A general poll to see which religion BellyBelly members follow. This is an interest poll only, please no debate.
Printable View
A general poll to see which religion BellyBelly members follow. This is an interest poll only, please no debate.
I am Catholic, born into a strongly Catholic family and was very devout through my childhood and into my teens. I then married a Muslim man and I didn't practise for a long time, but came back to the church maybe 5 years ago, a couple of years after my divorce. I had a major crisis of faith during my time undergoing IVF, but have found peace with my religion now.
Forgive me Sushee, as I am not religious - but does that mean there is no category for you to vote or does a Catholic fall into one of those categories?
I voted Christian Kel :) though there are those who will say that that's not the same thing. I don't see it as different myself.
I follow the Catholic religion as well....but i dont class that as any of the options...
I dont follow it strongly...but thats my religion ive grown up as.
All my kids will be Anglican, i was married in Anglican church too. DH is Anglican thats why we went this way.
I voted "not religious" - although I was christened as a baby, and as per usual in the 60's/70's I was sent to sunday school etc. for a number of years. But I can't remember the last time I went into a church.
I don't know the difference between Agnostic and Athiest. From my impression one is "don't believe in anything" and the other is "not commited to a religion but open to there being a higher thing"...
I would be the 2nd of those.
I'm married to an Israeli Jew - who was born and bred in Jerusalem. He's not (ultra) religous, but I respect his faith very much. As I am not Jewish, our children are not recognised as Jews... but I really hope that they will take up the Jewish faith.
I voted 'other'.I was brought up Anglican and went to sunday school/church until I was about 16. After that I guess I kind of lost interest really. I still do believe alot of what is part of the Anglican and Christian faiths, but I have also taken alot out of other faiths and it is now all a mix of different things that I believe...I don't have any hard belief in one faith.
I voted Christian but I also follow some of the ideals of Buddhism. I was christened Presbyterian, went to Methodist Sunday school and follow aspects of the Catholic faith now. I also have beliefs in a type of spiritualism that doesn't really fit into any category :D
I voted other because my religion is not listed and I do not follow it to any recognisable degree. However my job fits well with my religion.
I was brought up Catholic but now define my religion as Spiritualism, so I put 'other'.
I put myself in the 'Other' category...
My spirituality is of my own design... its personal, and I don't feel that I need to follow any set religion.
Although I do have a definite interest in Buddhism which I find resonates with me...
Sometimes I think it is sad to see Christianity broken down into so many different denominations. I am Christian, and tend to feel more comfortable in a Baptist setting, but I do not class myself as Baptist unless forced to pick. I've also been very happy attending churches of other denominations, and feel that there's something to be gained in all of them.
I guess I'm having one of those moments where I wish Christians of different denominations would focus more on unity - what they have that is the same, rather than what makes them different from others. If you get down to the core elements of what someone who is Catholic believes (unless I am misinformed), they are not separate from the rest of Christianity.
BW
I am a Buddhist. Raised as spiritual, but no specific religion.
Jodie: you are right....
Agnostic: not commited to a religion but open to there being a higher thing
Athiest: don't believe in anything
Kelly, not meaning to be picky, but I think Jehovah's Witnesses would classify themselves as Christian, ie they believe in God and Christ and that is the cornerstone of their teachings. My parents were once JWs, so I feel I can speak with some degree of authority.
I would have though JW was Christian too... just as Seventh Day Adventists or Mormons are for example.
I'm not religious, was not christianed or raised in a religious family and have no intention to join a belief system but I would say I'm culturally Christian (love Christmas time!). I would also say I'm fairly swayable to spiritual possibilities and I follow a buddist 'path of enlightenment' sort of philosophy.
Okay I will remove it - like I mentioned I am not religious so I have no idea LOL
I am not religious either, I just have my own beliefs not any set rules.I see, hear, feel and sense things and that is all I go by. So I dont have a religion I have beliefs!
i always assumed that being a catholic, meant that i was christian. I didnt realise that the catholic's classified them selves as different.
I was baptised Anglican when i was a baby, but, in order to go to a catholic boarding school, when i was in year 6, i was 'rebaptised' catholic.
I believe that there is a greater being, and that there is a heaven. But, i also believe the story of evolution. I also believe that the breakdown in the community, and the increase of drugs, bashings, murders, crime etc etc, and overall lack of respect and ethics of the younger generation is a result of the lack of religion. Not necessarily christianity, but, just religion - or faith. Lose of a sense of community i guess. The breakdown, or lose of religion/belief has created an every man for himself type senario.
Deb,
Catholics are Christians, in that they believe in Christ, but because of the different demonimations, some Catholics will not say that they are Christian so as to set themselves apart from the protestant denominations, as there are some very fundamental differences in beliefs. My mother will not say she's Christian for that reason, but I will and do. It's not set in stone, more a personal choice.
I regard myself as more "spiritual" than religious. I believe that there is a highe being, though i am not sure what. I used to be a christian, but i found myself questioning so much... Not trying to start a debate, this is just what i believe in.
I follow Balinese Hindu beliefs...
Basically treating others as you'd wish to be treated, Karma is very important in our beliefs!
The Catholic religion is a Christian religion. I was raised Orthodox, my family converted to Seventh Day Adventist but I consider myself Christian rather than a specific "religion" per se. I like learning about all different cultures and religions and whatever "feels" right is what I take on board. I picked Christian in the poll.
I was born catholic (although not christened) and raised ANglican, went to a n Anglican school, and was very religious until I was about 14-15 when I started questioning the contradictions I was being taught, from there I spent a lot of time learning... I voted Paganism, because although undertaking a Druidic appreticeship (20 years) I have not completed it, so therefore not really comfortable calling myself a Druidess...there arent too many of us out there being open about it!
I was christened an Anglican and confirmed a Catholic. However I put paganism as my religion because although I am not a card carrying practising pagan I believe in nature and celebrate the seasons etc.
I was just thinking the other day how it is acceptable to say in public that you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu etc etc but people are not so accepting of paganism as a rule. I am forced to teach religion (religion is compulsory in British schools) and I am sure that if I shared my religious beliefs with the children there would be an uproar. However if I was Christian or Muslim there would not be the same reaction. We are supposed to teach the children abut various religions to encourage tolerance but I just know I would not be allowed to even mention paganism. I get enough weirdness from other members of staff when I tell them I celebrate the Solstices etc!:
I am not religious.
If I was to put myself into any category I would say that my life stance is Humanism.
:
Humanism is a comprehensive life stance that upholds human reason, ethics, and justice, and rejects supernaturalism, pseudoscience, and superstition. It generally appeals to agnostics, apatheists, atheists, empiricists, freethinkers, Objectivists, rationalists, and scientific skeptics.
I was raised in an Athiest household but was taught about all religions as I was taught about history. My late Grandfather was a Humanist, as is my Dad.:
Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
I am not religious; I subscribe to a Humanist / Atheist view. (Amy, that is one of the most succinct and useful definitions of the Humanist position I have read - where did you get it, as I may use it myself from now on - if that's OK).
Someone asked much, much earlier on in the thread about the difference between agnosticism and atheism, and said that they understood agnosticism to mean being without commitment to a religion but open to the existence of a higher power.
This is not quite correct - although many people follow definitions of agnosticism that deviate from the original meaning. Agnosticism literally means 'without knowledge' (from 'gnosis' - to know). It is a philosophical stance whereby the holder acknowledges that the reason for, or source of existence is unprovable. The concept was originally developed in the 19th century by TH Huxley, who defined it as being: "...wrong for a man to say he is certain of the objective truth of a proposition unless he can provide evidence which logically justifies that certainty. This is what agnosticism asserts and in my opinion, is all that is essential to agnosticism." Agnosticism is an intellectual concept; its core tenet is a rejection of the unprovable. It is not that an agnostic is open to the possibility of existence of a higher being, but that it cannot be proven.
Atheism, on the other hand, is either non-belief in a higher power (known as 'weak' atheism) or denial of the existence of a higher power (known as 'strong' atheism).
Not religious either, was christened as my dad is catholic and my mum a Prodestant but as I grew older got my own views etc and am now an athiest, although dp calls me pagan for all my other beliefs LOL
Suse it's from Wikipedia! It has the whole history of Humanism and some really interesting information. I will PM you the link.