Which religion do you follow?

[~Debbie~]

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.

[Loveinamist]

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.

[Aimz]

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.

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 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.

[suse]

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).

[kirsty_lee]

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

[Aimz]

Suse it's from Wikipedia! It has the whole history of Humanism and some really interesting information. I will PM you the link.