How strong is your faith? Please participate in survey?

Question

1)What is your religious affiliation?

2)How long have you had this affiliation?

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times?

4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions?

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God?

6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts?

7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these?

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which?

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom?

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain.

11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith?

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates
b.you enjoy ridiculing others
c other (state reason)

Answer 1

1)What is your religious affiliation?
Jehovah's Witness
2)How long have you had this affiliation?
14 years
3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times?
Yes, twice
4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions?
My personal study of the Bible and comparing what I learned from it with what I was being taught.
5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God?
Yes, absolutely.
6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts?
When I was younger, there were times when I doubted God's existance because of personal anguish and tragedy's in my life and the lives of others.
7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these?
I was very thorough in comparing what this religion taught and what the Bible said before I joined. I studied for 8 full years until I was fully convinced of the truth of it. I have never doubted it since.
8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which?
The Holy Bible
9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom?
I think many books have value--including some secular books.
10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain.
I made a complete turn around in the way I was living my life as I studied the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. It was the best thing I could ever have done. Funny thing, though, even people who did not approve of the way I used to be, did not want me to continue to study. I had never experienced prejudice to such an extreme degree.
11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith?
Romans 10:13, 14
12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates
b.you enjoy ridiculing others
c other (state reason)
c--I am happier than I have ever been and I have a secure hope for the future. My conscience is clean and I have a good relationship with my God. I would love to share that with anyone you is unhappy, in despair, troubled, or without God. I truly hope I can help someone.

Answer 2

How strong is your faith? Please participate in survey?
1)What is your religious affiliation? Catholic CHRISTIAN

2)How long have you had this affiliation? 1 year

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times? Yes, 2 times

4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions?
I am a very devoted person. When i want to know something about something i research it alot. I changed because the catholic religion was where i felt safe and comfortable. I felt good when i went to church. NOt like i had to and it was a burden like the other religions made me personaly feel.

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God? Absolutly without a doubt.

6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts?
when i was younger i was abused and had many bad thing happen to me i doubted then but now relize that since i have become a more faithful christian god has blessed me with more beautiful things.
7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these?
absolutly not

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which? The bible

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom? sure if you want to believe that fine.

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain.
It has made me a better person.
11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith? Absolutly.

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates
b.you enjoy ridiculing others
c other (state reason)

I would like to help the people who actually want to have an informed answer to there roman catholic questions.

Answer 3

1)What is your religious affiliation? None

2)How long have you had this affiliation?N/A

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times? N/A

4) If no have you ever investigated other religions? Yes.

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? Yes.

6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? No.

7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these? N/A.

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? Not only the holy book. If so which? Buddist teachings, meditations, dreams, experience.

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom? Yes.

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain. Yes. My faith in God has nothing to do with religious affiliation. I believe b/c of my open minded policy I see the truth better than any religious people affiliated with single book. Everything starts with belief. What cannot be proven by science can be propelled with the act of faith. Faith produces astonishing results.

11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith? No. But I feel whatever little and precious knowledge I have should be shared by those who seek. It is by giving that one would receive. It is by giving his life one will receive new life.

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates
b.you enjoy ridiculing others
c other (state reason)

c. I look at R&S a unique venue to learn other faiths as well as share mine to those who are ready to listen.

Answer 4

1)What is your religious affiliation?
Not a religious affiliation (atheist).

2)How long have you had this affiliation?
Several months

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times?
From Catholicism to Secular Humanism to Atheism

4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions?
Process of questioning early childhood indoctrination and examining own thoughts and feelings re: religion. Over the years, I have investigated Wicca, Paganism, Voodoo, Satanism, Judaism, and Islam.

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God?

No. God is imaginary.

6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts?

Yes. Common sense.

7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these?

Although it is not a religion, I have never doubted atheism, because it is not based on belief.

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which?

My atheism is not based upon any books.

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom?

I don't believe that is possible for an inanimate object to be "holy", nor that "holiness" is even possible.

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain.

My lack of faith has improved the quality of my life considerably. I am happier, I find it easier to cope with the more difficult realities of my life and accept my eventual death. I feel free of being "watched", free of being "judged", free of the feeling that I have some pseudo-father in the sky, some cosmic source of approval or disapproval. I have also, in rejecting religion, removed my Catholick mother's hands from around my neck. She had it in quite the stranglehold, and she was, like her god, cruel and capricious.

11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith?
I feel the need to show other people that being an atheist does not mean that life is hopeless, or that Satan controls your life, or that you are some kind of science-bot who can't think outside the confines of a lab. Yes, many of us are very well-educated, and we do have something to offer the other human beings with whom we share this world.

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates
b.you enjoy ridiculing others
c other (state reason)

I enjoy debates, I enjoy seeing my 360 friends, sometimes making fun of others, sometimes not. It depends on the question, and to a lesser extent, my mood.

Answer 5

1)What is your religious affiliation? Asatru.

2)How long have you had this affiliation? Some years now.

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times? Yes. A few times in the past when I was searching.

4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions? My past religions felt alien to my soul and didn’t make sense to me. I have investigated many other religions. There are a few I admire.

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God? No. I believe in a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses.

6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts? No, not my Gods.

7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these? No, not with my current faith.

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which? No, it’s not based upon a book per se. There are written sources which are useful to us because they contain much of our sacred lore in the form of myths and examples of right conduct, but we do not accept them as infallible or inspired documents. Our holy books are the Poetic Edda and the Sagas.

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom? Yes I do. Like I said there are some other religions I do admire.

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain. For the better. It gives me strength in daily life, it gives me hope that there are actually Gods that care, and that stand with you if times are hard.

11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith? No! I would never do that.

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
For fun and to answer questions.

Answer 6

1)What is your religious affiliation? I am a Pagan / Witch

2)How long have you had this affiliation? For over 14 years

3)Have you ever changed religions? If so how many times?
yes i was raised Catholic and i am now a Pagan. So only Once.

4)If your answer was yes to the above question, what prompted you to change? If no have you ever investigated other religions?
I changed Religion because The Church didnt give me the answers to my gifts, only that i was wrong or i have an over imagination. I found my gifts in other areas of the world and found finally i am a spirital being, and Paganism gave me what i was looking for.

5)Do you beleive in an almighty God? If no what is your concept of God?
No i dont belive in One God.

The Goddess and God, or Lord and Lady.
You have the God is the god of Hunt or the Pan.
You also have the trinity aspect of the Goddess,
This also connects in Moon phases, waxing crescent, full moon, waning crescent with the maiden, mother, crone..

There is also connections with Seasons.
The God also Rules the Summer seasons the lord of light, The god of the hunt,
As the Goddess Rules the Winter seasons, The darker side of the year, storing food and warmth, nurtering..


6)Have you ever had doubts about the existence of God? If so what prompted these doubts?
Wonce i found my connecting with my Goddess and God i have no doubts, in what i have seen and experienced.

7)Have you ever had doubts about your religion? What prompted these? I have had doubts in myself but only because of the unknown scares people, and it is true. Once you know there is only strenght.

8)Is your faith based upon any holy book(s)? If so which?
Its a basic as life itself, as each cycle of the year turns so dose it refresh with each season the joys of life and death and rebirth.

9)Do you beleive that holy books other than the one your faith is
based upon have ANY value such as intrinsic truths, historic value or wisdom?
Inner truth to yourself comes with wisdom and grows. No book is needed only to know your self.

10)Has your faith affected your life for better or for worse. Please explain.
Life has moved forward instead of stagenet and on a damaging evil path. i say evil because it was against the law and what is right. I moved to a place where i know i can be good and caring and loving not only to others but to myself without shame. Some might feel the need to put me down for my beliefs, but thats just the fear of unknowing.

11)Do you feel the need to proselytize your faith?
NO if they want to learn, they are welcome, but i dont feel the need to push it on to anyone.

12)If you regularly visit the R&S forum, you do so because
a.You enjoy debates - i dont mind debates but i prefer to clear up mis conceptions.
b.you enjoy ridiculing others No
c other (state reason) I prefer to give a clear and clean understanding, maybe not everything in life is black and white and i feel i try and reasure others that its ok to think like that.

BB. ALD

Answer 7

1. Pagan
2. Ten years
3. Yes, about five times.
4. Bitterness over things being said in the Assemblies of God church I grew up with, then wanting to just not be bothered with spiritual stuff, then discovering Wicca, then deciding I wanted older things than Wicca.
5. I believe in multiple creative Gods and Goddesses.
6. Yes, sometimes. When I see bad things, or things in nature that don't make sense.
7. Yes (see above)
8. No, it's based in nature and practice.
9. I believe they have literary and historical value.
10. Basically for better. I'm too tired for an essay, sorry.
11. No. It's not a part of the Pagan faith. I don't care if nobody else ever becomes Pagan, just as long as I can stay that way.
12. a & c. I also like learning about other religions.

Answer 8

1) I am an atheist.

2) About three years.

3) Yes. I used to be a devout Baptist.

4) Long hours of inner debate and questioning.

5) No.

6) Of course. I began to doubt after discovering the theory of evolution for the first time. It was naturally a small step from there to atheism.

8) No.

9) I believe that no Holy book offers an wisdom or worthwhile insight that cannot be gained from logic and rational thinking.

10) My LACK of faith has most certainly improved my life.

11) I do not expect to ever turn anyone to atheism. But I hope to at least help rid the world of fundamentalist religious beliefs.

12) a.

Answer 9

1) None
2) About ten years
3) Once. I was raised Roman Catholic and became secular.
4) There was no one particular event. It was a journey of reason and self-education that took place over many years.
5) No
6) Yes. Many things: the lack of evidence, the absurdity of certain religious texts, an understanding of human psychology and the will to believe, the contradictory nature of most concepts of G/god(s), etc.
7) Obviously. If you don't truly doubt your faith on a daily basis, you're living a lie. All beliefs should be held up to personal scrutiny constantly. If those beliefs survive that scrutiny, it strengthens our faith. If they do not, they weren't true to begin with.
8) No
9) Yes. All scriptures have intrinsic value. If nothing else, they give us insight into the mindset of those who wrote them and those who follow them.
10) Definitely for the better. I am definitely less prejudiced, judgemental, and self-righteous than I was when I was a believer. I also have a much greater respect for knowledge and a deeper desire to help others.
11) No. If others ask, I'm willing to share, but I feel no need to advertise.
12) c. Although I don't personally believe, I find the beliefs of others to be very interesting. I've also acquired a fairly thorough knowledge of religious topics, and enjoy answering sincere questions.

Answer 10

1) Wiccan.
2) 11 1/2 years.
3) Yes, once.
4) The religion I was born into was slowing eating my soul.
5) That depends on whose "almighty god" you are talking about.
6) The Christian God, yes. I don't know much about the others.
7) No.
8) No.
9) Yes.
10) Infinitely better.
11) NO!
12) a and c-I have just as much right to answer as anyone else.