Religion

[Bizhiins]

I am an atheist, I practice my Native American customs and language and participate in ceremonies to be part of my community but personally I?m an atheist

 

[Fey]

To me having faith is like saying it’ll be sunny all next week without having seen the weather report—it doesn’t relate to reality, just to your preferences. Now if you gather some data to back up your idea, like taking previous years’ weather into account, there’s more basis to the statement and it becomes worth considering. Until I find such data though, having an opinion on next week’s weather or what happens after death seems pointless.

 

[Sprinkles_penguin]

I am Catholic, and I firmly believe in God and all the other things catholicism teaches us. Yeah, I know some catholics may be bad people, but I think those stereoypes only exist because catholicism is the biggest religion in the world.

I may not agree with certain attitudes some catholics take against certain groups of people, but that's OK. Just because one priest says something doesn't mean it's always true. God teaches us all to love each other, so there is no reason to hate someone because they are different

Also, I think the whole "raper priest" thing is so exaggerated! Actually, in the US at least, less than 5% of the cases of child abuse were adjudicated to a member of the Catholic Church, while 80% of those cases happened with other members in their family, at home. Other groups like the Protestant Church or schools have a similar rate than the Catholic Church, but I've never heard someone call that out.

 

[Xara]

i don’t have a religion. i’m not an atheist nor am i a christian. i’d like to believe there’s something after death but i do not devote my life or make choices based off of that lol - i live my life the way i live it and whatever happens after death, happens

 

[d3_3p]

Right now in my country thousands go to churches and kiss holy icons, because... you can't catch virus that way if it's been consecrated. Then they catch Covid-19 and spread it around. And again and again.

The idiocy of religion knows no bounds. It's literally the right to stay uneducated. And in times of crisis we can clearly see that such rights should not exist. This is barbaric and outdated. There's science, there are facts and nothing else. This is your hobby, not a privilege. You can believe anything you want as long as you don't harm anyone, and they do harm millions.

Next week, parks will be closed. Malls will be closed, stadiums and almost everything else. But not churches. This is madness.

 

[Romaki]

I'm not religious, but I grew up religiously so I know about the bible than the average person (since the average person in most towns just doesn't read it at all). People like to forget that the bible is just a very old book written, but also quoting a quote or a "bad guy" doesn't mean it represents the view of the bible. It's actually just a retelling of old stories, and Jesus always stood up for sinners and victims of bigotry in general. Read the bible and learn that your homophobia just comes from your homophobic parents, please.

"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

"Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor."

"If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself."

Those quotes are all out of context too. The bible is filled with strong opinions. Religion is such an interesting topic to me, but it has to stop affecting our life in every single way. It should be used for bettering oneself, and nothing else. Religion is tradition and there's nothing wrong with kids having some sort of guidelines and connections to those who came before them, but it's not the only way to teach compassion and values.

 

[Corrie]

To me having faith is like saying it’ll be sunny all next week without having seen the weather report—it doesn’t relate to reality, just to your preferences. Now if you gather some data to back up your idea, like taking previous years’ weather into account, there’s more basis to the statement and it becomes worth considering. Until I find such data though, having an opinion on next week’s weather or what happens after death seems pointless.

I agree. To me, religion is a way to make people feel better. Oh, your grandpa died? God has a plan, it's okay! The world is going to panic? Don't worry! God will take care of everything!

God will not take care of everything and why do you think God's plan is a good one? In my eyes, people like this need to take responsibility for their own lives instead of just wandering about hoping god will take care of them. Why don't you take care of yourself?

I'm mainly talking about the extreme religious folk. You can believe in god and still act like a normal human being.

 

[trashpedia]

My family is Buddhist (Mahayana specifically) but I follow Buddhism as more of a philosophy or lifestyle than a religion. For the most part I just consider myself an atheist since I don't really worship or believe in a god or any divine being.

 

[Red Cat]

I am Catholic, and I firmly believe in God and all the other things catholicism teaches us. Yeah, I know some catholics may be bad people, but I think those stereoypes only exist because catholicism is the biggest religion in the world.

I may not agree with certain attitudes some catholics take against certain groups of people, but that's OK. Just because one priest says something doesn't mean it's always true. God teaches us all to love each other, so there is no reason to hate someone because they are different

Also, I think the whole "raper priest" thing is so exaggerated! Actually, in the US at least, less than 5% of the cases of child abuse were adjudicated to a member of the Catholic Church, while 80% of those cases happened with other members in their family, at home. So statistically, a kid is safer in that way with a priest than with his parents.

That's not how statistics work. Almost every child in the U.S. lives with a family member, but any family that isn't Catholic isn't going to leave their kids alone with a priest. A child could be more likely to be a victim of sexual abuse when left alone with a priest than with a family member, but since most children are never left alone with priests, they can't be abused by priests, so the overall number of priest abuse cases ends up being much lower even though the per person rate of abuse is higher.

Saying that a kid is safer with a member of the Catholic Church than with a family member because only 5% of overall cases can be attributed to a member of the church is like saying China is the most dangerous country in the world because more people die there every year than in any other country in the world.

 

[SaltedKaramel]

Irreligious/atheist. Honestly I just don't really care or have an opinion about religion in general. It's just not a thing in my life, not while I was growing up and not now. However, I still like to celebrate certain religious holidays like Christmas and Easter. They're just fun! And they've pretty much become worldwide holidays at this point, like I feel those kinds of holidays have become associated with society itself rather than pure religion.

 

[Sprinkles_penguin]

That's not how statistics work. Almost every child in the U.S. lives with a family member, but any family that isn't Catholic isn't going to leave their kids alone with a priest. A child could be more likely to be a victim of sexual abuse when left alone with a priest than with a family member, but since most children are never left alone with priests, they can't be abused by priests, so the overall number of priest abuse cases ends up being much lower even though the per person rate of abuse is higher.

Saying that a kid is safer with a member of the Catholic Church than with a family member because only 5% of overall cases can be attributed to a member of the church is like saying China is the most dangerous country in the world because more people die there every year than in any other country in the world.

Now fact-checking it, I realize I was wrong with that statement. What I was trying to express was that sexual abuse by family members is a bigger problem. And also, other groups have similar or even higher rates like the Protestant Church or schools. However, no one ever calls those ones out.

 

[RedTropicalPeachyFish]

It's literally the right to stay uneducated. -snip-
This is barbaric and outdated. There's science, there are facts and nothing else.

No it's not. Because we're human.
Yes, scientific approaches made it somewhat easier for us, i.g. vaccines, vehicles, means for remote communications, etc. But we still can't even have control over the simple weather. Science some people (like you) say hasn't come very far yet actually. There are more things that we don't know/don't have control over than we do. In those situations, it's not uneducated or barbaric or anything if you're in those situations and have something in your heart (in this case religion) that helps you decide what way to go - wishing to be walking the right way.

I, myself is just a innocent/ignorant believer of beauty.

 

[d3_3p]

No it's not. Because we're human.
Yes, scientific approaches made it somewhat easier for us, i.g. vaccines, vehicles, means for remote communications, etc. But we still can't even have control over the simple weather. Science some people (like you) say hasn't come very far yet actually. There are more things that we don't know/don't have control over than we do. In those situations, it's not uneducated or barbaric or anything if you're in those situations and have something in your heart (in this case religion) that helps you decide what way to go - wishing to be walking the right way.

I, myself is just a innocent/ignorant believer of beauty.

It's called wishful thinking. Science is critical thinking.
The latter is for grown-ups.

 

[Stil]

awww jeez this is a horrible thread as I have so much to say...... I will keep it short and sweet and just say im an Athiest.

 

[Flyffel]

Oh, THIS topic...

I'm not in the mood right now to write an essay either... Let's see if I can keep it short.

I think that (for example) the bible is a fascinating book as it has survived as one of the central works of humanity across a long period of time. I think that it's obvious that it was written by (many) "normal people" as a collection of stories that try to teach others how to conduct properly in the world so people can make the best of it. It puts realizations about life into archetypical stories that teach life lessons. As such I don't believe that it has any connection to whatever "otherly divine being" [as god is commonly understood] there might be, much less a planning creator figure.

I think that people are doing a disservice to the bible by ignoring it just because they don't have "faith" in a god or something like that. I think that the bible requires much more nuanced reading than just the surface level of "there is a God and they say this and that". If you actually try to put yourself in the position of the bible protagonists, you should discover that it's more about the battle of "good and evil" inside the human than about a heavenly god or hellish devil. So when "God says this and that" it's actually more like the conscious of the person is saying this and that.

I think that the religious touch is there so that people who hear these stories incoperate the lessons in their lives and stop questioning them too much. The intention might have been good, but I think that it has led to questionable outcomes in many ways (exploitation of people who learn to not question things enough, you know). Ya'll know about rituals, how they shape life? Like how brushing your teeth every morning is a ritual to keep your mouth healthy, not just clean? The same way, there can be (religious) rituals that do one thing to achieve a more hidden outcome.

So I don't think that there is an inherent link between Christianity and a divine creator figure ("God").

I acknowledge that the world in all its complexity seems quite magical though, so I don't deny the possibility of there being dimensions to the world that we have no idea about. Like what's up with the many reports of near-death experiences, where people basically die for a while, and they often claim to have floated out of their bodies and observed what's happening to their dying body - but then they are "resurrected". Or what's up with the weird and matching reports from people who take certain drugs? Or what's up with this whole concept of atoms and them making up everything, including living beings. And how often do you stop to think about how seriously weird and complex humans are?

Just as silly as it seems to me to think that "The Bible" is "the word of God" (or even just taking the concept of God presented there 100% at face value), just as silly it seems to me to claim to be 100% an atheist. This would mean denying the possibility of there being anything "out of this world" that we can't conceptualize with science, such as reducing the thoughts of humans to neurochemical activity only. Please actually stop here to think for a minute or two about the concept of thoughts and memory (of humans) and think about if you are ready to reduce that to ("scientifically measurable") neurochemical activity.


Meanwhile I think that we just don't know enough and the world is too weird and complex so people shouldn't have strong opinions about the existence of god(s) (as creators/allmighty beings). For all we know, we might be in some kind of weird simulation - and I'm not saying that we are, we just really can't know for sure if we aren't.

I could expand on why I stressed the concept of "god as a creator", the short version is that I believe that a case of "the regular human conscious as something like god" (as always watching and judging you) could be put forward, but I'll stop for now.

 

[d3_3p]

Well what do you know...

 

[RedTropicalPeachyFish]

It's called wishful thinking. Science is critical thinking.
The latter is for grown-ups.

I think you're mixing 2 things up.
You only knowing people who're religious in (somewhat) misconception-ous way (which you mention as wishful) doesn't mean religion itself is false.
Personally I don't think the way like "pray, so he'll save you" is what the religion is for. And I'd assume what you were referring to was this kind of thinking process and actions based off it.

 

[Mayor Monday]

Post removed by user

 

[deerprongs]

I'm agnostic. I don't have a religion or a god- if anything I view myself as my own god. I am pagan, and believe in things outside of religion, but do not worship a god or practice a religion. I am not wiccan, which is a pagan religion, and instead I'm a witch. I'm accepting of everyone regardless of their own personal beliefs, so long as they respect mine and don't judge me based on them <3

I should also mention I come from a Christian household and was once Christian myself. This clearly changed as I got old enough to decide for myself what I wanted from my life and what I wanted to choose.

 

[maple22]

I've never given much thought to the subject of religion, and as such, I'm neither religious nor am I atheist or agnostic at this point. Maybe that'll change as I grow older and start a family, but I can't say for sure.
I would like to learn more about some religions you don't often hear about in the US, like Taoism and Jainism.