What Religion are you??

Atheism involves as much belief as a religion...

Nonetheless, I would say Presbyterian, due to the fact I go to the Church of Scotland at Christmas times, not regularly, though, and find it more interesting than Catholicism. My dear mother wrote Roman Catholic on the 2001 census, and I must admit I have attended Catholic Mass more than Presyterian services -- my mother's family is Catholic so I go for Christenings, Confirmations, First Communions, and such, to Mass as well as whenever I stay with my cousins...

I suppose it would be more accurate to say I am a Presbyterian Agnostic. I don't know if God exists, but I'll be a bit religious just in case.

I'm insulted at the lack of an Agnostic option, which reflects my true beliefs.

I voted for atheism, although I actually only believe ratio.

I'm one of those with the opinion: given either there is/are a god/gods/godess there is no point in worshipping him/her/them - since this basically involves doing a lot of on second thoughts rather strange behavior, or there is no such thing and than there is no point in believing there isn't any - since this involves a lot of second thoughts about other strange behavior people tend to show.

It doesn't make much sense to worship something you don't know about, and it doesn't make much sense to worship things you do know about either.

I'm an Orthodox Tim Tam believer. The holy trinity of chocolate biscuit, chocolate cream and smothered in chocolate. I don't mind most variants except the ones made with palm oil in Indonesia... Gah!

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Originally Posted by Duke Malcolm

Atheism involves as much belief as a religion...

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One does not need any sort of belief to be an Atheist. Simply put, he does not recognize religion at all.

Atheism is believing that there isn't a god. Quite different from simply not recognising religion.

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Originally Posted by Tiberius

Atheism is believing that there isn't a god. Quite different from simply not recognising religion.

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Not really: Atheism doesn't require a belief in negative. It simply require a stance neutral, not recognizing at all. One could, of course, be an atheist by believing in the negative, believing that there is no God, but he can also be an atheist by simply not believe in God, not believing in the positive, which is not quite the same. Therefore, Atheism does not necessarily demands belief, or faith. To use Quietus's (where is he?) favourite analogy, the Leprechaun: not recognizing the Leprechaun at all, therefore not believing in the creature, gives the same end result as believing there is no Leprechaun: Atheism.

And before somebody argues that this is called agnosticism, it should be noted that the use of Agnosticism is really vague, and confused. A self-proclaimed agnostic can believe in some sort of divinity, but doesn't know what, or he can believe that there is no proof either way (which is, by the way, the definition), or he could simply doesn't care and never takes a position, even a neutral one, or he has been thrown into the category because others have this need to label him and he doesn't fit anywhere else, etc.

I'm a muslim.

Could future pollers please use the term non-religious to accommodate for the Atheists and Agnostics of this forum? The tedious debate of whether Atheism is a belief or not and therefore a religion or not is QUITE old.

Could we for once agree that atheism is a belief of a sort but since there is no single common ideology amongst atheists it can not be a religion?
Alas, belief but not religion.

If you want the aggressive TRUE atheists, like some on this board, there is a definition out there: it is called antitheism or militant atheism. This belief (again) states that religion is destructive and that all religion is a version of the same untruth. Christopher Hitchens (antitheist) writes: “…but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful.”

For the record: Agnostic theist.

Waiting for the topic to activate. Getting ready to vote. Reading carefully the different options. Reading again. Reading for the third time. One question came to the head of Stephen Asen- where are the Orthodox? Reading again. Voting for other christian hoping this means Orthodox.

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Originally Posted by Sigurd Fafnesbane

Could we for once agree that atheism is a belief of a sort but since there is no single common ideology amongst atheists it can not be a religion?
Alas, belief but not religion.

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We can't. ~;) As long as different opinions stand there will be a debate about it. And I disagree with that: if I don't believe, why are you (not *you* as in the specific you, but you as in a general rhetorical expression) labeling me with a belief?

Though note that I'm not taking it too seriously myself, so rest assured.

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Originally Posted by Stephen Asen

Waiting for the topic to activate. Getting ready to vote. Reading carefully the different options. Reading again. Reading for the third time. One question came to the head of Stephen Asen- where are the Orthodox? Reading again. Voting for other christian hoping this means Orthodox.

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Yes, I presume that choice means Orthodox. Not much else, is there? Considering Protestants count for almost all the diverse and for some crazy Christian groups out there, unless somebody goes far back into history and promotes Arianism again...

Maybe the original poster isn't too familiar with Orthodox Christianity. Since the Catholics break apart and the new rivalries solidified, not much attention had been paid to the East!

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Originally Posted by AntiochusIII

We can't. ~;) As long as different opinions stand there will be a debate about it. And I disagree with that: if I don't believe, why are you (not *you* as in the specific you, but you as in a general rhetorical expression) labeling me with a belief?

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I guess we stand in opposing camps then, camps which have presumably existed 230 years.
In my camp, if you do not hold any belief whatsoever it is wrong to use the label Atheism.
Lack of theism without the conscious rejection of it is not atheistic at all; it is nontheistic.
I find it however hard to believe that people with the ability to use the label atheism have not taken a conscious stand on whether there is a god or not. Being unsure is not Atheism.

I can't believe that only one follower of Judaism has answered. In my world, that is quite surprising.

I am the only one who labeled himself Buddhist. I notice it was misspelled in the poll. I actually don't consider myself Buddhist, but I do belong to a Buddhist temple and the teachings are full of useful wisdom. To me, it kicks ass on the Western religions, which emphasize obedience to their god(s).

Being Buddhist also defines me as atheist, since there is no external god in Buddhism.

I have also practiced Shinto rituals in Japan.

[editied to change "can" to "can't"]

I'm a Anti-organized church, loose bible interpretation Christian

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Originally Posted by Tachikaze

I can't believe that only one follower of Judaism has answered. In my world, that is quite surprising.

I am the only one who labeled himself Buddhist. I notice it was misspelled in the poll. I actually don't don't consider myself Buddhist, but I do belong to a Buddhist temple and the teachings are full of useful wisdom. To me, it kicks ass on the Western religions, which emphasize obedience to their god(s).

Being Buddhist also defines me as atheist, since there is no external god in Buddhism.

I have also practiced Shinto rituals in Japan.

[editied to change "can" to "can't"]

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Western Relgioins teach Obendience so you get into Heaven and to teach you Obendience in Life Aslo..

My religion is Roman Catholic (so not one of the other catholic kinds). My beliefs are a totally different matter, not to be treated here. ~;)

Catholic.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

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Originally Posted by BHCWarman88

Western Relgioins teach Obendience so you get into Heaven and to teach you Obendience in Life Aslo..

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If you live wisely, obedience is unnecessary.

Given an either/or choice, I would rather have wise children than obedient ones. I'd rather have a wise national leader than an obedient one.

I daresay, if I were to walk across downtown San Diego, I would live longer if I crossed streets wisely than by blindly following the traffic signals. I can't tell you how many times I would have been run over by right-turning cars if I had stepped off the curb to legally cross a street when the WALK sign was lit.

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Originally Posted by Tachikaze

If you live wisely, obedience is unnecessary.

Given an either/or choice, I would rather have wise children than obedient ones. I'd rather have a wise national leader than an obedient one.

I daresay, if I were to walk across downtown San Diego, I would live longer if I crossed streets wisely than by blindly following the traffic signals. I can't tell you how many times I would have been run over by right-turning cars if I had stepped off the curb to legally cross a street when the WALK sign was lit.

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What good points this wise man has.:2thumbsup:

And I'm not being sarcastic.:sweatdrop:

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Originally Posted by Tachikaze

Being Buddhist also defines me as atheist, since there is no external god in Buddhism.

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“It’s also striking that, within fifteen years of Huxley coining the term agnosticism, it was already being applied to Buddhism” is a quote taken from Stephen Batchelor (Deep Agnosticism, a secular vision of Dharma Practice).
To me it appears that the Buddhist community including several Lama’s (2 min googling) see themselves as agnostic.

It seems it was a response to the sovereign pontiff of Rome who claims Buddhism as atheistic and life-denying that sparked a few recent comments on this issue.

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Originally Posted by BHCWarman88

Western Relgioins teach Obendience so you get into Heaven and to teach you Obendience in Life Aslo..

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Ah the sheppard and his flock.

I believe sheep think they have a wonderful life safe from predators too. Except all it leads to is as a side of mutton.

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Originally Posted by Papewaio

Ah the sheppard and his flock.

I believe sheep think they have a wonderful life safe from predators too. Except all it leads to is as a side of mutton.

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I'm not a Sheep, I'm a Warman88..

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Originally Posted by solypsist

hmmm..i dont see scientology up there, so it looks like "other" for that particular choice

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Does this mean Soly is going to jump on a couch and shake Oprah? 'Cause I'd pay to see that ...

Satanist by night, atheist by day.

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Originally Posted by AntiochusIII

Not really: Atheism doesn't require a belief in negative. It simply require a stance neutral, not recognizing at all. One could, of course, be an atheist by believing in the negative, believing that there is no God, but he can also be an atheist by simply not believe in God, not believing in the positive, which is not quite the same. Therefore, Atheism does not necessarily demands belief, or faith. To use Quietus's (where is he?) favourite analogy, the Leprechaun: not recognizing the Leprechaun at all, therefore not believing in the creature, gives the same end result as believing there is no Leprechaun: Atheism.

And before somebody argues that this is called agnosticism, it should be noted that the use of Agnosticism is really vague, and confused. A self-proclaimed agnostic can believe in some sort of divinity, but doesn't know what, or he can believe that there is no proof either way (which is, by the way, the definition), or he could simply doesn't care and never takes a position, even a neutral one, or he has been thrown into the category because others have this need to label him and he doesn't fit anywhere else, etc.

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Yes! :) 'Atheism' really is a Neutral position. (If there are no theists, there would be no atheists).

If we use numbers: 0=Neutral, and +1=Positive (belief or knowledge), then I can say that everyone is born Neutral.

DOG:
I heard, saw, and held a dog. I have proof, I have knowledge, I have a definition and therefore (can I make a claim?) Yes (Positive = +1).

Hence I abandoned my neutral position and make a positive claim of dogs .

GOD:
I've never seen, heard or touched God. I don't have knowledge, proof, nor definition of a God. Therefore must I abandon my neutral stance and make a positive claim? No. (remain Neutral = 0)

My knowledge of the word God came from other people's definition. And their definition is based on old books and faith. I still have no knowledge and proof of god. Therefore, must I abandon my neutral stance and make a positive claim based on other people's faith and definitions from ancient books? No. (remain Neutral = 0)

The problem is the illusion that Theism is a neutral position, hence:

Quietus (-1) | Theists (0). To Theists, it appears that I'm a making a "negative claim/belief" or "proving a negative". But is Theism really neutral (meaning is everyone born Theists)? If it is neutral, then what is positive? No, theism is not neutral. In reality 'atheists' are neutral:

Quietus (0) | Theists (+1). I'm neutral but theists are making a "positive claim".

Say:
Person X was born Neutral (0)
Person X gained faith (+1) and then
Person X lost faith (-1 + +1 = 0) therefore neutral again!

When Person X lost faith, there was no "negative proof" (there's no "positive proof" in the first place) but instead the "positive claim" was withdrawn.

Lastly the phrase "God does not exist" is equivalent to "I don't believe your claim" because:
1) 'Atheism' is a term used by Theists (and God is their definition and claim as well).
2) 'Atheists' do not have knowledge, no proof, no definition, and no claim of God and therefore really is a NEUTRAL position.

I repeat: If there are no Theists, there would be no Atheists. There are no Aleprechaunists because there are no Leprechaunists! :)

Proud to be Catholic-Christian.

Bar,your name sound famliar....


Protestnat/Presbytian

I am a lutheran, due to my parents dragging me to church every sunday, but i will probably stay that way, it is not as strict as catholic, but it is still firm.

Yea Same Here.. I don't like going to Church Every Week, but I will,Because I hate not to go,cuz I don't wanna have God get pissed at me........

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Originally Posted by Quietus

There are no Aleprechaunists because there are no Leprechaunists! :)

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I repeat, visit O'Sullivan's in Skibberreen about midnight any Saturday ~:eek: