View Poll Results: What is your belief system?

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  • Christianity

    129 45.58%
  • Islam

    3 1.06%
  • Atheist

    51 18.02%
  • Agnostic

    36 12.72%
  • Satanist

    2 0.71%
  • Buddhist

    13 4.59%
  • Hinduism

    1 0.35%
  • Other

    41 14.49%
  • Judaism

    7 2.47%
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Thread: What do you believe in?

  1. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by jockeys View Post
    ugh, I never liked having to goto those services as a kid, the ashes always made my forehead break out.
    Your quite right. As a child it feels like torture, or that that is your penance for being a child.
    1 priest got it right when he saw my mother dragging me into the church kicking and screaming (literally). He said "Do not force your child to go to church if he does not wish to go, otherwise he will grow a hatred and never come. If you leave him be, God shall bring him back to church in time."
    I don't see it as an issue anymore.

    We are each different of course.

  2. #42
    Professional Cat Herder w12code3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kasperitis View Post
    Born and raised Christian.

    I would like to point out a bit of lacking in your poll, however it is understandable. I would differentiate Catholicism and from other denominations of Christianity. For those raised non-Catholic Christians who've been to Catholic sermons/ceremonies, it's almost like a completely different religion.

    Just an observation from a layman.
    There are many protestant denominations that have far more in common with the Roman Catholic mass than they do with other protestant; for example the Church of England/Anglican/Episcopalians and the Lutherans would be completely lost in a baptist or pentecostal service but would be quite familiar with almost every aspect of the modern mass. Additionally I believe that JMS did a wonderful job of splitting his list up into different large scale ideologies rather than trying to delineate every possible branch off a theme.

    Fragmentation, suspicion, and hatred among Christians is a sad thing and I believe it is oddly un-Christian if that makes any sense.

    I am a Roman Catholic with some radical (for a Catholic) if not heretical (good thing the Vatican isn't burning people at the stake anymore) views on spirituality and the nature of God. I gladly consider all people who commit themselves to peace, charity, and 'goodness' to be "on the same side" weather they are Christian or otherwise (even those peskily logical atheists). The only belief system I truly consider myself to be opposed to are the very few who actually value selfishness, hatred, or evil.
    Last edited by w12code3; 02-15-2008 at 02:49 PM.
    markdfhr likes this.

  3. #43
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    It looks like monotheism is on the way out.

  4. #44
    Senior Member ForestryProf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JGS View Post
    I believe that belief and faith are private matters.

    Almost each time someone brings this type of discussion into a public forum or community things seem to go badly.
    I agree...that said, everyone should believe in something, so I believe I'll have another beer.

    Cheers,
    Ed

  5. #45
    Curmudgeon Brother Jeeter's Avatar
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    I was reared in a strict fundamentalist Christian home. My Church attendance in the last 18 months, has been 'spotty' at best.
    However, during that period, I have had some time to examine things and reflect on them. I am beginning to see that I no longer 'buy' the teachings I was raised with, wholesale.
    This may be a facet of maturing, or it may not. I cannot say. But I can see that there is definitely merit to some other belief systems.
    I know I will have to contemplate a lot of things, at a much deeper level than I have to date.
    I'll have to revisit this thread in another year, or two.

    "Curmudgeons need love, too."

  6. #46
    Senior Member floppyshoes's Avatar
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    I was born with infinite possibilities, baptised protestant, educated catholic, and haven't set foot in any place of worship for years (with the exception of weddings, funerals and baptisms). I currently consider my belief system to be buddhist with bits and pieces of suplemental material from other faiths. Buddhism, like other faiths, does not have all the answers and encourages you to find the missing pieces where you can. I'll leave my post at that, since it's very difficult to say anything about religion without offending someone.

  7. #47
    In over my head kasperitis's Avatar
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    I must say...I'm utterly amazed at two things about and within this thread:
    1. The diversity of the faiths and belief systems we have represented.
    2. How well everyone seems to be getting along! Usually there are fights and bickering about these things, but I haven't seen that here.

    This community is awesome. You guys kick ass. It seems that everyone here has the proper "whatever works for you" mentality, regardless of their belief system. I am truly delightfully surprised.

  8. #48
    Occasionally Active Member joesixpack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by w12code3 View Post
    ...even those peskily logical atheists...
    Don't kid yourself. Many of the atheists I've met in my life have demonstrated a very clear lack of reasoning ability. Honestly, the reason I remained with the Church for for as long as I did was because I met so few rational atheists. There's a stereotype about atheists; that they're nothing but a bunch of psuedo-intellectual, loud-mouthed, Christian-haters. The stereotype isn't true, but I find that the most vocal atheists often fit that mold .

  9. #49
    Senior Member azjoe's Avatar
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    I got to wondering what "other" would encompass when looking at the poll results, but I couldn't decide how anyone in other could explain w/o exposing their religion. So I googled for a list of the most popular religions... here's what I got, and the bonus is the estimate membership numbers worldwide.


    1. Christianity: 2.1 billion
    2. Islam: 1.5 billion
    3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
    4. Hinduism: 900 million
    5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
    6. Buddhism: 376 million
    7. primal-indigenous: 300 million
    8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
    9. Sikhism: 23 million
    10. Juche: 19 million
    11. Spiritism: 15 million
    12. Judaism: 14 million
    13. Baha'i: 7 million
    14. Jainism: 4.2 million
    15. Shinto: 4 million
    16. Cao Dai: 4 million
    17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
    18. Tenrikyo: 2 million
    19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
    20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
    21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
    22. Scientology: 500 thousand

  10. #50
    Senior Member blabbermouth ChrisL's Avatar
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    I'm a practicing Roman Catholic. I was raised that way, but unlike many others like me that were raised that way but abandon the belief, I'm the opposite in that I utterly and vehemently abandoned the belief from age 15 through age 30 but have strongly and happily embraced it ever since.

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