What religion do you identify yourself with?

Contributor: CynicallyYours CynicallyYours
i think i've finally come to terms with being atheist. for a long time i searched for something to believe in but i'm becoming comfortable with the idea of not needing any sort of religion.

happiness comes from within!
12/03/2010
Contributor: Lady Neshamah Lady Neshamah
i'm kind of a mix of a lot of things.....
12/10/2010
Contributor: LavenderSkies LavenderSkies
Hehe..atheism isn't a religion..not to nitpick
I'm agnostic.
12/10/2010
Contributor: Raggedy Andie Raggedy Andie
Quote:
Originally posted by CynicallyYours
i think i've finally come to terms with being atheist. for a long time i searched for something to believe in but i'm becoming comfortable with the idea of not needing any sort of religion.

happiness comes from within!
Happiness DOES come from within. I agree wholeheartedly!

My husband and I have butted heads on more than one occasion about religion. lol
As he said, he was raised christian and is still a believer to an extent. I try and respect that but I also like to debate. The bible to me is just a book of set rules that are there to control an unruly population. I mean we ARE animals by nature right?

I adhere to a lot of the morals and values that are taught in the bible but the stories? I can't get past a lot of them. I seem to have a very analytical and scientific way of thinking. I have tried to identify with different religions but then something totally unbelievable comes up in it and I am left questioning more than believing.

I identify with paganism and buddhism the most I think, because they seem to be accepting and open to all beliefs. I have my own blend of values from many religions so I guess you can say I am agnostic. I consider myself very spiritual.
12/10/2010
Contributor: C4ss C4ss
I am baptized Catholic but I'm certainly not a practicing one.
12/17/2010
Contributor: Eliza Eliza
I chose "other" because even though I usually would identify myself as Catholic, I'm almost completely nonpracticing. I only go to church when I'm with my family (not at college) so for about 1/4 of the year. I wouldn't go at all, but it helps keep peace if I don't fight it.
12/19/2010
Contributor: Shellz31 Shellz31
I voted for what I USE to be.
I no longer committ myself to any particular religion. I believe what I believe and that's personally enough for me at this stage!
12/23/2010
Contributor: Yoda Yoda
Non-denominational/ evangelical/ charismatic.

I wish identifying yourself was less complicated. I also wish that less people cared.
12/23/2010
Contributor: ToyingCouple ToyingCouple
I'm more of a Jedi!
12/23/2010
Contributor: Beaners Beaners
Definitely Atheist. I was raised Episcopal, but around the age of 18 I did some reading on Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan and thought he made some very good points. I didn't agree with all of it, but it was enough to turn me on to atheism.
12/23/2010
Contributor: HollisJ HollisJ
I really don't believe in anything at all.
12/23/2010
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Raggedy Andie
Happiness DOES come from within. I agree wholeheartedly!

My husband and I have butted heads on more than one occasion about religion. lol
As he said, he was raised christian and is still a believer to an extent. I try and respect that but I ... more
Not to nitpick as some have said, but Buddhism is not really "accepting and open to all beliefs." They have a belief system and system of Actions that those who belong to the Practice are expected to follow. Many forms of Buddhism are quite strict in what is expected from the believer and some have beliefs that are quite conservative. The same goes for many forms of Organized Paganism.

Really, about the only "Organized Religion" that "is completely accepting and open" are some forms of Universal Unitarianism. Virtually every other from of organized religion (which Buddhism certainly IS) has a structure and a strong, often unwavering belief and action system and expectations.

Just saying.....
12/28/2010
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Yoda
Non-denominational/ evangelical/ charismatic.

I wish identifying yourself was less complicated. I also wish that less people cared.
If you are non-denominational, what do you Evangelize about? I mean, to evangelize means to try to bring people into the Faith by preaching. I'm a little confused.

Here are definitions of Evangelism: (from several different dictionaries)

Evangelism - noun: a. the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ b. militant or crusading zeal

Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity, where the scriptures often describe "evangelism" as "spreading the Gospel".

To explain ones beliefs to another in the hope that they might wish to adopt them. The word is sometimes used as a synonym for "Proselytize" - to actively attempt to convert another person to your beliefs.
12/28/2010
Contributor: Darling Jen Darling Jen
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
If you are non-denominational, what do you Evangelize about? I mean, to evangelize means to try to bring people into the Faith by preaching. I'm a little confused.

Here are definitions of Evangelism: (from several different dictionaries) ... more
Ditto. I'm very curious.
12/28/2010
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
I don't like to pigeonhole myself-- there are plenty of people out there who are more than happy enough to do it for me-- but most people would call me agnostic. Others have called me a variety of other things, from atheist to Pagan.

For me, it is very simple. I cannot believe in something without there being at least one fact to support it. As there is not even one fact to support the contention that there is one or more deities, I cannot buy into it. That's not the same thing as saying as saying that I believe these deities absolutely do not exist-- as there are no facts to support that contention either.
01/10/2011
Contributor: Owl Identified Owl Identified
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and part of the time on the Northwest side of Chicago. Chicago, until recently, was populated mainly by Italian, Polish, German, Irish and Greek immigrants,(all Christian places) and a few isolated neighborhoods of ... more
LOL I just saw this, but yeah. I kind of wonder how those blond-glue-dread kids missed the whole Afrocentrism and white Babylon bit in Rasta... again, these are kids that probably don't actually know any Rastafarians themselves. smh.
01/17/2011
Contributor: Owl Identified Owl Identified
Quote:
Originally posted by ToyingCouple
I'm more of a Jedi!
ME TOO!!!!!!!!! I refuse to vote in another election until there is a Rebel Alliance candidate!!!!
01/17/2011
Contributor: IndependentlyHappy IndependentlyHappy
I was raised Catholic, but I don't really consider myself a practicing one since I stopped going to church after I moved out. I do still believe, but I have more than my share of issues with the Church and its politics.

Toying Couple and Sex & Lies: I, too, am a huge Star Wars fan and wholeheartedly agree!
01/17/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
I'm a baptized Catholic, and so is my husband. However we would both consider ourselves to be more agnostic than anything else. We believe there is a higher power, but we don't believe in any one specific higher power.
01/17/2011
Contributor: Xavier7 Xavier7
Quote:
Originally posted by puffkix
I've seen quite a few polls regarding religion/spirituality and its impact on sex and sexuality, so I was wondering what sort of religious congregation we've got here.

I know there's a lot of religions out there but there's ... more
I'm a wiccan.
01/25/2011
Contributor: markeagleone markeagleone
Quote:
Originally posted by puffkix
I've seen quite a few polls regarding religion/spirituality and its impact on sex and sexuality, so I was wondering what sort of religious congregation we've got here.

I know there's a lot of religions out there but there's ... more
I was raised a christian, but now I have changed a little. I believe in God, but I don't believe any religion here knows exactly what He is and expects from us.
01/26/2011
Contributor: PussyGalore PussyGalore
Closest to Agnostic. I believe something is happening out there, I just don't know what in the hell it is. Haha! I am one of those freaks who firmly believes religion was created by man to explain his surroundings when birth, death, feast/famine and weather phenomenon happened.
01/26/2011
Contributor: Darling Jen Darling Jen
Quote:
Originally posted by PussyGalore
Closest to Agnostic. I believe something is happening out there, I just don't know what in the hell it is. Haha! I am one of those freaks who firmly believes religion was created by man to explain his surroundings when birth, death, feast/famine ... more
So much ditto to this.
01/26/2011
Contributor: Hallmar82 Hallmar82
Baptist, hopefully Philadelphian... I try my best...
01/26/2011
Contributor: inbarati inbarati
Quote:
Originally posted by puffkix
I've seen quite a few polls regarding religion/spirituality and its impact on sex and sexuality, so I was wondering what sort of religious congregation we've got here.

I know there's a lot of religions out there but there's ... more
I grew up in a variety of religions, as a foster child.

As a young adult, though, I gave up god. Mostly what I see is hubris. Human beings claiming they know what god thinks, who he hates, what he will punish. I don't see god in any of that.

So I identify as atheist. Not really because I don't believe in god, but because I think humans lack the imagination to appropriately conceive deity, without using it to an end. Using god to promote a human agenda is abhorrent. I choose to divorce myself from it.
01/27/2011
Contributor: inbarati inbarati
Quote:
Originally posted by Madeira
I'm an Atheist, but I'm a friendly cuddly "the world is meaningful and beautiful" sort of an atheist.
I agree with this. Even humanity is meaningful and beautiful, but moreso when they are not using god to bludgeon each other.
01/27/2011
Contributor: inbarati inbarati
Quote:
Originally posted by Alicia
That's why I never actually say "I'm an athiest" because people normally think of the pretentious, pompous assholes and I don't want to be lumped into that!
I'm neither pretentious, nor pompous, but I don't dislike being at least as abrasive as the people who try to force their religious views on me.

I'm aware that this makes me not a very nice person.
01/27/2011
Contributor: VieuxCarre VieuxCarre
I was raised Catholic, but I rarely go to Mass or participate in the church. I do pray at night and I believe that God is there...he just has selective hearing.

I follow my own beliefs, though, and don't believe everything that is preached to me. I don't let what one man who stands up and talks at people and guilts them into being better people factor into my life. That's just me, though
01/27/2011
Contributor: firekitten firekitten
Green Witch. I don't have a specific god or goddess, I just focus on the energies from nature. Pretty similar to Native American belief system. Though some Green Witches do choose a god or goddess, I haven't and likely will not.
01/27/2011
Contributor: SexyStuff SexyStuff
I'm surprised I wasn't the first Mormon!
02/20/2011