Is there a "religion" out there that doesn't worship a god?

Question

I know what I believe - and its not in God or Devil, heaven or hell. I don't need the threat of hell or the promise of a reward in heaven to be the good person that I am with good morals. I give humanity credit for evolving to this point and believe we can evolve further. Where can I find like-minded people?

PS I don't want to hear a bunch of preaching crap - it'll fall on deaf ears and you're just wasting your time.

Answer 1

Yes, Buddhism. Buddha never explained our origin and Buddhism does not deny or confirm the existance of God. Buddha was a regular human beings that gave some advice on how to live a happier existance and, eventually, stop reincarnating. It does not request blind faith from its believer but self testing and promotes inner knowledge.

Answer 2

"Religion" would require a certain amount of ritual, and quite possibly dogma, so I may have counted myself out before I even begin.
I'm an animist. I have no "God" figure. I never felt the need for one. Personally, the closest I would come to it would be my loose fraternal relationship with the Sun. The Sun is my brother, sometimes, when I am troubled, I talk to him.
I acknowledge and hold respect for the spirits of my ancestors, and I recognise that the world around me is 'alive'. Everything has a 'spirit', an energy. Mana, for want of a better word.
This is such a bad format for the exchange of ideas. Somehow I struggle to put into words 'greater' concepts.
I'm sorry. I feel like I'm only painting half the picture.
I don't buy into the whole "You're born bad and are doomed to suffer" idea, it just doesn't appeal.
In honesty, I think it's stupid, and destructive. It holds people back from reaching their full potential. It stops them from living.
That's my opinion. It seems to work for some people. Good luck to them.
Me, I'm happy the way I am. I have a fairly simple, and straightforward, in my eyes, view of the world around me, and the Universe beyond that.
Why not bring up the thorny issue of morality, while I'm about it. I am, I would think, as moral and decent a person as anyone else you might meet. To me, again, my opinion, morality and religion are about as closely linked as chalk and cheese. Certainly, my morality and my spiritual beliefs intertwine, but then, my spirituality is a part of my daily life, like breathing. Effortless, most of the time, not even noticed.
I don't feel the need for ritual that some people do.
I have my 'connection', my security blanket, if you like. I feel okay with who I am and where I'm going.
From what you've said, I hope that you too find that place where you are comfortable within your own skin.
I hope that didn't sound too much like preaching crap. I know there's a fine line between trying to express an idea and having it come across like a runaway bulldozer...
Good luck in your search.

Answer 3

Try a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

http://www.uua.org/aboutus/findcongregation/index.php


EDIT: to Sentinel, the first definition of RELIGION in Dictionary.com says:

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Note that is says "especially" in regards to creation by a superhuman agency, which means "not exclusively". So, any philosophical framework that deals with the purpose or nature of our lives and a moral code to live by can be considered a relgion whether or not it entails belief in a superhuman God.

Answer 4

Buddhism, Taoism, some branches of Neopaganism. Some Wiccans don't literally worship the God and Goddess either, but see them as symbolic archetypes. Satanism. Or you could just be an atheist. There are a lot of options.

Answer 5

Secular Humanism....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism#Tenets

Answer 6

In the Native culture, Siksika Blackfoot I will not speak for all, we have no threat or reward system in our spiritual beliefs. And we do give praise but not just to the Great Spirit but to the Earth, Moon, Sun, wind, Rain, and even the animals who give their life to nourish our bodies. I do not feel as if we Worship any being but we are appreciative to all things that aid in our existence.
I hope that you find what you are looking for!

Answer 7

Some areas of science. (not all)

We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. - Richard Lewontin, Biologist, The New York Review, 1/1997

Answer 8

Yes, evolution is a religion, a secular religion. It takes a great deal of faith to believe that the Earth is "millions of years old", and it takes a great deal of faith to believe that the dog and the cat had a common ancestor, especially when modern science disproves both of these speculations. Not to mention, evolutionists are extremely dogmatic and won't accept any scientific evidence that refutes their beliefs.

Answer 9

God is the author. it might want to be stupid of me to placed myself at His factor. i'm no longer certain how previous you're? i do not mean that ironically. even as i grow to be a baby I grew up Catholic. i extremely idea i might want to die a martyr in the previous i might want to committed sins I did as a teen and youthful human being. I swayed far off from church and wasn't to precise about Jesus because of how I said diverse Christians treating one yet another of diverse denominations. fortuitously He drew me back. i'm embarassed to admit that even after that, and attempting to be a good looking good Christian I nevertheless did some issues, that others might want to no longer imagine are so undesirable, yet I did. i grow to be mortified, and disillusioned that I did something that grow to be to me decrease then a intensity I ever dreamed i might want to sink. yet this delivered me deeper right into a courting with God. The more advantageous you keep your eyes on Him, and rancid your self the more advantageous exhilaration, peace, love, and adulthood you may have. All this so i can inform you why i believe each and each and every of the delight might want to flow to God above, we are no longer even able to deserving it. I truly desire this enables you comprehend, i desire this some how attracts you right into a loving courting with your heavenly Father.

Answer 10

Science could be considered a "religion" of sorts. If you believe in heaven or an afterlife, then I don't think you'll find one that doesn't have a "god". You could try Scientology, but I wouldn't recommend it.