Are you religious?

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

I was Christened as a Methodist and went to church with my family when I was little. As I got older we moved house a few times and moved out of my grandmother's house which ended the weekly church visits (she was much more religious than my mum). Since I stopped going to church and started studying hard at school, taking a particular interest in science, my views began to move away from the idea of a God and I eventually became agnostic. At this point I've pretty much decided to leave religion behind and become fully atheist because I feel like there's too much bad in this world for there to be a god and that most things can be logically explained with science which makes more sense to me than an all powerful deity. 

Unlike some atheists, like my sister who is incredibly rude to my mum who is still Christian, I don't hate religion and have no wish to stop others from following it and believing what they want to, I even like the idea of heaven and there being something to go to after death and would love it if that were true, but I personally don't follow any religion anymore.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Battenberg

[pegapony 193]

Religion is nothing more than stories made up by humans to control them i a noble way.

And the age of the storys is what make them "true" to some people.

Therefore I believe in Celestia.

It´s a man made story like all the other religions, and I like it.

More Celestianism to everypony.

[Fluttershy Friend 25,447]

Quote

 

Religion is nothing more than stories made up by humans to control them i a noble way.

And the age of the storys is what make them "true" to some people.

Therefore I believe in Celestia.

It´s a man made story like all the other religions, and I like it.

More Celestianism to everypony.

 

The same.

Like I've written many times on this forum before I'm a strong atheist. "Believing" in Celestia and all MLP universum is for me a some kind of intellectual game with myself and having rational mind I know about that perfectly. But it help me to be more optimistic every day. Life is better with MLP ideology and imagination is a wonderful thing!.

Edited October 14, 2017 by Fluttershy Friend

[pegapony 193]

27 minutes ago, Fluttershy Friend said:

The same.

Like I've written many times on this forum before I'm a strong atheist. "Believing" in Celestia and all MLP universum is for me a some kind of intellectual game with myself and having rational mind I know about that perfectly. But it help me to be more optimistic every day. Life is better with MLP ideology and imagination is a wonderful thing!.

I like logical explanations, and thats´s why religion don´t fit my world.

I´m not a good writer, so you put the words exactly right. That´s how to "believe" in Celestia.

[MilkTea 284]

Agnostic, but I want to believe that there’s at least some sort of afterlife that people and animals go to after they die.

[GeekyPsycho 20]

I am very religious, but not part of an organized religion. I believe that belief builds your world. Belief equals personal reality. I believe every god that has ever existed does exist, through the will of those who believe in them. I also believe their power can take the form of confidence, courage, blind trust, shame, love, and many more emotions or beliefs, all of which affect how the individual perceives the world, and how they react upon that world. I believe in personal hell, or hell on earth. I do not believe there are any universal rules, as each person is living on their own plane of reality. I strongly believe in unverified personal gnosis (UPG).  [the phenomenological concept that an individual's spiritual insights may be valid for them without applying it to the experience of others]

I personally am a polytheist. My pantheon originates from the Hellenic pantheon, though it weighs heavily on UPG. I draw practices both from Hellenic Reconstructionism and Revivalism, as well as modern day paganism. I do believe in some form of reincarnation, but in my view, it's very messy, as spirits mix and mingle. I do believe in karma in that you get back what you put out, but I also believe that you don't always deserve what you get (shit happens).

I do consider myself deeply religious, though I am not nearly as studious, or devoted as I would like to be.

Edited October 23, 2017 by GeekyPsycho

[Hocus Pocus 636]

Protestant here. And like many of my particular denomination, I'm religious, but not in a conventional sense.

I don't really attend church, but have a sort of silent devotion. Lots of prayer and independent thought on the topic.

 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Hocus Pocus

[SoberStarlight 906]

Not a frequent church goer, but I am Catholic, and I wear a rosary bracelet my grandma made for me. 

[Leavemealone 547]

I am an atheist. I respect people’s religions in public, and I don’t argue with people about their beliefs, as long as they don’t try to force their religion onto me. 

[Messy Mane 9,032]

nah,

i'm catholic but i'm not religious  

[碇 シンジン 27,431]

Yeah I don't know what would keep me going otherwise 

[IronM17 5,388]

nope, I don't believe into god or other paranormal stuff. When I was a child, I believed into a god, but after I got more and more interest into natural science, I started to lost my believes and became an atheist. 

[Gestum 2,493]

I'm not really religious, though I do belive that  some kind of higher power exists.

 

[Crystal Peppermint 1,108]

Not really, religion is like a guidebook to life. Some people need it and others don't.

To find your own path is more exciting, than follow the rules of old men who already died for centuries.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

Yup, sure am. Baptist Christian.

Not very active with church or anything at the moment, but none of my beliefs have changed. Jesus Christ is the Savior, died for our sins, rose again and will one day return. All that good stuff.

I do need to find a church to go to again though. I didn’t enjoy it at all when I was younger. I didn’t really enjoy the company of any of the other teenagers I had to go to class with. I didn’t feel like they cared about me or anything we were learning about. But I DID enjoy when I went with my mom to her adults class.

Well, I’m an adult now. Might actually enjoy myself and make some friends this time.

[Jeric 46,851]

I am religious, yes. It's actually quite complicated as I have a love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church. I have been called a buffet Catholic, in that I pick and choose what tenets I approve of. The truth is that isn't a wholly unfair assessment. I am a more ecumenically inclined person in general, and extend that philosophy to non Christian religions. I have also incorporated elements of eastern spirituality into some of my practices, such as yoga, meditation, and even the odd Wiccan element (candles and such). It works pretty well for me. 

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

Yup, sure am. Baptist Christian.

Not very active with church or anything at the moment, but none of my beliefs have changed. Jesus Christ is the Savior, died for our sins, rose again and will one day return. All that good stuff.

I do need to find a church to go to again though. I didn’t enjoy it at all when I was younger. I didn’t really enjoy the company of any of the other teenagers I had to go to class with. I didn’t feel like they cared about me or anything we were learning about. But I DID enjoy when I went with my mom to her adults class.

Well, I’m an adult now. Might actually enjoy myself and make some friends this time.

I actually tend to make friends with religious folks more often. They tend to be some of the most pleasant people I can find to spend time with. The temperance of biblical teachings and life lessons make them easy to be around and talk to. Half of the people I go spend holidays with are either ministers, deacons or families of. 

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

1 hour ago, Sunset Rose said:

I actually tend to make friends with religious folks more often. They tend to be some of the most pleasant people I can find to spend time with. The temperance of biblical teachings and life lessons make them easy to be around and talk to. Half of the people I go spend holidays with are either ministers, deacons or families of. 

Oh I don’t doubt it. Like I said, I made friends with adults. But I couldn’t stand being around the kids my age. They very much exuded the vibe of, “My Mom dragged me here, I literally could not care less.”

[CheeryFox 23,821]

 

 I love Jesus and any teachings of good. 

[Celli 4,338]

I'm an atheist and I detest (modern) religion. I hate the ideals of them and rules, and the idea of a Utopia makes zero sense to me. If I could, I'd abolish religion altogether.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

3 minutes ago, Celli said:

If I could, I'd abolish religion altogether.

Nothing like legally controlling thought and personal philosophy... 

[Celli 4,338]

Just now, ShadOBabe said:

Nothing like legally controlling thought and personal philosophy... 

Huh?

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

Just now, Celli said:

Huh?

You said you'd abolish all these belief systems if you were in control. That is a bad thing.

[Celli 4,338]

Just now, ShadOBabe said:

You said you'd abolish all these belief systems if you were in control. That is a bad thing.

I'm sorry if I offended you, maybe not the best choice of words, but I hold some personal ire towards a lot of it. Like, an example is that I hate having some Christian tell me it's wrong to have an interest in the same sex and that I'm going to hell became it goes against God's will or something. Religion just feels controlling to me.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

Just now, Celli said:

I'm sorry if I offended you, maybe not the best choice of words, but I hold some personal ire towards a lot of it. Like, an example is that I hate having some Christian tell me it's wrong to have an interest in the same sex and that I'm going to hell became it goes against God's will or something. Religion just feels controlling to me.

Well here's the thing. Yeah all religions have opinions on what should and should not be done. Trying to get as close to God's (or whatever their higher power is) ideal as possible. It differs from religion to religion.

My personal approach to it is this: I don't have to agree with what you do with your life, but unless you specifically ask me, "hey what do you think about this thing", or you're actively hurting someone, I'm just going to leave you be. I wouldn't like some random wad coming up to me and telling me what a braindead, bigoted sheep I am based on my religious leanings, despite them know literally NOTHING else about me.

Definition of "bigot": a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions.

That label is usually thrown at religious people, but it could apply to ANYONE. Relgious, atheist, liberal, conservative, anyone.

But you can in fact live harmoniously with people that have different moral compasses than you, as long as you understand that thoughts and opinions by themselve are intangible concepts that cannot hurt you. More people need to be cool with the fact that someone somewhere on this planet thinks they are wrong. Not someone getting in your face unsolicited, JUST the idea that someone doesn't agree. Someone thinking you're wrong isn't going to hurt you. If your beliefs or convictions are so weak that the possiblity that someone doesn't agree upsets you, you have some things to think about.