What is Your Religion?

[Corey]

Simple question, what do you believe?

This is not a thread for debate, arguing, hating, bashing, proselytizing, etc! If you're offended by anything someone else posts, go look at this picture of kittens instead. (http://thedailycatblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/f_cutesleepinm_6cbb809.jpg)

I'll post my thoughts a little later. :u

[VeloJello]

I'm a Christian - I go to a Baptist church, but I don't really consider myself to be of any particular denomination, unless you count Protestant.

[Fizz]

I'm going through that teen phase wherein religion becomes a hazy area. I'm agnostic currently, however I was raised a Catholic - as are most Irish people. I just don't understand how a church could be so corrupt and sexist. So I thought about 'God' and a superior being, and I acknowledge 'Him', but I'm not sure if he is the all powerful, omniscient, amazing being. I think of 'Him' as more of an overseer that guides us down the path of life, but doesn't necessarily have power over us.

Just my thoughts on the subject. :3c

[Corey]

I'm going through that teen phase wherein religion becomes a hazy area.

Ha ha, same here. I'm also agnostic. Well, agnostic atheist. Mostly agnostic, though! I'm a skeptic as well, so it's not just deities I don't believe in. Ghosts, spirits/souls, anything supernatural! I was raised protestant christian, not really to any denomination. I became a deist first, then an agnostic, which was almost two years ago.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Ah religion, one of the most sensitive topics on the Internet.
I am a Christian. One thing that irritates me is how society expects us to be perfect. I am only human and will stuff up. There are things I am trying to work on fixing in myself, for example my bad language.

[FedoraChar]

I haven't actually ever shared this before, but... I think I'd like to now ^^ I'm Christian--specifically a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints :) It's certainly been the greatest source of happiness in my life ^^ It's probably why I'm always such an optimistic person xD

[Teddiursa of the Sky]

Haha, me and religion had a past together. I have learned not to be so venomous about the subject, specifically because I have actually read about the reasons behind religious belief. I, personally, am irreligious. I don't find that religion offers me any sort of comfort or morality and that I have, in fact, been a better person without it. I do, however, find other people's religious beliefs to be intriguing, and am not afraid to challenge them if a claim is made.

I don't find any reason to believe in a deity either, but religion and God are two different things.

[Corey]

I agree! I have definitely noticed that I am a better person since I've become an atheist. I hate when I tell people that I am and they look at me like I'm a hellspawn. ._. Everyone has morals, morals that come from society. Religions do have morals as well, but religion isn't the source of morality, so it's not like atheists have no morals. xD A society itself cannot function with moral-less individuals!

/offtopic But yeah, we don't actually eat babies. xD

I also agree that religion and god are two different things. I've to say that spirituality is so much more diverse than religion. But I'm not getting into any rants, lol.

[Bulbasaur]

I don't know what religion I am. I haven't been to church since I was really young, and that was the only religious thing I've ever done in my life.

[Elbub]

No religion for moi. Mother trucking atheist.

However, I'm not so ignorant to believe that my opinion is 100% guaranteed, unlike the way I know some atheists to act. Although, admittedly, I also know of religious people who act like that, so swings and roundabouts...

No, I believe there is no God/s and there is no afterlife. In all honesty though, I'd quite like to be proved wrong.

[Neo Emolga]

Christian, specifically Roman Catholic. I don't attend church or mass anymore, though. I don't like where the church's corruption has taken it, but that hasn't done anything to diminish my faith in God and Jesus Christ.

[Sealboy]

Atheist. It's rather common where I live in England to see a load of Atheist people anyway, or whilst I grew up. However, I do keep an open mind and I am very interested in many of the religions out there. :)


~Sealboy

[Ridley]

I'm Roman Catholic, although I haven't gone to Mass in quite a while... I still believe in it, though I haven't been too good in practicing it.

[Caite-chan]

I was raised a Catholic but after we needed the church to help us through hard times they weren't there so we went to Baptist. Though now it's nothing really.

[Mujaffa]

im not religious, i can probably count the times i have been to church on one hand. but i can respect your oppinion as long as you respect my oppinion. i got friends in many religions and we get allong nicely.
i will admit to being to to kind and respectful towards certan pepole that take religion on a crazy level and basicly threaten me because of my disbelif..

[Soulmaster]

I am personally a Roman Catholic. I am a Cradle Catholic(born into it) to be precise. I have not had any second-thoughts about it either. I do believe all of the teaching, while I might not practice it as well as I should I still do. In fact becoming a priest is something I have always thought about, yet I'm still not sure. But yes, while the Catholic Church has had trouble and was/is corrupted, name one organization that isn't. It is part of human nature, we are corrupt. And people saying what the church did back in the Middle Ages as a reason that is corrupt as well, no reason to say that, everything was back then, we have learned, doesn't matter, people still use that.

/end rant

[Homura]

The church of Madoka, obviously. Being the prophet and all. :P

In all seriousness, I'm not at all religious. If I had to identify with a religion the most, it would be Buddhism, which is what I was raised in. I have dabbled on Christianity and Catholicism from time to time, mainly because of friends and family who are one or the other. In Hong Kong, however, the distinction between the two is much more...radical. Things that Neo Emolga was saying about "Roman Catholic, Christian" would be ironically taboo there. *sigh*

[Giratina]

It's weird. Both of my parents were Christian, and they raised me Catholic. My dad is one of those people who goes to church every Sunday and sends his children to religious studies classes from kindergarten to eleventh grade. So when I was younger, we all took Church visits a lot, which I found to be rather pointlessly complicated. And now that I'm a bit more grown up -- albeit still a teenager -- I pretty much hold the same opinion. I am a Christian, but I dislike the church. What the church does is all well and good for some people, but I definitely do not see it as necessary to go to a certain building and perform a complicated ritual just to inform your deity that you love him. He already knows. He's omniscent. That's why he's a deity.

[Sanctus]

I'm a Christian, although I'll bet that what you think when I say "Christian" is quite different from what I mean.

To answer the question "what do I believe?" more specifically, I am a Protestant, confesionally Reformed (meaning I embrace the Three Forms of Unity and Westminster Standards), and catholic (notice the little c, meaning not the denomination, but that I worship God with all the saints in all times and places in agreement with the Apostle's Creed). The mentioned documents give a fuller expression of what I believe.

And I don't go to church to express my love to God. I go to church to be served by Him, because I am weak, sinful, and frankly, my love for God is hardly worth speaking about.

[Dragon Master Mike]

Technically i am Greek orthodox but if agnostic was considered an actual religion i would convert to it. There are simply concepts in christianity that i don't understand or agree with . the way i see things, i will find out what the afterlife is when i go there.

[Maddox]

I am also Roman Catholic. I agree with Soulmaster, there is corruption in the church but that's true of every church and of every organization of people. A Catholic just has to remember that your faith isn't in the church as an organization of people but in God and His Church as the body of Christ. Have faith in the teachings and in the Eucharist and don't let the corruption of others drive you away from the spiritual gifts the mass provides. Personally, I have great respect for Pope Francis because I think he's trying to remind people what their faith is truly about and deal with some of the misunderstanding of and corruption of the church itself.

[Owl]

I'm agnostic, although I enjoy going to church to sing hymns! I also like the peaceful atmosphere of churches.

[Maddox]

I'm agnostic, although I enjoy going to church to sing hymns! I also like the peaceful atmosphere of churches.

High five for singing, dude! I cantor for my church. I love to sing. It's always awesome to see and hear people in the congregation singing out. So many people don't anymore.

[ShadowJay]

I'm not religious, but since I celebrate Christmas, Christian.

[Fiery Fastball]

I am an atheist, and I am proud.

[smeller]

Agnostic atheist here. I think that there could be a god, but there's not enough evidence to suggest that there really is one.

[Death's Spook]

Ok. So completely against my better judgement, I'm going to answer this question. If you find that you have issue with my answer, the kittens are in the first post, or alternatively held by Ivy in my avatar.

I've been keeping this on the down low for a long while, but certain events have persuaded me that I shouldn't hide such a large part of my life, and if anyone objects to it, it's their problem, not mine.

I'm a Muslim.

No. This does NOT mean I'm a violent terrorist misogynist backwards downright jerk. It means that I believe in one omniscient omnipotent God, and that Muhammad is his Messenger. It means that I pray several times a day, and that I fast during the lunar month of Ramadan. It means that I recognize that I'm not perfect, and that I therefore must recognize that others are not either, but my aforementioned imperfections mean that I have zero right to judge.

This has zero bearing on my personality, other than the fact that it helps me reinforce that we are all ignorant, and therefore must quest for knowledge to better ourselves. I'm still quirky, cheerfully morbid, and really really sarcastic. I still enjoy science and mathematics and writing. I still believe that reading is akin to breathing. And most importantly, given how much I know I may judged for my religion, I know that I must not judge people on anything except, as a great man said, by the content of their character.

If you ever have questions about Islam, you may feel free to ask me and I promise you I will answer as best as I can. If you want to flame me, I'm covered in a metaphorical fireproof suit, so it will do absolutely nothing to me as I file your comments into my mental trash.

As an endnote: I want to thank Velocity extensively. She has known this for a while, and supported me when I told her that I wanted to do this. Thank you.

[Sanctus]

Oh, neat! I'll have to take you up on questions concerning Islam over PM in the future when I think of something worth your time. If anything I say offends you it's entirely due to ignorance, so excuse me. :)

[[Desolate Divine]]

Deaths Spook: Good on you for being open about it. It takes balls to come out like that, especially when Islam is villainized the way it is. People judge the group for the sins of the individual. I constantly hear people consider me to be a homophobe or mysoginists for being Christian, because some of the more extreme Christians hate homosexuals, or believe women should be stay at home housewives. I know Muslims have been judged for the acts of terrorists, and can guess that Catholics haven't been treated the same since the incidents with children. We are in a judgemental and generalizing world. It is hard to be open about our faith.

[MichaelXD]

I'm Christian. I attempt to do right at all times. So to end this short.

[Death's Spook]

Oh, neat! I'll have to take you up on questions concerning Islam over PM in the future when I think of something worth your time. If anything I say offends you it's entirely due to ignorance, so excuse me. :)

Trust me. I'd far rather you ask the question and risk offending me than simply make assumptions. The only cure for ignorance is asking questions.

Granted, I'm liable to occasionally include sarcasm in my reply, but if you're asking me the question a) it's probably not going to be directed at you and b) I'm sarcastic to everyone, so it's not personal. :biggrin:


Deaths Spook: Good on you for being open about it. It takes balls to come out like that, especially when Islam is villainized the way it is. People judge the group for the sins of the individual. I constantly hear people consider me to be a homophobe or mysoginists for being Christian, because some of the more extreme Christians hate homosexuals, or believe women should be stay at home housewives. I know Muslims have been judged for the acts of terrorists, and can guess that Catholics haven't been treated the same since the incidents with children. We are in a judgemental and generalizing world. It is hard to be open about our faith.

Thank you Op and Sanctus for your support.