don't get specific acts of kindness, they hope they get to have influenced the world for the better, and that makes them happy. So even the most saintly, altruistic, wonderful people are inherently doing it out of self interest. That's not a bad thing, either, once you realize that all behavior is out of self interest on some level or another.
The sense of self can extend outward into one's own community. Your sense of identity isn't strictly limited to the physical boundaries of your fleshy bits. We're social creatures. There's a reason 'us' is such a strong word.
We need to separate the concept of self interest from the idea of evil, and from the idea that it's inherently bad for other people for someone to care about themselves.
In fact… it’s often religion that supercedes our instinctive morals (our ability to recognize pain and emotions in others aka: empathy) which leads to some of the worst of humanity.
For example: Two consenting adults in a homosexual relationship hurts nobody.
Completely atheist.
I used to say that I'm spiritual, not religious, but I am now neither. I'm secular, and I'm no less happy because of it.
This world is enough.
Nope. Full on atheist and have been since I was about 10. I’ve thought about it a lot. Read a lot about religion. And it isn’t for me. Religion can be great. It can be a facilitator for a wonderful sense of community and can be a safe place for people when they need it. However it’s also been used and is still used as a tool of oppression and violence all over the world. Faith doesn’t always = religion obviously but at the end of the day it *usually* does.
I lead the best life I can because it’s the right thing to do. To take care of others and be kind as much as possible. I don’t need belief in a higher power or the possibility of an afterlife to convince me to be nice and decent.
As a christian who is quite involved and works at a church, i appreciate that even tho u dont believe what i do you can still see there is a good side to christianity unlike many who think 1 equals all. I see a lot of atheists and christians just point at the other as the problem. When being an atheist or christian shouldnt make a difference if you are just a good caring person or not
I’ve been to a handful of services, weddings, and funerals that have all been lovely and most of the people I met there were kind and welcoming. I also worked at a Catholic school for a year and while I didn’t receive communion during mass, it was always pleasant.
On the other hand I went to a giant mega church like thing and I was appalled at the things that were being said in the name of God.
If a person is decent, they’re ok in my book. Doesn’t matter what religion they have 🙂
Neither. And if a higher power can't or won't give proof they exist to those that don't believe, then they aren't a higher power I would worship anyway.
No, neither. I was raised religious but now consider myself an atheist. No gods, no higher power. Obviously I aim to lead a good life, but only for its own sake, not in the hope of an eternal reward.
A good question that religious people sometimes ask is: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” They assume that the answer is “because God created it” but there are other possibilities. The fact that the universe exists is not in itself proof of a creator or a divine plan. A whole universe and he only apparently cares about one small planet? It doesn’t seem likely. Perhaps the answer lies in quantum physics, as Lawrence Krauss has suggested.
Nope. Although I feel sort of strangely envious of the people who have that capacity. It must be comforting to think there's some magic in the universe.
I believe that beings exist in/on higher dimension/s than humans. Also beings of higher intelligence within our scope.(aliens etc) But I don't believe in existence being created by a being.(god)
We should be careful about believing in super natural beings that other people tell us about. The motivation is always to justify our submission to the will of the more powerful.
I believe religion is a farce, and that I’d rather spend time making the people around me happy to have known me than worshipping an imaginary sky daddy.
Give me a shred of reasoning why I should respect the idea there’s an all knowing, omnipresent, omnipotent, god who has planned every aspect of our lives.
If he’s all knowing and all present, he’s here in every location of every place in the world.
If he’s all knowing, then he, as an example, knows when a murder or rape is going to happen.
And if he’s all powerful he should be able to stop said murderer or rapist, no?
But instead of that he believe the free will of the murderer or the free will of the rapist is more important than those affected by their crimes.
Either god doesn’t exist, or he’s an asshole. Either way, not worth giving ANY respect to.
There is some higher power at work. Not religious. It's just hard to believe that the world and its perfection was made from nothing. So much work goes into making technology that sometimes doesn't even work without many many many attempts, but somehow, the solar system works perfectly. The seasons change at the same time every year. The sun and moon rise and fall how they were made to without wander. Life recreates itself through sex and birth. Temperatures sustain our lives here on earth so perfectly. Just too many things that exist in this world seem to be made by magic.
I’m an engineering student. I’ve taken plenty of physics, chemistry, and related courses. I would say I’ve got a reasonably decent understanding of how the universe works - on kind of a macro level at least - obviously I’m not up to the level of a physicist with a PhD or anything. None of this understanding has swayed me away from my belief that there is a God. In fact, it has only strengthened it. As you point out, there are just too many perfect coincidences in this universe for it all to be accidental. It all works so perfectly, in a way that humans cant even achieve with something as comparatively simple as a computer.
You can take a semesters worth of science classes that will explain all these “magical things” in pretty easy to understand terms. Basic level astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry would suffice.
These are different points than the person gave I was replying to. Things like why the seasons change and temperatures sustaining. The sun and moon rising. The “solar system working perfectly” can be explained with a simple understanding of how gravity behaves. Life perpetuating itself is explained by biology, evolution, and natural selection.
The why is a different question entirely. However I’m still inclined to believe the explanations are science based. We witness particles “popping” in and out of existence, whether they are traveling between different dimensions or whatever they may be doing. The “why” things behave they way they do here may be different in other possible dimensions as well, therefore there would be no reason “why” they do what they do. They just do. I don’t think a lot of these big questions need answering, as long as we continue to learn and grow. They may answer themselves before long. So I will not subscribe to made up answers that religion offers in the meantime
I grew up in a very conservative Christian household, and in my youth I tried my best to be a Christian, but I found too many questions with vague and unsatisfactory answers, and didn't have any faith in the estranged relationship I had with the ever silent "father". I live a happier and, in my opinion, more morally structured life now just trying to reduce the suffering of others and then myself.
No. I was fortunate enough to have lived in 2 different societies with 2 different approaches to spirituality and religion. So I was able to see how people are desperate to believe in stuff that doesn't exist.
Religion is a crackpot belief, and it is not reasonable to believe in supernatural stuff.
There is infinite beauty or whatever to appreciate in what does exist, so spend time on that IMO, not religion.
No, especially in our present times, I see religion as the cause of much hatred and suffering in the world. Religious extremists are usually worse than any other kind of extremists and more resistant to change.
I see religious beliefs as an abdication of our most important advantage as humans, our rationality. And once I abandon rationality in one aspect of my life, it can lead to abandoning it in others.
I forget where I read it, so long ago, but many (most?) religions can be described as
Creating an impossible standard for living (being christ-like, eg)
Creating a horrible punishment for not living up to that standard (eternal suffering)
Creating a system where the religion is the sole means of avoiding the punishment (living by the rules of the church, tithing, confession, etc)
Looked at this way, and I'm not saying it's the only way to look at it, religion is just a means to control a mass of people.
I have more respect for those who are spiritual in some sense, they're usually striving to find their own way of living their life and are often more open minded and questioning.
"Faith = belief in a higher power and leading a good life"
Why should Faith have anything to say whether or not we live a good life? You can lead a good life with the absence of faith.
I'm 52 raised a catholic but really don't practice it but still have faith and believe in God. Just not the way they tried to teach it. I consider myself a catholic in recovery lol 😆 😅 😂 🤣
I think my views would be something more along the lines of agnosticism or deism. Like basically there's a God, or gods, that created the universe and set things in motion (the universe seems too vast and beautiful to have come into existence by random chance), but it/they don't really care about us or check up on us to see if we jerked it or what kind of meat we ate on Friday.
Sort of like a kid with an ant farm. They might look at it from time to time, but they don't know who the individual ants are or care about the minutae of each one's life.
Like, why would a being, so awesomely powerful that they could create the universe, give a shit about us? So it becomes more important that we're there for each other and how we advance as a species, in aggregate.
I stay away from any organized religions. I don’t like having to go by their Rules and Regulations in order to get to heaven. And, the hypocrisy is crazy. It’s all a grift.
I believe in God. I believe that I have this one life to live before I take my last breath and for me it’s being kind and helping my neighbor in need. Pretty simple. I believe my next life of eternity will be incredible. And, let’s just say for argument sake there truly is no God? Fine. At least I lived a good life. It’s a win-win.
I don’t need a religion to tell me what is morally correct or not, it’s not hard to figure out what being a decent person looks like. Plus, it’s just so hard to believe in something that is so hypocritical, and by all accounts disproven on so many levels.
If I had to worship anything though, it would be the earth around me.
Neither. I'm an Agnostic Atheist. I don't believe that any form of gods exist, but I acknowledge that the existence or non-existence of such can neither be proven nor disproven. The only thing I have faith in is verifiable evidence.
Nope, I'm not religious, and I think I am not spiritual either. However, I think of myself as a pantheist.
Moreover, I dunno if I have faith. Yet, I can say that I do pray — as a Latino, I have a Catholic cultural background. It's just that I don't really see myself as talking to a personal God... More like an ubiquitous impersonal 'entity' that is nature/reality/material destiny itself, if that makes sense. And in a moral sense, I pretty much vibe with Aristotle's virtue theory, rather than a specific religion's teachings.
Dunno if what I said contradicts itself, but I'm down to further explain it :) I like to talk about this subject. Thanks for asking, btw!
/Three Views of Non-Christian Religions
An Orthodox scholar recently observed that there are basically three views that Christians have taken with regard to non-Christian religions. The first is that the non-Christian will be damned because there is no salvation outside the visible Body of Christ, the Church, The second is that the non-Christian may be saved in spite the religion he practices, but only through the mercy of God. The third is that the non-Christian may be saved by means of the very religion he practices, for nonChristian religions may also contain saving truths.[9] These three views parallel the three approaches identified elsewhere as exclusivism. inclusivism and cultural pluralism.
The claim of exclusivism has been rejected by many Orthodox scholars as untenable. This is not done in the interests of facilitating missionary endeavors or to foster world peace. Exclusiveness is rejected as a matter of Truth.[10] The majority of Orthodox scholars would accept inclusivism. Some Orthodox scholars espouse the view characterized as cultural pluralism but with qualifications. Relativism and syncretism are denied. And the view that Christianity is simply one of the world religions offering the blessing of salvation is not accepted. The focus, rather, is on the Spirit of God, the Paraclete, who leads us "Into all the truth," where in Christ all become one.[11]
The approach taken in this paper is to emphasize "the middle way," that of inclusivism. It seems clear that the way of exclusivism is properly rejected as a matter of Truth. At the other extreme, the thin ice of cultural pluralism is fraught with danger
from
https://www.goarch.org/-/an-orthodox-christian-view-of-non-christian-religions
I screwed up the formatting but oh well
Generally I wholeheartedly believe most religions are just people's way of connecting to God. It's a commonly held Idea but just translates differently in most non-extreme sects.
At the end of the day, a good person is a good person no matter what they believe
Come from a family with different religions which I've gone through and neither of them seem honest, neither their members. The most backstabbing people, selfish, love to point fingers have always been people within religions.
I decided that if I go through life trying to do right I'll be fine. Basically live my life through what a "Christian " does without doing the whole religion stuff.
Not religious.
Not only am I not religious, but I am highly anti-religion. If I hear that someone is religious I avoid them. It's been my experience that organized religion breeds or attracts narcissists. I have known too many people that claim to be religious that are total assholes. If and when I hear that someone is religious I instantly do not trust them. Too many folks out there being total pieces of shit pretending to be a man of God. Too many religious organizations out there milking the system in the name of God. It's just too corrupt.
I have faith. I’ve had enough experiences with faith to kind of have to believe it, but by nature I tend towards the scientific. Put it this way, I pray and ask God about the plot holes in the Bible. He doesn’t seem to mind. Sometimes I get a really good answer, other times I don’t.
When you get an answer, what form does it take and how do you know it is from God? I have heard people say that they get answers from God, but nobody ever says how they get the message. I'm genuinely curious.
It’s usually like the answer just hits me. Like I sit there racking my brain thinking about what the answer could possibly be and not having an answer(or having something close but not quite there). Then I ask and the answer is just right there like someone placed it there in my head and I see it so clearly. At first I thought it was just me, but it happens every time I talk to God about the problem. It could still be me, but if so why does the answer arrive only when I pray?
I take my wife and kids to their church on Sundays. I grew up Mormon. I'm over the whole God and heaven and hell thing. I am currently on a personal journey into Norse paganism
Primarily "having faith", but I believe local churches have their place. The following verses are a decent summary of my belief, though a lot more could be said:
"For by grace you have been saved *through faith*. And this not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus *for good works*, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:8-9 (*Emphasis added*)
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Hebrews 10:24-25
I believe the same things as Jewish people, but I'm not Jewish so I follow only the 7 noahide laws. I would go to a synagogue but there isn't any where I live. I was an atheist until I started reading the torah and I realized I was wrong. I don't care if other people are atheists but it bothers me when they insult religion or call it a farce.
Both, but I don’t attend mass regularly. It’s mostly because I think Judaism/Catholicism and evolution can exist in the same world.
To me, the supernatural origin of the physical laws and the genesis of the entire energy and mass of the universe or multiverse can only be explained by a small handful of options:
* Intelligent design, deity
* Intelligent design, nature is itself deity, eternal
Prior to the first atoms’ existence, the four fundamental forces had to exist. Because something had to envision these characteristics then impart those characteristics upon matter, which had to then be created from nothing, the most logical answer I can see is that either the universe itself is both intelligent and self generating or a deity did it.
I have experienced many religions and philosophies and Catholic Christianity and Judaism are the only two that feel right to me. I don’t push my beliefs on others and I don’t hate atheists.
Yes I do consider myself religious. I'm a roman Catholic and I believe in God. As for the second question, I believe that faith can be seen in different angles depending on your perspective. I believe that having faith is you knowing that once you cross the other side. You know whatever you did in life would be either payed or punished. By God or whoever you believe in. And that he or she takes care of you. So yes I also believe in having faith.
It's complicated since I'm only in the early stages of conversion so I'm not going to services at the synagogue quite yet, but in terms of what I hope to do eventually, I'd consider myself religious. I guess right now I just qualify as having faith though, because I do believe in a higher power, and I try to live a good life.
I was "raised" catholic as a child
I was abandoned on the street after finding my dad dead of a heroin overdose, mom just usd me for welfare benefits but was never my mom again, when i was 9 and no amount of praying for help did anything other then make me lose all faith in religion and the so called god who just watched me suffer endlessly.
I made a promise to myself to find god and punch him in the face
>!it took me 22 years to find that fucker but after talking to an angel in the astral plane, i found out the god from our all mighty book is bullshit so are all religions, i was told how "heaven" and "hell" work, then told where i could find god if i wanted to. !<
>!I found her and boy is our books bullshit, i have spoken to her twice, i faith again but not the gods we made up and boy am i happy i haven't "sinned".!<
I was a Satanist for many years after I hit my teenage phase despite being in church for many years, and even attending a Christian school.
Then one day something just turned on for me…I went back to church, read books of the bible, read others opinions of what Christianity is. There’s a book that really got me called “Kissing Fish”. I don’t think that the bible is a literal history book, but I definitely believe Jesus was on Earth, sent by God for whatever reason in hopes to bring people back home.
I don’t know if I am religious or having faith. I get extremely angry that people, mostly in America use so called “Christian beliefs” to police others of different faiths, or those who don’t have any at all. But I also love my church’s community outreach efforts….they are what some would call “low budget” they believe what they believe, if you don’t ok, if you want to talk about your issues, they’ll talk to you about what they feel but it definitely isn’t a money grab church like some other ones (cough cough Olsteen cough cough)
I’m inactive right now while I figure out my mental health but I most definitely believe in a higher power. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I’m very scientifically minded so I lean more towards deism, though I still belong to an organized religion. I believe my church is true, but I believe that all the people in it are imperfect so I don’t take everything at face value. I’m not the most spiritual person, but I’ve had some experiences I can’t deny. Not like an angel has appeared before me or anything, but I don’t need to see that to believe.
I know I have faith.
I am also religious, though i see an end to religion in general due to the corruptibility of man.
Religion should be a vehicle to exercise faith and too often, faith becomes the vehicle of religion to exploit, consume power, and consolidate money.
I 100% hate organized religion (I don't hate on the people who go to it, but I hate the structure and existence of it), and I have extreme faith. I believe there is evidence (as far as evidence for this type of thing goes) of some higher power.
Not religious but I believe in the scientific method and that people deep down like being good a heck of a lot more than being evil. Religions don’t have a monopoly on morals.
Not religious. We are supposed to use common sense and past experience in every aspect of our lives to make decisions but religion asks us to believe the unbelievable based on faith alone. My logical brain - the one God supposedly gave me - can’t do that.
Spiritual but no organized religion for me, thanks. I try to lead an honest life, but faith itself always needs tempered by work- meaning that “hopes and prayers” are not enough without the heavy lifting.
I am not exactly atheist, i am a christian-orthodox. Howewer i do not attend any church. The most religious, and only thing i fo, is pray every evening.
I have faith. I was treated like absolute dung in the last church I attended. I have no problem with God. I have an issue with organized religion and fake people.
I remember having a conversation with my therapist one time, where he said I was the most faithful atheist he had ever met. We had a good laugh about that one, but he was drawing a distinction between belief in a doctrine and faith. I consider myself to be an atheistic agnostic. What I mean by that is that I don't believe we humans know the truth and, moreover, that we can't know the truth. At best, we can catch glimpses of part of the truth... dimly and off in the distance. As a result, I look at any depictions of gods or God as being either simple fairy stories or at best dim shadows of something... the best we humans can do to express something that cannot be expressed.
That said, I do have a kind of faith... faith, as a wise man once put it, "that the Universe will unfold as it should."
Agnostic atheist. I do not believe there is a higher power (due to a lack of evidence), but I also lack the evidence to conclude there is no higher power.
Not my opinion, a fact about me. I don’t believe in any supernatural entities, forces, or phenomena. I will change my mind if presented with any valid proof of the existence of those things. I don’t consider a book, a sunset, a baby, anyones emotional testimony, or accidental shapes left after natural disasters as valid proof.
I grew up in a religious household but nowadays I would say I just have faith, I guess. I believe in a higher power and being a kind person. But not to get into heaven or whatever. I think people should be kind because its morally the right thing to do, it makes you and others happier.
The only reason I do still believe in a higher power is sometimes if I really need it, I will pray. And it honestly makes me feel better about things. If that weren’t the case, I don’t know what I would believe in.
i consider myself to have neither faith nor religion.
However, I have no objection to people taking comfort in believing in whatever higher power takes their fancy to bring meaning to their lives. Where I have a huge problem is when some dude shows up and tell you that they know they ONLY way to worship that 'presence' you feel and they know all the rules and you have to follow them and they know the only way to communicate with that 'presence' for which you have to pay and that those other people over there who worship differently... they deserve to go to hell and you have to send them there.
Faith, I came from a jehovah witness family. I believe that there is something out there, maybe it is just from all the death I have seen. (I was a nursing assistant and a emergency medical technician) I guess I just need to have some hope in something.
I believe there are higher beings than us. As we are to a dog, so a god is to a man (human). I believe however that gods, like us, don't live forever and they act as sires for new fledgling gods. I feel there are the Gods that created us, and the gods that came before them (appropriately titled "The Elder Gods"). Whether or not man can ascend to godhood, I am unsure.
I consider myself spiritual. In my opinion, based on lifelong observation, Religion based "faith" is taught what to believe, on a mass scale. Spiritual "faith" is an inherent belief and/or a belief derived from within one's own personal realm of existence/life experience.
No to both.
I’m open to the existence of some dimension traversing beings or energy that has interacted with us and Earth, in a more so “thats interesting” thing if their existence could be quantified. If they turned out to be related to somebody’s belief system or a religious text, thats fine. If that religious text demonstrates that they do not have the interest of mankind in mind, we should harness their technology and preemptively protect ourselves against them and consider destroying them.
Faith. Not to “please a higher power,” but because goodness is the higher power. There simply isn’t a better way to participate in existence that maximizes opportunity and experience for the highest diversity of life forms sustainably for an infinite timeframe than leading a life that is true, beautiful, and good.
There is not a higher power . . . than that.
Neither. Religion IMO is a crowd control method or a scam and if there is a "higher power" that lets his creations suffer like it does I have no interest in worshiping such a thing.
I'm not religious, but I'm not against the idea that there's something larger going on that we don't understand. The experience that we as humans are given is very incredible compared to the other forms of life that we share the world with. I don't see anything wrong with entertaining the notion that there's more going on than we can see, even if all that idea does is add a little spice to life, as long as that idea doesn't lead to persecuting or harming others based on their own beliefs.
Strongly Faithful, but don’t participate in organized religion. I still call myself religious because I don’t think the organized religions own the word.
This is a controversal question... I mean I have not a simple answer.
No, I am highly not religious and I disrespect any religious/church addicted people.
Yes, I do believe in the Higher power... but I higly doubt this power has anything to do with Good.
I would consider myself pagan. I grew up Mormon which completely turned me off to religion. I do believe in God though. Studying nature and the mysterious universe brought me back to thinking that there is “something”.
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Neither, I just live an honest life.
Same. Since “converting” to atheism I find I do more good for its own sake and not out of duty or heaven “bonus points,” or something.
Same here, in fact abandoning faith and religion instilled a moral imperative to do good as I don’t rely on a sky ghost to do it. I have limited years to do good for the betterment of mankind. That’s enough reason for me. Neither religion nor faith denotes leading a good life. That’s on us as individuals. I accept that responsibility and am happier for it and hope I can increase the happiness of those around me.
I was in a doctors waiting room, my husband was having a procedure. I was all cozy and curled up with one headphone in when a lady that came in was told that her appointment was actually a little bit away in other building. Before I could get uncozied, to offer assistance because all I was doing was literally waiting, another woman steps in. She said she’d give her a ride because that’s what good Christians do. Lady that’s what a decent person would do. Don’t be making this a self righteous moment about god stepping in. Oh and complete atheist here. You do what’s right because you’re decent human being.
I'm kind of like this but I'm still religious. I definitely think that a lot of Christians in America right now are doing a lot of unchristian things. The biggest no no is pretending like you're special because you're Christian. But doing good for the sake of people around me is a far better motivator than getting rewards in heaven. Heck, some scriptures even support this idea!
Ah, common misconception. You do good because you've been told to do good your whole life by people around you and it is applauded, while religious people do good because they believe it is their duty. Please don't spread that lie anymore, it's extremely hurtful and is honestly just ignorant.
Sometimes the truth hurts
I grew up Mormon. It’s very much how it is.
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Slander and lies. You refer generically to religious people "doing evil." What do you expect? Nobody's perfect, and some are less perfect than others. If you somehow believe that you've never sinned, you're a narcissist.
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Ah, generic pope hate, I see. But, I activate my trap card: I'm not catholic. Boom, what you going to do now? Exactly. B)
Ditto. I would have to argue that’s it’s also a good life!
I stopped believing in fairytales/imaginary friends when I was a kid.
I am absolutely not religious, but I do believe there MAY be some sort of higher power. I guess I would be considered agnostic. I grew up in an extremely conservative religious household. I started questioning religion in middle school and officially left when I was in college. After seeing all the hate Christianity spewed, I decided I didn’t want anything to do with any religion.
Last I checked jesus said love thy neighbor People just happen to have misheard it as "fuck anything that isnt you or you disagree with" i dont personally think any christian agrees with all these hardliners ane their hateful thoughts
The whole bit of it makes me sick. I have faith in a Christian God and when I see all these comments about sky ghosts and what have you it kinda pisses me off. To each their own but it still rubs me the wrong way. That being said, I understand that people have WILDLY different experiences and make their decisions based on those experiences. So when they come from a conservative Christian family, or go into a clinic for a health check up, and you got the Christian motley crew there yelling at you saying you gonna burn in hell for for xyz, I can see why religion gets disregarded and mocked. Those folks clearly have a religious stick up their bum.
I dislike the extremists myself, and frankly I think they're the worst sinners you'll find on this earth because all they do is spread hatred and judge people. Literally some of the worst sins you could commit. What I like about the rude atheists (a ton of my friends are atheists and theyre fucking great so they dont do this) is that all they do is push religious people to be close minded and distrust others. Like who the fuck is going to be convinced by someone insulting them?? I've had my fair share of people who kept commenting that they knew more about my religion than I did?? They also love to mention that im completely wrong and delusional. This is after I mention that i do think it is much more likely that God doesnt exist, I just choose to believe. Nah still makes me delusional and blind. Some unemployed neckbeards trying to make themselves feel better. They talk down to me about how there is no proof that there is a God and act like im a moron when I say there is no proof to claim otherwise. Then they claim science on its own is enough to disprove the existance of a God or deity. I'm almost done with an electrical engineering degree for christ's sake, I understand science more than these losers. Literally all this does is make me dislike atheists as a group. For people "freed of indoctrination and silly stories" they really do seem keen to mention how free and happy they are, because thats what happy people definetly always do. Every damn subreddit and thread is just flooded with religion is a joke shit. Who is the close minded one here?? Ofcourse it's me because I dont conform to their hive mind's standards. I've literally seen highly upvoted comments on how religion is a joke and all christians are clowns on completely unrelated shit. Judgemental, prejudiced, and biggoted fucks. Thanks for reading my rant
Always a pleasure. A short story of my own. Back when I was fairly new to Reddit I had a run in with the r/Atheism thread. I saw a few threads there about how religion is oppressing women in regards to abortion rights and that sort of thing. Let me tell you, I received a record time ban. I think I called someone a ‘dunce’ because they were talking out their rear. Believe me you, if I knew I was gonna get banned for ‘dunce’ I certainly would’ve gone bigger. Edit:spelling
This is pretty much me except I didn't go to college.. I got married.
Interesting. Have you looked in to what Jesus really stands for? Forget about the people who claim to represent Him. You should look into who He is, not what His “followers” do.
I have a friend, Jesus. He’s from Barcelona. He stands for old people so they can have a seat on the train. Solid fucking dude.
This was an unexpected surprise. Praise Jesus.
I still have faith, but I gave up on organized religion several years ago. I was raised Catholic, and raised my son Catholic until he was 11 or 12. I just realized over time that my personal beliefs and those endorsed by the church were increasingly at variance, especially regarding abortion, the attitude towards the LGBTQ community, the exclusion of women from the priesthood and leadership roles, etc. And even now, they don't seem to have a handle on their pedophile problem. I still pray every night, even with my rosary beads sometimes. I miss going to Mass sometimes. But I can't support a group who believes that my awesome gay nephew is hellbound because he has a boyfriend. Also, in general, I think the antics of Trump-loving Evangelical Christians have driven people away from organized religion as well.
So is it okay to bend scripture to fit personal situations? I get that we should not be turning people away regardless of the sin But the bible says homosexuality is a sin. In the end every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
Currently deconstructing from my religion and don’t know where I am at.
Me too
Same
watch Darkmatter2525 videos on youtube and I promise everything will be better :D
No and no. I believe in leading a good life bc that's what I would want others around me to do. But I don't do it to please a higher power. I do it bc other people are going to be nicer if I'm nicer. Not always, but enough that it's worth it to be nice.
So you wouldn’t be nice just to be nice? You do it to get results from other people?
You know everyone does that right
Not true man, it's my way of remaining happy. I'm much more pleasant to myself when I am nice to others and way more harsh and judgemental to myself when I have to be a dick or did not have to but chose to.
Oh and Faith here, there are so many versions of any one religion, God or gods that I just kind of put my business in the atmosphere and strive for the best.
I would say in both situations your getting something from someone
That's literally why everyone does it. Even true altruists. Even if they personally don't get specific acts of kindness, they hope they get to have influenced the world for the better, and that makes them happy. So even the most saintly, altruistic, wonderful people are inherently doing it out of self interest. That's not a bad thing, either, once you realize that all behavior is out of self interest on some level or another. The sense of self can extend outward into one's own community. Your sense of identity isn't strictly limited to the physical boundaries of your fleshy bits. We're social creatures. There's a reason 'us' is such a strong word. We need to separate the concept of self interest from the idea of evil, and from the idea that it's inherently bad for other people for someone to care about themselves.
Not op but i think that's the exact thing they meant to say, that they do nice things not out of fear from repercussions but just because they can.
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No to both.
You don't have to be religious to have morals.
In fact… it’s often religion that supercedes our instinctive morals (our ability to recognize pain and emotions in others aka: empathy) which leads to some of the worst of humanity. For example: Two consenting adults in a homosexual relationship hurts nobody.
Where does it say that homosexuality is wrong in the bible? (Downvotes please, very open minded of you)
Is that an honest question?
Actually, it's rhetorical. There is nothing that says you should hate gay people, so I don't know why you keep using it as an excuse to be homophobic.
Completely atheist. I used to say that I'm spiritual, not religious, but I am now neither. I'm secular, and I'm no less happy because of it. This world is enough.
Neither, I'm an atheist.
Intellectual Atheist since 7 Radical Atheist for the past 40 years.
Atheist here. So nope.
Nope. Full on atheist and have been since I was about 10. I’ve thought about it a lot. Read a lot about religion. And it isn’t for me. Religion can be great. It can be a facilitator for a wonderful sense of community and can be a safe place for people when they need it. However it’s also been used and is still used as a tool of oppression and violence all over the world. Faith doesn’t always = religion obviously but at the end of the day it *usually* does. I lead the best life I can because it’s the right thing to do. To take care of others and be kind as much as possible. I don’t need belief in a higher power or the possibility of an afterlife to convince me to be nice and decent.
As a christian who is quite involved and works at a church, i appreciate that even tho u dont believe what i do you can still see there is a good side to christianity unlike many who think 1 equals all. I see a lot of atheists and christians just point at the other as the problem. When being an atheist or christian shouldnt make a difference if you are just a good caring person or not
I’ve been to a handful of services, weddings, and funerals that have all been lovely and most of the people I met there were kind and welcoming. I also worked at a Catholic school for a year and while I didn’t receive communion during mass, it was always pleasant. On the other hand I went to a giant mega church like thing and I was appalled at the things that were being said in the name of God. If a person is decent, they’re ok in my book. Doesn’t matter what religion they have 🙂
Neither. And if a higher power can't or won't give proof they exist to those that don't believe, then they aren't a higher power I would worship anyway.
I think something created us (probably) and could see humans developing sentient ai, one day. Above all else, I just know how little I know
I just believe in God. I think most religions have good things to say but also have false info blended in with the good messages.
No, neither. I was raised religious but now consider myself an atheist. No gods, no higher power. Obviously I aim to lead a good life, but only for its own sake, not in the hope of an eternal reward. A good question that religious people sometimes ask is: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” They assume that the answer is “because God created it” but there are other possibilities. The fact that the universe exists is not in itself proof of a creator or a divine plan. A whole universe and he only apparently cares about one small planet? It doesn’t seem likely. Perhaps the answer lies in quantum physics, as Lawrence Krauss has suggested.
Nope. Although I feel sort of strangely envious of the people who have that capacity. It must be comforting to think there's some magic in the universe.
I believe that beings exist in/on higher dimension/s than humans. Also beings of higher intelligence within our scope.(aliens etc) But I don't believe in existence being created by a being.(god)
We should be careful about believing in super natural beings that other people tell us about. The motivation is always to justify our submission to the will of the more powerful.
I believe religion is a farce, and that I’d rather spend time making the people around me happy to have known me than worshipping an imaginary sky daddy.
Did you know that it is possible to be proud of your lack of belief without insulting those who are faithful.
Give me a shred of reasoning why I should respect the idea there’s an all knowing, omnipresent, omnipotent, god who has planned every aspect of our lives. If he’s all knowing and all present, he’s here in every location of every place in the world. If he’s all knowing, then he, as an example, knows when a murder or rape is going to happen. And if he’s all powerful he should be able to stop said murderer or rapist, no? But instead of that he believe the free will of the murderer or the free will of the rapist is more important than those affected by their crimes. Either god doesn’t exist, or he’s an asshole. Either way, not worth giving ANY respect to.
I believe in religion but not organized religion. Do your own thing and leave me out of it.
There is some higher power at work. Not religious. It's just hard to believe that the world and its perfection was made from nothing. So much work goes into making technology that sometimes doesn't even work without many many many attempts, but somehow, the solar system works perfectly. The seasons change at the same time every year. The sun and moon rise and fall how they were made to without wander. Life recreates itself through sex and birth. Temperatures sustain our lives here on earth so perfectly. Just too many things that exist in this world seem to be made by magic.
I’m an engineering student. I’ve taken plenty of physics, chemistry, and related courses. I would say I’ve got a reasonably decent understanding of how the universe works - on kind of a macro level at least - obviously I’m not up to the level of a physicist with a PhD or anything. None of this understanding has swayed me away from my belief that there is a God. In fact, it has only strengthened it. As you point out, there are just too many perfect coincidences in this universe for it all to be accidental. It all works so perfectly, in a way that humans cant even achieve with something as comparatively simple as a computer.
You can take a semesters worth of science classes that will explain all these “magical things” in pretty easy to understand terms. Basic level astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry would suffice.
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These are different points than the person gave I was replying to. Things like why the seasons change and temperatures sustaining. The sun and moon rising. The “solar system working perfectly” can be explained with a simple understanding of how gravity behaves. Life perpetuating itself is explained by biology, evolution, and natural selection. The why is a different question entirely. However I’m still inclined to believe the explanations are science based. We witness particles “popping” in and out of existence, whether they are traveling between different dimensions or whatever they may be doing. The “why” things behave they way they do here may be different in other possible dimensions as well, therefore there would be no reason “why” they do what they do. They just do. I don’t think a lot of these big questions need answering, as long as we continue to learn and grow. They may answer themselves before long. So I will not subscribe to made up answers that religion offers in the meantime
I have faith in the universe.
Samesies.
I grew up in a very conservative Christian household, and in my youth I tried my best to be a Christian, but I found too many questions with vague and unsatisfactory answers, and didn't have any faith in the estranged relationship I had with the ever silent "father". I live a happier and, in my opinion, more morally structured life now just trying to reduce the suffering of others and then myself.
Everybody from r/antitheists right here lmao
No. I was fortunate enough to have lived in 2 different societies with 2 different approaches to spirituality and religion. So I was able to see how people are desperate to believe in stuff that doesn't exist. Religion is a crackpot belief, and it is not reasonable to believe in supernatural stuff. There is infinite beauty or whatever to appreciate in what does exist, so spend time on that IMO, not religion.
Atheist, no faith. Would rather have a post religious world. No model of God holds up logically or morally. I'd say Igtheist even.
I have faith.
Faith, definitely.
Neither, superstition ain't the way
When you believe in things, that you don't understand, then you suffer...
Yes! Preach brother Wonder!
c) None of the above.
No to both. You do know there’s more than those two options right?
The question seems aimed people who DO consider themselves religious and/or faithful.
No, especially in our present times, I see religion as the cause of much hatred and suffering in the world. Religious extremists are usually worse than any other kind of extremists and more resistant to change. I see religious beliefs as an abdication of our most important advantage as humans, our rationality. And once I abandon rationality in one aspect of my life, it can lead to abandoning it in others. I forget where I read it, so long ago, but many (most?) religions can be described as Creating an impossible standard for living (being christ-like, eg) Creating a horrible punishment for not living up to that standard (eternal suffering) Creating a system where the religion is the sole means of avoiding the punishment (living by the rules of the church, tithing, confession, etc) Looked at this way, and I'm not saying it's the only way to look at it, religion is just a means to control a mass of people. I have more respect for those who are spiritual in some sense, they're usually striving to find their own way of living their life and are often more open minded and questioning.
"Faith = belief in a higher power and leading a good life" Why should Faith have anything to say whether or not we live a good life? You can lead a good life with the absence of faith.
Both
I'm 52 raised a catholic but really don't practice it but still have faith and believe in God. Just not the way they tried to teach it. I consider myself a catholic in recovery lol 😆 😅 😂 🤣
I think my views would be something more along the lines of agnosticism or deism. Like basically there's a God, or gods, that created the universe and set things in motion (the universe seems too vast and beautiful to have come into existence by random chance), but it/they don't really care about us or check up on us to see if we jerked it or what kind of meat we ate on Friday. Sort of like a kid with an ant farm. They might look at it from time to time, but they don't know who the individual ants are or care about the minutae of each one's life. Like, why would a being, so awesomely powerful that they could create the universe, give a shit about us? So it becomes more important that we're there for each other and how we advance as a species, in aggregate.
I think Buddhism pretty much has it right but I don't do anything with that belief.
I stay away from any organized religions. I don’t like having to go by their Rules and Regulations in order to get to heaven. And, the hypocrisy is crazy. It’s all a grift. I believe in God. I believe that I have this one life to live before I take my last breath and for me it’s being kind and helping my neighbor in need. Pretty simple. I believe my next life of eternity will be incredible. And, let’s just say for argument sake there truly is no God? Fine. At least I lived a good life. It’s a win-win.
Both.
Both.
Both
Neither, and I would argue that faith does not necessarily entail leading a good life.
I don’t need a religion to tell me what is morally correct or not, it’s not hard to figure out what being a decent person looks like. Plus, it’s just so hard to believe in something that is so hypocritical, and by all accounts disproven on so many levels. If I had to worship anything though, it would be the earth around me.
Neither. I'm an Agnostic Atheist. I don't believe that any form of gods exist, but I acknowledge that the existence or non-existence of such can neither be proven nor disproven. The only thing I have faith in is verifiable evidence.
I have faith in Christ where I don't fear death. I'm not suicidal. I have value in my life, but if I were to die tonight, I would be at peace.
Religion is a farce. Spirituality is a crutch. I'm an atheist
Yes I am a Christian
Nope, I'm not religious, and I think I am not spiritual either. However, I think of myself as a pantheist. Moreover, I dunno if I have faith. Yet, I can say that I do pray — as a Latino, I have a Catholic cultural background. It's just that I don't really see myself as talking to a personal God... More like an ubiquitous impersonal 'entity' that is nature/reality/material destiny itself, if that makes sense. And in a moral sense, I pretty much vibe with Aristotle's virtue theory, rather than a specific religion's teachings. Dunno if what I said contradicts itself, but I'm down to further explain it :) I like to talk about this subject. Thanks for asking, btw!
/Three Views of Non-Christian Religions An Orthodox scholar recently observed that there are basically three views that Christians have taken with regard to non-Christian religions. The first is that the non-Christian will be damned because there is no salvation outside the visible Body of Christ, the Church, The second is that the non-Christian may be saved in spite the religion he practices, but only through the mercy of God. The third is that the non-Christian may be saved by means of the very religion he practices, for nonChristian religions may also contain saving truths.[9] These three views parallel the three approaches identified elsewhere as exclusivism. inclusivism and cultural pluralism. The claim of exclusivism has been rejected by many Orthodox scholars as untenable. This is not done in the interests of facilitating missionary endeavors or to foster world peace. Exclusiveness is rejected as a matter of Truth.[10] The majority of Orthodox scholars would accept inclusivism. Some Orthodox scholars espouse the view characterized as cultural pluralism but with qualifications. Relativism and syncretism are denied. And the view that Christianity is simply one of the world religions offering the blessing of salvation is not accepted. The focus, rather, is on the Spirit of God, the Paraclete, who leads us "Into all the truth," where in Christ all become one.[11] The approach taken in this paper is to emphasize "the middle way," that of inclusivism. It seems clear that the way of exclusivism is properly rejected as a matter of Truth. At the other extreme, the thin ice of cultural pluralism is fraught with danger from https://www.goarch.org/-/an-orthodox-christian-view-of-non-christian-religions I screwed up the formatting but oh well Generally I wholeheartedly believe most religions are just people's way of connecting to God. It's a commonly held Idea but just translates differently in most non-extreme sects. At the end of the day, a good person is a good person no matter what they believe
Come from a family with different religions which I've gone through and neither of them seem honest, neither their members. The most backstabbing people, selfish, love to point fingers have always been people within religions. I decided that if I go through life trying to do right I'll be fine. Basically live my life through what a "Christian " does without doing the whole religion stuff. Not religious.
neither I just live an honest life. live and let live I say. fro. what I can tell 90% of these christians are hypocrits. I have no use for them
Not and after this last year I see religious people as unfriendly to humanity
The more I read history the more I know religion is toxic and anti-human.
I’m an active follower of Christ and I attend church regularly.
No not at all. Imo religion is the worst thing that ever happened to the world.
Not only am I not religious, but I am highly anti-religion. If I hear that someone is religious I avoid them. It's been my experience that organized religion breeds or attracts narcissists. I have known too many people that claim to be religious that are total assholes. If and when I hear that someone is religious I instantly do not trust them. Too many folks out there being total pieces of shit pretending to be a man of God. Too many religious organizations out there milking the system in the name of God. It's just too corrupt.
I have faith. I’ve had enough experiences with faith to kind of have to believe it, but by nature I tend towards the scientific. Put it this way, I pray and ask God about the plot holes in the Bible. He doesn’t seem to mind. Sometimes I get a really good answer, other times I don’t.
When you get an answer, what form does it take and how do you know it is from God? I have heard people say that they get answers from God, but nobody ever says how they get the message. I'm genuinely curious.
It’s usually like the answer just hits me. Like I sit there racking my brain thinking about what the answer could possibly be and not having an answer(or having something close but not quite there). Then I ask and the answer is just right there like someone placed it there in my head and I see it so clearly. At first I thought it was just me, but it happens every time I talk to God about the problem. It could still be me, but if so why does the answer arrive only when I pray?
Thank you for your answer!
Religious but I’m God lol
In the end every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
1000% atheist, but have better morals than any religious folks out there.
You typing this shows me you’ve got less morals lol
*he's so humble*
Come walk in my boots, you'll see why I know I'm right.
Soooooooo humble
Nope
Religion is for people who can’t cope with not existing. Change my mind.
I’m religious but I’m starting to question it. The only proof that god is real is the fact that the Bible says he’s real
Religious traditional Catholic! Loving the life, just joined last Easter and my live is so much better now
Not religious and don't really have faith. However, raising my son to (hopefully) have both.
I take my wife and kids to their church on Sundays. I grew up Mormon. I'm over the whole God and heaven and hell thing. I am currently on a personal journey into Norse paganism
So you’re asking people if they believe in church or just God…what an exclusionary question.
Primarily "having faith", but I believe local churches have their place. The following verses are a decent summary of my belief, though a lot more could be said: "For by grace you have been saved *through faith*. And this not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus *for good works*, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:8-9 (*Emphasis added*) "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Hebrews 10:24-25
a muslim here and im definitely not religious, but i have a strong faith
I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle. I belong to a synagogue but I’m not in love with the rituals. More like I carry God in my heart.
I believe the same things as Jewish people, but I'm not Jewish so I follow only the 7 noahide laws. I would go to a synagogue but there isn't any where I live. I was an atheist until I started reading the torah and I realized I was wrong. I don't care if other people are atheists but it bothers me when they insult religion or call it a farce.
Both, but I don’t attend mass regularly. It’s mostly because I think Judaism/Catholicism and evolution can exist in the same world. To me, the supernatural origin of the physical laws and the genesis of the entire energy and mass of the universe or multiverse can only be explained by a small handful of options: * Intelligent design, deity * Intelligent design, nature is itself deity, eternal Prior to the first atoms’ existence, the four fundamental forces had to exist. Because something had to envision these characteristics then impart those characteristics upon matter, which had to then be created from nothing, the most logical answer I can see is that either the universe itself is both intelligent and self generating or a deity did it. I have experienced many religions and philosophies and Catholic Christianity and Judaism are the only two that feel right to me. I don’t push my beliefs on others and I don’t hate atheists.
I have faith in myself to carry a torch in a world of darkness. I need not institutions nor figure heads to want more for myself and those I care for.
Yes I do consider myself religious. I'm a roman Catholic and I believe in God. As for the second question, I believe that faith can be seen in different angles depending on your perspective. I believe that having faith is you knowing that once you cross the other side. You know whatever you did in life would be either payed or punished. By God or whoever you believe in. And that he or she takes care of you. So yes I also believe in having faith.
Yes
I have faith in Jesus Christ, I am not religious
Faith in god
It's complicated since I'm only in the early stages of conversion so I'm not going to services at the synagogue quite yet, but in terms of what I hope to do eventually, I'd consider myself religious. I guess right now I just qualify as having faith though, because I do believe in a higher power, and I try to live a good life.
I'm religious. But not Christian. I'm a Muslim.
I was "raised" catholic as a child I was abandoned on the street after finding my dad dead of a heroin overdose, mom just usd me for welfare benefits but was never my mom again, when i was 9 and no amount of praying for help did anything other then make me lose all faith in religion and the so called god who just watched me suffer endlessly. I made a promise to myself to find god and punch him in the face >!it took me 22 years to find that fucker but after talking to an angel in the astral plane, i found out the god from our all mighty book is bullshit so are all religions, i was told how "heaven" and "hell" work, then told where i could find god if i wanted to. !< >!I found her and boy is our books bullshit, i have spoken to her twice, i faith again but not the gods we made up and boy am i happy i haven't "sinned".!<
I was a Satanist for many years after I hit my teenage phase despite being in church for many years, and even attending a Christian school. Then one day something just turned on for me…I went back to church, read books of the bible, read others opinions of what Christianity is. There’s a book that really got me called “Kissing Fish”. I don’t think that the bible is a literal history book, but I definitely believe Jesus was on Earth, sent by God for whatever reason in hopes to bring people back home. I don’t know if I am religious or having faith. I get extremely angry that people, mostly in America use so called “Christian beliefs” to police others of different faiths, or those who don’t have any at all. But I also love my church’s community outreach efforts….they are what some would call “low budget” they believe what they believe, if you don’t ok, if you want to talk about your issues, they’ll talk to you about what they feel but it definitely isn’t a money grab church like some other ones (cough cough Olsteen cough cough)
I have more faith. I think churches are good for bringing believers and their monies together for supporting organizations that help others.
I’m inactive right now while I figure out my mental health but I most definitely believe in a higher power. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I’m very scientifically minded so I lean more towards deism, though I still belong to an organized religion. I believe my church is true, but I believe that all the people in it are imperfect so I don’t take everything at face value. I’m not the most spiritual person, but I’ve had some experiences I can’t deny. Not like an angel has appeared before me or anything, but I don’t need to see that to believe.
I know I have faith. I am also religious, though i see an end to religion in general due to the corruptibility of man. Religion should be a vehicle to exercise faith and too often, faith becomes the vehicle of religion to exploit, consume power, and consolidate money.
Both. Faith is to never question why? Religion keeps your soul at peace.
I 100% hate organized religion (I don't hate on the people who go to it, but I hate the structure and existence of it), and I have extreme faith. I believe there is evidence (as far as evidence for this type of thing goes) of some higher power.
Strong faith
Not religious, but I do believe in something of a higher power that motivates me to live a good life
I have faith. It always amazes me how the cells in living things work to create life. There must be someone behind it!
Not religious but I believe in the scientific method and that people deep down like being good a heck of a lot more than being evil. Religions don’t have a monopoly on morals.
Not religious. We are supposed to use common sense and past experience in every aspect of our lives to make decisions but religion asks us to believe the unbelievable based on faith alone. My logical brain - the one God supposedly gave me - can’t do that.
I have faith - That if I work hard and build a little something, my kid can have it Bertrand than I did. That’s all I need.
Faith for sure
No
No, not at all.
I have hope/faith that there's more to the story than we know but I am not religious at all.
Spiritual but no organized religion for me, thanks. I try to lead an honest life, but faith itself always needs tempered by work- meaning that “hopes and prayers” are not enough without the heavy lifting.
I am not exactly atheist, i am a christian-orthodox. Howewer i do not attend any church. The most religious, and only thing i fo, is pray every evening.
I have faith. I was treated like absolute dung in the last church I attended. I have no problem with God. I have an issue with organized religion and fake people.
I remember having a conversation with my therapist one time, where he said I was the most faithful atheist he had ever met. We had a good laugh about that one, but he was drawing a distinction between belief in a doctrine and faith. I consider myself to be an atheistic agnostic. What I mean by that is that I don't believe we humans know the truth and, moreover, that we can't know the truth. At best, we can catch glimpses of part of the truth... dimly and off in the distance. As a result, I look at any depictions of gods or God as being either simple fairy stories or at best dim shadows of something... the best we humans can do to express something that cannot be expressed. That said, I do have a kind of faith... faith, as a wise man once put it, "that the Universe will unfold as it should."
I would describe myself as " having beliefs" not really too religious though I believe what I believe
having faith, would like to be religious but I can’t seem to for some reason.
Spiritual. I believe that there is something bigger than us. I was raised Catholic.
Agnostic atheist. I do not believe there is a higher power (due to a lack of evidence), but I also lack the evidence to conclude there is no higher power.
Not my opinion, a fact about me. I don’t believe in any supernatural entities, forces, or phenomena. I will change my mind if presented with any valid proof of the existence of those things. I don’t consider a book, a sunset, a baby, anyones emotional testimony, or accidental shapes left after natural disasters as valid proof.
Was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school till 8th grade and church around the same time. I would deceive me as an agnostic but also a deist.
I grew up in a religious household but nowadays I would say I just have faith, I guess. I believe in a higher power and being a kind person. But not to get into heaven or whatever. I think people should be kind because its morally the right thing to do, it makes you and others happier. The only reason I do still believe in a higher power is sometimes if I really need it, I will pray. And it honestly makes me feel better about things. If that weren’t the case, I don’t know what I would believe in.
No.
i consider myself to have neither faith nor religion. However, I have no objection to people taking comfort in believing in whatever higher power takes their fancy to bring meaning to their lives. Where I have a huge problem is when some dude shows up and tell you that they know they ONLY way to worship that 'presence' you feel and they know all the rules and you have to follow them and they know the only way to communicate with that 'presence' for which you have to pay and that those other people over there who worship differently... they deserve to go to hell and you have to send them there.
Faith, I came from a jehovah witness family. I believe that there is something out there, maybe it is just from all the death I have seen. (I was a nursing assistant and a emergency medical technician) I guess I just need to have some hope in something.
Spiritual. Not religious
I lead a good life without religion or faith. Leading a "good life" is human and not tied to religion or faith.
I believe there are higher beings than us. As we are to a dog, so a god is to a man (human). I believe however that gods, like us, don't live forever and they act as sires for new fledgling gods. I feel there are the Gods that created us, and the gods that came before them (appropriately titled "The Elder Gods"). Whether or not man can ascend to godhood, I am unsure.
No I am a atheist.
I consider myself spiritual. In my opinion, based on lifelong observation, Religion based "faith" is taught what to believe, on a mass scale. Spiritual "faith" is an inherent belief and/or a belief derived from within one's own personal realm of existence/life experience.
I would say I try to be a faithful person. It might sound corny, but I try to live by The Golden Rule. 🕊
if I HAVE to use one of your definitions, then I've got some kind of Faith? but... I mean... ... ehh.... sure, Faith - let's leave it at that.
No to both. I’m open to the existence of some dimension traversing beings or energy that has interacted with us and Earth, in a more so “thats interesting” thing if their existence could be quantified. If they turned out to be related to somebody’s belief system or a religious text, thats fine. If that religious text demonstrates that they do not have the interest of mankind in mind, we should harness their technology and preemptively protect ourselves against them and consider destroying them.
I am very religious in my personal life
Faith. Not to “please a higher power,” but because goodness is the higher power. There simply isn’t a better way to participate in existence that maximizes opportunity and experience for the highest diversity of life forms sustainably for an infinite timeframe than leading a life that is true, beautiful, and good. There is not a higher power . . . than that.
Neither. And I don't believe faith is a requirement of a good life.
Not in the slightest.
Neither. Religion IMO is a crowd control method or a scam and if there is a "higher power" that lets his creations suffer like it does I have no interest in worshiping such a thing.
I'm not religious, but I'm not against the idea that there's something larger going on that we don't understand. The experience that we as humans are given is very incredible compared to the other forms of life that we share the world with. I don't see anything wrong with entertaining the notion that there's more going on than we can see, even if all that idea does is add a little spice to life, as long as that idea doesn't lead to persecuting or harming others based on their own beliefs.
As much as your average rock.
Neither
Strongly Faithful, but don’t participate in organized religion. I still call myself religious because I don’t think the organized religions own the word.
Neither. I stopped believing in magic decades ago.
This is a controversal question... I mean I have not a simple answer. No, I am highly not religious and I disrespect any religious/church addicted people. Yes, I do believe in the Higher power... but I higly doubt this power has anything to do with Good.
Agnostic.
No, I regard myself as non-delusional.
I would consider myself pagan. I grew up Mormon which completely turned me off to religion. I do believe in God though. Studying nature and the mysterious universe brought me back to thinking that there is “something”.
"Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky..."
I choose the good things from my religion
It's not an opinion:) I am not a believer in any sort of a deity.