Are you religious?

[Sammygurlj]

I have never been to a church (besides weddings and funerals). I would like to believe there is a higher power at work but as Debs put it I have too scientific of a mind. I also agree with carly in that I believe in the ideas behind the religion but don't take stories literally.

[Hartyt509]

Andrea tell her to sod off. $$ are hard to come by and you pay for what you believe in not so that she can go on a jolly.

 

Religion has always been a bit weird for me. I was brought up athiest and in fact my dad was anti religion until he decided a lot of stuff in budhism was close to what he believed. I've always had an open mind and wanted to learn about other religions but I have to say i've not found one that I could totally believe in.

 

FI is very anti religious especially since his step-dad died you can't even mention it otherwise he blows a gasket.

[~*Kathy*~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ I want your take on something since it has to do with our current topic. How would you feel if a coworker that you don't know very well gave you a detailed letter requesting monetary donations to go on an expensive overseas trip to promote their religion?

I would feel uncomfortable. I don't think it's very fair for your coworker to solicit funds this way. DH is doing a head shave for cancer in May and he asked me if I could mention it around the office to see if anyone wanted to donate. Instead, I opted to put up a few signs around the office about it but it wasn't pushy or anything. I basically said if they want to they can and if they don't want to that's all good too. Detailed letters to the office staff would have made me seem like I was pushing them for their money. I know I certainly would not appreciate being solicited at work for donations for a cause that I don't believe/support, but that's just me.

Alyssa - I totally agree with your answer about this.

[Danyelle]

My vote goes to spiritual.

 

FI and I are extremely spiritual, but have no religious slants to our beliefs. Organized religion is not for us.

 

I was raised non-denominational Christian though. And FI was raised Catholic.

[seaprincess]

I would consider myself spiritual b/c I beleive there is a higher power, and I have prayed to God on behalf of a loved one, but I don't go to church. When I was a child, my parents couldn't agree on a religion for my brother and I b/c my mother was raised Roman Catholic and my father was raised Anglican. THen when I was about 11, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and it was important to her that we were introduced to religion. So I was baptized, did my first communion and my confirmation all in within a period of a year -- then we stopped going to church except on major holidays. So I got a crash course in religion, never went to Catholic school (b/c my mother has strong opinions from her own experience being abused by nuns as a child) and can't remember much of what I learned that year. My husband is also a non-practicing Roman Catholic, but has stronger beliefs about baptism etc and we will likely baptise our child Catholic and let him/her decide later on what they believe. I should also add that growing up 80% of my friends were Jewish, so I have a much better understanding of the Jewish faith than of my own...and secretly I always wanted to be Jewish to be like my friends!

[Betsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carly I chose "more spiritual then religious". I was raised catholic (12 years of catholic school, then also a catholic college for 2 years), and I really do believe in most of it. I have a problem with the rules of the church though. I don't believe in judging people for their sexual orientation, religious choices, etc. I also don't believe that I have to go to "church" to feel at peace, or confessiong me sins to a priest. I think you can interact with your God (whichever religion you are) in however you see fit, as long as you life your life the right way. Basically, as long as you are a good person. I believe more in the ideas behind the religion, and I don't take anything literally. Most of the stories are told to make a point, and the point is the lesson, not necessarily the story. At least that's what I believe. However, I have some friends that are very gung-ho with their religions and take each story as a literal historical fact and I completely respect that. NOTE: As Alyssa said, this topic can be touchy, so please play nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yari I do consider myself religious. I definitely am trying to get to church more, but am not doing a good job at it. I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school, etc. I had a huge problem not being able to get married in the Catholic church cause my DH had already been married in the church. Needless to say it pissed me off, but rules are rules. I love the tradition of the Catholic church, but I wish they would loosen up a bit. I believe that people are born gay, that they have a right to marry, that priest have a right to get married, abortion is a freedom of choice and I used birth control. I am a liberal Catholic, but I definitley want to raise my children in the faith. I believe it gave me a good foundation regarding morals and principles. I guess they call me a cafeteria Catholic, I pick and choose what I want. At the end of the night, I still pray every day and I think about God all the time.

Awesome, couldn't have said it better myself! I converted to the Catholic faith while I was dating DH - he is from a Catholic family and we knew we would get married someday, and wanted to raise our family in the same religion. (I grew up lutheran.) SO I am going through RCIA (rite of christian adults) and learning about the catholic faith and guess what.......I got pregnant! We were not married yet and I was SCARED to death of what our priest and the Sister who was leading the class would say. I mean I thought I would get kicked out (LOL) BUT they were so awesome, and it totally changed my view of the catholic church. I guess I was lucky enough to go to a Catholic church that was somewhat more "understanding" I guess? Fast-forward to today where we just moved to a new town, not knowing anyone. The first "friends" I made were at church. They were so welcoming, and friendly, and invited me to be part of the church council. I seriously love going to church every Sunday and learning more about the Catholic faith. I don't neccesarily agree with everything, but I think that is why I was put in this situation. Maybe to open other peoples eyes about certain situations. I still pray every night and I feel truly blessed to have met DH and be fortunate enough to have 2 beautiful children.

Have you guys ever read "The Secret"? It's not at all a catholic book, it's about positive thinking and stuff. I personally loved that book. It talks about a "higher power" which can be spiritual/religious/kind of whatever you want it to be. I highly reccommend it (i can never spell that word LOL)

Anyways there are my 2 cents. The End.

[Jessica]

I've considered myself agnostic since I was 13. I do however enjoy paganism, but I wouldn't consider myself a pagan.

[FutureMrsLewis]

I chose agnostic/atheist. I'm not against religion, don't get me wrong, but I've seen what some religions do to people. When I was in University I was living with a roommate who was Pentecostal, and on my 19th birthday (Legal age here) me and my other roommate invited two other girls over and we sat down and drank some coolers. Nobody even got remotely drunk or buzzed, so we didn't have a big booze fest, and my "religious" roommate locked herself in her room because she thought we were all possessed by Satan to even be drinking alcohol. We knew she didn't drink and wouldn't drink, so we would never ask her or pressure her to join us, we just wanted her to sit around the table with us and chat, but she couldn't because the devil might jump out of a bottle and grab her...

 

 

Now I know that not everyone who practises her faith is this crazy, in fact few are, but she just took it WAY too far and kinda made me think "Hey, wait a minute, something isn't right here..." But I grew up going to an Anglican church and I took "Sunday school" for two years and was Confirmed, I just didn't have a big push toward church, the only one who would go with me was my grandmother, my parents went to weddings and funerals, in fact my father didn't go to my own Confirmation. I believe there's something out there, I just don't really know what and couldn't really be bothered to go looking. I believe do onto others as you would have them do onto you and I believe in fate and karma, that's pretty much it...

 

Damn I talk too much lol

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ I want your take on something since it has to do with our current topic. How would you feel if a coworker that you don't know very well gave you a detailed letter requesting monetary donations to go on an expensive overseas trip to promote their religion?

I do get annoyed by these requests, but I try to remember they are doing what they think is a good thing. I get letters every so often to support someone for these trips. I'd feel different if they were building wells or schools, but I'm not funding someone's travel to spread the word they believe in.

I grew up going to a baptist church & at 10 we moved & joined a lutheran church. I liked the youth group activities, but I never enjoyed a service. I never felt any kind of spirtural feeling during a service. I slowly stopped going to church with the intention to start back eventually. With each year I found myself less interested in returning.

I've learned that I would rather use that time to spend with others and enrich relationships. Sitting in church never meant anything to me. I now go for a walk with friends on Sunday mornings. I imagine that church brings the same peaceful feelings to some people.

I consider myself agnostic with the belief of "what do i know." I was just the religion i was born in to. I don't know who got it right, if anyone did. I'm not concerned. I'd rather focus on being a good person & living a good life.

One concern I do have is what to do with kids. I plan on having kids in about 3 years. I don't know if I should take them to church so they can decide for themselves. I don't want to push anything on my kids. My beliefs (or lack of) came about gradually over years and I was about 23 when I finally felt like I had a firm grasp on who I was. I'd like my kids to find their own way & not be mini-mes.

[Banana11]

I completely agree with you Morgan. Everyone finds peace in their own way and being a good person is what really matters. I love what you said about how do we know who got it right.