Religion - what is your view?

Question

How do you feel about religion?

[Looking for answers that deal with personal view on religion as a whole, discussing how their religion works, and if they have no religion, what is their beliefs, etc.]

I don't appreciate religious-bashing, so please refrain from making inappropriate answers.

Whoa. It's good to see all these answers pouring in so fast. Thanks, everyone, for sharing your views. I'll keep this question up for another hour or so.

Answer 1

I consider myself to be a very spiritual person. I didn't get that way overnight...it took a lifetime of searching, taking in knowledge of all different kinds of religious and philosophical points of view. However, the faith I have now is unshakable. The way that I found it was my own individual journey. I took in knowledge of other religions, and formulated my own beliefs. When I was a child, I was baptized a protestant lutheran...I followed what people told me to follow. I think you call that "blind faith." But it didn't work out so well as I got older. I started to question things I didn't understand, and the answers I got back really didn't feel right- they didn't resolve the issues I had with my religion. So I began to explore other religions...and different obstacles and questions and doubts sprang up along the way with each and every religion I studied. Finally, I let go of organized religions. I decided to find my own path. I am happy to say I do have faith, and a set of beliefs that work well for me. I have no doubts as to my beliefs. I belong to no organized religion, but I am a child of God. (By God I mean my Creator...) I believe that organized religion tends to confuse people, misleads people in many ways...it divides people, it is full of hypocrisy. I believe that true spiritual evolution comes from learning that humanity should follow the concept of love and unity. So, what divides us, in my opinion, leads us away from the light, not towards it.

These are just my own humble opinions. I respect the fact that others may not agree.

Answer 2

Well i have been many things and i have no idea if i will remain what i currently am forever. Now part of this is going to sound rediculous but the other is not so rediculous. I am currently following the philosophies of Taoism (pronounced Daoism) and Jediism. I can't really say i am either religion but i can say that i like the philosophies. They are very similar, Well, i guess you can say i look towards Jedi Realism more then the religion iteself. But there you have it.

Now as a religion as a whole, i don't know, i didn't seek out Taoism to be close to anyone. I am currently doing things to be closer to Tao. Honestly, i people need to believe there is something more then themselves. There is a type of energy that flows threw all of us, and Tao is basically that energy. I don't worship it or anything but egh.

I know i got off topic. Religions have to be careful, because they can do great good, or they can do great bad. People can sometimes be like wildebeest, one starts running (their mouths) and the other follow. Even over a cliff or into nice cool water, it all depends on which way the lead animal runs.

Answer 3

Look at all the religions in the world and ask yourself this. "If there are so many people believing in different things then who is right". The correct answer is no one, religion is a state of mind, it's how you justify your existence and interaction with others. The credo "do undo others as you would like done to you" holds fast. Judge not others by their actions but by yours is also true. Religion begins at home not in a Church, a person is no better than another because they believe in one religion, one god or many or whether they go to a church, mosque, temple, synagogue. They should be judged by their actions not their beliefs. If a God exists then this would be how they judge you.

Answer 4

I think the vast majority of religions have value. I am always interested in learning what people of different faiths believe. I am a Buddhist. I do not believe in God, but I do accept that there was probably a man named Jesus who walked the earth as an enlightened being and taught the virtues of love, tolerance and compassion. I have teachings of value from several religions. The only time I think a religion ceases to have value is when it teaches that it is the only "true" religion and that all other religions are evil or wrong.
Everyone must find their own path and walk in their own truth.

Answer 5

Well, this may come across as "religious bashing", but I'll put in my two cents anyway.

Religion is a creation of man (mankind not men those most religions were created by males). Some religions are founded on belief in a supreme being and others aren't...but they are all religions because they involve answering questions about the meaning of life and our purpose. The problem I have with "Religion" is that it was created by flawed human beings...it doesn't matter what foundation they have, every religion involves a set of rules (obligations) that attempt to control the behavior of individuals that practice that religion.

In my view, Christianity isn't a religion per se though there are certainly a whole lot of religions founded on the teachings of Christ...and as creations of man, these religions contain some basic flaws (specific flaws depends on the denomination). But other religions also have man-induced flaws including evolutionism and humanism. A "Christian" religion might choose to condemn people to hell for not following its teachings...this isn't consistent with they way Christ taught us to live (and love) other people (see Matthew 5: 1 -12). By the same token, some evolutionists condemn people who don't accept their explanation for the origin of the world to their own version of hell (stupidity for example)...and that isn't consistent with the foundations of their religion (science recognizes that "proof" requires the elimination of other possible explanations...and I've never read or heard about any evidence for evolution that couldn't also be consistent with creation!

Religion, not a huge fan...religion is collective and as a Christian (and a capitalist), I believe that God desires an individual relationship with his creation...what he wants (and plans) for me is NOT what he wants and plans for anyone else. Religion is just too "one-size-fits-all" for me (something that's uncomfortable for a gal who was a six-foot-tall size three most of her life :) ).

Answer 6

I grew up attending a Baptist Church, and went on to study biology in college. I've come to depend heavily on science and logic to define the world and its existence of life. I dislike the influence of religion on science and politics, especially in modern countries such as the U.S. I do not believe in God anymore, and I see Bible stories as mostly made-up tales. I do, however, cherish all the moral lessons that I gained from those stories, and the kind and passionate Christians that surrounded me.

While I may not personally believe in any religion, and I see how it has created so much discontent and harm among different peoples of different faiths and science, I can't overlook the good it has done in this world. Faith gives many a reason to hope, to live, and to live with purpose. Overall, it's a two-sided blade that I wish the world would never have known, but I'm glad that it at least impacted so many in a positive way.

Answer 7

I was an atheist for a long time, but recently thought it to be hypocritical because saying that no holy deity ever existed is just as dogmatic as saying that there is only one true God. None of us know the answers to our existence and we probably never will. For this reason, I now consider myself agnostic.. If I ever decided to be religious however, I would either join the Church of the Subgenius, or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster because their beliefs are just as probable as the more common theories of intelligent design if ya catch my drift..

Answer 8

I'm a 50% Christian.

Here's the good that the church teaches:
- Love
- Grace (being kind to strangers, to people who don't deserve it, to people you're not required to help but you're all they've got)
- A moral structure

The bad:
Doctrinal dogmatism. The bible is 1200 pages of fine print written entirely by sinners, but the church claims it's 100% correct. Ridiculous! The bible at times contradicts sciences and at times contradicts itself. It can't possibly be "God's perfect word."

Thank you for the question.

Answer 9

I've studied several different religions before I decided on a religion. Mainstream religions (Christianity, Judaism, Muslim) didn't really appeal to me, everything is so exact, and has to be one way, there's really no room to think for yourself (in my opinion, remember ppl opinions are neither right nor wrong, so please don't get offended). I eventually found paganism, it fits me well and my belief system well. It may not be right for other people, but I fell it's right for me.

Answer 10

I think religions are a great way for people who think alike to get together and have a spiritual community setting. It provides social networks, support networks and guidance. I don't think any religion is "better" than any other. I just think that if it works for someone and gives them purpose in their life and a better person, then that's fine with me. If they shove their views down other people's throats and judge others who think differently or don't want to hear it, I condone that behavior.