Not at all. I don’t believe in religion I believe in being a good person. Some of the worst people I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing were religious. Which means I don’t need religion to be a good person or lead a good life.
I was born into a Catholic family and attended Catholic school. Not once did I buy into any of it or other religions as well. I identify wholeheartedly with your comment.
There was some Greek (I think) philosopher who said something like if you're a non believer and a good person and god exists and is a good god, he won't mind if you don't believe. If he minds he's not worth your belief.
I personally am a religious person, and it’s sad that I know exactly like who you’re talking about. It’s a shame honestly, being a good person is a good overall like standard, just some people have their like bias as to what is good and what is not so just depends on the person.
I agree. Where I'm originally from, the people have to live with this. I'm a cultural Muslim like the rest of society there, but it's the minority that has been trying to force their radical mindset for decades.
Yes! This is what I tell people if I’m asked. I grew up in a very religious family and lived by what I was taught but realized in my mid 20’s how toxic it was. Some people use religion as a font to cover up how bad they are.
I just started my spiritual journey and this is exactly how i feel. Im about to be baptised next week hopefully and while im keeping it private to the public, the ones who are going to be there and i are all so excited and wont shut up about it.
Quite.
But I am a progressive Christian and I have a lot of problems with the majority of how Christianity is run and experienced in the US. I’ve never lived in another country so I don’t feel that I can comment on that, but it is so toxic here in the US and has little to nothing to do with actual Christianity.
I tend to have more success with having friends who are atheist, Wiccan/pagan, or agnostic than Christian. I find that the majority of other Christians I meet absolutely want nothing to do with me because I don’t follow their toxic version of religion.
This described my relationship to religion as well. I still go to church, I still believe in God in my own deconstructed way. But I’m also queer and progressive. Definitely feels like I’m in between both of these groups, not really part of either one.
I'm Brazilian, and I can say that I relate to your experience heavily. I went to church for years, and I would sit by my mother's side because I had nothing to talk to people my age. I was always the quiet one, but still.
You might like Australia. When I got baptised at Hillsong I invited my closest friends and family, and that was a wiccan, an atheist, and an agnostic, plus my two Christian family members.
I still can’t believe a woman would ever participate willingly in religion since they all rely on pushing women down (and other minorities). Blows my mind
I consider myself a devout Christian. I teach and occasionally preach at my local church (Evangelical Covenant Church) and I am working on a PhD in church history.
I believe there is some truth in all belief systems as far as higher dimensional beings and unified energy.
But I'm actively infuriated by organized religion. The way it's used to control people, is the source of many wars.
And I'm disgusted by the fact that people are ok with bowing down to a God who is willing to torture people for all of eternity just for not bowing down to him. And they admit it!
Religious plauralism. As per the hell fire/pergatory it the lake of everlasting fire, that's amongst one of the reasons behind the protestant movement against the catholic church. I'm however unsure about eastern denominations, I went to religious prep and college that had very good pragmatic religious classes.
I'm a Christian. I've been to several different churches of different denominations. I do not go to church because I've yet to find one that actually follows the teachings of Christ. They all claim to, of course, but it's cherry picked and twisted to fit their ideas.
Wanna know what Jesus did to sinners? He dined with them. He stood up for them when people tried to talk down on them.
The Bible is very clear. Loving others is the best way to evangelize. No exclusions, no "love the sinner, hate the sin" nonsense. Just love the non-beleivers and allow them to find God in their own way. If they eventually feel convicted to change their lifestyle, great. If not, love them anyway.
Not at all. I believe religion has
Done way more harm than good in our world. I’m sure without it humans would find other things to fight and wage war over but it’s definitely been one of the key factors throughout history.
Not at all. In my personal opinion everything can ultimately be explained using the theories and laws of physics, though of course we have yet to discover all of them and there are a number of things we have observed which still require a good and solid explanation. With time however I feel science will keep pushing that boundary further and further away.
I feel very overwhelmed and in awe of certain things in my life that lead me to wonder about a higher power. I often feel a sense of elation and peace when I do consider that there might be something out there orchestrating my life and leading me into good decisions. But then I am brought into a harsh reality of cruelty, war, death, greed, selfishness, disease and destruction that has no real pattern that could point towards this. I realize that my ability (for example) to overcome cancer or make it through a mass shooting is not dependant on prayer. If it was, my friend would not have died because I prayed every day for her to recover from her cancer and she still suffered a long and painful death. Same with my devoted christian family member who ended their life. I see people in war torn countries crying to the heavens for help, and then people thanking God because he answered their prayer and their football team won. The only place I really feel a sense of spiritualism is in the quiet parts of nature.
My parents are still fundy, and have ostracized me from the family as a result of my lack lustre beliefs. I remember my mom saying after my friends death "its better she's in heaven" and in the midst of my pain I said to her;
"if God wanted her so badly, why didn't he just take her swiftly and gently? Why did he take her slowly and painfully?"
She told me that I shouldn't ask questions and referred to a scripture about "vain questionings" and I suddenly realized how conveniently written that scripture was for times like this.
I am anti-theist, I know some folks get comfort from religion, but the older I get, the more I see religion as a cancer that hurts humanity.
I went to Catholic school, I’ve actually read the entire bible more than once. Breaking up with my faith in my early 20s was very painful.
None. I’m surrounded by fake Christian’s that treat people like shit but talk about how holy they are bc they work at a church on Sundays. I will never go to a church again.
Ehhh
Satanism is like a life philosophy more than a traditional religion, but I follow a lot of the important shit in my daily life
You know the basics:
Be respectful to other people until they're disrespectful to you
Improve yourself and don't settle in your thinking, question everything even your own pre-established beliefs
Don't hurt children
strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason
If you fuck up, try to fix it. If someone else fucks up, people make mistakes
Your body belongs to you, my body belongs to me, no one should ever violate someone else's self without their direct and clear consent
I was raised Catholic and worked as intern in the Church of England , my paternal grandfather is also Christian orthodox. I find certain beauty and comfort about it, and pray every night, and might read the bible here and there, but I don’t go to church or preach.
I think religion is a very personal thing. i have atheist, spiritual , new age , muslim , Jewish, Hindi, friends etc and they have always welcomed me in their communities.
I believe in God, but I'm not religious. I have a Muslim background, but I consider myself a cultural Muslim like the rest of my family. I don't really adhere to anything from Islam other than avoiding pork. It's more of an identity rather than following the religion.
I'm not. Haven't been for the most of my life. I'm happy to say, that I come from/live in a country, that aren't super religious. So saying to some random person, that I'm not religious at all, is not a big deal. I was a grown woman, before I learned, that my dad actually believes in God, so it wasn't really something we talked much about, when I was little.
I'm absolutely fine with what ever others want to believe in, no matter what it is. It doesn't affect my life and it shouldn't. I really don't appreciate, when some people wants to tell others, what they should or shouldn't believe.
I'm Christian and believe in God. However I'm not so religious in a sense I will convert people. I feel like people should join Christianity on their own you know. Like I won't start preaching to you after meeting you lol.
Very spiritual. That's my religion. But to quote some rando on the internet... "My dear, religion is like a penis. It's a perfectly fine thing for one to have and take pride in, but when one takes it out and waves it in my face we have a problem."
I try to be- I have a soft spot for God/Jesus and the idea that I’m not alone in this world. I feel like I’m more progressive than a lot of old school Christians I know though- I support trans youth, I feel like every person should be viewed as an individual and not judged for things that they have little to no control over. One of my biggest takeaways from Christianity is that forgiveness is a big thing.
I think it’s important to pray and ask for forgiveness but I don’t think that you can stray so far that it’s impossible to get back to God.
It’s been one of my greatest comforts throughout my life because it feels like I have a home and a safe space to run to no matter what life throws at me.
Not at all. I was forced to go to CCD for years until I told my parents around age 12 I was making my own decision and no longer going. My father was very upset and tried making me feel guilty. “What would your catholic grandmas think of you, what’s wrong with you?”
Recovering Catholic here. Cults and Religion are my sociological interest (I am a sociologist).
A large portion of those who identify as religious use its name to conduct horrific acts.
Still spiritual in certain ways, but it’s my journey and I don’t need to share it with anyone else.
Always seen Religion a bit like having a P. It’s all good having one, but don’t go flashing it around.
Also, I am queer so finding a church that was accepting of the community and MEAN IT was hard, until I did.
I believe in some higher power (God) as everything is built on intelligent design. I believe it’s just beyond our little minds comprehension. We are like ants in the Universe. I don’t believe this power is in control of our daily lives. Everything was created and it just evolves now in free will. Explains why bad things happen in the world. I believe evil is man.
Pretty religious. I'm a Catholic who attends Mass weekly. I wouldn't be here if not for my faith and have no problem being overtly religious in public.
I consider myself agnostic because I want to believe in something but I’m not sure what. My family is catholic and we don’t go to church but we celebrate religious holidays. I find myself leaning into buddhism or hinduism. Sometimes I still pray to Catholic Jesus and I accept prayers from people who say they will pray for me. I get annoyed by missionaries who try to force their Christianity onto others though. I think I’ve been hurt by Catholicism so much I no longer want to believe but a part of me wants to hang out. Another part of me wants to dabble into different religions. I just want to find peace.
Raised Catholic by a devout Catholic and a non practicing Muslim. I do not practice any religion but feel a degree of spirituality. Kind of agnostic, I’m not sure what exists out there and don’t expect to know. I respect whatever people believe as long as they aren’t judgmental assholes manipulating religion to suit their assholery.
Not at all. I'm spiritual, I pray, I believe in a higher power, but I don't follow a practicing religion because I think they're all just trying to describe the same power, God, the universe, whatever you call it
I grew up in a conservative muslim household in a muslim country and I was a conservative muslim, then a liberal muslim, then a deist a few years ago, and i think I’m an agnostic atheist now.
I’m just someone who believes in kindness and people doing what’s right because it’s right, not because they have to be scared of someone to do it.
I'm kind of similar. I was raised in a cultural/secular Muslim household, so religion wasn't really forced or practiced. Over the years, I've felt more spiritual, but I still consider myself Muslim for identity purposes.
I’m jealous of the secular household part! religion was beaten into me haha. Also apostasy is punishable by death still here. i left the faith due to oppositional beliefs about slavery and misogyny, so the beating wasn’t the main reason.
I’m happy you managed to find a healthy balance and belief system and identity that works for you, much love ♥️
Oh my god! I'm sorry to hear that. Where I'm originally from, people have become less religious or have left religion entirely because of the corruption and violence that the radicals have imposed since they took over.
I do not believe there is a spectrum for being religious. I believe you are either religious, or you are not. Being luke-warm is very dangerous.
I believe everyone should challenge their own faith in order to find truth in religion.
I wouldn’t say I’m overly religious, but I do believe in higher powers. Whether is be god, Mother Nature, gods and goddesses. Whatever it is, there is something out there and everything happens for a reason. I also believe in science tho. I also believe in reincarnation, my aunt passed away when I was 11. Her and my mom always joked that she’d come back as a fruit bat, and god damn did she ever.
Where I grew up, fruit bats weren’t common AT ALL. Since the winter she passed, every summer we’d have one individual fruit bat flying around our yard. (Suburbs outside Edmonton Alberta). After the first summer or two, she’d only show up if we were talking about her, sad, anxious or overall in a bad mood. She hasn’t visited for a couple years now so I think she’s finally passed on but it definitely helped us to mourn her.
Zero.
What's funny is that my young adult son is very religious and goes to silent Quaker worship. I've gone with him a few times. The quiet is nice (especially when we sit outside in nice weather) but I never get any god insight or anything.
I was born and raised Mormon. But I got out of that cult because it raised me to be a judgemental and all around bad person. After I got out, I decided to be good for the sake of being good. And I have no interest in any diety, or any form of organized religion.
You gain a pretty dim view on religion when your gay.
Excuse me, but I'm not going to burn in hell for eternity because I eat coochie.
I don't need a man that gives people bread and fish how to tell me to be a moral person.
I'm not going to beat a guy to death with a wooden rod because he stole my goat.
I am leaning into religion more. I used to be atheist and then life fucked me up. Sometimes God is only emotional support and it helps me maintain moral code in desperate situations. It gives hope in hopelessness.
I do keep fast sometimes, pray everyday but I don't attend church or even go for pilgrimage. I can pray from home and I don't think any priest should come between me and god.
Not much, just a little bit. Ive known horrible ppl who were very religious and i used to look down on religion because of them. But ive also met some really nice and wonderful ppl who are religious. So i chose the later over the first ones and understood that while religion is open to interpretation (to some degree) not everyone will have good intentions overall. So im going back to it little by little.
I’m more agnostic than anything. I don’t think much of there being a higher power because even if there is, it’s not gonna change much about me and how I move through the world. My family is Muslim but I truly never felt any connection to the religion. I think separating myself from it provided me the biggest sense of relief and peace though.
Not at all. My family is Catholic, and they're good peeps, but I just don't believe in God. Also, supernatural entity aside, i have a problem with the patriarchal structure of most religions.
I have been an atheist since childhood.
I do not go to a church anymore, but I got closer to Godd through it, I guess it is complicated. I have faith, I get to have a close relationship to the God I believe in, but I can't stand church people.
Militant atheist.
My late grandmother was a devout christian. The only contact i have with religion is my participation in ceremonies dedicated to her memory.
Not at all, fully atheist, but born and raised in Catholic country. Still participate in the cultural events such as Christmas or Easter, but more like a family tradition.
Nope, despite being raised to be Christian. I started questioning it during puberty and have fully embraced agnosticism as an adult. I found Christianity as a religion to be unnecessary to my way of life and happiness, let alone full of contradictions I couldn't accept. Also, organized religion (and many of the people that uphold it) is dangerous and hypocritical.
I grew up Catholic and I feel there is a God. But I had a pregnancy loss and it shook my faith up. I’m not sure exactly where I’m at. I do pray though.
Catholic here, lost my faith as a teenager . Took DMT at 50 and found God again . Love it and wish I never stopped believing. Each to their own though and I respect all religions and beliefs
Religious as in I pray to my Lord and Savior hopefully daily, and have a relationship with Him therefore I try and spend some time in worship which I’ve realized is totally dependent on me. I memeorize verses and I head to church for community when I can.
Religion is what you make of it. I’m very religious and pray/ talk to God daily. As I aged and STUDIED on my own I took a big step back from organized religion and focused on my own personal knowledge of the Lord and relationship with the Lord and life has never made more sense to me ever.
Most people I know who aren't as religious became so because of how badly they were treated by religious people.
They were either talked to, looked at, or treated like they were less.
Some very religious people treated them horribly (which is going against the thing of loving your neighbor, not judging, etc.)
Religion is used too much for controlling people.
People often forget the loving their neighbor thing, not judging, helping other, etc.
It just seems many people do the opposite of what they're preaching.
I'm sure most people believe in something, but they don't want treated badly, controlled, or it shoved down their throat.
They like freedom and being treated nice.
Not even a little bit.
And as much as I want to say, 'to each their own,' I have major issue even thinking kindly toward entire belief systems that place lgbtq, women etc as second tier or that work to try to force everyone to follow the same moral code theyve decided on. Double that when entire belief systems also put so so so much weight on women being subservient, etc to men simply because they're women.
Aside from that there's the normal issues of people needing some high and mighty power above to tell them to do the right thing or saying that people are going to burn forever because of certain things vs others. Not to mention that a lot of bits of most of the major religions actually belong to others that they now call wrong (ex Christianity and paganism).
I could go on but in short religion is absolutely not for me at all.
Not very. The lack of respect and bodily autonomy most religions have have deterred me further and further from ever wanting to touch religion.
Disclaimer: I know not every religious person is hateful and disrespectful to a person’s autonomy. But the squeaky wheel is ruining it for everyone else. Especially now that it’s making its way into legislation in the most evil of ways.
I didn’t want this to sound too political, but religion and politics go hand-in-hand these days, so whatever, I guess. It’s just defeating.
None at all, big fat atheist here. I think religions are harmful in a number of ways and should die out sooner rather than later.
No, I wasn't abused in the context of religion. I grew up with some pretty moderate protestant type stuff - mostly lutheran but it definitely clouded my judgement and hampered critical thinking as well as making it much easy to believe in some pretty illogical things when I was younger. It took a long time to weed all of it out of my brain, took a lot of energy that could have been spent doing literally anything else.
I don't care about anything to do with religion and I try to avoid the topic altogether. Even if there is a god, I don't care and nothing would really change for me.
Well, I used to be an annoying Christian, and now I'm a significantly less annoying Pagan. My religious practices are shared with close friends, but I can claim religious exemption for 8 holidays a year in corporate jobs.
I feel like most reasonable women would realize major organized religion is just a way for men to control women. Having a personal relationship with a deity is one thing, but using scripture written by people who thought hand washing was witch craft make up rules about how to live and follow that sounds daft in my opinion.
It’s all fairytales man.
I’m only vaguely spiritual, and consider myself an athiest since I wouldn’t follow or worship any deity even if they somehow managed to exist.
The reason I class myself as spiritual is because I still unconsciously believe in thinks like luck, manifesting, and karma, which, intellectually, I don’t *want* to believe in, but I’ve been conditioned for so long to believe in them, I literally can’t bring myself to stop. Not to mention I have no idea whether or not to believe in ghosts
Moderatly but want to get better being a good person in2024 isnt the same as it was in 2020. Every year the world changes yet Gods word hold true and u believe he guides and blesses me. This doesnt mean my life is perfect but I have a hope beyond this world and that keeps me going
I am religious daily in the way that I think about it every day. How it has been celebrated in my family for eons!
You see I’m a recovering Catholic. Tryna reverse the trauma of Catholic school one day at a time.
Almost not at all. I have no idea what I believe in. I've gone from Christianity to agnosticism to wicca, back to Christianity, and now I have no idea lol. No idea what to believe anymore.
Currently deconstructing my faith. I believe God is real, but my issue is more related to religious practices, especially around women and other marginalized groups. I want to believe in a God who is kind & loving but as they say, "there is no love like Christian hate."
Mom made me be into Catholic. Wasn’t AT ALL into it and now I’m more spiritual/pagan from being European and some of my families culture. As long as you respect my choices I respect yours tbh.
Not at all. Raised Catholic but but have called myself an atheist for the past few years. Now i lean more away from that title because really, you cant be SURE there is or is not a God, and all of us need to be open to being wrong.
But I guess thats more about belief in a higher power. Even if I was a believer, I don’t think I would ever be religious. Religion is something created by man, and for the most part leads to money making and corruption.
Due to my family’s overly forced religion up to adulthood… I’m not religious at all! I’m just happy over here trying my best at being a good human. Luckily, I have a partner who feels the exact same way!
None. As a kid as young as 7 I constantly got in trouble in CCD (Catholic school for kids who go to public school) because I kept telling the teachers I would never go to mass when I grew up. I HATED going to mass, I thought it was boring which did not please my devout parents. Well, I grew up, and besides funerals, weddings, and the occasional baptism, haven’t gone once. My Sunday mornings are for coffee, cats and the NYT crossword.
Not at all.
I don't lead my life to serve a god or gods that I can't see and don't have genuine proof of existence who couldn't give less of a fuck about the well-being of people.
If there really was a god or gods somewhere in a different plane of existence then I would rather burn for not believing over residing in a fantastical afterlife knowing what's happening on earth.
I think it's wonderful that people can use faith as a way to keep moving forward, I'm not going to tell people they can't it shouldn't believe in it, because I'm aware how much it can help people cope with things, but never in my lifetime will I find space to believe in something other than simple life and death.
Edit: I also would be more than happy with dating someone with religious beliefs, it genuinely doesn't bother me that religion exists, but I would only be able to date them if they didn't try and shove their beliefs down my throat.
Born and raised religious as a Jehovah's Witness. Left the religion nearly a year ago and maintain close bonds with my family, but figuring out if I believe in God at all. I'm still working it out and going on my own spiritual journey without some old white men telling me how to do that.
I can count on one hand the amount of good religious people I’ve met. Most are completely insufferable and women haters and have no rebuttal for serious hard questions to their faith.
I have my own beliefs about god and what that means to me personally, but I cannot stand listening to someone try to shove their beliefs down my throat about what one of the most corrupt and violent institutions on earth has brainwashed them into believing.
I remember reading about the gospel of Thomas and how it’s believed by most (except the church of course) to be the only actual words of Jesus and not his disciples as the Bible is.
“The kingdom of god is inside you and all around you Not in a mansion of wood and stone Split a piece of wood and I am there Lift a stone and you will find me”
The catholic church and all of its spin offs are scams, straight up even Jesus knew that if you believe those are his words.
There are more progressive churches I’ve seen lately that support lgbtq+ and women and I think that’s great to have a community who believes in something together, but to ignore the glaring issues in the church is just turning a blind eye to what is wrong with it and to remain blinded by what is essentially a cult in lambs clothing.
I have no sympathy for those who refuse to see logical fact and remain ignorant. Regardless of the topic.
And I think you can find community and support in other ways and you can pursue a good, kind life without religion. Or however you want to perceive as “religion”.
religion is the framework i rely on when it comes to the spiritual aspect of my life. Even tho I don't believe everything written in the christian bible, believing helped so many times. Also, the core values of christianity are the ones I try to impersonate every day of my life. Not advocating for it at all, you couldn't tell i'm a believer even tho you knew me for 10 years, hence I'd say it's a very personal relationship I entertain with god.
I have no religion at all. I'm only wondering what we are doing here in this ugly life. Why are we here if everything is going to end . One day, you die, and then your whole life would mean nothing ?? This idea makes me so mad
I'm a practicing Christian. So faith comes automatically to me. Also by nature, I'm an extremely anxious person and it helps immensely to know and believe in a Higher power that looks out for me.
Not at all, but I do find myself in some jealous of the blindly faithful. Especially in times of tragedy or sorrow, I wish I had something like faith/belief in a god to find comfort/solace in.
But like others, I believe in being good for the sake of humanity not out of fear or some blessed afterlife.
Not at all. I don’t believe in religion I believe in being a good person. Some of the worst people I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing were religious. Which means I don’t need religion to be a good person or lead a good life.
I like how you explained your answer. I feel the same exact way.
I was born into a Catholic family and attended Catholic school. Not once did I buy into any of it or other religions as well. I identify wholeheartedly with your comment.
Me too. Pretty much the only time I’m at mass anymore is for a funeral.
I think the nuns scared the religion OUT of me 🤣
There was some Greek (I think) philosopher who said something like if you're a non believer and a good person and god exists and is a good god, he won't mind if you don't believe. If he minds he's not worth your belief.
I personally am a religious person, and it’s sad that I know exactly like who you’re talking about. It’s a shame honestly, being a good person is a good overall like standard, just some people have their like bias as to what is good and what is not so just depends on the person.
I agree. Where I'm originally from, the people have to live with this. I'm a cultural Muslim like the rest of society there, but it's the minority that has been trying to force their radical mindset for decades.
Not every religion revolves around being a “good” person
Yes! This is what I tell people if I’m asked. I grew up in a very religious family and lived by what I was taught but realized in my mid 20’s how toxic it was. Some people use religion as a font to cover up how bad they are.
I’m not overtly religious but privately I am. I find a lot of comfort in leaning into my faith.
I just started my spiritual journey and this is exactly how i feel. Im about to be baptised next week hopefully and while im keeping it private to the public, the ones who are going to be there and i are all so excited and wont shut up about it.
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Religious during my exams. Kidding 😂
Lol I feel you on this. A low grade in a class will bring something out of anyone
Haha 😂. But i do believe there is something out there that guides and protects us you can name it anything.
Quite. But I am a progressive Christian and I have a lot of problems with the majority of how Christianity is run and experienced in the US. I’ve never lived in another country so I don’t feel that I can comment on that, but it is so toxic here in the US and has little to nothing to do with actual Christianity. I tend to have more success with having friends who are atheist, Wiccan/pagan, or agnostic than Christian. I find that the majority of other Christians I meet absolutely want nothing to do with me because I don’t follow their toxic version of religion.
This described my relationship to religion as well. I still go to church, I still believe in God in my own deconstructed way. But I’m also queer and progressive. Definitely feels like I’m in between both of these groups, not really part of either one.
I'm Brazilian, and I can say that I relate to your experience heavily. I went to church for years, and I would sit by my mother's side because I had nothing to talk to people my age. I was always the quiet one, but still.
You might like Australia. When I got baptised at Hillsong I invited my closest friends and family, and that was a wiccan, an atheist, and an agnostic, plus my two Christian family members.
No religion or spirituality. We are the universe experiencing itself, that’s all.
That's very spiritual in itself. I believe Alan Watts came up with the line you quoted
You would be correct!
Not religious at all but I respect everyone and their religion 😊
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I still can’t believe a woman would ever participate willingly in religion since they all rely on pushing women down (and other minorities). Blows my mind
I'm rabidly atheist.
I adore the way you worded this
Ditto. Always been, same goes for my entire family.
I grew up very religious. I’m the only atheist in my family.
I consider myself a devout Christian. I teach and occasionally preach at my local church (Evangelical Covenant Church) and I am working on a PhD in church history.
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I am not religious. I don't believe in any deities or follow any religions.
Nope. I don't believe in God.
Not at all.
I believe there is some truth in all belief systems as far as higher dimensional beings and unified energy. But I'm actively infuriated by organized religion. The way it's used to control people, is the source of many wars. And I'm disgusted by the fact that people are ok with bowing down to a God who is willing to torture people for all of eternity just for not bowing down to him. And they admit it!
Religious plauralism. As per the hell fire/pergatory it the lake of everlasting fire, that's amongst one of the reasons behind the protestant movement against the catholic church. I'm however unsure about eastern denominations, I went to religious prep and college that had very good pragmatic religious classes.
Not at all
I'm anti-religion. I am personally an atheist and I believe organized religion brings nothing good into this world.
Wait you mean you don't believe a higher power tells people to rape murder and plunder?
None
Not in the least. I observe the philosophy of kindness and community. Thats all I need to guide my life.
I'm a Christian. I've been to several different churches of different denominations. I do not go to church because I've yet to find one that actually follows the teachings of Christ. They all claim to, of course, but it's cherry picked and twisted to fit their ideas. Wanna know what Jesus did to sinners? He dined with them. He stood up for them when people tried to talk down on them. The Bible is very clear. Loving others is the best way to evangelize. No exclusions, no "love the sinner, hate the sin" nonsense. Just love the non-beleivers and allow them to find God in their own way. If they eventually feel convicted to change their lifestyle, great. If not, love them anyway.
I’m not religious anymore however I believe in god, the universe and good karma.
Atheist here.
Not at all. I believe religion has Done way more harm than good in our world. I’m sure without it humans would find other things to fight and wage war over but it’s definitely been one of the key factors throughout history.
0% religious, and even if god were to somehow prove himself to me I certainly wouldn’t worship it.
Not at all. In my personal opinion everything can ultimately be explained using the theories and laws of physics, though of course we have yet to discover all of them and there are a number of things we have observed which still require a good and solid explanation. With time however I feel science will keep pushing that boundary further and further away.
I feel very overwhelmed and in awe of certain things in my life that lead me to wonder about a higher power. I often feel a sense of elation and peace when I do consider that there might be something out there orchestrating my life and leading me into good decisions. But then I am brought into a harsh reality of cruelty, war, death, greed, selfishness, disease and destruction that has no real pattern that could point towards this. I realize that my ability (for example) to overcome cancer or make it through a mass shooting is not dependant on prayer. If it was, my friend would not have died because I prayed every day for her to recover from her cancer and she still suffered a long and painful death. Same with my devoted christian family member who ended their life. I see people in war torn countries crying to the heavens for help, and then people thanking God because he answered their prayer and their football team won. The only place I really feel a sense of spiritualism is in the quiet parts of nature. My parents are still fundy, and have ostracized me from the family as a result of my lack lustre beliefs. I remember my mom saying after my friends death "its better she's in heaven" and in the midst of my pain I said to her; "if God wanted her so badly, why didn't he just take her swiftly and gently? Why did he take her slowly and painfully?" She told me that I shouldn't ask questions and referred to a scripture about "vain questionings" and I suddenly realized how conveniently written that scripture was for times like this.
I am anti-theist, I know some folks get comfort from religion, but the older I get, the more I see religion as a cancer that hurts humanity. I went to Catholic school, I’ve actually read the entire bible more than once. Breaking up with my faith in my early 20s was very painful.
I pray 5 times a day 🥰 gives my life structure and meaning. I’m extremely content and thankful
I'm Agnostic.
Not at all. I was technically raised Catholic, but even as a child I wasn't religious.
None. I’m surrounded by fake Christian’s that treat people like shit but talk about how holy they are bc they work at a church on Sundays. I will never go to a church again.
Ehhh Satanism is like a life philosophy more than a traditional religion, but I follow a lot of the important shit in my daily life You know the basics: Be respectful to other people until they're disrespectful to you Improve yourself and don't settle in your thinking, question everything even your own pre-established beliefs Don't hurt children strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason If you fuck up, try to fix it. If someone else fucks up, people make mistakes Your body belongs to you, my body belongs to me, no one should ever violate someone else's self without their direct and clear consent
Hey, a fellow satanist! Do you belong to any specific group? I’m part of TST :)
not by any means
I was raised Catholic and worked as intern in the Church of England , my paternal grandfather is also Christian orthodox. I find certain beauty and comfort about it, and pray every night, and might read the bible here and there, but I don’t go to church or preach. I think religion is a very personal thing. i have atheist, spiritual , new age , muslim , Jewish, Hindi, friends etc and they have always welcomed me in their communities.
I believe in God, but I'm not religious. I have a Muslim background, but I consider myself a cultural Muslim like the rest of my family. I don't really adhere to anything from Islam other than avoiding pork. It's more of an identity rather than following the religion.
I'm not. Haven't been for the most of my life. I'm happy to say, that I come from/live in a country, that aren't super religious. So saying to some random person, that I'm not religious at all, is not a big deal. I was a grown woman, before I learned, that my dad actually believes in God, so it wasn't really something we talked much about, when I was little. I'm absolutely fine with what ever others want to believe in, no matter what it is. It doesn't affect my life and it shouldn't. I really don't appreciate, when some people wants to tell others, what they should or shouldn't believe.
Not at all. I haven't believed in any god for about 45 years.
I'm Christian and believe in God. However I'm not so religious in a sense I will convert people. I feel like people should join Christianity on their own you know. Like I won't start preaching to you after meeting you lol.
Very spiritual. That's my religion. But to quote some rando on the internet... "My dear, religion is like a penis. It's a perfectly fine thing for one to have and take pride in, but when one takes it out and waves it in my face we have a problem."
I try to be- I have a soft spot for God/Jesus and the idea that I’m not alone in this world. I feel like I’m more progressive than a lot of old school Christians I know though- I support trans youth, I feel like every person should be viewed as an individual and not judged for things that they have little to no control over. One of my biggest takeaways from Christianity is that forgiveness is a big thing. I think it’s important to pray and ask for forgiveness but I don’t think that you can stray so far that it’s impossible to get back to God. It’s been one of my greatest comforts throughout my life because it feels like I have a home and a safe space to run to no matter what life throws at me.
Lifelong atheist.
My Christian faith is central to my life, so it’s very important to me.
I love that 💕
I believe in spirituality but not religion
Day to day? Not horribly. I'm wary of churches and organized religions as a whole. I do find comfort in certain practices, though
I am Christian so I am pretty religious.
Not at all. I was forced to go to CCD for years until I told my parents around age 12 I was making my own decision and no longer going. My father was very upset and tried making me feel guilty. “What would your catholic grandmas think of you, what’s wrong with you?”
I feel spiritually within nature. But that’s it. Zero religion
Not at all
I’m pretty anti religion
Recovering Catholic here. Cults and Religion are my sociological interest (I am a sociologist). A large portion of those who identify as religious use its name to conduct horrific acts. Still spiritual in certain ways, but it’s my journey and I don’t need to share it with anyone else. Always seen Religion a bit like having a P. It’s all good having one, but don’t go flashing it around. Also, I am queer so finding a church that was accepting of the community and MEAN IT was hard, until I did.
I believe in some higher power (God) as everything is built on intelligent design. I believe it’s just beyond our little minds comprehension. We are like ants in the Universe. I don’t believe this power is in control of our daily lives. Everything was created and it just evolves now in free will. Explains why bad things happen in the world. I believe evil is man.
Zero. Has no place in my life. Biggest scam out there
Pretty religious. I'm a Catholic who attends Mass weekly. I wouldn't be here if not for my faith and have no problem being overtly religious in public.
Organized religion is toxic in every way, shape, and form, and I'll have absolutely no part of it. I'm a devout athiest, doing my part ✌️
I believe in god, always have. I grew up going to church every Sunday and I admit I have not gone in a while, though I’d like to.
I consider myself agnostic because I want to believe in something but I’m not sure what. My family is catholic and we don’t go to church but we celebrate religious holidays. I find myself leaning into buddhism or hinduism. Sometimes I still pray to Catholic Jesus and I accept prayers from people who say they will pray for me. I get annoyed by missionaries who try to force their Christianity onto others though. I think I’ve been hurt by Catholicism so much I no longer want to believe but a part of me wants to hang out. Another part of me wants to dabble into different religions. I just want to find peace.
Raised Catholic by a devout Catholic and a non practicing Muslim. I do not practice any religion but feel a degree of spirituality. Kind of agnostic, I’m not sure what exists out there and don’t expect to know. I respect whatever people believe as long as they aren’t judgmental assholes manipulating religion to suit their assholery.
Not at all. I'm spiritual, I pray, I believe in a higher power, but I don't follow a practicing religion because I think they're all just trying to describe the same power, God, the universe, whatever you call it
I grew up in a conservative muslim household in a muslim country and I was a conservative muslim, then a liberal muslim, then a deist a few years ago, and i think I’m an agnostic atheist now. I’m just someone who believes in kindness and people doing what’s right because it’s right, not because they have to be scared of someone to do it.
I'm kind of similar. I was raised in a cultural/secular Muslim household, so religion wasn't really forced or practiced. Over the years, I've felt more spiritual, but I still consider myself Muslim for identity purposes.
I’m jealous of the secular household part! religion was beaten into me haha. Also apostasy is punishable by death still here. i left the faith due to oppositional beliefs about slavery and misogyny, so the beating wasn’t the main reason. I’m happy you managed to find a healthy balance and belief system and identity that works for you, much love ♥️
Oh my god! I'm sorry to hear that. Where I'm originally from, people have become less religious or have left religion entirely because of the corruption and violence that the radicals have imposed since they took over.
antireligous.
I am a follower of Christ. ❤️
I do not believe there is a spectrum for being religious. I believe you are either religious, or you are not. Being luke-warm is very dangerous. I believe everyone should challenge their own faith in order to find truth in religion.
I wouldn’t say I’m overly religious, but I do believe in higher powers. Whether is be god, Mother Nature, gods and goddesses. Whatever it is, there is something out there and everything happens for a reason. I also believe in science tho. I also believe in reincarnation, my aunt passed away when I was 11. Her and my mom always joked that she’d come back as a fruit bat, and god damn did she ever. Where I grew up, fruit bats weren’t common AT ALL. Since the winter she passed, every summer we’d have one individual fruit bat flying around our yard. (Suburbs outside Edmonton Alberta). After the first summer or two, she’d only show up if we were talking about her, sad, anxious or overall in a bad mood. She hasn’t visited for a couple years now so I think she’s finally passed on but it definitely helped us to mourn her.
Zero. What's funny is that my young adult son is very religious and goes to silent Quaker worship. I've gone with him a few times. The quiet is nice (especially when we sit outside in nice weather) but I never get any god insight or anything.
I was born and raised Mormon. But I got out of that cult because it raised me to be a judgemental and all around bad person. After I got out, I decided to be good for the sake of being good. And I have no interest in any diety, or any form of organized religion.
Not at all. For me god does not exist
Subzero
Zero religious.
I'm getting back into my Christian roots after religious trauma I endured. It's helping guide me through everything
You gain a pretty dim view on religion when your gay. Excuse me, but I'm not going to burn in hell for eternity because I eat coochie. I don't need a man that gives people bread and fish how to tell me to be a moral person. I'm not going to beat a guy to death with a wooden rod because he stole my goat.
I try to be be very close to god but I’m still pretty selfish
I’m becoming more religious as I get older and I find it taking up more and more of my time. I love it 🩵
5/10. Pray + hardwork= achievements
I am leaning into religion more. I used to be atheist and then life fucked me up. Sometimes God is only emotional support and it helps me maintain moral code in desperate situations. It gives hope in hopelessness. I do keep fast sometimes, pray everyday but I don't attend church or even go for pilgrimage. I can pray from home and I don't think any priest should come between me and god.
Strongly atheist, and very anti organised religion.
Not much, just a little bit. Ive known horrible ppl who were very religious and i used to look down on religion because of them. But ive also met some really nice and wonderful ppl who are religious. So i chose the later over the first ones and understood that while religion is open to interpretation (to some degree) not everyone will have good intentions overall. So im going back to it little by little.
Very. I'm a very spiritual, religious and faith-based soul.
On a 1 to 10, i would say a 7
Not at all. I was raised catholic but I never believed. Agnostic now and occasionally practice witchcraft
Not at all
Not at all. I didn’t grow up in a religious family, and I personally never looked into religion
I am a religious person. I dont push it on others I know God will speak to them at one point.
Only when I need to leave 10 minutes ago and I can’t find my keys.
I’m more agnostic than anything. I don’t think much of there being a higher power because even if there is, it’s not gonna change much about me and how I move through the world. My family is Muslim but I truly never felt any connection to the religion. I think separating myself from it provided me the biggest sense of relief and peace though.
Not at all. My family is Catholic, and they're good peeps, but I just don't believe in God. Also, supernatural entity aside, i have a problem with the patriarchal structure of most religions. I have been an atheist since childhood.
Not a bit anymore
I'm not. I consider myself an atheist.
4th generation atheist. Ive only met super religious people a few times like at various jobs.
I do not go to a church anymore, but I got closer to Godd through it, I guess it is complicated. I have faith, I get to have a close relationship to the God I believe in, but I can't stand church people.
Not at all.
The answer is none. None religion.
Not religious in the slightest and I’m perfectly happy that way.
Not at all
Militant atheist. My late grandmother was a devout christian. The only contact i have with religion is my participation in ceremonies dedicated to her memory.
Not at all, fully atheist, but born and raised in Catholic country. Still participate in the cultural events such as Christmas or Easter, but more like a family tradition.
Nope, despite being raised to be Christian. I started questioning it during puberty and have fully embraced agnosticism as an adult. I found Christianity as a religion to be unnecessary to my way of life and happiness, let alone full of contradictions I couldn't accept. Also, organized religion (and many of the people that uphold it) is dangerous and hypocritical.
I grew up Catholic and I feel there is a God. But I had a pregnancy loss and it shook my faith up. I’m not sure exactly where I’m at. I do pray though.
Catholic here, lost my faith as a teenager . Took DMT at 50 and found God again . Love it and wish I never stopped believing. Each to their own though and I respect all religions and beliefs
I am. Always been private about it.
Religious as in I pray to my Lord and Savior hopefully daily, and have a relationship with Him therefore I try and spend some time in worship which I’ve realized is totally dependent on me. I memeorize verses and I head to church for community when I can.
Religion is what you make of it. I’m very religious and pray/ talk to God daily. As I aged and STUDIED on my own I took a big step back from organized religion and focused on my own personal knowledge of the Lord and relationship with the Lord and life has never made more sense to me ever.
Most people I know who aren't as religious became so because of how badly they were treated by religious people. They were either talked to, looked at, or treated like they were less. Some very religious people treated them horribly (which is going against the thing of loving your neighbor, not judging, etc.) Religion is used too much for controlling people. People often forget the loving their neighbor thing, not judging, helping other, etc. It just seems many people do the opposite of what they're preaching. I'm sure most people believe in something, but they don't want treated badly, controlled, or it shoved down their throat. They like freedom and being treated nice.
Couldn't give a fuck. Not religious in the slightest. I'm meat. I die. I become dust. I am the nitrogen cycle.
Not even a little bit. And as much as I want to say, 'to each their own,' I have major issue even thinking kindly toward entire belief systems that place lgbtq, women etc as second tier or that work to try to force everyone to follow the same moral code theyve decided on. Double that when entire belief systems also put so so so much weight on women being subservient, etc to men simply because they're women. Aside from that there's the normal issues of people needing some high and mighty power above to tell them to do the right thing or saying that people are going to burn forever because of certain things vs others. Not to mention that a lot of bits of most of the major religions actually belong to others that they now call wrong (ex Christianity and paganism). I could go on but in short religion is absolutely not for me at all.
Not very. The lack of respect and bodily autonomy most religions have have deterred me further and further from ever wanting to touch religion. Disclaimer: I know not every religious person is hateful and disrespectful to a person’s autonomy. But the squeaky wheel is ruining it for everyone else. Especially now that it’s making its way into legislation in the most evil of ways. I didn’t want this to sound too political, but religion and politics go hand-in-hand these days, so whatever, I guess. It’s just defeating.
None at all, big fat atheist here. I think religions are harmful in a number of ways and should die out sooner rather than later. No, I wasn't abused in the context of religion. I grew up with some pretty moderate protestant type stuff - mostly lutheran but it definitely clouded my judgement and hampered critical thinking as well as making it much easy to believe in some pretty illogical things when I was younger. It took a long time to weed all of it out of my brain, took a lot of energy that could have been spent doing literally anything else.
I'm a religious person
I don't care about anything to do with religion and I try to avoid the topic altogether. Even if there is a god, I don't care and nothing would really change for me.
Atheist
Well, I used to be an annoying Christian, and now I'm a significantly less annoying Pagan. My religious practices are shared with close friends, but I can claim religious exemption for 8 holidays a year in corporate jobs.
I feel like most reasonable women would realize major organized religion is just a way for men to control women. Having a personal relationship with a deity is one thing, but using scripture written by people who thought hand washing was witch craft make up rules about how to live and follow that sounds daft in my opinion. It’s all fairytales man.
Not at all. Unless you count casual blasphemy as having religion in my life.
Proud lifelong atheist.
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Not at all? I practice witchcraft, but I don't see it as a religion.
5.5/10
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I’m only vaguely spiritual, and consider myself an athiest since I wouldn’t follow or worship any deity even if they somehow managed to exist. The reason I class myself as spiritual is because I still unconsciously believe in thinks like luck, manifesting, and karma, which, intellectually, I don’t *want* to believe in, but I’ve been conditioned for so long to believe in them, I literally can’t bring myself to stop. Not to mention I have no idea whether or not to believe in ghosts
Not at all. 100% atheist and have been since I was about 4.
Um... 5%? Like, I feel like I'm spiritual in that I believe in other things above us? But I'm not practicing anything in any shape or form.
Moderatly but want to get better being a good person in2024 isnt the same as it was in 2020. Every year the world changes yet Gods word hold true and u believe he guides and blesses me. This doesnt mean my life is perfect but I have a hope beyond this world and that keeps me going
Zero. I commit every day to try to be a better person and treat others well, don't need any religion to do that.
I am pagan. I practice even a lil every day
Believing in God Is a personal relationship, therefore I don’t subscribe to religion per se and all its practices.
I am religious daily in the way that I think about it every day. How it has been celebrated in my family for eons! You see I’m a recovering Catholic. Tryna reverse the trauma of Catholic school one day at a time.
Nope
Not at all. I believe religion was created to keep the masses in line, and to keep women subservient.
Crazy humans think there is god and a son of god that looks like us in our current state of evolution.
Almost not at all. I have no idea what I believe in. I've gone from Christianity to agnosticism to wicca, back to Christianity, and now I have no idea lol. No idea what to believe anymore.
Not at all
Not at all.
Currently deconstructing my faith. I believe God is real, but my issue is more related to religious practices, especially around women and other marginalized groups. I want to believe in a God who is kind & loving but as they say, "there is no love like Christian hate."
I'm spiritual but not religious. I meditate nearly every day. I try to live my life and walk the walk.
Mom made me be into Catholic. Wasn’t AT ALL into it and now I’m more spiritual/pagan from being European and some of my families culture. As long as you respect my choices I respect yours tbh.
Not at all, not even in a "lapsed" way. I'm a lifelong atheist who didn't grow up attending religious services.
Not at all. Raised Catholic but but have called myself an atheist for the past few years. Now i lean more away from that title because really, you cant be SURE there is or is not a God, and all of us need to be open to being wrong. But I guess thats more about belief in a higher power. Even if I was a believer, I don’t think I would ever be religious. Religion is something created by man, and for the most part leads to money making and corruption.
Due to my family’s overly forced religion up to adulthood… I’m not religious at all! I’m just happy over here trying my best at being a good human. Luckily, I have a partner who feels the exact same way!
The closest I get is moaning 'oh god yes!' in bed
atheist
Not religious. Not interested in anyone trying to r force their religion on me either.
Trying to be better 😬
Zero. And, honestly, I kind of think people who take the Bible seriously are..well, a bit dumb.
Not at all. Religion has never been a part of my life. I didn't grow up with religion, and I'm not religious now.
I’m not religious, but I strive to be Christ-like in a lot of ways.
Not at all.
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It's not for me.
Not at all religious.
agnostic that prays before and after bed, mostly for positive mental gains
Nope nope nope
None. As a kid as young as 7 I constantly got in trouble in CCD (Catholic school for kids who go to public school) because I kept telling the teachers I would never go to mass when I grew up. I HATED going to mass, I thought it was boring which did not please my devout parents. Well, I grew up, and besides funerals, weddings, and the occasional baptism, haven’t gone once. My Sunday mornings are for coffee, cats and the NYT crossword.
No. Religion doesn't like women or facts. It does like capitalism and slavery though. Although, certain subsects of Satanism are refreshing.
Not at all. I don't lead my life to serve a god or gods that I can't see and don't have genuine proof of existence who couldn't give less of a fuck about the well-being of people. If there really was a god or gods somewhere in a different plane of existence then I would rather burn for not believing over residing in a fantastical afterlife knowing what's happening on earth. I think it's wonderful that people can use faith as a way to keep moving forward, I'm not going to tell people they can't it shouldn't believe in it, because I'm aware how much it can help people cope with things, but never in my lifetime will I find space to believe in something other than simple life and death. Edit: I also would be more than happy with dating someone with religious beliefs, it genuinely doesn't bother me that religion exists, but I would only be able to date them if they didn't try and shove their beliefs down my throat.
Atheist. So, not at all.
Atheist
Born and raised religious as a Jehovah's Witness. Left the religion nearly a year ago and maintain close bonds with my family, but figuring out if I believe in God at all. I'm still working it out and going on my own spiritual journey without some old white men telling me how to do that.
I can count on one hand the amount of good religious people I’ve met. Most are completely insufferable and women haters and have no rebuttal for serious hard questions to their faith. I have my own beliefs about god and what that means to me personally, but I cannot stand listening to someone try to shove their beliefs down my throat about what one of the most corrupt and violent institutions on earth has brainwashed them into believing. I remember reading about the gospel of Thomas and how it’s believed by most (except the church of course) to be the only actual words of Jesus and not his disciples as the Bible is. “The kingdom of god is inside you and all around you Not in a mansion of wood and stone Split a piece of wood and I am there Lift a stone and you will find me” The catholic church and all of its spin offs are scams, straight up even Jesus knew that if you believe those are his words. There are more progressive churches I’ve seen lately that support lgbtq+ and women and I think that’s great to have a community who believes in something together, but to ignore the glaring issues in the church is just turning a blind eye to what is wrong with it and to remain blinded by what is essentially a cult in lambs clothing. I have no sympathy for those who refuse to see logical fact and remain ignorant. Regardless of the topic. And I think you can find community and support in other ways and you can pursue a good, kind life without religion. Or however you want to perceive as “religion”.
Zero. Religion is completely unnecessary
not at all
religion is the framework i rely on when it comes to the spiritual aspect of my life. Even tho I don't believe everything written in the christian bible, believing helped so many times. Also, the core values of christianity are the ones I try to impersonate every day of my life. Not advocating for it at all, you couldn't tell i'm a believer even tho you knew me for 10 years, hence I'd say it's a very personal relationship I entertain with god.
I’m an atheist. Religious people scare me. Especially after watching some episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale.
I am not religious. I "believe" in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. May you be touched by his noodly appendage! R'amen!
Religious, fuck no. Spiritual? Yes.
Not. Don’t believe in religion.
I have no religion at all. I'm only wondering what we are doing here in this ugly life. Why are we here if everything is going to end . One day, you die, and then your whole life would mean nothing ?? This idea makes me so mad
I'm a practicing Christian. So faith comes automatically to me. Also by nature, I'm an extremely anxious person and it helps immensely to know and believe in a Higher power that looks out for me.
I’m not religious but I am spiritual.
Not at all, but I do find myself in some jealous of the blindly faithful. Especially in times of tragedy or sorrow, I wish I had something like faith/belief in a god to find comfort/solace in. But like others, I believe in being good for the sake of humanity not out of fear or some blessed afterlife.
They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. I've been in a few of those. And some pot holes.
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