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Post by rob on Mar 5, 2010 12:12:14 GMT -5
For those comfortable discussing the topic......
1. Which religion are you if any? 2. Why? Are your parents religious? 3. How religious are you? How do you practice? 4. Any personal views on religion? yours or others? useful?
I'll start:
1. Roman Catholic
2. Born into it. Mom is Catholic but non-practicing
3. I never talk about religion, but I'm pretty devout at least from a how-you-live-your-life standpoint (I think). Horrible at attending church regularly.
4. - I'll bet coming from multi-cultural backgrounds, EAs will tend to be more agnostic than most - The older I get, the more I respect people of faith (regardless of which one) - Seems to be open season on anyone that's religious (esp muslims and christians) - One feature of Catholicism that I like is the fact that it tends to be quiet (as opposed to evangelical and bible-thumping). Naively religious ppl also grate on me somewhat. - Most atheist people I meet are quite fortunate (ie. not from poverty) and intellectually conceited ...... probably an ego trip on my part, but if sense someone is like that and sh*tting on religion, I usually eat them for lunch. - I am extremely open-minded/flexible on most things, but if I ever marry, it would have to be with a Catholic
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Post by Ganbare! on Mar 5, 2010 14:46:07 GMT -5
1. None, just spiritual although I'm seriously thinking of converting to Buddhism. I was raised as a Roman Catholic. 2. It's simply the closest one to philosophy, probably the most effective thing to know not to turn nuts in this world. 3. I practice deep meditation/reflection. 4. I respect other faiths however I try my best to avoid fanatics which are quite numerous these days thanks to the recent resurgence of religion in both civil and political spheres..
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Post by betahat on Mar 5, 2010 16:11:17 GMT -5
1.Atheist. If you push me, I'm an agnostic who puts the burden of proof on proving that something exists. 2.Born into it. Actually 3rd generation in some ways, my British grandmother is also an atheist (and quite evangelical about it, ever since her husband died in middle-age of a freak accident and she fixated on injustice in her life and the world at large). My Asian grand-parents are buddhists (some of my grand-mas family in Singapore are Christians now though) and superstitutious, but both my parents are atheists though my Dad did a stint as an apprentice monk in Burma and still professes some Buddhist-type beliefs (esp. regarding the killing of insects) and my mom likes Christmas as a family holiday. My wife is a mostly non-practicing Jew from a mostly non-practicing family - no dietary restrictions, and I even got her to agree to violating Abraham's little covenant with God (the snip-snip one) in advance of any kids, in exchange for teaching them Hebrew.
3.We do the Jewish and Christian holidays because they're fun, though I confess to being annoyed during the reading of the Haggadah and I am no longer interested in attending a midnight mass like we used to when we were kids.
4. Being born into Atheism, it really is the default position and it would take a heck of a lot to convince me that any particular religion was right. In some ways this doesn't make me different than any religious person born into a particular faith - the difference I would say is that it's a bit easier to stand all the religions side by side and evalute them honestly, as you don't have a familial and emotional investment in one. Yes, it is an intellectual conceit in some ways and I cringe at the way some atheists act and put down believers (yes, I'm talking to you Bill Maher). On the other hand, I'm also lucky to be in a country where I'm free to not believe - throughout history and in many places of the world today, religion is still a powerful force of repression and I can sympathize with the more evangelical atheists out there who want to take the case a bit further than specific countries and regimes and make a general argument against religion.
I'm quite fascinated by religious transitions, since most people are born into a religion and persist, and most of those that do change either transition into or out of atheism or to a variant on the one they had (e.g. in Latin America a lot of Cathlics have become evangelicals in the last few decades, but none have become Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Bahai, Muslim, etc.). I really think that understanding transmission of religious beliefs within family and understanding religious conversions is the key to understanding religion - rather than abstract arguments over the existence of God, the kind beloved by theologians and philosophers, we should better understand the sociology of religion. I suspect the intellectual basis for religion will not come out looking very good from this exercise, and that it behaves a lot like nationalism, regionalism, ethnic and tribal affiliation. Claims that a religion is true begin to sound like claims that X country is the best. Which isn't a bad thing - these things are all personal and emotional and deep, and shouldn't be dismissed casually - but it does kind of explain the intellectual conceit of atheists.
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monroe
Junior Member
Fastidious Grunge Lover - a study in contrasts
Posts: 152
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Post by monroe on Mar 5, 2010 20:53:22 GMT -5
1. None, don't like calling myself an atheist because many people who do are highly opinionated (whereas I just don't care) though I do not believe in religion, spirituality, or magics and stuff.
2. Born into it, in a sense: father is not really religious but (loosely) considers himself Buddhist. Mother is Buddhist.
3. I do my best to avoid talking about religion. My mother didn't even know my beliefs 'til she saw "NO REL PREF" on my dog tags. I've been to Catholic, Buddhist, Lutheran and all other sorts of services and don't have a problem with them. I just don't see a need to believe.
4. Guess I answered most of this in the previous questions. I couldn't say for sure about marriage (not even interesting in marriage right now, to be honest), but race, upbringing, or creed don't matter when I'm trying to get some.
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Post by betahat on Mar 6, 2010 13:24:13 GMT -5
Stuff like this annoys me: www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/boulder-catholic-school-k_n_487172.htmlI guess the secular equivalent is kicking people out of school for wearing a veil or a cross (which also upsets me) or a kirpan (less upsetting - sorry, but if your religion demands that you carry a deadly weapon around I have to draw the line there). Still, there seems to be such a disconnect between many Catholics, who are tolerant open-minded people, and the Church.
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Post by rob on Mar 6, 2010 16:00:46 GMT -5
I don't see why this makes national news
- private religious schools set their own rules. They make those clear upfront and if you don't buy-in, don't apply. There are countless other schools to apply and even catholic schools that are semi-secular and flexible - do the parents profess to be catholic? That's a big criteria for me before I pass judgement in this case - many Catholic schools (esp in small communities) hold parents accountable for upholding catholic teachings. That's nothing new. its common for teachers to be dismissed for extra-marital affairs, 'uncatholic behaviour' or divorce (w/out annulment). Parents who are known 'offenders' often get called in for a chat/warned. Happened to a former classmate whose parents were Marcos cronies (politely asked to leave the school next year). Fair? - the church's stance on homosexuality is quite clear. I don't fully agree with a more strict interpretation (as we are called first to love our neighbours), most of society doesn't agree with it, but why should the church suddenly change their stance on account of the current zeitgeist? This instit'n is two thousand years old and aint going anywhere fast
The secular equivalent of this is someone sacrificing a goat on their front-lawn. He/she sacrifices the goat in thanks/honour (an act that is righteous in their eyes). Western secular society (which today puts animal welfare on par with humans) says WTF, that's an outrage and barbaric.
Why should western secular standards always be the default filter of what's acceptable behaviour and esp in a private school/setting?
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Papa Alpha
Junior Member
Not all those who wander are lost
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Post by Papa Alpha on Mar 6, 2010 19:06:07 GMT -5
1. Very superstitious 2. I believe in things that I don't understand 3. I wash my face and hands 4. Superstition ain't the way
Bao bum bum bao bum bum bao bum bum bao bum bum bum
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Post by betahat on Mar 6, 2010 21:29:15 GMT -5
Good points Rob, it's trickier when private schools receive public funds (like Catholic schools in Canada) but I guess that is not the case with catholic schools in the US? I suppose there is nothing "wrong" with discrimination applied in private institutions and settings. It does seem a bit unfair to punish a kid for their parents (I presume divorced parents don't have their kids expelled but I have not idea) but as you point out perhaps that is typical of Catholic schools. I might disagree with this but I support religious freedom, which often means the freedom to discriminate based on gender, sexuality, etc.
The odd thing about this story is that the Lesbian parents would send their kid to Catholic school in the first place, given the Church's stance on homosexuality. It is an interesting result of history that the Catholic church and education were so intertwined and that today catholic schools are often among the best academically, sometimes leading to outcomes like this one where Jews (like my mother in law), gays, or other undesirables enroll their kids in catholic schools even if they aren't exactly "welcome" and it conflicts with the Church's teachings. Obviously this kid was going to be learning that his parents were committing abominable sin in the eyes of God and they figured, heh, it's worth it to improve his SAT scores and help his chance of getting into a top college! You have to appreciate that commitment.
I have no idea if they are catholic or not - we certainly know that there are homosexual catholics out there among the clergy and I wouldn't be surprised if there were homosexual catholic couples who want to send their child to catholic school for the Catholic part as well as the school part (again, that's religious compartmentalization for you!).
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on Mar 7, 2010 19:55:45 GMT -5
1. atheist agnostic (you can't prove a negative, but you can't "know" on faith... it's complicated)
2. Born Anglican, but fully weaned off religion in my early teens by Will Durant's History of Philosophy. 'Philosophy is religion for atheists' with the important distinction of not killing each other to reconcile fundamental disagreements.
3. In the U.S., Anglicans call themselves Episcopalians (Protestant, yet Catholic). They're much more liberal on homosexuality than Catholics and fully endorse equal protections. It's a good religion and I do share almost all their values, but I can't subscribe to all of it without feeling dishonest. I would take a religious label if they identified values. But often times I feel as if I'm reporting my chain of command, in which case I choose to remain a noncombatant and enjoy the free, amorphous thinking of individual philosophy. Though my ethics are grounded in life experience and upbringing, the metaphysical possibilities are endless.
I've actually attended Catholic school before. It's the only time in my life that I was physically bullied. Those New York Catholics are a rough crowd! I can only imagine what they would've done if I had lesbian parents. Oy... a two mamas' boy.
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Post by betahat on Mar 7, 2010 20:40:43 GMT -5
^LOL at two mammas' boy.
What if your mamma were a virgin who had never lied with a man? Just a thought...
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Post by i move the stars for no one on Mar 16, 2010 0:20:59 GMT -5
1. Which religion are you if any? i can't really claim a religion.i was baptized Catholic and all of my formal religious experience centers around the Roman Catholic Church.I believe in God,but there are a lot of things in Christianity i have trouble believing.there are so many pieces of truth in so many religions;i haven't found one that seemed to entirely click. 2. Why? Are your parents religious? My father was brought up extremely religiously,most of his family still is.My mom believes in God but not in religion and didn't grow up in a family that attended church.Dad insisted we be brought up Catholic but promptly stopped attending church altogether when we moved away from his family and our religious education went out the window. 3. How religious are you? How do you practice? as odd as it might sound,even though i'm skeptical aboutChristianity i find great comfort in Catholic rituals (attending Mass,saying the rosary,participating in Lent.)Even though many organized religions don't sit well with me the experience of ritual is something i find very special.I really don't think it's solely about dogma,hiding behind something that's familiar and paint by number,but about being able to use the tools of the ritual to focus the self,get into alpha state in anther parlance,in order to commune with the Divine.that probably sounds pretty flaky,but it's what works for me. if by 'how religious are you?' you mean how strictly do i follow the tenets of my chosen religion,that's a hard question.I have my own moral code,some of which jibes with Christiantiy/Catholicism and some of which doesn't. i pretty much go to great lengths to avoid discussing religion with anyone,especially extremists on either side. 4. Any personal views on religion? yours or others? useful? my personal views on religion are too long-winded for an EAN post . i've already written a novel^.religion can absolutely be useful,i saw the best of that working in a Catholic elementary school.it can also be harmful (the whole Spanish Inquisition thing.)in terms of other people's religions...um,cults are bad.
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Post by FreckleFoot on Mar 17, 2010 4:27:57 GMT -5
1. Which religion are you if any? None, though I would say I am somewhat spiritual. However, I don't accept everything that is spiritual. I consider everything and either accept or reject it based upon a number of things.
2. Why? Are your parents religious? I have always been attracted to more spiritual things and the 'unknown'. My father is not religious, but he had a few Buddha statues. My mother is Christian, but only to the point that my brother and I were christened and that she might say 'God bless' every now and then... We never prayed and we didn't even own a bible. We never went to church unless there were weddings, funerals or christenings of other relatives. I'm sure she only did and said those things because her mother did them and not because she actually believes in anything. So I suppose, in the end, they are atheists.
3. How religious are you? How do you practice? Not very. If someone outright says my beliefs are rubbish I might be a bit embarrassed, but I am not spiritual enough to get offended by it and will accept their opinion.
To practise I don't really feel I need to do anything in particular apart from believe. I do dowse from time to time and do the occasional card reading. I should take up meditation again.
4. Any personal views on religion? yours or others? useful? - I dislike it when people cannot accept the way you live your life because it doesn't agree with their religion. It's your life, not theirs. I live and let live with my spiritual beliefs. If my beliefs come up I will tell people a little, but I am never going to force it onto others.
- I don't think it is a good thing when a religious or spiritual person follows everything by the book instead of thinking for themselves, taking what they believe is appropriate and good and leaving what they believe is inappropriate and bad (e.g. killing those that don't believe).
- I like it when people can take a joke about their beliefs instead of getting offended. e.g. Plenty of religions can be made fun of and no one does a thing, but then there are some religions which, if poked fun at, some people will be going on a rampage.
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Post by bulaklak on Mar 20, 2010 19:25:50 GMT -5
1. Which religion are you if any? Catholic
2. Why? Are your parents religious? I was raised Catholic but we're a go to church only on Christmas and Easter type of family. My mother is Orthodox Christian but she's not too religious either or she would have insisted that the kids be raised orthodox.
3. How religious are you? How do you practice? I try to live and work in a moral and ethical way. I'm kind of failing at Lent this year...
4. Any personal views on religion? yours or others? useful? - I respect other people's religions and I like learning about other faiths. - I like how Orthodox Christian priests can get married and have families. I mean, if you're expected to counsel families and couples, how can you do that if you've never experienced married life? Apparently my great-great-w/e grandfather was an orthodox priest. if I'm also catholic is that a sin? haha - Catholic guilt, it never goes away. - I keep my religion and my science separate. - Marrying someone who is Catholic would be ideal but as long as I'm not asked to convert or anything I'd be open to inter-faith relationships. The tough part would be deciding on how to raise the kids.
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Post by Ganbare! on Mar 20, 2010 19:51:14 GMT -5
I'm surprised not a single Buddhist dared to manifest. Why do you think so few EAs believe in this faith? I've studied the main Islam-Christianism-Judaism-Atheism belief systems but never looked back since my eyes laid upon Buddhism.
Nonetheless my vision of religion might differ from yours since I'm looking for directions towards well-being and not really to take part in "cultural" religious practices nor to believe in a reassuring "greater being" like most people do.
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missa
New Member
One Eye Blind, and One All Seeing Eye
Posts: 20
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Post by missa on Mar 21, 2010 4:26:47 GMT -5
1. Hmmm... hard to say... but I guess I'm an agnostic. Although I have to put a religion on my ID, so I have Christianity on my ID. I thought I was an atheist but wasn't sure what to call myself, but after redefinitions from some ppl, it was decided that I lean more towards agnosticism. 2. Why? It's a little unnecessary for me (personally) to prove whether a God exists or not. It won't change life, and the supposed values a human should have. Should there be a God, I wouldn't call it a God, and I'm pretty sure it's not as simple and of human-thought concept as religions have put it. I wasn't born into it tho. I just don't think it's right for one to be focusing so heavily on religion (read: be fanatic) with simplistic human concepts and blindly do anything a rule book says, instead of finding the real essence of why religions emerged and why some people need it and some people don't before one actually decides to have a religion, and romantically blame or depend their lives on a Supreme Being like some sort of defense-mechanism. My Dad is Christian and is religious in a way, and my Mom is Moslem, but only on her ID. She's more like a spiritualistic person instead of religious. 3. I was never religious to start with, but I do have some interest on what would shape human minds to think and behave this way. How do I practice? I don't practice anything I guess, except good intentions, core values that can help ppl advance in civilization... 4. Personal views: - having or not having a religion is something u need to decide by yourself and it's a form of privacy, and i don't think it's right for one to not think about it first and be swayed by blind n romantic ideas (well, I gotta admit, it is romantic to know that there's someone out there always forgiving me if i asked when i've been bad, always look out for me and such) - religion itself to me is to help people live a good life. it's like a guideline to me. sometimes, it is more practical when a whole family adopts one religion or "belief" to share the same views, but it's not like everybody has to. we have different heads, we hv different thoughts, different hearts - religion as i know it is a completely human concept. it's a way to create some ground rules as for ppl to not kill each other for instance, (imagine if we can just kill one another at any impulse we have). for this reason, i do think some people need religion to guide them. - i respect other people's faith as long as it's not completely blind. but blind or not, i just don't interfere. hey, it's personal... - i think it's ridiculous that I have to choose one among 6 acknowledged religions(/beliefs) in my country to be put on my ID, altho it's a nice gesture when they asked it when i fill out the forms of some shop/club membership so that they can give me religious holidays' promotions n discounts or freebies (but i'd like to say, "hey, actually i just love celebrating anything that's good") - I'm with George Carlin on a lot views regarding religion. - should i enter a church, I go to a catholic one as I'm more familiar with it because of my education history. And I wouldn't call what I do as praying, but more of thinking in clarity and giving myself suggestiveness to do better. It's not meditation, I've always ended up falling asleep when trying to meditate (sometimes during yoga classes the instructor even gotta wake me up). I chose Catholic churches for its architecture and only when not a lot of ppl r there coz it can be so calm. additional: i went to an all-girls catholic school, and here it means good education, coz catholic schools here r famous for its strictness in giving education. u don't have to be catholic to enter, but u will have to be okay with following some catholic studies and prayers at the start n end of the school hours. i also go to a catholic university, and it's also strict, but minus the prayers, n we get to have a compulsory study on either religions in general or catholic (it's only one semester), u're obliged to do a religious study in any other schools or universities anyway, and u will be put to classes according to the religion u have. Personally, I don't like how having a lot of religions in the world have actually created conflicts all over the world in a bigger or smaller scale... but I like how a lot of religions mean a lot of holidays and celebrations.. hehe...
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