Do you practice a religion that is not mainstream?

Question

Raise your hands - tell us why you chose that faith and how you practice it. Let us know something interesting about that faith.

Answer 1

Yep! I'm a pagan and a Taoist.

I'm a student of Taoism because it describes best my spiritual philosophy, and in looking at it closer I've discovered new wisdoms to try.

As a pagan I celebrate pagan holidays and find meaning in pagan symbols. It makes a very deep kind of psychological sense to celebrate holidays throughout the year by celebrating the corresponding phase of the life cycle. It reinforces cyclical thinking and has a sublime harmony to it.

I don't worship pagan deities, because I see them as symbols and not actually real, but even still, the archetypes they represent are very powerful.

And the symbols that are used in celebrations and in spells also make a lot sense to me. The emphasis is on invoking an energy you want to make use of, but also to keep energy balanced and controlled and focused.

Answer 2

Pagan.
I didn't chose my faith, it sort of chose me. As far as practicing, I do what I feel like doing. I am sort of a free spirit I guess LOL I celebreate the usual holidays and have a few covens I do spell work with sometimes. I find comfort in knowing the divine's are in everything around me. The balance that comes with the faith. It just makes sense to me.

Answer 3

I occasionaly do shamanic counselling, something called soul retrieval. It comes from Native American shamanism where there is a belief that people can lose a part of their soul (that is, their energy essence) due to shock, sadness, stress, etc. That leaves a gaping hole inside the person that he or she is unable to fill with anything. Alcohol and drug abuse, abusive relationships, lingering depressions are all indicators of soul loss. This can be corrected by a soul retrieval ceremony, administered by a trained practicioner. And it really works. I've had the privilege to witness it again and again. As shamanism is an animist world-view (that is, we believe that everything in the Nature is animated), we never work alone but depend on the assistance of nature spirits. We also give thanks to the forces that help us to help others. That can take the form of dancing, singing, or a ceremony of offering.

Answer 4

I practice a type of Paganism called Daemonolatry. I chose my faith after exploring a wide variety of religions because it made the most sense to me and it resonates with me. In my religion we view deities as a collection of divine intelligences associated with a natural force. Each one is unique, but also part of the whole, or highest deity. The highest deity is known by many names to people in my religion. I'm somewhat eclectic in that I work across numerous pantheons of ancient deities. Not all Daemonolators are like that.

Answer 5

No,
But many people feel that atheism IS a religion. Atheism is a religion like bald is a hair color.

What I think people should know about atheist is that many of us spent time in the study of religion, and we still reject it. Many of us examined the REASONS people have faith, and found the whole concept of *faith* illogical.

We didn't become atheist as a reaction to Christianity. We don't hate god (since he doesn't exist, no reason to hate it). We can be moral, happy, well adjusted people without faith of any kind. We find meaning in living life, not devotion to a fantasy.

Answer 6

I am gnostic. Not much practicing to it. Here is some information on Gnosticism: Link below.

Gnosticism asserts that "direct, personal and absolute knowledge of the authentic truths of existence is accessible to human beings," and that the attainment of such knowledge is the supreme achievement of human life. Gnosis is not a rational, propositional, logical understanding, but a knowing acquired by experience. The Gnostics were not much interested in dogma or coherent, rational theology -- a fact that makes the study of Gnosticism particularly difficult for individuals with "bookkeeper mentalities. One simply cannot cipher up Gnosticism into syllogistic dogmatic affirmations. The Gnostics cherished the ongoing force of divine revelation--Gnosis was the creative experience of revelation, a rushing progression of understanding, and not a static creed. Carl Gustav Jung, the great Swiss psychologist and a life-long student of Gnosticism in its various historical permutations, affirms,

…We find in Gnosticism what was lacking in the centuries that followed: a belief in the efficacy of individual revelation and individual knowledge. This belief was rooted in the proud feeling of man's affinity with the gods....

Answer 7

I am a Christian. The Bible is my only rule of faith. So I take the Bible literal from front to back. The part that is symbolic is also literally symbolic. For instance take the Book or Revelation. The very beginning is physically literal but when John is in the Spirit, it is symbolical literal. The,

SO CALLED,

Great Tribulation only applied to the Jews living when Jesus walked this earth, and happened in the year 70. There is nothing really interesting about Christianity so to speak.

Answer 8

I'm Pagan, following a Celtic path.

Um..

I haven't slept in 4 days and had to go to the ER last night so my brain is currently not able to come up with an interesting fact other than the fact that Paganisim is older than Christianity.

Answer 9

Yes and No.

Since religions are Belief systems, and I have my own Belief system (I call it Ego!), I would have to answer "Yes" to your question.

Since we ALL have Ego, I would have to consider that to be a mainstream practice, and would answer "No" to your question.

I am in the process of gaining True Knowledge; since I think Self-Knowledge is Spirituality, I am learning to Live what I Know (Spirituality) and give up Living what I Believe (Ego). It's a process I would recommend to everyone.

Answer 10

I am a spiritualist with Buddhist and Christian influences. I communicate with my spirit guide and also use herbs, oils, crystals, flower essences and meditation on a daily basis. I live like a Buddhist monk with my personal habits.

Well having a spirit guide answer your questions saves a lot of time and bother!