I was born and raised in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family. Became a theistic Satanist in the 1980s - more specifically a Luciferian. It even got me a conscription exemption. Still one to this day.
I’ve been athiest since I was a kid. The older I get the less I’m able to ignore religion, and the more anti-thiest I become.
Yup, I’ve seen religion directly cause far too much harm to excuse the small benefit it yields to some people. Especially fucking now.
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I’m an ordained dudeist priest.
May he abide over your happiness as he does us all.
I am a lifelong atheist. I attend a very progressive christian church where I am open about my lack of belief. They seem to accept me, including the minister. I don’t try to convert them and they don’t try to convert me. I started going because I was lonely and I wanted some opportunities to do good. Their whole theology is about helping people and trying to change the world for the better. The two major precepts are “God is love” and “Jesus has no hands but yours.” They don’t talk about sin or redemption. We have a huge rainbow sign that says “All are welcome,” and we actually mean it. The minister talks about Jesus as a teacher, not as a saviour. We raise money and food for the local food bank, and provide community outreach to people, many of whom have disabilities. We sing. We eat cookies and drink absurd amounts of coffee. I suddenly have so many sweet old lady friends, and even a handful of friends my own age.
If you had asked me 10 years ago, it’d be a firm “atheist”. A year ago, “agnostic”. Today, I don’t identify with a religion, but I think there’s a lot of interesting things within them. Given a charitable interpretation of any of them’s texts, as well as looking at the parts where a large number of religious systems agree you can arrive at some pretty profound pieces of wisdom.
I don’t necessarily think these things tell us much about our origin, or what happens after death, or speak to any kind of deity. What they do speak a lot on is the human condition. What we value, what themes and motifs speak to us.
I don’t really like the terms “religion” and “religious”. To me, those are the organized, preachy kinds of almost-cults most of us here have problems with. I prefer referring to my own personal beliefs as spirituality. Where the two differ, in my mind, is that religion is found externally. Someone converts you, or you’re born into it. Spirituality is found through self-reflection. Some of the self reflection processes involves talking to and learning from others, but it ultimately comes back to a deeply individual assimilation of this new knowledge with the unique lived experiences you’ve had.
Yeah, I personally think “Atheist” and “Agnostic” to be a loaded term with the general public, more so in mine where the majority is religious.
Many of my friends think I abandoned all my moral code the moment they found out, like “No, I’m still the same person just not doing the ritual like I used to” and they won’t even notice if I didn’t tell.
Many did not believe me when I said I never drink even once (alcohol is forbidden in Islam). It’s so hard to explain that the general messages to aspire to be a decent human being are good guidelines I don’t have any problem with that, it’s the finer details that made me decide to leave.
Morality and religion are the same in society, broadly speaking. Any of the myriad interviews with a non-religious person being asked how they derive morality without religion is telling enough for that.
I don’t agree with organized religion. However the more I see the current nihilistic world leader situation and general care for others situation devolve, the more I see the appeal of a counterweight that at least appeals to a sense of morality.
Not that any church actually lives up to that. But it’s a nice thought that works leaders somehow would have to defer to some kind of moral administrator and people in general learning about compassion, unselfishness and forgiveness.
Pastafarian
Raised Scandinavian protestant which basically means you don’t go to church unless someone died or got married.
Left the Church to avoid the membership fee.
Answering this question is about 1/3rd of my effort I’ve put into religion 2024.
None of the large churches in Scandinavia (Church of Denmark, Church of Norway, Church of Sweden, Church of Finland) are Protestant, they are Lutheran.
“None of the felidae are animals, they are mammals”
Lutherans are protestants
I just tried to correct a misstake that some people may take seriously, personally, I don’t care.
That’s not a mistake
Lutheranism is a type of protestantism
Absolutely, I don’t deny that at all, but it is defined as separate from protestantism
Lutheran is a substet of protestant
Yes?
Just as Sweden is a subset of Scandinavia.
Sometimes subsets are important.
none, unless you count the the satanic temple.
no reason to bring fantasy into reality
I’m an atheist. I was agnostic and still technically am, I guess, but I transitioned to the annoying as fuck in your face atheism after watching chucklefucks like Westboro Baptist Church and Evangelicals being asshats. Oh, also, grew up in Boston during the altar boy rape scandals.
Personally, I think that God may or may not exist and it’s crucial to live your life now as you want to (and that isn’t a license to be an asshat - be kind to others just 'cause). Socially I think that religion is a poison that causes more suffering than it heals.
So my parents were Catholic and Atheist respectively. I have great respect for religious beliefs but am an atheist myself.
My town is very multi-cultural and due to the work I do, every year I am privileged to be invited to Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultural events.
I can happily say that the main thing that always strikes me is the friendliness of ordinary people from all faiths and walks of life.
Raised by hippies who let me be free range a bit. One grandmother took me to Methodist church from age 6-12ish. Jr high friends got me to go to a Baptist church a little (those cats have no chill). Overall atheist though which drew some social ostracization when I let my views be known.
I was pretty hardline about it in my 20s. 30s were more “let everyone do their own thing, man”. Now in my late 40s and I find myself drifting back toward agnostic.
There are unexplained things I’ve encountered. I’m reasonably sure science will catch up (maybe) and explain them. Until then, they remain “energies” that caused unexpected results, probabbly just weird brain glitches, but what if…?
I consider myself a practicing non-Catholic and a non-practicing Anglican. I haven’t attended an Anglican service since childhood but play music with my wife at her Catholic church, so I have to attend a practice for that every week.
Secular Buddhism. I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to be better.
Christian, Presbyterian. I was raised an IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) which nearly soured my opinion of organized religion altogether.
Long story short, I actually read the Gospels and came to the conclusion that the version of Christianity I grew up in was essentially the opposite of what Jesus taught.
My religious beliefs are important to me and shape a lot of my thinking. But, I also understand a lot of the anger and distrust that gets directed at the church because I’ve been there and it’s unfortunately well deserved.
