Religions, What are they to you?

Religion????

Christian	19.2%	[ 10 ]
Catholic	1.9%	[ 1 ]
Atheist	28.8%	[ 15 ]
Pagan	13.5%	[ 7 ]
Something else......	13.5%	[ 7 ]
I believe that there is a higher power but no "God"	11.5%	[ 6 ]
Judaism	1.9%	[ 1 ]
Islam	1.9%	[ 1 ]
Satanism	7.7%	[ 4 ]
Total Votes:			[ 52 ]

[King Shining Heaven]

The Legendary Guest

Young King under Heaven

The Legendary Guest

Young King under Heaven

I think they're an integral part of humanity. People, I think, need something to believe in and religion fulfills that role.

This has been previously addressed, but it bears repeating - the third largest demographic on Earth regarding religion is "unaffiliated":



If religions were integral to the human experience, how do you explain the high number of people who do not follow religions?

Third largest demographic, yes, but still a minority, so I think the rule still applies to most of humanity. Also, does unaffiliated mean total lack of belief or just lack of affiliation with a religion? If it;'s the latter and they still beleive there could be a higher power, the role is still fulfilled.

Your claim is that religion is an integral part of humanity, that is to say, the state of being human. Is a group somehow less human by virtue of being a minority to your way of thinking? We are not speaking of beliefs. We are speaking of your claim, which is that religion fulfills a certain role of belief that is somehow integral to the state of being human.

In other words, you shuffled your cards yet failed to play one. In any event, now you're trying to claim that the need to believe in a higher power is necessary. Millions of human beings beg to differ. Explain this with respect to your claim.

The need to believe in a higher power is not "necessary" and I didn't say it was; I said the need to believe in something is part of being human and that religion fulfills that. Some people, however, do not need religion or the belief in a higher power to do that because they substitute religion by putting their faith into something else. Or at least, this is my theory. I don't know how else to explain and I'm not going to.

[SuperOtaku]

I see my religion as a way to organize what I see as chaos around me, and as a way to develop a relationship with something whether that thing is a divine being or a Jungian archetype.

I prefer orthopraxy to orthodoxy (proper form of prayer to proper belief) as it gives my neurosis something to focus on and just sounds more correct to me. I do not believe in a divine single being, nor do I believe in all good or all evil, but shades in between and situational.

I do not like when people stay in the pre-conventional stage of development of morals, because "I'm a good person because god will yell at me otherwise" doesn't mean you're a good person, it means you are a sniveling child.

[coffee for thought]

religion, for me, is a complete life experience, both a feeling and definitely a rational, philosophical system of thought.

it is to live in accordance with the virtue of αγάπη or caritas. that is, the virtue called charity. (not to be confused with almsgiving.) it is this virtue, this type of love that was meant when it was written that "god is love."

(english is utterly inadequate in spiritual vocabulary, and there is only one word for "love" besides. hence translations of spiritual writings with no annotations and no other context given are especially problematic. compounding the issue is that most people, religious or not, are ignorant of these contexts; perhaps they've read the bible, for example, but that's all they've read--it's not everything, and perhaps isn't even very useful on its own, in english, without any context.)

and while it may be true that god is love, god has been morphed into other things by ignorant, selfish people. when nietzsche said that god is dead and we have killed him, that is what he meant: the idea of god just ain't what it used to be. in fact, it takes a very humble, philosophical mind to think on the idea of god. (unfortunately, too many people think religion is the antithesis of rational thought.) this is what i mean when i say that religion has been oversimplified and popularized. there is the image of god, seemingly a god of flesh and bone, that is, a god that "exists," as creator of the universe, sitting up in "heaven" (as if it were a place) on a throne, looking down on us and judging us. and this is decidedly not what is meant when we discuss god.

to be religious is to reject moral relativism for the sham it is, to know the beauty of the good and the ugliness of evil, and to love (but not necessarily like) unconditionally, which is what god is. ('god is love.') you read correctly: it is not only about becoming a "better person," it is about becoming god-like.

and that is a lot harder than it sounds.

it is NOT about passively "believing" something without giving it any thought. it is NOT about "saying" a prayer and expecting all your material "problems" to be resolved.

finally, i will say this. there is no such thing as an atheist. there are only those who are truly religious and those who are falsely religious, those who have taken some other idol and lifted it up to be their god. (in much of western europe and north america, especially in recent days, freedom of speech comes to mind. though, for all the moral relativists in those same areas, i don't see how they can authentically value any such thing... for all their rationalism... it makes no sense.) as such, let us not talk of christians, jews, muslims, buddhists, hindus, taoists, atheists, agnostics, or any other such "religions." all of those are better understood as cultural traditions, albeit divinely inspired ones. you will find truly religious and falsely religious peoples in all of them, and that is the important distinction. the "divine," or the "other," or the "godhead" is the same for everybody, whether it is acknowledged or not.

[haunting heaven]

coffee for thought

finally, i will say this. there is no such thing as an atheist.

Ray Comfort, is that you?

Quote:

there are only those who are truly religious and those who are falsely religious, those who have taken some other idol and lifted it up to be their god.

I take all of this to mean that you don't know what atheism is or what idols are.

Quote:

(in much of western europe and north america, especially in recent days, freedom of speech comes to mind. though, for all the moral relativists in those same areas, i don't see how they can authentically value any such thing... for all their rationalism... it makes no sense.)

Religion does not make morality any more objective.

Quote:

as such, let us not talk of christians, jews, muslims, buddhists, hindus, taoists, atheists, agnostics, or any other such "religions." all of those are better understood as cultural traditions, albeit divinely inspired ones. you will find truly religious and falsely religious peoples in all of them, and that is the important distinction. the "divine," or the "other," or the "godhead" is the same for everybody, whether it is acknowledged or not.

Oh, and I suppose you're the final arbitrator concerning what and who is truly religious?

[Sir Fuggery]

The Legendary Guest

They've outlived their usefulness to the human race and it is time that we embraced reason. Religions to me are barriers to reason.

*tips fedora*

[VeganIncubus]

KaiserBill

The Legendary Guest

They've outlived their usefulness to the human race and it is time that we embraced reason. Religions to me are barriers to reason.

*tips fedora*

xd

However, religions are an infection and I agree with TLG.
But the fedora-tipping part was amusing.


Also, Satanism is divided into theistic and atheistic Satanism. Atheistic Satanism doesn't actually count as a religion.

[Xiam]

haunting heaven

coffee for thought

finally, i will say this. there is no such thing as an atheist.

Ray Comfort, is that you?

KaiserBill

The Legendary Guest

They've outlived their usefulness to the human race and it is time that we embraced reason. Religions to me are barriers to reason.

*tips fedora*

This ******** thread, man... rofl

[Lady Vizsla]

I hold Christianity to be my philosophy about existence.

[Ravarx]

I think religion is fairly stupid in most cases. But most people worship something. You can worship money, success, other people, beauty, etc. Naturally, a deity isn't going to be out of the question. Nowadays, I can't help but wonder if people actually worship a god, or if they worship what said gods stand for. I, for one, as a Satanist, could say I worship myself, or I could say I worship an archetype. Or even both, or neither. There's any number of things I can worship, and still have an atheistic view.

[Hikarulawl]

Dieu des hommes

Something that is here to stay. You could discover a theory for everything in the known universe and you'll still have religion. Humans just have a natural leniency towards thinking in superstitious and mythical ways. You can try and educate people out of this, sure, but you'll never be able to affect the whole population in a free society. A lot of atheists really care about changing this, as if there is some of moral imperative looming over them, but I don't really care if people do continue to believe in religion.

Hmmm I beg to differ. There have been many religions that are now part of mythology because people no longer worship those god(s) anymore; or that particular human race no longer existed. Christianity is just taking forever to die off. But it's happening. Atheist are no longer hiding in the closet, knowledge is spreading faster and easier to obtain. But most importantly, younger generations are no longer easily persuade in the lies their church is regurgitating. I probably won't live to see that day because even my 90s generation still are believers. But hey think of the bright side. There was a time people wouldn't even dream of see a black president. The world is changing. And these old dinosaurs can't live forever.

[Xiam]

Hikarulawl

Dieu des hommes

Something that is here to stay. You could discover a theory for everything in the known universe and you'll still have religion. Humans just have a natural leniency towards thinking in superstitious and mythical ways. You can try and educate people out of this, sure, but you'll never be able to affect the whole population in a free society. A lot of atheists really care about changing this, as if there is some of moral imperative looming over them, but I don't really care if people do continue to believe in religion.

Hmmm I beg to differ. There have been many religions that are now part of mythology because people no longer worship those god(s) anymore; or that particular human race no longer existed. Christianity is just taking forever to die off. But it's happening. Atheist are no longer hiding in the closet, knowledge is spreading faster and easier to obtain. But most importantly, younger generations are no longer easily persuade in the lies their church is regurgitating. I probably won't live to see that day because even my 90s generation still are believers. But hey think of the bright side. There was a time people wouldn't even dream of see a black president. The world is changing. And these old dinosaurs can't live forever.

But most religions that were pushed out to be no longer practiced were basically just replaced with other religions. And some are coming back from the brink of extinction, too, albeit in new forms.

As for atheists... well, nonreligious people on the whole are sort of still in the minority. Just because there are people who don't believe, doesn't mean humans are changing from superstitious, supernatural views. Even people who don't profess a belief in god still have weird superstitions and something very akin to faith when it comes to authority figures who profess to know things. After all, why do our own research and experimentation? They did it all for us, yeah?

[Hikarulawl]

Xiam

Hikarulawl

Dieu des hommes

Something that is here to stay. You could discover a theory for everything in the known universe and you'll still have religion. Humans just have a natural leniency towards thinking in superstitious and mythical ways. You can try and educate people out of this, sure, but you'll never be able to affect the whole population in a free society. A lot of atheists really care about changing this, as if there is some of moral imperative looming over them, but I don't really care if people do continue to believe in religion.

Hmmm I beg to differ. There have been many religions that are now part of mythology because people no longer worship those god(s) anymore; or that particular human race no longer existed. Christianity is just taking forever to die off. But it's happening. Atheist are no longer hiding in the closet, knowledge is spreading faster and easier to obtain. But most importantly, younger generations are no longer easily persuade in the lies their church is regurgitating. I probably won't live to see that day because even my 90s generation still are believers. But hey think of the bright side. There was a time people wouldn't even dream of see a black president. The world is changing. And these old dinosaurs can't live forever.

But most religions that were pushed out to be no longer practiced were basically just replaced with other religions. And some are coming back from the brink of extinction, too, albeit in new forms.

As for atheists... well, nonreligious people on the whole are sort of still in the minority. Just because there are people who don't believe, doesn't mean humans are changing from superstitious, supernatural views. Even people who don't profess a belief in god still have weird superstitions and something very akin to faith when it comes to authority figures who profess to know things. After all, why do our own research and experimentation? They did it all for us, yeah?

Religion is an organization or a community of people who believes in the same thing. There are many people of supernatural views. But those kind of people don't belong to a large organization for an example, the "religion" of Vampirism. Or maybe there is one hidden away somewhere during the early 2000s when everybody and their mom thinks they're the blood sucking creatures of the night? I much rather prefer Christianity and all it's other denominations to be either replace or fade away to obscurity. Catholicism is way to rich and powerful right now. Unfortunately I don't see that going anywhere anytime soon.

[fort et beau]

Nothing but a book of stories. Religion doesn't cross my mind on a daily basis.

[Xiam]

Hikarulawl

Xiam

Hikarulawl

Dieu des hommes

Something that is here to stay. You could discover a theory for everything in the known universe and you'll still have religion. Humans just have a natural leniency towards thinking in superstitious and mythical ways. You can try and educate people out of this, sure, but you'll never be able to affect the whole population in a free society. A lot of atheists really care about changing this, as if there is some of moral imperative looming over them, but I don't really care if people do continue to believe in religion.

Hmmm I beg to differ. There have been many religions that are now part of mythology because people no longer worship those god(s) anymore; or that particular human race no longer existed. Christianity is just taking forever to die off. But it's happening. Atheist are no longer hiding in the closet, knowledge is spreading faster and easier to obtain. But most importantly, younger generations are no longer easily persuade in the lies their church is regurgitating. I probably won't live to see that day because even my 90s generation still are believers. But hey think of the bright side. There was a time people wouldn't even dream of see a black president. The world is changing. And these old dinosaurs can't live forever.

But most religions that were pushed out to be no longer practiced were basically just replaced with other religions. And some are coming back from the brink of extinction, too, albeit in new forms.

As for atheists... well, nonreligious people on the whole are sort of still in the minority. Just because there are people who don't believe, doesn't mean humans are changing from superstitious, supernatural views. Even people who don't profess a belief in god still have weird superstitions and something very akin to faith when it comes to authority figures who profess to know things. After all, why do our own research and experimentation? They did it all for us, yeah?

Religion is an organization or a community of people who believes in the same thing.

Uhhh... no? I think you're describing a culture, subculture, or some sort of political group. "Religion" is a bit more difficult to pin down, but often involves a set of rules pertaining to morality, as well as a notion of one's place in the universe.

Hikarulawl

There are many people of supernatural views. But those kind of people don't belong to a large organization for an example, the "religion" of Vampirism. Or maybe there is one hidden away somewhere during the early 2000s when everybody and their mom thinks they're the blood sucking creatures of the night?

Just because you say "religion" doesn't mean it's applicable. People in the vampire subculture are not part of a religion. Unless they are Christian, or Wiccan, or something, but the point is, it's something else entirely.

Hikarulawl

I much rather prefer Christianity and all it's other denominations to be either replace or fade away to obscurity. Catholicism is way to rich and powerful right now. Unfortunately I don't see that going anywhere anytime soon.

All its denominations.