What is your religion based on? What are the values and restictions?

Question

I have my own religion but I was just curious as to what other religions are based on? Who do you worship? Do you tithe or partake of a sacrament? Do woman and men hold high callings in the church and are they paid? What rules do your church have as far as values and what you can't participate in, ( menonites wear buns and dresses, penacostal woman don't cut their hair, Catholics what's the reason behind Mary statues not Jesus?) This is in no way shape or form meant to cut or degrade any religion. This is a question of my personal interest. Things are very important to certain religions and I would like to find out why. What is the significance behind it? Is it in the bible and where, or does your religion have other books you use also?

Please donot use the phrase umlike other religions. Just specify the above as to what goes on in your religion.

Please specify what religion you are also. If anyone is jehovas witness what's the resoning behind no windows in your churches?

Answer 1

I am Wiccan. We are an Earth based religion which means we are mostly concerned with taking care of and working with the Earth. That is our first and foremost concern. We have a rede (law) that states, "An in it harm none, do as thou wilst" which is basically saying that you may do anything you want as long as you are not harming anyone, that includes yourself. Now some would say that gives free to doing unspeakable things but not really when you think of it. Stealing harms the person the item belongs to, etc..

To say we worship is not exactly correct. We believe in the sum of all male and female energy as the God and the Goddess. And we honor them and work with them to better the world around us. We consider the Earth akin to the Goddess for she is the mother of us all. And we consider the Sun akin to the God for without Him we couldn't exist as well.

We celebrate 8 Sabats or special days in the year, 2 being the Solstices and 2 being the Equinoxes, the other 4 are the days that are directly bisecting those days. These are collective called the Wheel of the Year. We also honor the Moon as a part of the Goddess and all 13 Full moons are called Esbats.

There is no central Wiccan church so there is no one person in charge. Some of us work with others, this is called a circle or a coven. Others prefer to work alone and are called Solitaires. We generally don't tithe but a lot of us do charity for organisations dealing with saving the Earth or also rescuing animals.

There are actually several divisions of Wicca based on slight differences of opinion of how and what to do.

Both women and men can hold high callings, except for the Dianatic Wiccans which is mostly female only. There usually isn't a dress code to follow, although Gardnerians do practice their rites skyclad (in the nude).

In addition to this we honor the four physical elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. We also honor Spirit. These five elements make up the five points of the star within the Pentagram that is our symbol. The circle around the star symbolises the Everything.

As far as other values, we don't actively recruit others to our faith. If someone is interested they will be given information but we don't go about looking for new followers. We also believe that all religions are valid for the follower so we try not to speak ill of others faiths. We like to examine the faiths of old for that is the best way to judge where we are going. We see all Gods and Goddesses as a part of the whole so if we are in need of a particular energy for our lives we feel free to envoke their name in ritual.

One of our bigger believes is in Magick (purposely spelled with a 'k' at the end to differenciate it from stage magic) We believe that all of us have the power to change our world around us through positive thought and creative visualization. Our Magick is just that, there is no flash of light or loud bang or even smoke, just focusing ourselves on our goal. This means that we have the power for change not a Divine entity but this also means that we are ultimately responsible for our actions.

I hope this gives you the information you requested. There are tons of sources about our faith as we have no ONE book. If you would like more information feel free to check out www.witchvox.com or you may want to read "The Truth About Witchcraft Today" by Scott Cunningham or you can email me and I will try to answer any other questions that you have.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 2

The goal of Judaism is to work together with God to finish His creation and to bring peace on earth. If you've read the Torah (Old Testament), you will have noticed that God addresses His chosen people as "Israel." Judaism is a community-based religion, e.g. there is more emphasis on the group rather than the individual.

As far as traditions and rituals, I'm sure you already know about many, i.e. dietary restrictions. However, you may not know how many Jews actually practice them.

There are many different Orthodox "denominations" that are observant of all the dietary laws (forbidden foods and methods of preparation), of the sabbath, and of more than 200 of God's 613 commandments. Services are in Hebrew. The mikveh (ritual bath for purity) is used often.

Not all Conservative Jews are kosher (dietary laws), observe the sabbath and commandments, but many are. Services are mostly in Hebrew. The mikveh is used occasionally.

A few Reform Jews are kosher, observe the sabbath, and most of the commandments, but most do not. Services are in both Hebrew and the language of the congregation. The mikveh is seldom used except for conversion. Some "classic" Reform services are very similar to church services, but most congregations are moving back toward the Orthodox practice.

http://www.jewfaq.org/toc.htm

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Answer 3

My religion is based on the Bible. Yes, we wrship. Yes we tithe. Anyone can partake in the sacrament that accepts Jesus as thier savior and repents of sins, Pastor hold high calling as a pastor, values are what God allows as in the Bible, we can come as we are as far as dress. Our religion is the book that is the Bible.

Answer 4

Dont believe in religion. Just a relationship with Jesus Christ. The only rule is that I believe He came to pay for my sins and that I repent of those sins. My life has never been the same since.

Answer 5

Unlike other religions that are centered around their founder or region (i.e. HINDUism, CHRISTianity, JUDaism, etc..), my religion is Islam, which means "at peace" or "submission". Its called submission because a Muslim submits his/herself to God to live according to his rules to get closer to God and to hopefully one day achieve the ultimate closeness -- heaven.

Salam to you all!

Answer 6

i don't have one, based on common sense and the ability to think for myself.

Answer 7

God................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Allah