How much leeway does a person have in defining their religion?

Question

Is a Catholic who uses birth control still a Catholic?

Is a Jew who eats shellfish still a Jew?

Is a Muslim who never prays still a Muslim?

How much wiggle room do you think there is?

If you can justify it to yourself and feel that you are at peace with god over the issue, can you still consider yourself faithful?

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Bettie -- I *am* dressed. 'Twas just cut low in the back. : ) Boop boop de doop!

Answer 1

My sister-in-law doesn't believe that god exists. She doesn't believe in souls or an afterlife. Yet she insists she is a "Catholic" and had her children baptised.

I guess you can define yourself as anything you want.

I shall hereafter be known as Mrs. Brad Pitt.

Answer 2

i think that the examples you've given are not really very apt - because your examples are not the defining things about those religions. Being a faithful member of most religions is less about obeying religious laws (Judaism and Islam may be exceptions to that, but I'm not certain) than believing certain things and having gone through the relevant acceptance rituals of that religious body. I'm not going to bore everyone here with a discussion of every religion's relevant stuff, so here's just one.

In Roman Catholicism, for example, what are the things that define one as a Roman Catholic? Well, start with the Profession of Faith (the fundamental truths which every believer is required to know and to profess):

http://www.legionofmarytidewater.com/faith.htm

So, the first part is what you believe and avow that you believe. But is there more? Yep. The Sacraments:

http://www.catholic.com/library/sacraments.asp

OK, so to be a Roman Catholic, there are things you must believe, and profess to believe...and there are rituals that you must go through to be a part of the body of that church.

Then there are traditions and customs.

And I won't go into a discussion of that.


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Essentially, each religion is self-defining. And when members find that they cannot agree with the doctrines or practices of a specific religion, they tend to hive off and form new ones, which define themselves differently.


A person who believed only half of what Roman Catholics *must* believe and profess to believe ought not to continue to call him- or her-self a Roman Catholic. And even a person who has attended mass regularly for years, who has not been through the appropriate sacraments of inclusion (baptism or confirmation) ought not to call him- or her-self a Roman Catholic.

But a person who DOES believe and profess all that is required, and has been baptized or confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church can still be a Roman Catholic even while in an unconfessed state of "sin", or while not meeting the requirements of *some* of the sacraments, (going to mass on obligation days, for example).

(This is according to my understanding, and I may be wrong)

But, heck, I think we have an expert on RC here on Y!A, so perhaps we can get "Catholic2" to respond and either set me straight or expand on my answer.


In any case, for each religion there are defining beliefs and/or rituals of acceptance into the religion, and those aren't subject to much "wiggle room". There tends to be far more leeway about the "doingness" of a religion than in the "believingness"..

BTW, if you want to know what the defining requirements are for Islam, check here:

http://www.revertmuslims.com/shahada.htm

You'll notice that in Islam as well as Roman Catholicism, the most important defining characteristic is a profession of belief.

It might be better to ask this; if I don't use birth control, does that make me a Catholic? If I don't eat shellfish, does that make me Jewish? If I pray five times a day, does that make me a Muslim?

If the answers are "no", then those things aren't the defining characteristics of being a Catholic, a Jew, or a Muslim.

Answer 3

Sin is a part of everyones life and the life of a Christian is a life of repentance. Religion sometimes takes the things of God and isolates certain issues and compounds them making the rest of the truth hidden or obscure. The devil loves religion because it puts man in the control seat and pushes God aside and man is lost from the true meaning of faith. Practicing sin is where the problem lies. Those who know better and do not change are the ones who will suffer the consequences. God wants us to enjoy all His creation, but never put the creation before the creator.

Answer 4

Well I think it depends on how much you feel a church is a cornerstone to your faith. If you feel that God or something similiar is only found through the institution of your church/faith then I guess you would be violating it, but if you feel that your faith is personified in everyday life and that it isn't one thing that will make you lose faith or your place in the afterlife then I would say that you have as much leeway as you can justify to yourself. Not to say that I think murder can be stretched into being acceptable, but that I think that the little customs that go with each church/institution are different then having faith.

Answer 5

Religion is more than belonging to an organization started by people. There is 100% wiggle-room in all religion if you ask me.

The religious organizations of the world might have other ideas but who are they to say? They have so many traditions and beliefs that are counter-intuitive - some people are ok with this, as these organizations are a way to gather with other people of similar beliefs but some people need to go their own way.

Answer 6

Do healthy people need a doctor? We aren't perfect, but we can repent and strive to be better. Maybe someone who isn't praying or eating what they should or doing something that wrong isn't following the precepts of their religion as they should, but that's what makes us human. We might fall of the wagon, but God is there to help us back up and try again. Even if you stop trying you might still come back later, even if it's along a different path.

Answer 7

Seeing as though we are all considered sinners, there Is plenty of room to be off center. Religion is just a word. It means something done regularly. OCD if you will. To some it is natural to others it takes repetition to make it a habit. It takes about 7 days to form a habit and about 7 days to break one. The answer to your question is yes. They are still what they claim to be until they renounce what they claim to be.

Answer 8

There are many questions here. If you truly are trusting your direction to an organization, then you ARE following their guidance. If you choose not to follow the direction of "Your" leaders, you are repudiating them as leaders. . Many (maybe most) people have not been taught how to think, they don't think their choices through,and the position they think they take is inconsistent with itself. Many people can hold mutually exclusive or contradictory "facts" as true at the same time. It does not make the "facts" true, or the people "faithful". It is not important if I can "justify" myself. (Actually, I can't) The question is,: "Does the Almighty Justify me?"

Answer 9

If you are merely religious then no, because the definition of religion is the required action, the piety you do to get in good with your diety.
So no. No wiggle room. What is required is what is required. Then it's not religion.
Now faith on the other hand, is in your soal, not your works or your "religion".

Answer 10

some religions are more stricter than others. a catholic person can miss church for a year and still be catholic. a jehovah's witness cannot miss church for a whole year. they go to meetings like 4 times a week.