Are you religious?

[whatsinaname]

I was talking to someone the other day and the topic of religion came up. I usually avoid discussion of religion or politics but it was unavoidable here. This person seemed to imply that she doesn't trust anyone who is not religious (any religion). I don't tend to judge others based on their religion/lack of it, so I did find this rather surprising. What are your views. Are you religious and is it a large part of your life? Is it a habitual/cultural thing or have you thought about it a lot? If you are , do you tend to look upon anyone who declares that they are non-religious with some suspicion?

In case the poll choices are not clear (I am using these words in a broad sense, being pedantic about their definitions is not allowed).

Theist - believer
Athiest - non-believer
Agnostic Theist - believer but also believes that the existence of a deity cannot be determinedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism
Agnostic Atheism - non-believer but thinks the non-existence of a deity cannot be determined.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

PS1: We are all adults here (I hope), so please keep it civil.
PS2: The questions is not about one religion vs another but about being religious in general.
PS3: Votes will not be displayed publicly.

 

[aquaticbullet]

My relation with God is on and off. Sometimes I do pray sometimes i dont, but I DO believe in God whole heartedly.

This person seemed to imply that she doesn't trust anyone who is not religious (any religion).

But for the quoted part I really differ. What matters is the person's heart. Even if a person does not follow certain religion but bores a good heart I would like to be associated with him rather than some pujari who chants hymns all day but is malignant at core.

I sometimes think that humans created the Gods to fall back on him once everything fails. Its just a unique way of finding nirvana.

 

[mathrisk]

"most people are scared of God instead of loving God" - from Oh My God movie.

I too believe in some concept of God, and I do pray to "some" God regularly - everyday for almost last 17/18 years (almost without fail - our school head master made that a habit by forcing us to pray for 20/30 sec everyday in the morning assembly after the school prayer. Well, habit remained - time changed to night).
But I don't want to be branded as religious. And as I think about it now, I do not exactly belong any of the four groups.

And I am not scared of God. I know God do not exist and I still do pray. Because I cherish the concept of it.

 

[raksrules]

One if chooses should follow any religion or have faith in any god but should not go and preach religion to others. In most cases such things take a ugly turn where everyone wants to have supremacy.

 

[dinjo]

I'm not really sure but in my childhood i was raised i was told that God existed and he always looks after us.When i started growing up i saw people used to praise god whenever temple come in there path , I used to do it for sometime where there was a temple while travelling but later i realized why I'm i doing it I don't get any satisfaction or i don't seems to have belief in it so why should i continue doing it.I was a non-veg when i used to follow that path but i realize that i would rather do better things in world than just believing in god rather doing things which are rationally correct I turned into complete vegetarian [ though i know some people who are customized religious person i.e they eat non-veg only on some days ]. Also came to know who follow this type of path are quite argumentative nature and are very difficult to satisfy in what they want. I don't go to any temples , don't eat any prasad , don't eat anything just because its from Shirdi.

Just feel that people do things which are rationally correct and till the time you keep doing those things I don't think we need a God.

 

[Raghav_K]

I believe in a supreme power, to whom I can offload all my fears and troubles.

 

[adaneam]

I believe in God/Karma but I don't believe in man made/book based religions.

 

[TEUser2K1]

Agnostic Thiest. "We need to create a God if there is none". For me, good religions and God enables sustenance of humanity /morality in society.

 

[blkrb0t]

 

[max_demon]

Agnostic Thiest. "We need to create a God if there is none". For me, good religions and God enables sustenance of humanity /morality in society.

People don't need god to do good.

 

[blkrb0t]

People don't need god to do good.

Right, but otherwise good people need god to do bad things.

 

[TEUser2K1]

Was Atheist earlier. But dealing with my son and some life's hard learned lessons required me to be a Agnostic Theist. Stories keep younger minds interested, you know...

 

[Rico]

Not Religious but Spiritual.

I Beleive in God , but somethings/manything heart do not accept the what "religious people" say or do.
Nothing is more poluted than a religion.
Religon is big bussiness people make living / lot of money in the name of it.

I try to cut the crap, BS and like to have a one to one relation with the almighty.

P.S- This what I beleive in. Might not apply to you.

 

[sharktale1212]

Frankly, the question (at a more deeper level) should be - what exactly is a religion? I believe in ancient times people needed ways to identify themselves which they did via various means like
names - people used to have places they belong to and fathers name included in their elongated names
cast - which was broad way to identify people's occupation
and
religion - a way to express their identity and way of life.
With time, the rule - if it is old, it must be correct took hold. And it gave rise to the religion as we know it. So now it is about whether I believe or not ..and about God.

Whether I believe I am religious? I am not sure cause for me religion is about a way of life not about believing/non believing or God.

 

[booo]

confused between the options.

 

[haris5sani]

confused between the options.

hahaha.......me too !!
For the sake of saying and pretending, I am Thiest !!
But personally from inside always knew that Religion is made for Human, not the other way round.

Hard core thiests, always pose God's intention for any phenomenon:
Like you didn't get job coz u r not praying, u got the job becoz god is with you,
Start praying completely not preparing interviews, then God helps only those who help themselves.
People always follow God in 2 ways: either in scaring way or in some profit(punya/neki/apna kaam).

Coming back to OMG dialogue, Jahaan Sach hai wahaan Dharam ki zarurat nahi !!
Follow your heart and mind in balanced way

 

[Saiyan]

I believe in god and highly religious. I believe if Shiva and Vishnu exists then Jesus and Allah exists too and I strongly believe in Karma. I am not superstitious and i don't go about preaching my views to others and i bloody hate the same if someone does that to me including those from my religion. P.S. My gf is a free thinker and we both don't have any problem.

 

[blkrb0t]

Needs one more option, Anti-theist.

The belief in god might be just a personal affair for many, but it permeates the social fabric and makes life hell for many, even other theists.

No one asks the question: do you believe in Unicorns, Dragons or Fairies? But somehow, the idea that God must be given more importance than those other fantasy beings is ridiculous.

 

[whatsinaname]

Agnostic Thiest. "We need to create a God if there is none". For me, good religions and God enables sustenance of humanity /morality in society.

Have you read/seen Life of Pi? It has an interesting take on this. While not talking about how belief effects others, it does put forward a reason as to why one may choose to believe.

Needs one more option, Anti-theist.

The belief in god might be just a personal affair for many, but it permeates the social fabric and makes life hell for many, even other theists.

No one asks the question: do you believe in Unicorns, Dragons or Fairies? But somehow, the idea that God must be given more importance than those other fantasy beings is ridiculous.

I think that the 'make life hell for others' people will continue to do so even outside a society which is built around religion/God. While we should definitely try to minimise the effect of religion outside a person's personal space, I don't think I will support antitheism.

 

[blr_p]

Was a bit surprised to see this topic and wanted to avoid it however your opener is inviting.

This person seemed to imply that she doesn't trust anyone who is not religious (any religion). I don't tend to judge others based on their religion/lack of it, so I did find this rather surprising.

Why? this is the basic mindset of the bulk of people in India. if one shows that they are religious it means they can be trusted. And the converse applies. This is something we ain't going to do away with for a long time. Its a business asset. Displaying religious symbols in the business place is good for business in India.

If you are , do you tend to look upon anyone who declares that they are non-religious with some suspicion?

I tend to look upon religious or at least those that make a point to display their religiosity with scepticism. These people can commit the worst crimes and seek solace, whereas those that do not have this get-out-of-jail card only have karma to deal with. Karma can be a real b**ch.

Theist - believer
Athiest - non-believer
Agnostic Theist - believer but also believes that the existence of a deity cannot be determinedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism
Agnostic Atheism - non-believer but thinks the non-existence of a deity cannot be determined.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

The religious cannot prove to a legal standard that god exists.
The atheisist is in an even weaker position than the religious because he wants to prove a negative. You NEVER want to have to prove a negative.
The agnostic sits on the fence and lets the former two duke it out.

Either you believe in no god or any god, this position non-intuitive as it seems is actually quite logical. I find it very empowering in the tech world where we have to deal with various gods on a regular basis and their fanatically dogmatic adherents.

Why spar with just one opponent when you can handle all of them