Are you a religious person? Why or why not?

[letuswaltzforthedead]

I was reading a little bit on the demographics of religiosity and the article I was reading claimed that religions were created so societies would continue existing and not devolve into chaos or else thing. It also claimed that for this reason, religions was used to justify war crimes and Pillages but in the modern day, many people just don't find it as necessary so they abandon it.

I find this take to be weird in a sense (biased would probably be a better word) so I was curious what are your reasons why you are religious or not.

Yes (why?)

No (Why?)

WITHOUT ICE CREAM, THERE WOULD BE DARKNESS AND CHAOS. (this is the "don't care" option)

[NamerOfStars]

Ever hear of Gobekli Tepe? It's a site in Turkey that contains the oldest known human structure; an underground temple dated back to about 12,000 BC. What makes it so remarkable is that the glaciers didn't recede from Turkey for more than a thousand years after that point- AND the observable part was made with precision WAY beyond what Mesolithic tools were capable of, suggesting that its construction would've been something remarkable even thousands of years later.

It suggests that the traditional line of thinking, that settled civilization paved the way for religion, is backwards- that it was actually religion that motivated settling. Given how, in many times and places, the number of Calories per hour of labor was actually LOWER with agriculture than with pastoralism or hunting and gathering, it makes sense that it'd take something big to make people abandon a way of life that'd worked since roughly the dawn of time. (For the record, agriculture has a much higher yield of Calories per acre of land, as well as producing that much more reliably, but that would've been apparent back then). Of course, the motivations might have been different in different places, and it's not like settled civilization was only tried once.

But as to your question itself- I'm religious for exactly the same reason that many people aren't: what I have seen and experienced suggests that it's the truth.

[MCheetah]

No, I am not. I've explained why before on GAG. I'm agnostic and believe humanity is too stupid to know any of the great secrets of the universe regarding ANYTHING, so knowing if there is a higher power or not is beyond humanity's sheer infinite stupidity and arrogance. Most people don't even know themselves to 100% certainty. But the creator of everything is a petty old man with a beard who lives in the sky and acts like a bratty teenager, smiting people who don't kiss his ass? Yeah, that sounds about as believable as the pedophile who'll give you 72 thirteen-year-olds when you die if you kill enough homos.

[mrlongdongsiilver]

Bro I've seen some of your mutates and opinions are you depressed bro I think you need help man. feel like you use this app as an outlet if you need to talk to somebody you can #menhavefeelingsto

[CountessSarah]

No, I'm not. I care whether what I believe is true, and theists consistently fail to meet their burdens of proof.

Religions were indeed created as a way of controlling lower classes. But they were never needed to prop up a society. We would have already had a society in order for any religion to propagate.

[Agape93]

Your article is quite correct. And yes, I am religious.

[DJB72]

I've never met someone who wasn't in some way religious. Religiosity isn't defined by a belief in God. In face some of the most religious people I've met and writers I've read claim to be atheist (I'm looking at you, Richard Dawkins).

I prefer to say I'm a man of Faith rather than I'm religious because religion is such a limiting construct. As a Christian my Faith is defined not by the religious practices of a 1700 year old organisation, but by the behaviour of Christ Himself.

I tend to be a little more blunt than most religious people, and I say "fuck" more than most too. As a result I offend people from time to time (ask anon1903 why she blocked me recently) but I can't be bothered with pettyness. I tell the truth as I see it. Usually without a filter, which sometimes gets me blocked.

I don't aim to offend, although it seems like I'm quite good at it.

My Faith is rooted in the conviction in my heart that around 2000 years ago my God willingly chose to be executed by being flogged until his skin hung like rags, then nailed through the wrists and ankles to a Roman Cross, naked, until He was suffocated by His own bodyweight, descended into Hell itself in my place and if I was the only person in all time who would pin my Hope on His Sacrifice that He would still have willingly gone through the torture for the sake of having Relationship with me restored.

That's why I'm a man of Faith

[Weapon77]

No, because I've researched all there is and had plenty of life experience to show me that religion is troublesome when made part of people's public lives. It should be private for every person. If you want to share with friends and family, obviously go for it! But we should mimic certain other countries more and not talk about religion and politics with strangers so often. It's akin to talking about your sex life ot bathroom habits or medical records with strangers. We need that stuff all private.

So my point is that the way religion is treated on America is largely against what religion is supposed to be. I'm tired of the fighting and hate.

[Twalli]

I prefer my own morality to guide my actions. Masturbation is fine, if you want to do it, do it. Premarital sex is also fine. Extramarital sex is not. You can eat whatever you want. I do believe in deities, I just see them in the way most people see plumbers, electricians, and such. You call them when you need them, and the rest of the time you don't keep in contact. They have skills that they can use to help you, but unless you contact your plumber regularly to make sure he's okay and doesn't need some financial help from you, you shouldn't need to stay in contact with a god.

[TheUniqueOne96]

Nope.

I'm ex-religious.

If you want to hear my in-depth reasons as to why I'm not anymore, here it is, but it's quite an essay:

What made you lose your faith?

[slatyb]

No, there's no evidence that any religious practce is useful. Statistically, prayer works exactly as well as doing nothing at all. We know that what was called the "soul", our personality, is literally all in our heads. Is there a God? No one knows or can ever know, at least not in a way that is demonstrable to others.

[Tenebrae_mentis]

No, I'm not religious. Religion doesn't make logical sense and there's no evidence to support any of the claims, so I never saw any reason to believe in it. I grew up in a Christian household, but I outgrew religion about the same time I outgrew Santa Claus. It's the same thing, really. It makes some people happy, but it's nonsense.

[Lionman95]

I would say yes, some people might call it spiritual but for me it´s similar. The reason is that it gives me hope and meaning in a world where there is no clear fundament to anything. Morality is changing and it depends on the culture what´s right or wrong.
The reason why many people abandon it is because they feel they live equally good without it.

[Jessica405]

No. There is no logical reasoning for any religions. None can ever be correct. There are so many different ones, they cannot all be right.

They were created, I am sure, largely because humans could not accept their own mortality. They had to create a system with an "afterlife". Create hope that when you die, you don't end up in oblivion.

Sorry! Religions got it all wrong!

[Chazmatazz269]

I’m spiritual in a sense, but organized religion is definitely a hypocritical sham. My moral compass is as good as any religious person’s, but i don’t have to accept lies and hypocrisy to adhere to it. Some people need more guidance than others, i guess.

[FunkyMonkee]

I'm not because I see no point in it. There's no such thing as god so, why spend so much of your time praising it? And, as you've basically pointed out, religion is the single biggest cause of war. Mostly, my god is better than your god and if you don't believe me or follow my god, I'm going to kill you! In the meantime, does god profess that you should love they fellow man no matter what? How is killing someone with a different opinion god's way?

[bean2k21]

"Yes and no" - I once died for a few minutes from a bee sting. I "saw" God but I can tell you God is not a space, time, person, or place. So why would you spend your life pretending to understand something that is beyond your comprehension? To know that God is there is enough and religion is unnecessary, I think, because by living you are an expression of God.

[pers0n]

I just recently asked a question and replied to an opinion as soon as I saw it
Do you think there is a religious view propagated forcefully? ↗

[bean2k21]

@pers0n It's amazing how much time Westerners spend talking about something that's simultaneously right in front of their face and at the same time beyond comprehension. You might as well go to a paper bag factory and sit there blowing hot air into all the paper bags until your done -- what an accomplishment.

[bean2k21]

@pers0n What did the Buddha do when he found God? Smiled politely.

[pers0n]

So buddha found the god aka "the great architect" who "created the matrix"?
Maybe that's better, I hope he didn't find the god named ishtar though.. that would be gay...

Religious historian Rivkah Harris, former Associate Professor of Religion at Northwestern University, states in her book, Gender and Aging in Mesopotamia: The Gilgamesh Epic and Other Ancient Literature, that the goddess Ishtar was also known as Inanna, and her worship was specifically designed to break down all gender distinction and well as socioeconomic distinctions. She writes: “She [Ishtar] shattered all gender and socioeconomic distinctions -- being both a royal queen and simultaneously “the harlot of heaven... And in all this she was the role model for her followers. Among her powers was this from a Sumerian poem: “To turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man are yours, Inanna.” Professor Harris further writes: “In the Descent of Ishtar we are told of some participants in her religious cult: ‘The male prostitutes comb their hair before her…They decorate the napes of their necks with colored bands…They gird themselves with the sword belt…Their right side they adorn with women’s clothing…Their left side they cover with men’s clothing…Their transvestitism simulated the androgyny of Inanna- Ishtar. It was perhaps the inversion of the male/female binary opposition that thereby neutralized this opposition. By emulating their goddess who was both female and male, they shattered the boundary between the sexes. This was seen as a way of rising above the prison of the flesh.” Finally, Harris concludes: “Ishtar is androgynous, marginal, ambiguous…She is betwixt and between… Central to the goddess as paradox is her well-attested psychological and physiological androgyny. Inanna-Ishtar is both female and male … [in one place stating] ‘Though I am a woman I am a noble young man

[pers0n]

I don't know if I ever posted it, I had the idea to ask a troll... "for those who had NDEs, do you agree with paramahansa yogananda that dying is like having an orgasm except 1000 times better?

[pers0n]

Those who had near death experiences, do you agree with Paramahansa Yogananda that dying is like having an orgasm except 1000 times better? ↗

[bean2k21]

@pers0n This is why the Hebrews called God 'Yaweh,' beause it means "too sacred to be spoken." What you refer to as a "Great Architect" is debatable. Which of these is a great architect? The man who designs a Gothic cathedral or the robin who designs a nest for her eggs? A birds nest serves no purpose for mankind and, if you showed it to a fish, it would be unfathomable.

[TroyDT2]

I believe in God and often attend a little local church that helps the needy, but I am not sure that I would call myself "religious." That term seems to bring up images of dour, judgmental people and I am into having fun and judging only those who violate the person or property of another.

[smahala1991]

I used to be, but into my late 20s and early 30s I have more and more strayed away from my Christianity practices. I still celebrate Christmas. But even then I was not uber-religious because I never liked that style. I do believe in God, but I'm not going to shove it down people's throats because I hear and see it often here in my part of the country.

[SnowedIn]

Once again a question that forces us to think.

I chose the ice cream answer because I'm neither yes not no at this point. It's complicated. Lots of doubts and lots of questions and a long journey ahead to find answers.

[Pudsmucker]

I'm a Christian because my parents were Christians and my grandparents. In my family it's a generational. We find that it's something important in our soul to have a good strong belief in the creator of this world. Who has given us the opportunity to be here on the earth The experience growth and pain.

[Apulu_Imback]

I'm spiritual, not religious. I do believe in the power which created world and which is guiding me, but I don't believe in man made god which people believe is their religion. It's just the same power named differently.

[Berethor]

I am secular, and I had a crisis when religion didn't helped me, so I become even less religious.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ODetOE6cbbc

[Kori1236]

I was raised Christian and I suppose I incorporate some of the values in my every day life. But I’m not religious. The whole story of the bible and god sounds like some campfire story or bedtime story.

[BCRanger10]

Yes, I am. I practice religion out of reverence and justice to God, Who created me.

And I'd be interested to read this article you're talking about.

[melanieeeB]

Nope, I find it very hard to believe that there is a God and made everything in 7 days and all the other exaggerated stories about jesus and co... I belive in science and the power of the Universe