# What religion most reflects your views: Belief-O-Matic Quiz with poll (updated)



## Christian Soldier

*Choose your favourite belief or religion! (poll)*

Ok, this is pretty simple. Just vote for your belief in the poll above, and share whatever you wan't about your belief.

*(EDIT):*If you have an 'OTHER BELIEF' that is not listed in this poll please list your belief in this thread. 

*'Other Belief' votes:*
*Agnostic*  - *2* (Mistaken votes)
*Gnostic* - *1*
*New Age* - *1*
*Nihilist* - *1*
*Sufism/Gnostism* - *1*
*Unknown* - *5* (These voters haven't posted their belief in this thread yet)
*Total: 11 votes*


Maybe some of you don't know what you believe, if so click on this link and answer a few questions to determine your faith: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html (link thanks to DD).

Thanks.


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## antinazi77

I went to beliefe net a few months ago and it said i WAS MAYAN BUDDHIST , THEN CHRISTIAN, THEN other forms of buddhism, so out of respect for myself and people on this website I am going to suggest you compleetly ignore the computers inability to factor the important differences between a cardnal trait and a secondary trait of a religion or beliefe, rather then giving them all a = %.

with limited resources


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## DigitalDuality

Actually i've recieved the exact results from Beliefnet all the times i've tried it.  Of course, as times pass my feelings change.. and the results vary slightly accordingly.


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## DigitalDuality

*Choose your favourite belief or religion!*

Poll added


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## DigitalDuality

I voted Agnostic.  I have an "irking" feeling there is more than what we readily percieve.  I do have morals that coincide with parts of many religions as well.  I also have great confidence in the scientific process as well.  And we, have not come up with "proof" of anything beyond what we readily percieve.   So i'm stuck, but i'm content and happy with what i think and the morals i have.

My 10 ten for beliefnet.
1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Theravada Buddhism (92%)
3. 	Secular Humanism (85%)
4. 	Liberal Quakers (80%)
5. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72%)
6. 	Neo-Pagan (66%)
7. 	Mahayana Buddhism (62%)
8. 	Nontheist (62%)
9. 	Taoism (57%)
10. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (55%)

(if you post your results, you may want to disable smileys)

I'd say some of the more interesting theories on the explination of the world's workings that appeal to me, though i do not wholly "believe in".. could be described here:

Thoughts on Sacred Geometry 
brain chems vs spiritual vessels 
The World is a Hologram


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## antinazi77

you mean exactly the same........my results are very simular to yours , but don't you see how their order makes no since. it is illogical for two forms of christianity to come inbetween two forms of buddhism in chronological order of applicability to ones beliefs, after that you have non theist followed by yet another form of christianity which is compleetly irrational. The only reason it could come up with answers like this is because it has to give you 10 answers and it is lacking the ability to find more the 3 or four that work unless you are christian.


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## DigitalDuality

I find eastern and western religions have alot of the similarities though.. alot of differences too.  I can see where they could fit in where they do.


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## antinazi77

I hit A everytime

budhism came before "liberal versions of christianity"


if you look every A is a deity worshipping creationalist answer in the begening of the test, not buddhist.

they do not have enough options for pagans to make since , just convert while causing pain.

meanwhile the creationalist gets 27 options


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## DigitalDuality

Ok i get what you're saying.  Point made.

But lets not high jack Christian_Soldier's thread with a debate about the link.

*edit, making this a Sticky/Announcement for 2 weeks time.


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## nicnicnic

Although I am a Christian I chose Hinduism as I believe there is less dogma attached to Hinduism, at least in our western culture, and so it is easier to achieve a mystical sensibility free from politics and power.

Surely when Christ says 'Watch!' he did not mean I should watch for this poll to announce my faith; I can not imagine that I have failed in faith by selecting 'Hinduism.'  People display their faith in action, not by clicking a button.

As for that strange 'beliefnet' quiz I was surprised to find that I am (supposedly) inclined to be a Jainist and a Liberal Quaker, as I know little about either of these paths.


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## DigitalDuality

Ok... so...you identify as christian.. but select Hindu.. simply to make some point?  I think you're taking this a bit too deeply don't you think?


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## nicnicnic

DigitalDuality said:
			
		

> *I think you're taking this a bit too deeply don't you think? *



Maybe so ... but I believe in life-eternal and there's really nothing to do on a poll but push a button like on a coke machine.  I mean: the mystics of all these faiths share a vision of the absolute ... the dogmatics on the fringe of these faiths are opposed to one another.  So I would like to select every single faith ...

          'Then they were seven men
seated in meditation for the sake of the One Reality.'
               -- Rumi.

Christ was a mystic.


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## jpgrdnr

Gnosticism?

ooh heresy heresy.....


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## Negative

I chose other, because I don't think I believe in anything anymore.


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## DigitalDuality

^
Agnosticism ?


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## Christian Soldier

what are the 2 'other beliefs'?


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## Negative

DigitalDuality said:
			
		

> *^
> Agnosticism ? *



Well, its not that I believe that we can't know, because I don't even believe that . . . if that makes any sense.


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## DigitalDuality

^
I chose Agnosticism... i believe we may or may not be able to know..... if that makes sense.

I didn't think agnosticism says we "can't know", but more of, as of now,, we don't know.


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## skywise

skywise picks agnosticism because skywise does not know nor does skywise pretend to know.

skywise also refers to himself in the third person in this post.

(skywise has also had a bad night and is also drunk)


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## Negative

DigitalDuality said:
			
		

> *^
> I chose Agnosticism... i believe we may or may not be able to know..... if that makes sense.
> 
> I didn't think agnosticism says we "can't know", but more of, as of now,, we don't know. *



then apparently I'm more agnostic than I thought . . .


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## mariacallas

Although i was baptized roman catholic, and still go to mass once in a while...i firmly believe i am a Buddhist at heart (this does not mean i do not pray to God,or i am at a crossroads between buddha and God...as a matter of fact, my knowledge and practice of Buddhism is not a replacement for the christian way of life that i grew up with; on the contrary, it enriches and enhances my spiritual life as a whole ..) Zen and Buddhism is just so right for me. Ive studied it many years back, and little by little i see how it fulfills me as a person...and how it continuously leads me towards the path of Enlightenment. Unlike the rigidity and uncompromising teachings ive known most of my life as a Catholic ,(i respect my faith, but i do not adhere to everything it says ..not at all. Im a very lax catholic, very open minded..none of that extremist bullshit; that i can be this way and still respect my religion is a sort of personal challenge i thankfully have mastered without resorting to being BITTER or agnostic..). On the other hand, the basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender. It teaches practical methods (such as meditation) which enable people to realise and utilise its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and Compassion....now THIS is the way id like to eventually attain inner peace and my own personal nirvana...more so than what i have learned in Christian schools or by reading the Bible. Now i can say i have truly made MY OWN adult choices regarding my religion(s) and Buddhism has given  me an inner peace i was not able to experience during ALL my years of studying in strict catholic schools! doh!8(


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## Grim

I personally don't follow any particular faith or belief structure, but I can relate to some aspects of many of them. I don't believe we can ever truly get it down right because we can only guess, so I remain open to many ideas. I believe that there is something out there beyond the material world, but I would not go as far as saying that it is one way and not the other, that is why I don't like organized religion. I am comfortable with living my life with questions rather than accept answers which nobody can prove.


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## Christian Soldier

^agnostic?


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## Grim

Uh, I guess you can say that. I think there is _something_ out there, but in my mind I am sure that whatever it is, it is probably a quite different than any religions would have you believe. 

Western religions often try to simplify god to a single omnipotent being which watches and controls everything and judges people. They also center the earth as the main thing in the universe. Eastern religions provide a more philosophical approach which I like a little more, but I still don't like them because they throw in concepts like karma and reincarnation which have absolutely no basis.

Basically I am saying I don't like anyone telling me that something is definately one way and not the other without giving any logical explaination. I like some concepts from various religions and I make my own judgements about what makes sense, yet I never get to the point where I am absolutely sure that something is completely true. 

Agnostic usually refers to someone who can't decide if there is a god or not right? I tend to think that there is some kind of higher power, or consciousness or whatever it is behind everything, rather than that we are just a complex system of matter that somehow gained consciousness and awareness like the materialists would have you believe. I just don't believe that that higher consciousness is anything we can explain, comprehend, or pin down, in fact we probably can't even get close to the truth without it being very vague.


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## Belisarius

For me, it would be a toss-up between Sufism and Gnosticism.


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## Void

I feel that a spiritual connection to one self, reality and God is far more important then anything else, and is the original message that founded the great religions.


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## Christian Soldier

Belisarius said:
			
		

> *For me, it would be a toss-up between Sufism and Gnosticism. *



What's this mean to you? What do you believe exactly?


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## David

Mine's not on the list, and I refuse to be recognized as the other one.


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## Christian Soldier

David: Read the first post. So what do you believe?


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## David

I'm a Nihilist. I don't believe in any of that, and I feel my view should be accurately represented, as I know I'm not the only one here.

I also don't think that classifying it as other would make anyone understand it. I'll quit now. :D


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## Christian Soldier

Okay, so far the 'Other Belief' tally is:
*Gnostic* - *1*
*Sufism/Gnostism* - *1*
*Agnostic*  - *2* (mistaken votes)
*Unknown* - *5* (haven't posted their belief in this thread yet)

Also *1 Nihilist* who hasn't voted anything.


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## jpgrdnr

Gnostic for myself. 

Why I said its heresy is because its not really Christianity. Its a mix of early Judeo-Christian (and other pantheons around the Med.). 

Catholicism (I'm a former Catholic) considers this evil because it(Gnosticism) disregards the Bible as Law. The Bible is the Word of God and the Pope is His Leader on Earth (etc. etc.). Any Catholics want to correct me on this go ahead. I was just some kid in 
choir who didn't know much about anything besides Lego at the time. 

pg.4 from NH to pg. 5

summation: The Christian resurrection has already taken place

Which is very dangerous for Christians.
No Messiah. No salvation. Its already happened. 

This is from the Apocalypse of Peter...its Jesus speaking actually  




> They will cleave to the name of a dead man, thinking that they will become pure. But they will become greatly defiled and they will fall into the name of error and into the hand of an evil, cunning man and a manifold dogma, and they will be ruled heretically. For some they will say evil things against each other....But many others, who oppose the truth and are the messengers of error, will set up their error and their law against these pure thoughts of mine, as looking out from one perspective, thinking that good and evil are from one source. They do business in my word...And there shall be others of those who are outside are number who name themselves bishop and also deacons, as if they have received their authority form God. They bend themselves under the judgement of the leaders. These people are dry canals.



Obviously someone who is rather po'd
at the whole state of things long ago.

There's a lot of weird academic ideas in it:

1. God is several Gods. A lot of soft opinions backed by old stories. 
2. A greater expansion on the Creation myth found in Genesis. I wrote a previous post on why the Creation myth makes no sense at all. "Gnostic" writings fill in the gaps. Though it shifts. 
3. More emphasis on Gnosis. Thats hard to explain. Its sort of like Tao in many respects. Spiritual Truth. Beauty. etc. 
4. A thinking man/woman's religion. (sort of). Academic, really. 
5. The story of who Seth was. 

Basically, it takes into account a lot of the other Christian writings, Gos of Thomas, several Apocalypses (Peter, others).

At its root what it does is totally destroy the foundation of what Christians perceive. And in a sense it doesn't destroy anything at all. 

This is from the sentences of Sextus. (From the collection called the NAg Hammadi library(HarperCollins). 

A evil soul flees from God.
Persuade a senseless brother not to be senseles; if he is mad, protect him.
You cannot receive understanding unless you know first that you possess it. 
In everything there is again this sentence.

I'm not saying I'm a strict follower(being Gnostic isn't something you "follow" anyways). But there's a lot of ideas in it that satisfy me.


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## Evlorin

1.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (100%)  
2.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (97%)  
3.  Liberal Quakers (94%)  
4.  Unitarian Universalism (91%)  
5.  New Age (84%)  
6.  Neo-Pagan (83%)  
7.  New Thought (81%)  
8.  Scientology (75%)  
9.  Taoism (72%)  
10.  Bahá'í Faith (66%)  

those were my ten from belief net, i don't agree with the first three as i don't think christ was any more than an ancient ghandi, not is god an entity of any kind, maybe just an idea.

I'm my own little thing, i probably relate to new age, i meditate a lot and do yoga, i use psychadelic drugs as spiritual tools, i believe that jumping onto a religion destroys your personality, you should be your own religion, understand things yourself, reason through things, look at everything in a neutral state and determine from there what should be done or believed.  
You should observe the world as beautiful or whatnot learn from its simpleness.  True spiritual enlightenment is gained through meditation and deep thought.  Only through sorting out yourself and what you mean to yourself is anything achieved, in fact everything is achieved through this.  Death i'm not sure of as of yet and life could all be a dream as far as i am concerned.  Much more, i'll change my mind in my next meditation, its okay for things to change, you are only exploring things more intently to cause change.


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## punktuality

> I'm a Nihilist. I don't believe in any of that, and I feel my view should be accurately represented, as I know I'm not the only one here.



"I dont believe in any of that"  .....well duh"
"I know I'm not the only one here" ...... shouldnt it be "I know I am not here?"


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## sourlemone

1. Theravada Buddhism (100) 
2. Unitarian Universalism (94) 
3. Mahayana Buddhism (90) 
4. Neo-Pagan (80) 
5. New Age (75) 
6. Liberal Quakers (72) 
7. Hinduism (70) 
8. Jainism (70) 
9. Taoism (65) 
10. New Thought (65) 

all numbers in percent, thats from beliefnet. i definitely identify with a lot of buddhist philosophies, but my beliefs are more a combination of many than any one particular faith...i don't subscribe to organized religion, or even any kind of semi-organized faith...meh i'll put down buddhism, but i do get a lot of taoism as well


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## DigitalDuality

I'm suprised we haven't seen one person pop up and say "I'm so athiest.. i refuse to be  recognized by the term atheist"


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## Grim

DigitalDuality said:
			
		

> *I'm suprised we haven't seen one person pop up and say "I'm so athiest.. i refuse to be  recognized by the term atheist" *



I'm pretty sure there are some people like that on bluelight. I remember getting into arguments with them a while ago.


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## hydrobromide

i voted agnostic, just because i agree with those beliefs (and lack thereof) more than any others.


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## Jhon

I'd like to say that while I'm an "atheist", atheism isn't a belief or religion.


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## Christian Soldier

I dont know why you think that, from the dictionary I got 

atheism

n 1: the doctrine or belief that there is no God


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## Jhon

Interesting. I'd see that more as "antitheism" than atheism, defining the word from its classical roots.


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## yougene

I find valid aspects in all religions.  Ultimately I believe everything is a manifestation of "gods" will anyway, who or what god may be.  There are multiple ways to reach transpersonal experiences, and probably countless more we don't know about yet.  But I find Buddhism the most interesting at the moment.  It's very simple, straight to the point teachings.  Very much like modern manuals.


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## mr_p

I beleive I am about to contradict myself ... so i won't


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## nowonmai

Jhon said:
			
		

> *Interesting. I'd see that more as "antitheism" than atheism, defining the word from its classical roots. *



from Wikipedia...

Etymology

The term atheism (French athéisme, from athée, meaning atheist, from Greek 'Αθεος, atheos, meaning godless  : a-, without; + Θεός, theos, meaning god; it has Indo-European Roots) is formed of the Greek prefix α- (a-), meaning "without" or "not," and the Greek-derived theism (from Θεϊσμός, theismos), meaning a belief in a god. The literal meaning of the term is therefore "lack of belief in a god."

I identify myself as an atheist in its strongest sense. i.e. that there is no god or godlike entity, no spiritual existence and no afterlife in any form.


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## Jhon

^Thanks for that definition, it's exactly the one I would use. The one posted by Christian Soldier seems to have been written by someone with a firm belief in God, who sees atheism as "some strange and evil doctrine"!


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## KaideAlike44

I really am not against any religion but I'm more inclined towards buddhism but mainly because of the fact that I find their beliefs more pleasing to me. I think each person can find what they are looking for through any of the religions. Everyone has their own preference.


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## Black Hole

I don't usually label myself when it comes to religion,  but I'm sure one of you can assign me a proper label if I explain my beliefs.

Basically,  I define god as the power within one's self.  All religous concepts are reflections of the human mind,  the sources of which could all be linked through Psychology.  Each human is their own god, as they are responsible for their own lives.  I feel that Theology is important because it tells us a lot about ourselves as humans.  Piecing together the parts of this massive work of art we call religion,  I think we'll be able to learn a great deal about how we perceive the world, and why we perceive and react to it this way.  The answers we're looking for are within us all.

I think my beliefs are closely tied with Secular Humanism, except that I value the term 'god' when defining the potential power in each of us.  Plus, I feel that religions are important because they convey strong messages from the human mind.


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## Christian Soldier

That sounds to me more like you believe in your own free-will, not that your actually god? What has created you and the entire universe? Not yourself surely. Maybe some unkown force to you? I think this force would be more logical to categorise as god then yourself.


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## Christian Soldier

Solipsism is the belief that you are your own god, but it doesn't make sense to me that you view everyone as their own god, more like everyone has free-will. Maybe what your describing is called something else, but I don't really understand. Perhaps expand a little if you wish.

Solipsism
   1. The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
   2. The theory or view that the self is the only reality.


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## Black Hole

Well, I don't believe that the universe was "created".  I think a lot of philosophical questions are no more than mind games; the result of a human mind trying to apply it's limited concepts to the world around it.  Therefore,  our imagination begins to mold our perception of the world to fit us,  even though the universe doesn't revolve around our rather insignificant lives.

I just believe in the potential of the human mind; meaning, it's all we need to believe in to succeed in our lives.  When I say we're our own gods, I mean that religious ideas of god came from our minds, and represents ourselves in many ways, therefore I label humans as the true gods.  As for all the unknown, I feel that the reason we don't understand it is because we don't need to.  It's important for us to deal with life, not death, for example.

While we might evolve and gain new understandings of our world in the far future, for now, we are expanding in the areas which our minds are capable of understanding.  I think humans need to make the same advancements in communication as they do in technology though.  If we focus more on Psychology and Sociology, we'll see greater improvements in Social Evolution (which is what we really need now, in this unbalanced world of ours, imho) and we'll also be able to view religion objectively.


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## Christian Soldier

^Sweet thanks, can anyone suggest a category for this belief for the poll?


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## L2R

I've selected Buddhist, but i am not Buddhist.

n.b. the question here is "Choose your FAVOURATE belief or religion", not "What is your belief or religion".


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## Christian Soldier

No, that was just the title of the thread in jest. Read this from the inital post in this thread



> Ok, this is pretty simple. Just vote for your belief in the poll above, and share whatever you wan't about your belief.


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## morbyss

i choose other because the only religon i need is my own mind. i have nothing against any religons other than christianity simply because it means NOTHING in my life yet it is everywhere and plays such a vital role in destroying society


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## Christian Soldier

So how does Christianity play such a vital role in destroying society exactly?

I find it quite enlightening and interesting that you actually single out Christianity as such a vital role in destroying society.


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## nicnicnic

The hostility some people feel toward Christianity is really surprising to me.  I know in history this faith has been misused but I have attended inspiring services in the Catholic, Baptist, and Prespeterian faiths that were very open minded and compassionate.


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## killarava2day

> So how does Christianity play such a vital role in destroying society exactly?



Refusing to condone the use of condoms is causing untold damage throughout Asian and African societies


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## L2R

Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> *No, that was just the title of the thread in jest. Read this from the inital post in this thread *



Then minus my vote for Buddhism. I do not believe in any form of organised religion, except Quantumprespeterians.

Please be more precise with your questions in future.


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## Twip

Yeah, I voted Taoism because, _"All is one: there is no 'good' or 'bad,' only harmony and dischord"_ is the most interesting belief I've ever heard of. (Apologies if that doesn't accurately reflect Taoism. )

It's my favorite belief, but not my own. So I'm sorry if that was unwarranted...

However, don't you think it'd be more fun to discuss favorite beliefs and why, rather than just poll everyone on their _actual_ beliefs and why? For me, hearing what people want is more interesting than hearing what people end up having instead. (To make an example, I'm agnostic, the most boring [non-]belief system there is. There is nothing to think about agnosticism. I _like to think_ about other beliefs, even if I find no logic in actually living by them.) Then again, maybe my mind's 'interest center' just doesn't care whether something is actual or only dreamed-of.


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## L2R

Twip said:
			
		

> *
> However, don't you think it'd be more fun to discuss favorite beliefs and why, rather than just poll everyone on their actual beliefs and why? *



no, I don't don't think that.


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## Christian Soldier

Or how about you being more precise when reading my posts in future


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## Christian Soldier

Killa: I really don't draw the connection that the followers of the message of Christ are a vital role in people spreading aids and having too many babies in African and Asian countries.

Morbyss: Can you please give me a reply.


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## L2R

Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> *Or how about you being more precise when reading my posts in future  *



touche


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## Christian Soldier

haha nice tats, when are you getting your back finished?


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## tunedOut

subgenius sun worshiper


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## Christian Soldier

tunedout: can you explain a bit more about your beliefs please


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## tunedOut

Well they are my favorite religion. Thoes are not they are my beliefs, I should have taken myself a bit more seriously. Basicly its like this 
The World Ends Tomorrow and YOU MAY DIE


Well, no, probably not...but whatever you do, just keep reading!



ARE WE CONTROLLED BY SECRET FORCES?
ARE ALIEN SPACE MONSTERS BRINGING A STARTLING NEW WORLD?
DO PEOPLE THINK YOU'RE STRANGE?
DO YOU??
...THEN YOU MAY BE ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

"Unpredictables" are not alone and possess amazing hidden powers of their own!
Are You Abnormal?
YES! YOUR KIND SHALL TRIUMPH!

If you are what they call "different" --
If you think we're entering a new Dark Ages --
If you see the universe as one vast morbid sense of humor --
If you are looking for an inherently bogus religion that will condone superior degeneracy and tell you that you are "above" everyone else --
If you can help with a donation --

Then the Church of the Subgenius could could save your sanity!

You'd PAY to know what you REALLY think." --Dobbs 1961


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## Christian Soldier

Okay thanks, well it was ment to be about your actual beliefs. I still dont know how you can favour a certain belief over your own.


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## L2R

Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> *haha nice tats, when are you getting your back finished? *



thanks
maybe one day. maybe never. after 25+ hours i've hit an (currently)impenetrable pain barrier with my back. 

but as my other tat says.... "it doesn't matter"


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## tunedOut

Idiologies are toxic. They are a slap in the face to free thinking. I like getting get short term personal salvation from the subgenius church. (www.subgenius.com)


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## antinazi77

psychology is the only religion that you have to have  a degrea to be a member.

so what about bob tuned out? - nice
bow to boble head bob lol -


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## bud marley

I guess I'm a Christian but no denomination accepts what I belive because I pick and choose parts from other religions such as Muslim,Buddasim,and even Mysticyism.I use these other religions mottos against them such as having faith.I have faith that not one religion is perfect and I guess I go against all of thier laws and rules by deciding to take bits and pieces of each and mixing them into my own.If these religions were perfect then they would'nt all contradict themselves as they do,right?
 I know there is a God and I believe in my heart that he wouldn't turn against people and let wars go because of different beliefs in him.As long as you believe and know there is a guiding force then in my opinion you have faith.I also believe that God is appallled by the deaths made in his name.At least the God I belive in does and if I'm wrong then I hope there is no God.In my own blind faith(as hippy as it sounds) God to me is only about love and understanding.


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## yougene

antinazi77 said:
			
		

> *psychology is the only religion that you have to have  a degrea to be a member.
> *



Not neccasarily, I hear you can buy psychology licenses in some areas.


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## tunedOut

"Bob" was a drilling equipment salesman in the 1950s who saw a vision of God on a television set he had built himself.vision inspired him to write the "PreScriptures" (as described in the Book of the SubGenius The Book of the SubGenius: Being the Divine Wisdom, Guidance, and Prophecy of J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs, High Epopt of the Church of the SubGenius, Here Inscribed for the Salvation of Future Generations and in the Hope that Slack May Someday Reign on this Earth is seen as the "bible" of the Church of the SubGenius. It was first published by McGraw-Hill in 1983, and subsequently re-printed several times. It was compiled from the Church's ongoing zine publication, The Stark Fist of Removal.) and found the Church.


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## David

I believe in the GOD Roq. He's the GOD of all those talking, and music playing rocks that populate theme parks, and various recreational areas, all over the world. His main agenda is making sure everyone is heard, and that we enjoy our stay.


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## jeenius

Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> *Okay thanks, well it was ment to be about your actual beliefs. I still dont know how you can favour a certain belief over your own. *



I misread it in the same way.  I chose buddhism but I'm really more agnostic/atheist (I don't make such a big deal with this distinction).  I favor buddhism, however, because I really like the ideas of karma and reincarnation and all their implications, and I would like it if that were true, but I don't really believe that's what happens, at least not now.

My top five:
1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100% ) 	
2. 	Liberal Quakers (92% ) 	
3. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (85% ) 	
4. 	Neo-Pagan (80% ) 	
5. 	Mahayana Buddhism (78% )


----------



## qwe

for some of the questions, i wanted to check more than one

i especially dont like how it combines "Not Sure" with three other choices

i got Liberal Quaker
almost every belief tenet the website describes for it starts with "Diverse beliefs" or "Beliefs vary " or "Beliefs are diverse" or "Views vary"

i think its a stupid survey


----------



## Christian Soldier

What can you expect from a survey if you don't know your own beliefs?


----------



## jeenius

^I know my own beliefs, and I never checked "Not sure", and all of mine say "diverse beliefs" too..


----------



## Christian Soldier

Why did you use it if you know your own beliefs?


----------



## gloggawogga

To me, beliefs aren't what is important. What is important to me is choices and actions. Now choices need to be aware, but beliefs aren't necessarily a way to be aware.

In fact, beliefs are more or less a cheap cognitive shortcut for filtering and generalizing experience. For example, suppose I meet some new person, who is of a certain gender, is dressed a certain way, talks a certain way, is of a certain race, etc. etc. Now in my mind I have all these past experiences with people of that gender, people who talk that way, people dressed in that way, and people of that race, etc. etc. What am I doing? Forming stereotypes? Then I'm just seeing the person in front of me through my prejudices, instead of experiencing that person for who that person is. Thats what beliefs can do.

And the worst beliefs are the ones that I like. You know, the ones that fill me with faith, happiness, self esteem, joy, etc. Why are they the worst beliefs? Becuase they're addictive. Because I want to keep believing them. So when new experience comes in that contradicts these beliefs, well, I just have to rationalize that new experience in a way that fits into my beliefs. So awareness gets filtered, blinded by belief. And blind awareness leads to blind choice.

So looking at it that way your question "what is my favorite belief" amounts to "what belief do I like the most" and since the beliefs I like the most are the ones that blind me the most, your question amounts to "what belief blinds me the most", or perhaps "what is your favorite colour blindfold"? And the answer to me is that a blindfold is a blindfold. They're all the same


----------



## socks

the test thinks im a christian fucking scientist!!
thats so far from the truth its silly.

my main belief (or valuable piece of knowledge) - TIME IS MOTION.


----------



## StagnantReaction

I think you need to be more specific. The beliefs in several religions are barely represented (christianity, islam, etc).

IMO Hinduism represents the Self more than any other of the altruistic garbage I've seen..


----------



## Free Radical

Islam

Cuz their fundamentalists are usually much more entertaining than Christian fundamentalists.

for myself, i'd say nihilism, since i've been falling back into that comfy belieflessness lately


----------



## Psychedelics_r_best

I run by my own belief system that goes like this: its too hard to do anything more than exist even if you try.


----------



## user99

Buddhism on the lead , thats pretty cool : ) 28 votes 	19.31%


----------



## Rasclatt

Atheism, because its the only religion that doesn't have any b.s in it, and I prefer to beleive in nothing strongly than either believe in a religion strongly with alot of b.s, or self indulge by beleiving in something that is supposed to be the total truth but only partly beleive in it.


----------



## Freja

*Belief's poll*

I definitely head towards pagan - earthbound beliefs but that is where it ends. I believe in giving back to the earth what we take and same goes for people. I don't think I have to meet with a group one or two times a week to be a good person or to give back - I do this on my own.


----------



## drug_wench

agnostic........unless god wants 2 appear at my front door oneday wiv a miracle
i was brought up in a fundy chrstian family and its the religion i understand the most but i dont necessarily believe it


----------



## DarthMom

I have taken this many times over the years and it is almost always 100% liberal quaker. The funny thing is, I thought this last time, I had changed quite a bit since my last time I took it about a year ago. guess not. 


I didn't know anythign about quakers before taking this a few years back. I assumed it was a rigid, dogmatic, strict fundie type belief


----------



## DarthMom

Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> Why did you use it if you know your own beliefs?



for fun. 

It isn't as though some fucking internet game dictates your spirituality for christs sake, it is just a game.

prime example, it always says I am a quaker. One problem, quakers are christian, and i am not. 

oops.


----------



## FreshFr0mDet0x

see the post about it being ok to believe in god if you give a damn


----------



## Mehm

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Liberal Quakers (88%)  
3.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (87%)  
4.  Mahayana Buddhism (83%)  
5.  Neo-Pagan (81%)  
6.  New Age (79%)  
7.  Secular Humanism (72%)  
8.  Theravada Buddhism (72%)  
9.  New Thought (70%)  
10.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (63%)  
11.  Scientology (60%)  
12.  Taoism (59%)  

I would hardly consider myself christian, but looks about right otherwise


----------



## MynameisnotDeja

I pretty much feel agnostic about my beliefs...not only dont know for sure but I dont really believe its my place to know for sure. But if I had to pick one of those Id pick taoism. I consider that more a philosophy though.


----------



## iLlFaDeD

I have alot of respect for buddhism, although i am not a buddist. I would say that I dont know what I am really. I guess you could say I make it up as I go. I am still looking for something to believe in.


----------



## B9

Personally i don't have a religion but i find many religious concepts interesting.
 Particularly ,zoroastrian, early christian, buddhism, and pagan.
zophen.


----------



## knight_marshall

I would have to put mine down under a new name, seeing I don't think my religion has been named.  I 'll call it "Irrelavantism" (c)    I'm not just making this up, this is what I truly believe.  Regardless of whether a God, bunch of lucky chemical reactions, or the fate of a pre-ordained but meaningless explosion at the beggining of what we call time, the complete individualality that we all possess through both our physical and mental evolution allows us to create whatever meaning we want for ourselves.  The concepts of a God, of fate, of chance and of absolute truth's are irrelevant if we do in fact possess this individuality.  And while  I'll admit that its possible we are all simply the dream of one singular conciousness, this would only be relevant to that consciousness, as a God's existance would only be relevant to that God and fate's existance would only be relevant to it's initial starting point.  To the human consciousness, or at least to myself, anything but it's (my) own existance is not nessecary to be interacted with, enjoyed, experienced, and grown/evolved from.

I guess at the center of my beliefs is the idea of understanding what I believe in, and believing in what I understand.  Apart from this I believe there is no such thing as an absolute truth, including my own religion, and that more important that finding an answer is asking the question.  There are questions we don't know the answers to, but as soon as we answer them, they will only create more questions.  It is these questions that help humanity to evolve, and I believe that evolution is the whole point of the existance of life.  Well, maybe it's not the point, just the outcome, but either way, it is in my opinion a damn good reason to exist.

Oh, and yes, I'm coining that name as soon as I write a book, so don't steal it irrelevantdamnit.

So believe what you want, but if you don't understand what you believe, what's the point.  Unless, I guess, you want to believe in something than can be used against you, and then go for it.  I know I'll never be a terrorist, and I'm pretty sure no one could use my belief's against me.  Shit, perhaps I'm just scared of being used, or beaten by my own words... now I have to go meditate on this, thanx alot stupid forum, making me think, question myself, and possibly evolve.  I wanted to stay ignorant and stupid (and yes the two ARE different).


----------



## LouReed

*Christmas*

sucks


----------



## IAmJacksUserName

1.  Liberal Quakers (100%)  
2.  Unitarian Universalism (94%)  
3.  Neo-Pagan (93%)  
4.  Reform Judaism (92%)  
5.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (89%)  
6.  New Age (83%)  
7.  Mahayana Buddhism (79%)  
8.  Bahá'í Faith (76%)  
9.  New Thought (72%)  
10.  Sikhism (67%)  
11.  Scientology (65%)  
12.  Theravada Buddhism (64%)  
13.  Hinduism (61%)  
14.  Orthodox Judaism (60%)  
15.  Jainism (55%)  
16.  Orthodox Quaker (52%)  
17.  Secular Humanism (52%)  
18.  Islam (52%)  
19.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (50%)  
20.  Taoism (48%)  
21.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (37%)  
22.  Seventh Day Adventist (35%)  
23.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (33%)  
24.  Nontheist (28%)  
25.  Jehovah's Witness (26%)  
26.  Eastern Orthodox (26%)  
27.  Roman Catholic (26%)  


Very fitting, considering I'm already a Liberal Quaker.


----------



## drug_wench

MynameisnotDeja said:
			
		

> ...not only dont know for sure but I dont really believe its my place to know for sure.



exactly how i feel


----------



## dada

i shud have chosen agnostism


----------



## Ina Light

How cool, because of this thread, I found the site beliefnet.com which I didn't know existed. I did the test and all it could tell me was I was a new ager. I am actually an adherent of the philosophy of Spiritualism and have been for about 20 years since I was 18. I had a look at beliefnet and they didn't have much on Spiritualism which i suppose is why it wasn't an option for a religion and I was assigned new age instead. Anyway, I have always had an interest in spirituality from a very early age, but nothing made too much sense till I discovered Spiritualism, then it all clicked into place.


----------



## The Anti-Man

Judaism is _TEH_ shit.


----------



## Nihilist

I'm a Nihilist, and have been ever since i can remember.  To me, Nihilism isn't something you chose to become, it isn't a religion or a belief or a way of life. Nihilism just IS.  In my experience, it's hugely misunderstood and everyone i've met manages to chalk it up to 'a bad attitude' or a 'negative philosophy'.  It's extremely irritating to cop this sort of small-mindedness...*sigh* but what ya gonna do?

Anyone else?


----------



## IAmJacksUserName

It's tough for me to answer.  My favorite belief is my personal interpretation of Christianity, but few other Christians have my same interpretations.  Hell, I'm at odds with a lot of them.  As far as the way it's generally practiced by it's followers, I'd say that Buddhism is the best. (When was the last time there was a Buddhist crusade?)


----------



## FreshFr0mDet0x

anybody who finds himself capable of judging one honest spiritual path over another is a fool and a liar, whether she knows it or not.


----------



## Rasclatt

its all tarted up politics really, religion is not neccessary and its _never_ done any good (yes I really mean that).


----------



## FreshFr0mDet0x

well said ras.  religion is an evil tool of corrupted men.  spirituality is utterly real.  real enough to make us tremble before it.  just as the quakers use to tremble before who?  (it's GOD!)  "the rulers back; don't sleep!"

thassa slick rick quote for all y'all niggaz out there who need to learn a thing or two about hip-hop!


----------



## Free Radical

Rasclatt said:
			
		

> its all tarted up politics really, religion is not neccessary and its _never_ done any good (yes I really mean that).



agreed.

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people." -Marx


----------



## paradoxcycle

I chose "Other" simply because Catholicism was not an option listed. I do not align myself with Christianity, I see a major schism between the two.


----------



## B9

FreshFr0mDet0x said:
			
		

> anybody who finds himself capable of judging one honest spiritual path over another is a fool and a liar, whether she knows it or not.



That I liked!


zophen


----------



## IAmJacksUserName

Rasclatt said:
			
		

> its all tarted up politics really, religion is not neccessary and its _never_ done any good (yes I really mean that).



So religious groups that hold food banks don't do any good?  How about groups that raise money for disaster relief?  Or the ones who sponser impoverished children?  Are they not doing any good?


----------



## stillbeing

If  Buddhism  could  be  more specific ,  broken  down  to Zen,  and what are the other  ? The ones I DO NOT  like much  ?  Mahayana and Hiniyana.  then I  would vote ZEN,   bit  Instead   I will have to  vote  ATHEIST.  When i was  On one of The strongest drugs Ive EVER  EVER EVER  had  (--- "Near Death" ) 
 I saw the light and there was no gerbil running in the wheel , okay ?


----------



## stillbeing

P. S >  Good  Poll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Rasclatt

IAmJacksUserName said:
			
		

> So religious groups that hold food banks don't do any good?  How about groups that raise money for disaster relief?  Or the ones who sponser impoverished children?  Are they not doing any good?



That is the people that are doing good not the religion they represent. 
There are lots of people doing good who have no beleifs, if these people working for religious charities were not religious they would be doing exactly the same thing,  except maybe some of them wouldnt be trying to destroy tribal beliefs and cultures becuase they have been brain washed to think that what they are doing is 'right'.


----------



## IAmJacksUserName

Rasclatt said:
			
		

> That is the people that are doing good not the religion they represent.
> There are lots of people doing good who have no beleifs, if these people working for religious charities were not religious they would be doing exactly the same thing,  except maybe some of them wouldnt be trying to destroy tribal beliefs and cultures becuase they have been brain washed to think that what they are doing is 'right'.



Charity workers aren't necessarly missionaries.  I've volenteered for five years at a soup kitchen with a Christian group, and no one has said a goddamned word about religion to the people we serve.  

Ever hear of the Christian Peacemakers Team?  (www.cpt.org)  They're a group in Iraq right now working as peace activists against the occupation.  Why?  Because they believe that war is sacriligious.  When a few of their members were kidnapped in November, thousands of Muslims advocated their release because of the help they've given, despite the fact they were Christian.  They even founded a Muslim Peace Team.


----------



## bleedingheartcommie

taoism


----------



## Rasclatt

IAmJacksUserName said:
			
		

> Charity workers aren't necessarly missionaries.  I've volenteered for five years at a soup kitchen with a Christian group, and no one has said a goddamned word about religion to the people we serve.
> 
> Ever hear of the Christian Peacemakers Team?  (www.cpt.org)  They're a group in Iraq right now working as peace activists against the occupation.  Why?  Because they believe that war is sacriligious.  When a few of their members were kidnapped in November, thousands of Muslims advocated their release because of the help they've given, despite the fact they were Christian.  They even founded a Muslim Peace Team.



I know that chairty workers arn't always missionaries. 

Im saying that many people go out and help and do charity work without any belief or involvement with religion becuase thats what they feel they need to do, there are many chairty orgnaizations that arn't related to any religion. Therefore religion hasn't actually made any difference on people doing good, if it didnt exist the same people would of gone out and done it anyway. 

All religion has done is create huge fan base's reinforcing peoples beliefs so strongly that all logic and reason is non-existant, resulting in people who could be good people blindly doing mindless acts to atrocities because what they think is 'right'.


----------



## Sweetpeas

I Believe In Love Baby


----------



## ninjadanslarbretabar

??? what the....
where is science and shamanism

my belief came through the use of entheogen 
and my religion is music 
funny but im serious !


----------



## JerryBlunted

I picked Christian in the poll, but in my daily life I'd have to say my beliefs more closely resemble a Christian mystic, or nontraditional Christian. I don't believe Christ was any more supernatural than you or I, I think Mary had sex in order to conceive him, but he is sort of a spiritual superhero, along with other figures like Muhammad, Buddha, MLK Jr., Gandhi, etc. Some people are just in touch with the spiritual force within us all, and gain the charisma to help guide people to the right path.

Most aspects of religious rules and dogma I disagree with. I agree with morality and ethics, "do unto others," etc. But you go to hell for eating shellfish? Not likely. I would rather suffer than cause suffering, and I believe suffering can be a very powerful spiritual experience should it be approached in this regard. I don't believe in abortion or euthanasia but would never tell someone else to not choose these options in their own lives.

These are my belief.net results (top five only):

1. Unitarian Universalist (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (93%)
3. Mahayana Buddhism (89%)
4. Neo-Pagan (89%)
5. Mainline to liberal Christian Protestants (89%)


----------



## rowland2110

I voted pagan-earth based. Im not wicca or anything but with active kundalini going on within me i feel more connected to the earth.  But im pretty sure my personal belief system has could have traits from ever last option given.


----------



## rowland2110

I cannot take that test at http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html
due the the "value of importance" option.  I believe what i believe.  Value of importance has absolutely no relevance.  

Well i TRIED to take it.  I just selected importance as High for every question.


I find the results to be a joke.  The problem with the poll is that the questions are too generalized and assume too much about the person taking them.

Example:  The question "Does Satans presence cause suffering".   WTF?  Define satan please. To me satan is mans own selfish evil desires. To other people they believe satan is a real fallen angel.  Anyway, the poll is frivolous.

1. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants  (100% ya right. 8) 100% wrong. 
2. 	Unitarian Universalism (96%
3. 	Liberal Quakers (89%
4. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (82%
5. 	New Thought (81%
6. 	Hinduism (80%
7. 	Bah Faith (78%
8. 	Mahayana Buddhism (75%
9. 	New Age (70%
10. 	Neo-Pagan (67%
11. 	Taoism (57%
12. 	Theravada Buddhism (56%
13. 	Reform Judaism (52%
14. 	Sikhism (52%
15. 	Jainism (48%
16. 	Jehovah's Witness (47%
17. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (45%
18. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (44%
19. 	Orthodox Quaker (43%
20. 	Scientology (42%
21. 	Orthodox Judaism (36%
22. 	Seventh Day Adventist (31%
23. 	Secular Humanism (28%
24. 	Eastern Orthodox (22%
25. 	Islam (22%
26. 	Roman Catholic (22%
27. 	Nontheist (15%


----------



## mariacallas

crystalcallas said:
			
		

> Although i was baptized roman catholic, and still go to mass once in a while...i firmly believe i am a Buddhist at heart (this does not mean i do not pray to God,or i am at a crossroads between buddha and God...as a matter of fact, my knowledge and practice of Buddhism is not a replacement for the christian way of life that i grew up with; on the contrary, it enriches and enhances my spiritual life as a whole ..) Zen and Buddhism is just so right for me. Ive studied it many years back, and little by little i see how it fulfills me as a person...and how it continuously leads me towards the path of Enlightenment. Unlike the rigidity and uncompromising teachings ive known most of my life as a Catholic ,(i respect my faith, but i do not adhere to everything it says ..not at all. Im a very lax catholic, very open minded..none of that extremist bullshit; that i can be this way and still respect my religion is a sort of personal challenge i thankfully have mastered without resorting to being BITTER or agnostic..). On the other hand, the basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender. It teaches practical methods (such as meditation) which enable people to realise and utilise its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and Compassion....now THIS is the way id like to eventually attain inner peace and my own personal nirvana...more so than what i have learned in Christian schools or by reading the Bible. Now i can say i have truly made MY OWN adult choices regarding my religion(s) and Buddhism has given  me an inner peace i was not able to experience during ALL my years of studying in strict catholic schools! doh!




 I have not changed.


----------



## JerryBlunted

IAmJacksUserName said:
			
		

> (When was the last time there was a Buddhist crusade?)



Buddhist societies engage in war. The samurai of medieval Japan were Zen practicioners who dedicated their entire lives to warfare. China has a large Buddhist population, as does Vietnam, and Japan... all societies that have engaged in warfare. Westerners tend to idealize and exoticize Eastern religions... only looking at their ideals as opposed to how they work out in reality. In theory Christianity is about radical nonviolence to the point of choosing death over retaliation. Christian societies go to war, and many people wrongly attribute it to some war-like aspect of Christianity.


----------



## JerryBlunted

same w/ Islam though since Muhammad was a military conqueror its a little less cut and dry. still, the ideal is that the only real jihad is the jihad within, the struggle between good and evil within every person


----------



## L2R

Ever since this thread opened, i've always found the title rather humourous for some reason.

edit...


			
				Christian Soldier said:
			
		

> No, that was just the title of the thread in jest.



oh forgot about that.... man it's been 2 YEARS!


----------



## DarthMom

DarthMom said:
			
		

> I have taken this many times over the years and it is almost always 100% liberal quaker. The funny thing is, I thought this last time, I had changed quite a bit since my last time I took it about a year ago. guess not.
> 
> 
> I didn't know anythign about quakers before taking this a few years back. I assumed it was a rigid, dogmatic, strict fundie type belief



ok, did it yet again, and _again_, 100% liberal quaker, and 99% neo pagan. 

that sux, i wanna be full fledged pagan, i don't think quakers dance around the full moon naked while ingesting exotic herbs like belladonna :D

srsly though....i thought quakers were christians, and i don't even believe that christ lived. this is a stupid poll


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

Taoism for sure. It's a belief system that really puts us in our place and humbles us, I feel. It implies that although we are precious entities, our intelligence and self-awareness is fallible and not quite up to the task of comprehending the ultimate reality at the source of everything. We are arrogant if we think we can exert control over the universe -- we are products of it, and we have to accept where it's taking us.

If I could sum up the Taoist attitude on the world in one short sentence, it's "I accept." And I find that to be a good attitude -- the more accepting (not resigned!) you are of the way things are, the freer and happier you ultimately are. It's like being tied up with a rope: if you thrash and struggle you'll only pull the knots tighter, and won't get any closer to freeing yourself. But if you first calmly accept the fact that you're tied up, you're on your way to working with the rope, and perhaps even rationally figuring out  a way to undo it.

Read Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) if you ever get a chance -- he's my favorite ancient philospher, because he showed that the only difference between despair in the human condition and lasting contentment is one of perspective.

Interestingly enough, I remember my Chinese professor saying that, according to legeng, Zhuangzi's outlook brightened considerably only after he got his alcoholism under control.


----------



## Blue_Phlame

since last year, i've considered myself Agnostic.


----------



## carina_et_vela

dreamtime


----------



## B9

> If I could sum up the Taoist attitude on the world in one short sentence, it's "I accept." And I find that to be a good attitude -- the more accepting (not resigned!) you are of the way things are, the freer and happier you ultimately are. It's like being tied up with a rope: if you thrash and struggle you'll only pull the knots tighter, and won't get any closer to freeing yourself. But if you first calmly accept the fact that you're tied up, you're on your way to working with the rope, and perhaps even rationally figuring out a way to undo it.



  Good post that, I believe in I dunno what but for sure *non attatchment* (similar to what the above is about to me) is a good way to be happier, of course I cannot claim to have perfected it but it can be a big help.




zophen


----------



## carl

ninjadanslarbretabar said:
			
		

> ??? what the....
> where is science and shamanism
> 
> my belief came through the use of entheogen
> and my religion is music
> funny but im serious !



It's OK, it will pass. The drugs will wear off, and the music will end. It's what is inside......

1. 	New Age  (100%)
2. 	Neo-Pagan (96%)
3. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (91%)
4. 	New Thought (90%)
5. 	Unitarian Universalism (87%)
6. 	Scientology (86%)
7. 	Mahayana Buddhism (78%)
8. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (74%)
9. 	Liberal Quakers (72%)
10. 	Taoism (65%)
11. 	Hinduism (65%)
12. 	Theravada Buddhism (63%)
13. 	Secular Humanism (45%)
14. 	Reform Judaism (43%)
15. 	Sikhism (43%)
16. 	Bah�'� Faith (37%)
17. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (34%)


----------



## ninjadanslarbretabar

"the music will end"
sorry but what does that mean..?
(it seems to me that music came before any religion anyway)

oh, btw. do you people dont take science as a belief system or what ?


----------



## carl

ninjadanslarbretabar said:
			
		

> (it seems to me that music came before any religion anyway)


???what??? The universe "was" well before man created music..... that's scientifically proven 

Science doesn't answer the questions religion and spirituality ask. And using drugs does not answer them either. I've had spirtual "awakenings" on drugs, but they all passed. They usually passed when I came down from whatever drug I was on. The truths I came to find on drugs were truths that were externally motivated, while I the truth I live today comes from within me; I am the same without drugs, without music.


----------



## thugg

I've been an Atheist since before I knew what the word meant.  I can remember being forced to go to church in my childhood days, and I think ever since then, I've hated the idea of organized religion.  And pretty much abandoned the idea that there could be any kind of supreme being.  Well, abandoned might not be the right word, 'cause I never believed it in the first place.


----------



## dada

carl said:
			
		

> ???what??? The universe "was" well before man created music..... that's scientifically proven
> 
> Science doesn't answer the questions religion and spirituality ask. And using drugs does not answer them either. I've had spirtual "awakenings" on drugs, but they all passed. They usually passed when I came down from whatever drug I was on. The truths I came to find on drugs were truths that were externally motivated, while I the truth I live today comes from within me; I am the same without drugs, without music.




But did religeon start at the start of the universe?


----------



## carl

dada said:
			
		

> But did religeon start at the start of the universe?


religion is an invention of man. I don't know of any doccuments to back up my statement, but I'll bet that man had judgements and beliefs about the universe before he started to create 'music for pleasure', instead of 'noise for communication'. Thus, you have what can loosely be called religion by the parameters used in this thread.

I don't put any value in religion personally. I go to an episcopal churh rarely, and have very spiritual beliefs that are not centered on any religion, but rather observation, experience, science, and intuition.

And i believe that energies were present prior to man's awarness of them. The universe "is", there is no time attached to it. so you question is fundamentally flawed.

If I were asking the question, I'd pose it this way:
"Was there spiritual energy before man tapped into it?"
or if this is more what you are getting after
"Was the universe created by 'God"?"
or....
"If religion is an invention of man, and man is falliable, why do you belive his lies?"

1. Yes
2. The universe and god are not seperate eneties
3. I don't believe in religion, i know my own spirituality

do ask for clarity if you want it.... but be specific


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ beautifully put, carl. Someone recently defined me as a pantheist, and I've found that label actually fits fairly well.


----------



## IdleScience

http://www.venganza.org/ 
Church of the flying spaghetti monster


----------



## exoiced

personal growth and evolution >> through tantra
Brow of Calm


----------



## Mariposa

I answered the beliefnet test for fun and was surprised by what I got:  

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Neo-Pagan (97%)  
3.  New Age (95%)  
4.  Liberal Quakers (92%)  
5.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (90%)  
6.  Mahayana Buddhism (84%)  
7.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (83%)  
8.  Theravada Buddhism (79%)  
9.  New Thought (76%)  
10.  Bahá'í Faith (70%)  / Scientology (70%)

What boggles my mind is I scored 14% on the religion of both sides of my family (all but my father and I are very devout) - ROMAN CATHOLIC.   

I scored higher on Orthodox Judaism and Jehovah's Witness than I did my religion of origin.  

I identify as an agnostic.


----------



## saturnine

i dont identify with one specific religion; if i did, i would probably choose mahayana buddhism or vedanta hinduism.

i also have some beliefs that may be categorised as new age or baha'i-like.


----------



## Helios.

The Church of the SubGenius makes some valid points.
Christian Science, on the other hand, is utter CRAP.


----------



## CastorTroy

I'm essentially what you'd call a Zen buddhist. So, I voted other.


----------



## Coolio

Beliefnet's shit is completely retarded. It doesn't ask nearly enough questions, nor weight the responses with the correct outcomes properly. It gave me a higher score for Islam than Hinduism, and I'm a Hindu. It gave me higher scores for liberal Christianity than anything else.


----------



## saturnine

^ If you're Hindu then you need to tell me what the secret is to good Indian cooking!!


----------



## Coolio

Indian cooking is easy, I make better curries and dal than a lot of Indian restaurants I've been to.

Don't skimp out on spices (no curry powder mixes or garam masala paste, use individual spices, preferably whole/fresh instead of powdered), use ghee or butter and never margarine or flavorless vegetable oil (olive oil's ok), and put plenty of coconut milk in a dish if you want to make it soupy instead of dry or watery.

Making tandoor supposedly requires a clay oven, but I don't have baking skills so I've never attempted it. I also can't find paneer in local grocery stores, but mozzarella is a pretty close substitute.


----------



## Dameon Saint

I've been an agnostic most of my life but recently I've been leaning more toward Theravada Buddhism. I thank the shroomies :D


----------



## Portillo

I see anyone whos a mysticist as an atheist. Or is by mysticism actually existing, lao tzu type stuff. Does this mean supernatural or atheism?


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ Mysticism is a big interest of mine.  I have a hunch that while what mystic seekers eventually discover is a far cry from hardboiled materialistic atheism, they don't find 'God' to be very much like what they were originally taught, either.


----------



## CreamOfMushroom

phenomenalist


----------



## rm-rf

i dont believe in religion

but i believe in the divine and universal power of an infinite god

i dont believe i have a title, im about as far from orthodox as one can be, without lacking in spirituality or faith.

maybe i shoulda checked "other..."

just curious why the occult wanst on there, its a pretty damned large, ancient, and worldwide religion. I guess some forms of satanism could fall under Paganism/Earth Based.


----------



## panic in paradise

THE WOOD said:
			
		

> i dont believe in religion
> 
> but i believe in the divine and universal power of an infinite god
> 
> i dont believe i have a title, im about as far from orthodox as one can be, without lacking in spirituality or faith.
> 
> maybe i shoulda checked "other..."
> 
> just curious why the occult wanst on there, its a pretty damned large, ancient, and worldwide religion. I guess some forms of satanism could fall under Paganism/Earth Based.



satanism into paganism/earth based?! how ya figure that?


----------



## RavenousBlonde

+1  ^^^

I'd think that would fall more under "Other", since Satanism is not at all like Paganism/Earth Based religions.  Just my .02....as a Pagan.


----------



## Porcelain

*other*

I just feel sometimes that whatever almighty there may or may not be has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.


----------



## Manifespo

Omni-Theism
All is God
Spinoza


----------



## dionysus

pantheism


----------



## mr_p

_the capability of human life is beyond our imagination

this capability is unique

what counts is the human capacity to investigate and transform our own mind

and the world around us 

in a powerful and positive direction

-Gehlek Rinpoche 
_

i chose buddhism because it has shown me a practical pathway to greater peace and a deeper feeling of compassion for sentient beings

its simple and it has enabled me to build a deep foundation for sustainable peace in the world around me (emenating from within)


----------



## burntserkits

I chose agnoticism because I believe a divine, supreme entity exist, yet I also believe our feeble minds can not conveive such a great being.  He would be the purest form of enegry that we (and all things come from) yet he is too sophisticated for us.  Eventually we will be able to know Him or refect Him. http://dehumanity.com


----------



## Alfajagdflieger

I voted other: Mine is Deism.

Taken from Wikipedia:
Deists typically reject supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. Instead, deists hold that correct religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of one God or supreme being.


----------



## Doc_Rocksbay

I voted Agnostic because I believe in evolution, the bible is symbolism, and no divine intervention but that does not necessarily preclude a creator. I have morals (not very many depending on your faith of choice) & live my life in hopes of a limited interference with everyone Else's.

1.  Unitarian Universalism 100%  
2.  Liberal Quakers 95%
3.  Secular Humanism 93%  
4.  Theravada Buddhism 89% 
5.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants 84%  
6.  Taoism 72%  
7.  Mahayana Buddhism 66% 
8.  Neo-Pagan 66%  
9.  Nontheist 63%  
10.  Bahá'í Faith 60%  
11.  Jainism 57%  
12.  New Age 56%  
13.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) 53%  
14.  Orthodox Quaker 50%  
15.  Reform Judaism 46%  
16.  New Thought 45%  
17.  Sikhism 43%  
18.  Scientology 40% 
19.  Hinduism 37%  
20.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) 36% 
21.  Jehovah's Witness 31%  
22.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant 31%  
23.  Seventh Day Adventist 20%  
24.  Islam 17%  
25.  Orthodox Judaism 17%  
26.  Eastern Orthodox 8%  
27.  Roman Catholic 8%


----------



## Helios.

Zoroastrianism isn't bad.

I believe in world mythologies, but I don't consider that to be bona fide religion in any way.


----------



## dr seuss

i'm a Free Spirit. 

either that or a Bogomil!

*feels unrepresented* 

 :D


----------



## motiv311

hey what about Mormonism? just because they ban all drugs including Coffee, Tea, and Tobacco; doesn't mean they can't be included! (born and raised)


----------



## Helios.

I like the idea of becoming Latter Day Saints, but I think psychedelics would help them on their way.


----------



## beans15

agnostic I think best describes my view...see rant below...

I was raised roman catholic, but as i went throught the processes and studied world religion I found one common flaw in all of them.  They are mostly male dominated and corrupt at some point in their history.  I use catholic as an example but in the beginning there were the "holy war" where killing was done in the name of God and/or Jesus and in the dark ages and middle ages priests (all men women god forbid we 2nd class and property back then)  were the only one who were allowed to read as a common person learning to read was forbidden.  It was how they kept power of so many for so long.  And because they were the ones that could read and write they also made up the stories in the bible.  While I do agree that there may be some truth to the stories they are twisted and manipulated to suit those who had power.  And if you go to present day and you see the corruption in the church that is coming out now about priest and how they abused there power with children.  

So with all that I do believe in a higher power, that beings name may infact be god but organized religion is man made and has been corrupted by those who stand as it's leaders.   hopefully my rant is clear it is a subject/opinion that is ever evolving in my head.


----------



## Tryptamine*Dreamer

These are the top five results that I got. I voted atheist, but agnostic would probably be a better description of my belief since I can't possibly be sure that there is no god.

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  100%
2. 	Secular Humanism 96%
3. 	Liberal Quakers 86%
4. 	Theravada Buddhism 80%
5. 	Nontheist 76%


----------



## phactor

I believe all religions have value but have been corrupted through people and pratices (for example the treatment of women in: Islam,Hinduism,Buddhism (yes), Christianity, Paganism)


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

beans15, I think the world needs more people with your attitude toward religion. Alan Watts wrote about the rules of religion being something of a training exercise in how to see life as meaningful. Those smart enough to eventually realize this have gained the most from the exercise, while those who are fixated on the rules as an end in and of themselves are missing the point. Although I have no beef with religion, I personally think it's great a lot of people are questioning it. Just like not everyone needs karate to discipline their motor skills, not everyone needs religion to discipline their awareness.


----------



## B9

Pantheism about covers it ~ although my concept of it is limited to the very basics ~ if it gets more complex then count me out!


----------



## Dtergent

I just took the test at Beliefnet. 

I'm not familiar with a lot of the religions mentioned. I find the labelling and all that trouble to be a bit like over-genre-fying music, it serves no (or little) purpose to me. 

I got an 18% on Catholicism, but I was raised one (maybe unsuccessfully, some might say), and I can still see the beauty and truth in the scriptures and all that. I don't go to mass, unless I want a quiet hour to myself really early in the morning. I don't consider myself to be not Catholic, but if there are "minimum requirements" in terms of ritual and sacrament, I certainly don't make the cut.

 

PS I feel a bit dirty about being 84% Scientology... what the fuck is up with that?

1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100% )
2. 	New Thought (97% )
3. 	Liberal Quakers (93% )
4. 	Hinduism (92% )
5. 	Mahayana Buddhism (91% )
6. 	Neo-Pagan (89% )
7. 	New Age (88% )
8. 	Scientology (84% )
9. 	Reform Judaism (81% )
10. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (76% )
11. 	Bah�'� Faith (74% )
12. 	Jainism (72% )
13. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (69% )
14. 	Sikhism (69% )
15. 	Theravada Buddhism (69% ) 
16. 	Taoism (61% )
17. 	Orthodox Judaism (57% )
18. 	Orthodox Quaker (55% )
19. 	Secular Humanism (55% )
20. 	Islam (50% )
21. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (34% )
22. 	Jehovah's Witness (34% )
23. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (31% )
24. 	Nontheist (31% )
25. 	Seventh Day Adventist (29% )
26. 	Eastern Orthodox (18% )
27. 	Roman Catholic (18% )


----------



## Meeko Baybee

Judaism for me


----------



## perpetualburn23

I choose to inquire not believe...It doesn't make sense for a nihilist,atheist to "believe"


----------



## ayjay

I'm atheist, but also going further - I'm a material determinist. That is - there's nothing supernatural going on, consciousness is an emergent property of electrochemical processes - there is no such thing as a "soul" except in terms of the aforementioned electrochemical processes... you get my drift.


----------



## Jackal

Well I used the faith identifier on the first page of this thread and apparantly I am 100% Unitarian Universalist!

That is followed closely by 94% Neo-Pagan

and 87% New Age.

I feel quite good about that


----------



## dbailey11

*look*

 


			
				ayjay said:
			
		

> I'm atheist, but also going further - I'm a material determinist. That is - there's nothing supernatural going on, consciousness is an emergent property of electrochemical processes - there is no such thing as a "soul" except in terms of the aforementioned electrochemical processes... you get my drift.




Good lord, how old are you? You have hands down proven that beliefs don't mean all that much. You obviously are denying an enormous amount of your own life experience to make a statement like that. There are large, unseen aspects of the material 'real' world that can't be known but for certain tools(like telescopes, electron microscopes, etc.) but they can be proven to exist with a sensitive enough instrument. Any good religion starts with a dicovery of the previously unknown; something that can be discovered by anyone who cares enough to look through potentially the most sensitive far reaching instrument of all: awareness. Lo child, light of lights, haha! But no one can make you aware, you already are. And if you pay just a fair amount of attention, you'll see that that is no mere emergent of electrochemical processes. But you have to care enough to look and see. The brain and mind are two sides of the same process that is always happening. One is not there without the other.


----------



## ayjay

^Odd comments - I'm not really sure how you can justify any of these claims about the maturity of my position, the nature of "good" religion, or how "paying attention" will disprove the biological basis of consciousness.

If you care to give it a go, I'll respond.


----------



## dbailey11

I'm glad you responded. Maybe I was a bit dickish with the maturity comment. But ok, I'll give it a go. By good religion I meant one that has persisted over time, and has the ability to transform its follwers. I say attention is key because it's the most naked and direct aspect of existence. You are aware right now, and it is not the result of any biochemical process. The locus of attention does have some vague feeling of being behind the eyes/ in the head, but when you try and pinpoint it you can't, right. Science has located areas of the brain where different modes of cognition take place and they can be measured with instruments like EEGs and catscans. You can pinpoint where in the brain sight occurs, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling, thinking; but those are biological functions you are aware of, right? They are fuctions of consciessness, not consciousness itself. But where in the brain can you find the self, meaning, love, sense of humor, emotion? These are nowhere to be found, so do we say they aren't real; as real as the brain, the senses,the so-called 'basis' of consciousness?

But, are all of these biological functions together consciousness per se, the whole of it? No. There is no area of the brain where consciosness is located and science makes no claim to have found it. They kind of scratch their heads and say "well since we can locate areas of the brain where these functions take place, we can assume that the whole of what we call consciosness occurs in the brain as well." 

They theorize this but in no way have proved it; so I don't have to disprove their position because scientists can't do it in the first place.

And what about when you sleep? Where is consciousness located then? All other functions shut down and you then you have theta and delta waves corresponding with dreaming and deep sleep. Most people would agree that they still exist in sleep, even though they are unaware of it. All aspects of waking consciousness shut down so everything we might normally ascribe as  me disappears too. But you still remain, don't you? Everything that can be pointed to is NOT awareness/ attention. I am not pointing to some ghost in the machine or anything supernatural in the sense most people use the word. But it certainly is beyond the scope of what we have the ability to measure at this time. We can only really say, at this point in time, what consciossness isn't. One day science will find out how mind and body are connected. But that discovery, by current scientific standards of proof, is a long way off yet. Besides, this is a mystery the just gets deeper the more you delve into it.
So, let's not be too eager to assume we've discovered what IT is.


----------



## brayne

i'm no hindu, but of all religions i like hinduism most i think.
i love it's drawings and it's playful way of trying to communicate truth through a story


----------



## ayjay

dbailey11 said:
			
		

> You are aware right now, and it is not the result of any biochemical process... There is no area of the brain where consciousness is located.



The brain is the hardware; consciousness is the software. We are meat machines 

I think you'll find contemporary thought on the nature of consciousness a little further ahead than you claim. For example, the ambitiously titled "Consciousness Explained" (Daniel Dennett 1991) covers off all the points you mention quite comprehensively. And that was over 15 years ago...


----------



## Psychedelic Gleam

"You are aware right now, and it is not the result of any biochemical process... There is no area of the brain where consciousness is located."

Changes to the physical brain matter result in changes in consciousness.  Changes in the Biochemical makeup result in a change in consciousness. Physical molecules alter consciousness.  I don't think that there is any part of the brain sending LSD through some magical transmitter to the spiritual realm.  So tell me how then is consciousness NOT located in the brain.


----------



## dbailey11

ayjay said:
			
		

> The brain is the hardware; consciousness is the software. We are meat machines
> 
> I think you'll find contemporary thought on the nature of consciousness a little further ahead than you claim. For example, the ambitiously titled "Consciousness Explained" (Daniel Dennett 1991) covers off all the points you mention quite comprehensively. And that was over 15 years ago...




We will agree to disagree. I have not read this book that you mention but will check it out. But if you would like a comprhensive map of consciousness, check out the work of Ken Wilber. "One Taste" and "A Brief History of Everything" are excellent books. Just remember that indivual consciousness and universal consciousness are like waves on the ocean. The brain is a complex biocomputer, a filter, a radio reciever.


----------



## yougene

dbailey11 said:
			
		

> We will agree to disagree. I have not read this book that you mention but will check it out. But if you would like a comprhensive map of consciousness, check out the work of Ken Wilber. "One Taste" and "A Brief History of Everything" are excellent books. Just remember that indivual consciousness and universal consciousness are like waves on the ocean. The brain is a complex biocomputer, a filter, a radio reciever.



In Ken Wilbers map all interiors have exterior correlates.  So there is a correlation between say brainwaves and your state of consciousness.  I think this is basically what  Ayjay was trying to say.  The hardware(exterior) is the brain, the software(interior) is consciousness.  The only problem this analogy poses in terms of Wilber's model is there is no differentiation between the mind and consciousness since software is more similar to mind.  The mind can be observed and acted upon, the observer is the consciousness.


----------



## dbailey11

Right, But Ayjay was saying that consciousness is merely an emergent of the brain, thus reducing to only the upper right quadrant- flatland monism.


----------



## ayjay

I think the problem is considering the perception of consciousness being different to mind, and taking that as fact. Not quite sure what "universal consciousness" is - sounds like "wishful thinking". Also not sure what "upper right quadrant flatland monism" is either; possibly "ad hominem argument".

By all means present some evidence of a supernatural source of consciousness - haven't seen any yet


----------



## yougene

ayjay said:
			
		

> I think the problem is considering the perception of consciousness being different to mind, and taking that as fact.


The distinction is apparent as it directly reveals itself experiently.  There is a subject, an observer, and there are objects that the observer sees.  Anything that you can be aware of or "see" is an object which includes the mind(can you not be aware of your thoughts, can you not be aware of ego?).  The actual observer can see itself no more than the eyeball can see itself.


It seems to me like you guys are talking from two different perspectives.  Ayjay is approaching the matter from the "relative" perspective while dbailey is approaching the matter from a non-dual perspective.  In a sense you guys are talking about two different things.


----------



## Psychedelic Gleam

dbailey11 said:
			
		

> Right, But Ayjay was saying that consciousness is merely an emergent of the brain, thus reducing to only the upper right quadrant- flatland monism.



Please prove to me that consciousness is not an emergent of the brain.

As one who has meditated for years (which is recommended by Wilbur) I still fail to be convinced by Wilbur's conception of "spirit" and after reading his work I am increasingly irked by his AQAL theory and even moreso by his lack of engagement in debate with detractors.  Face to face, respectful discussion between scientists and Wilbur and philosophers and such rather than Wilbur hanging out with all the people who believe with him so devoutly that they have completely adopted his methodology and rarely have any original philosophical points of there own that don't seem lifted straight from his text.


----------



## yougene

Psychedelic Gleam said:
			
		

> Please prove to me that consciousness is not an emergent of the brain.
> 
> As one who has meditated for years (which is recommended by Wilbur) I still fail to be convinced by Wilbur's conception of "spirit" and after reading his work I am increasingly irked by his AQAL theory and even moreso by his lack of engagement in debate with detractors.  Face to face, respectful discussion between scientists and Wilbur and philosophers and such rather than Wilbur hanging out with all the people who believe with him so devoutly that they have completely adopted his methodology and rarely have any original philosophical points of there own that don't seem lifted straight from his text.



Perhaps we can discuss this in a new thread.

I forked off this discussion into a new thread if anyone wishes to follow it.
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?p=4816555#post4816555


----------



## dbailey11

ayjay said:
			
		

> I think the problem is considering the perception of consciousness being different to mind, and taking that as fact. Not quite sure what "universal consciousness" is - sounds like "wishful thinking". Also not sure what "upper right quadrant flatland monism" is either; possibly "ad hominem argument".
> 
> By all means present some evidence of a supernatural source of consciousness - haven't seen any yet



Mind is awarness + thought; consciousness is awareness - thought. Facts are thoughts. Universal consciousness is awareness itself, beyond self or other, true or false, is or isn't, right or wrong. Individual consciousness is you and I having this discussuion. You can experience awareness any old time, no wishful thinking there. Upper right quadrant flatland monism refers to the Wilber AQAL model and the upper right refers to its- it language. Simple, right. I just used that phrase because Yougene said he is familiar with Wilber's work. But the AQAL model is a theoretical map of consciousness and phenomena. It basically states that there are four quadrants to all phenomenon. The upper half is singular, the lower is plural. The left side is internal, the right side is external. The upper left quadrant is I language- personal, internal phenomena. The lower left is we language- collective, internal. Upper right is you/it language- singular,impersonal, external. The lower right is you all/ it language- collective, impersonal, external. So, this is a way of seeing things; a way of seeing consciousness; and this theory states that basically everything has these four attributes, and can be spoken of in these perspectives.

So when I said upper right flatland monism I meant to say that you expressed your perspective by stating that all experience and phenomena can basically be reduced to one quadrant of this model- which is th upper right. And that means that everthing is merely matter; there is only the external reality, and nothing else. This is your position. So according to your position there is really no such thing as mind, let alone soul or spirit, because mind is internal, personal, which doesn't exist since it can't be experienced through the sense faculties.Therefore you basically contradict yourself because you already said that you admit the existence of mind/ consciousness.

I still haven't offered you any proof yet. Well I already said I don't know ultimately know what consciousness is. Therefore I have no external evidence to offer you. So you won't believe me when I say that the answer can only be directly experienced- beyond thought, right now. You can know this for yourself, if you would take up the experiment of looking into your own mind- your own experience. I'm pretty sure that if you do this often enough you will begin to see from a different perspective- a higher, more inclusive one, if you will. You can know what reality is beyond beliefs or wishful thinking. Then you will have a new belief, not based on faith or religion or somebody elses words. You will believe because you can experience the truth directly, without external aid. Then all doubt is removed even though the original question can never be answered. So, if you like, try taking up some kind awareness training such as meditation and see for yourself. I'm not here to prove my point just to be arbitrary, even though I originally made a remark about your age. I don't know how old you are, sorry for that.


----------



## ayjay

Hmmm - I think my position was something like - "consciousness is an emergent property of physical processes". I'm not really sure how any of your assertions about my position match this statement.

As for "universal consciousness" - you lost me there. That really is a load of garbage. Again - some evidence please.

As for "awareness training" - I'm quite familiar with a number of methods, and adept at a few too. Not really sure what this has to do with the biological basis of mind, though.... (well - actually I'm quite sure that the two are completely compatible - but again - feel free to explain otherwise  )


----------



## Psychedelic Gleam

ayjay said:
			
		

> As for "universal consciousness" - you lost me there. That really is a load of garbage. Again - some evidence please.



Perhaps this is more in reference to the fact that the space accessible to us, to our consciousness, is available to every human being alive,  there is a common "landscape" that we all have within our heads.

Evidence would be "shared" mental head spaces, whether during psychedelic usage or meditation.

I know this could be said better but I hope you get my point.


----------



## swilow

Mainly satanism here


----------



## ayjay

\m/ Do what you will shall be the whole of the law...


----------



## dbailey11

Well, I gave only the answer I could, not the one one you're looking for. There is no proof for your assertion, only educated guessing. Sorry, but we're only going in circles now, but I truly enjoyed our debate.


----------



## ayjay

... Love is the law - love under will \m/


----------



## dbailey11

You are a smart man Mr. Ayjay! Happy St Patty's Day my friend!!


----------



## Solitude_within

I would say that I personally fall in between Pagan/earth based religion and agnosticism. While I do not know the exact nature of existence, I do find that we as humans have a deep and primal connection to nature and the earth from which we came.


----------



## Psych0naut

Why isn't Narcism added to the poll ? :D  Anyway, I just chose atheism.


----------



## egor

I had been a staunch atheist who rejected all religion after my family tried to force catholicism on me from a young age, but i have been having a bout of agnosticism as of late. I am just not ready to give myself over to an omnipotent being who will not make his presence known and allows atrocities like darfur or the killing of the 1st born sons to occour. I have really been pondering the meaning of it all as of late, but I have not gotten near a conclusion. I guess I still have alot of soul-searching to do

Guess this is what a psycho-spiritual crisis is all about, as it has really been weighing heavily on my mind recently.


----------



## dbailey11

The big sick joke of and not so secret secret is that *YOU ARE* the omnipotent being who, 4 and a half billion years ago, breathed in , in a mighty huff, and exhaled........ BOOM!!!! the big bang, the beginning of the universe, the beginning of the nightmare, the beginning of pain and seperation, and ultimate case of cosmic amnesia..................So  let's wake the fuck up and realize what we've always already been--- all along!


----------



## Psychedelic Gleam

dbailey11 said:
			
		

> The big sick joke of and not so secret secret is that *YOU ARE* the omnipotent being who, 4 and a half billion years ago, breathed in , in a mighty huff, and exhaled........ BOOM!!!! the big bang, the beginning of the universe, the beginning of the nightmare, the beginning of pain and seperation, and ultimate case of cosmic amnesia..................So  let's wake the fuck up and realize what we've always already been--- all along!



That sounds like a bit of an ego trip and alot of bullshit.


----------



## The Real Fatman

dystheism


----------



## Ina Light

dbailey11 said:
			
		

> The big sick joke of and not so secret secret is that *YOU ARE* the omnipotent being who, 4 and a half billion years ago, breathed in , in a mighty huff, and exhaled........ BOOM!!!! the big bang, the beginning of the universe, the beginning of the nightmare, the beginning of pain and seperation, and ultimate case of cosmic amnesia..................So  let's wake the fuck up and realize what we've always already been--- all along!



Bravo, that was extremely well said!! It's a shame that other people haven't reached the consciousness level needed to realise the reality of your statement.


----------



## Mind-Melt

atheist for life.


----------



## ayjay

An 18th century apologist, Pinkus Goodblatt, once said: "Man without God is nothing more than a ridiculous sideshow on a grain of sand on an infinite beach." Pinkus old son, as an atheist, I couldn't agree more


----------



## enoughorangejuice?

hope i'm not the first to say it proudly

*Pastafarian*

I'm a proud member of *the Holy Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster *



my favorite religion quote:



“If you want to make a little money, write a book. If you want to make a lot of money, create a religion.” - L. Ron Hubbard


----------



## Aidan of TCC

Other: Naturalistic Pantheism


----------



## dankhead88

I'm agnostic. I still question myself if god exists or not. I'm not a strong believer or chirstianity or any other religion, but I do believe there is a god.... or is there?


----------



## untaMe

i chose agnosticism because i have complicated beliefs and don't completely believe in anything nor do i really care to find out I just don't think it's important.


----------



## namelesss

*Choose your favourite belief or religion!*

That is equivalent to asking "choose your favorite 'virus'". 

I would think that lack of the 'belief virus' infection would be preferable (if we actually had any 'choice' in the matter) from many perspective (but not the virus's, of course! *__- 

Here's a link should you wish to get a glimpse of the viral aspects of 'belief'.

Bye the way, I am quite 'happy' with absolutely no sign of infection. 
Instead of 'believing', I 'think'. 
(Not that there are any 'choices' that can be made, anyway..)


----------



## Maitereya

i believe in... me.


----------



## ladyinthesky

"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?"
-John Lennon

Thats how I feel


----------



## B9

^ Excellent! The thing I send by 6t2430t8r3j-9w90edxld28j system is real if you believe it! Just as real or even more real than 77804y74-059.



Reality ? Who owns it ?


----------



## B9

Maitereya said:
			
		

> i believe in... me.




You win a prize for best post !!!  Congratulations!   _*unofficially of course*_


----------



## B9

^ Other ! I think .


----------



## rolls

I guess I'm agnostic but strongly swinging towards atheism .

I realise you can't prove either way that a god exists/doesn't exist but I find it highly unlikely that one does. I believe everything that has happened was just chance and theres no good reason for anything. It just is.


----------



## peasnluv

K A R M A


----------



## Ody

I'm a Kike.


----------



## DexDex

Im way to smart to say there's no God. I know a whole lot better than that...


----------



## thugg

I've answered this before, not sure what it was, don't want to read back because it doesn't matter anyway..

At this point, I don't believe..  I don't know what to believe..  I'm a nomad wandering through the possibilities, trying to find a path.  I've ventured down some, and came back, now I'm in a big open field and I can go any direction...  But I'm having a hard time moving, I'm comfortable not knowing, not believing and just wondering..  It's a very confusing place this world, this life, you can't take it all in in a hundred thousand life times.


----------



## dbailey11

thugg said:
			
		

> I've answered this before, not sure what it was, don't want to read back because it doesn't matter anyway..
> 
> At this point, I don't believe..  I don't know what to believe..  I'm a nomad wandering through the possibilities, trying to find a path.  I've ventured down some, and came back, now I'm in a big open field and I can go any direction...  But I'm having a hard time moving, I'm comfortable not knowing, not believing and just wondering..  It's a very confusing place this world, this life, you can't take it all in in a hundred thousand life times.



Indeed.


----------



## Pretty_Diamonds

I'm surprised at the amount of Buddhists....drugs have anything do to with that?  Since Buddhism IS more spiritual, relaxing, peace, and having a lot to do with nature and all.

I'm also a tad bit surprised there's no Catholicism (Yes, I know Catholicism goes under Christianity).


----------



## rachamim

I am a man botrn as a Bratslaver/Bresloc Chassid. In English, Breslov Hassidic. This path of the Jewish REligion rests with the foundation offered by Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav. Centred in what is now he city of Uman in the Ukraine.

Rebbe Nachman, simply called Nachman, is a greatgrandson of the BESH'T, or Ba'al Shem Tov, Master of the Good Name. This man, Yisroel Ben Eleizer, Israel Son of Elieser, was a mostly illiterate man who lived in what is today Polan in the late 18th Century CE/AD. He was a cheder attendant, akin to what Westerners call a daycare.  

At this time Jews, all around the world but especially in E.Europe had drawn inward. We , the People who have been to every nation in the word, rejected the physical world. We clung in terror to the hope of the Messianic Age and the AfterWorld. Study was the only path to enlightenment.

BESH'T offered that the way to enlighten,ment could only be had via closeness to the Creator. This closeness did not rst in study he taught,although study is a positive attribute, it lay in joy of worship. Singing, dancing, nature, love, psychoactive substances although less popular are another form of this expression.

By Nachman's era though, this message had become perverted to the point that those on the Hassidic path were now seen as the ultra orthadox, as indee they are viewed today. They held teachers (rabbis/rebbes) up as exalted beings who accted as their intermediaries with the Creator. They did, and do today, wait as thei teacher eats and then pocket the crumbs as religious talismans.

Nachman taught that this is perverse. Intermediaries is anthema to a true Jew and these teachers had begun creating dynastiues based on blood as opposed to their teachings that in fact exist today. Nachman taught that all one needs is joy of G-D.

When Nachman died his followers resisted the urge to appoint a figurehead and instead took his message, indeed the message of his own great granddad, to heart. Today we called the Dead Rebbe, meaning that we follow no central figurehead as we should not as Jews.

There is a shrine that is important to us, at the grave of Nachman in Uman and we try to go at our New Year, Rosh Hashana, which comes either in September or October depending on the lunar cycle.

We have important places in relation to our schools in Safed and Tiberias in Israel but our worship is not reliant upon a physical locale. Our ideal form is to sit in a natural setting, like a wodded glade or beach and  after performing our absolutions,etc., we meditate. We believe though that in using psychoactive subsrtances we become elevated and thus closer to HIM. All Jews as a whole hold this true, as we are commanded to get drunk or high at the very least, 3 times a year (1st night of Pesach/Passover, Simchat Torah/Joy of Torah Day, and Purim/Feast of Esther). Additionaly, if able, we should do so at Shabbat/Sabbath which for all Jews is Friday sunset until Saturday sunset.


----------



## rachamim

NicNic: As for Hindusim having less dogma, simply reesearch the English word origin of Thug. Or examine Mahatma's assasination. Hinduism is the combined faiths of the Aryans and the Dravdians. Itr is no different than any other faith. Most Westerners though have this perverse fascination with anything Eastern, mistaking exotic for true or old for meaningful. My socks are old but I will gladly change them if I find a better pair. Always seek the truth...


----------



## delta_9

Well, the OP says to vote for my current religion, which would be athiest, but the title says to choose my favortire religion, which would be buddhism.


----------



## rachamim

I do not understand why people are so attracted to Buddhism. He himself was Hindu and never claimed to have found a new faith...much like Jesus. 

Buddhism is a very wide faith, which strain do you admire?


----------



## mariacallas

Pretty_Diamonds said:
			
		

> I'm surprised at the amount of Buddhists....drugs have anything do to with that?  Since Buddhism IS more spiritual, relaxing, peace, and having a lot to do with nature and all.
> 
> I'm also a tad bit surprised there's no Catholicism (Yes, I know Catholicism goes under Christianity).




I am a Roman Catholic with a Buddhist perspective on suffering, autonomy, karma and the nature of life.  Lets just say I am very spiritual, and yet very open-minded as well....quite a paradox and I am totally at peace with myself.


----------



## yougene

rachamim said:
			
		

> I do not understand why people are so attracted to Buddhism.


I think what's so attractive about Buddhism is its direct appeal to the rational and empirical mind.



> He himself was Hindu and never claimed to have found a new faith...much like Jesus.


Hinduism was his cultural background.  The Buddhist methodology doesn't really require one to immerse themselves in a mythical narrative, while Hinduism does.


----------



## lolitsjohn

Nihilism.

I'll explain why, in depth, if I actually get a response.

But perhaps you already know why.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ Heh, I didn't think nihilists really did explanations 

In that case I'll bet you voted 'agnostic'. A good friend of mine, far more intelligent and well-read than myself, was on a nihilism kick for awhile, and I remember him saying agnosticism is really the only attitude toward metaphysics that makes sense in the nihilist's world.


----------



## lolitsjohn

MyDoorsAreOpen said:
			
		

> ^^^ Heh, I didn't think nihilists really did explanations
> 
> In that case I'll bet you voted 'agnostic'. A good friend of mine, far more intelligent and well-read than myself, was on a nihilism kick for awhile, and I remember him saying agnosticism is really the only attitude toward metaphysics that makes sense in the nihilist's world.





I meant that I would explain why I'm not really a nihilist, but that that is probably apparent, already.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ In all honesty, come to think of it, I've only met or seen one person who called themself a nihilist with utter seriousness.


----------



## Roger&Me

I find it interesting that the three anti-creator views win out. As a Buddhist, I don't believe in a creator-God, so I found this interesting. As I've always found in the general population my view is considered to be akin to satanism. I've just never found the idea of a creator-God to be necessary; the idea of any eternally changeless entity also seems to be contradictory to the fluid and interdependent nature of the universe. I dunno, I've just never really bought it.


----------



## Portillo

carina_et_vela said:
			
		

> Dreamtime



Sounds nice.


----------



## Boiling in Acid

I believe in one God allmighty. I pray Jewish prayers.


----------



## capital

I voted for Taoism, but I did the test on that site and here are some of the results:

1. 	New Thought  100%
2. 	Unitarian Universalism 92%
3. 	Christian Science Church of Christ, Scientist 88%
4. 	Mahayana Buddhism 88%
5. 	Liberal Quakers 83%
6. 	New Age 83%
7. 	Scientology 82%
8. 	Taoism 80%

I really like what that site says about the "New Thought" idea of suffering:

•  	Undeserved Suffering
Suffering results from ignorance of one's true nature as Perfect Mind and ceases with complete realization that we all are one with God, the Universal Mind. One can heal personal suffering through New Thought practices, often with the assistance of New Thought practitioners.


----------



## MinneapolisAcid

I cannot deny the possibility that a higher power exists.
Neither can i deny the possibility that it does not.
i lean more towards the latter,
but personally i could care less.
i'm here now
so i'll make the most of my time and not waste it on trying to figure out how we came to be.


----------



## SKL

I'm a Christian but have gained much spirtual insight from psychedelics to the point at which my belief system is pretty heterodox to the point to which it would be virtually unrecognizable to your usual churchgoing Christian type, but yes it involves God & Jesus and believes in what is written in the Bible, so for what it's worth, I voted "Christian" ... "Entheogenic Christian?"


----------



## ~_Hiss_~

from the faith that you release comes an atheist peace!


----------



## serotoninstorm

Agnostic.


----------



## Purple_Haze

I think it's really close between Pagan and Buddhist.


----------



## blitzsturm

This is hard... i choose agnosticism, but usually i say i am christian. My results from the quiz does not say i am christian... not that much of a christian anyway :/

1. 	Mahayana Buddhism  100%
2. 	Jainism 91%
3. 	Hinduism 91%
4. 	Neo-Pagan 83%
5. 	Liberal Quakers 78%
6. 	New Age 76%
7. 	Unitarian Universalism 76%
8. 	Theravada Buddhism 75%
9. 	Taoism 66%
10. 	Sikhism 65%
11. 	Bahá'í Faith 58%
12. 	Reform Judaism 55%
13. 	Orthodox Quaker 52%
14. 	New Thought 49%
15. 	Orthodox Judaism 49%
16. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants 46%
17. 	Islam 40%
18. 	Scientology 37%
19. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) 35%
20. 	Secular Humanism 32%


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ Well, do you conduct yourself like a Christian? I've known some people without Jesus in their life who were more Christian in deed than most people who label themselves 'Christian', and that Jesus would have undoubtedly respected.

Edit: I think you ought to look at this post too, Warehousepunk.


----------



## wArEhOuSePuNk

I like free stuff because im a materialistic asshole so i choose Christianity


----------



## kaosisallwesee

i was told by that link that im a Unitarian Universalists  but fuck knows   if youve ever seen waking life you'll understand what i belive   after death we in a sense dream and learn about life


----------



## bleedingheartcommie

reality


----------



## Symmetrical Daze

more than 1/3 (35% ) are non-believers and skeptics here, aka free-thinkers, great to see. Most agnostics can be considered negative atheists, in that they don't believe there is no god, they just don't hold a belief in God.

Followed by buddhism, a pretty nice philosophical religion.

I'm proud of BLers!

I put myself down for atheist, because adding a God to the situation only infinitely complicates it. 

The link put me as 100% secular humanist.


----------



## yougene

Not to split hairs but atheism does not always equate to free-thinking.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ I hate that word.

Can one be a freethinker but not an atheist? In theory, technically yes. In practice, no, not if you want to get taken seriously.


----------



## DarthMom

the atheists can't take my personal label of free thinker away, i don't care how anti spirituality the freethought movement is!


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ DM, you just made my day. Hi five, chica!


----------



## ayjay

I'm a spiritual atheist


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

What I'm curious about is our mysterious fourth largest religious faction: Other belief. I wish more people who voted for this category had gone into detail about their answer. Also, I wonder if most of these people adhere to a belief system that's idiosyncratic, or whether there are a number of belief systems that are well represented on BL, but left out of the poll. Gnostics? Deists? Pan[en]theists? Nihilists? Freakin' JewBus?! Stand up and be counted.


----------



## B9

Pan(en)theist.

Counted!

As much a philosophy as a religion - perhaps more so I dunno. I just take my own *insights* ( quit the mockery before you start thanks) & kinda worked out it was saying the same sorta thing. Labelled eh.


----------



## Aeon Psyche

Religions are things you believe in. The truth is something you need to understand.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ O rly?


----------



## B9

Aeon Psyche said:
			
		

> Religions are things you believe in. The truth is something you need to understand.




I think the two are neatly interchangeable - depending upon the POV of the subject!


----------



## massiveinminiature

*I think that theres probably things to be learned / taken from all religions its just a matter of context etc.   

I simply beleive that to try and do good and share the love is the best way to be (although it can be trying at times) !!!       *


----------



## Shambles

Favourite religion? I voted for Hinduism as I have quite a fondness for it. However I don't believe in or follow any of them. As MIM said above - there's wisdom in them all, but it all depends on what you do with that wisdom. Sadly many people just don't have any real understanding of their pet religion and this is where the problems lie.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ Yeah I think if I have a religion, it's the Perennial Philosophy, a.k.a Sanatana Dharma.


----------



## Shambles

^ An interesting idea, and something that I was unaware of before.

I think if you look at all religious beliefs, they are essentially saying the same thing. Perhaps something along the lines of: the world is a big, scary, lonely place in which bad things happen - but we don't know why they do. Good things also happen, but the bad ones get more publicity and tend to stick in the mind. All of this is fairly inexplicable to the average, mortal, earthbound individual. Over time people pondered these themes and came up with some comforting "answers". The ideas catch on, they live and spread for a while and then they are superceded by a newer variation on the "answer", the Truth, as it were. A thousand years from now, I imagine there will be "new" religions that take over, or at least add to, the current crop. They are all essentially the same: be nice to each other and nice things will happen. When they don't, it's all just part of the big plan, so don't worry if life here is bad because it'll all be better soon.

Jam tomorrow.


P.S. Having just stumbled across this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

I have changed my mind and am now a fundamentalist Pastafarian. Ha!


----------



## lagomorpha

Aeon Psyche said:
			
		

> Religions are things you believe in. The truth is something you need to understand.



Re-li-gion
-noun
A philosophy one believes in strongly enough to be a douche bag about.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

entheogenius said:
			
		

> I have changed my mind and am now a fundamentalist Pastafarian. Ha!



Will you spot me some weed if I go pick up your pirate suit at the dry cleaner's?


----------



## Shambles

^ No problem. Let's end this global warming menace once and for all!

One of the best reasons for my recent conversion:

*The Pastafarian belief of heaven stresses that it contains beer volcanoes and a stripper factory. Hell is similar, except that the beer is stale, and the strippers have VD.*

Who could possiby resist? And possibly the greatest reason for being good and not going to Hell so far. 

The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" were pretty persuasive too.


----------



## lagomorpha

^ I had a feeling the beer volcanoes and stripper factory had something to do with it.  They almost won me over as well... and the pirate costumes...


----------



## Shambles

^ Roll on September 19 (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) when we can all get in touch with our inner pirate and let out a big, soulful: "Aaaaarrrrrrr! Shiver me timbers, splice the mainbrace and roger the cabin boy!". Can't wait .

Sorry, the pirates seem to be mounting a sneak raid on a perfectly sensible thread. I'll put them back in their box til September.


----------



## clamjuice

MyDoorsAreOpen said:
			
		

> What I'm curious about is our mysterious fourth largest religious faction: Other belief. I wish more people who voted for this category had gone into detail about their answer. Also, I wonder if most of these people adhere to a belief system that's idiosyncratic, or whether there are a number of belief systems that are well represented on BL, but left out of the poll. Gnostics? Deists? Pan[en]theists? Nihilists? Freakin' JewBus?! Stand up and be counted.




I chose other because there was no undecided. Now i could pick the one religion that i thought was my favourite, but that doesn't necessarily make it any more true or realistic than any other one on the list.

Iam completely and utterly undecided. I used to think atheism made sense, but then how the fuck did we come about. Then it was re incarnation, but then how is there a higher population now then there ever was, unless extinct species lack of forest etc are being reincarnated as humans.

My point being i have no fucking clue and im not even going to bother to try and justify any belief that i WISH was correct, because there is absolutely no way to prove it. 

Religion is a hope or a wish and nothing more, i refuse to choose a belief, why limit yourself. Why not think it could slide any possible direction? I truely believe that whatever comes after death or whatever other spiritual non spiritual element applies will be so inconceivable you could not use words to describe it, because no mortal could descrive something beyond mortal, its just a guess.

Then i come back to am i creating my own reality, do i exist etc vicious cycle no end, i cause myself too many problems trying to think about it, its painful for me.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ You sound pretty damn agnostic to me, in the true and original sense of the word.

It's a shame that the euphemism treadmill has twisted the word 'agnostic' to mean more or less 'polite, non-confrontational atheist' or 'atheist who's maybe willing to admit he's wrong', both of which technically fall under the rubric of 'soft atheist'.

It's just that 90% of the people I've heard label themselves 'agnostic' then go on to describe a worldview that's decidedly within the definition of atheism. I'm fully with Richard Dawkins on one point: if you're really and truly an atheist and nothing less, have the balls to say so. Don't hijack a wonderful word and concept like 'agnostic' for the sake of politeness.


----------



## SuisseSmoker

I have the balls! On a more serious note, I am an atheist, but I respect the beliefs of others all the same.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ that's the spirit


----------



## clamjuice

Id say that i was agnostic, but i cant deny that sometimes i really feel like there is something else out there, or there will be life after death or something. So im neither denying or accepting. 

I think we can all agree weve had a time in out life where some sort of mystical feeling surrounds us. I sure have, and thats what stops me from being agnostic. Just because we cant prove it doesnt necessarily mean its untrue. I just prefer the undecided label.


----------



## Jamshyd

My ways are decidedly apophatic, so I am unable to pick any of the listed beliefs, including the last option .

ps. The wiki on the subject is horrendous and self-contradictory, but I guess its an introduction...


----------



## <pyridinyl_30>

Zoroastrianism.


----------



## spacefacethebassace

I voted Taoism not because it's my belief system but because I like the idea. The beliefnet quiz told me I'm a universalist unitarian, which is spot on.


----------



## beamers

Jainism FTW, a morally viable religion and scientifically credible.


----------



## Rod-Everrard

beamers said:
			
		

> Jainism FTW, a morally viable religion and scientifically credible.



When did belief in the individual soul become scientifically credible?


----------



## spaceyourbass

I am not a damn liberal quaker, dammit!  Rigged!


----------



## aanallein

1. 	Neo-Pagan  100%
2. 	New Age 99%
3. 	Liberal Quakers 90%
4. 	Unitarian Universalism 89%
5. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants 81%
6. 	Mahayana Buddhism 80%
7. 	New Thought 78%
8. 	Reform Judaism 71%
9. 	Theravada Buddhism 69%

lol the smilies tried to mess my post up. watch out for that when cut/pasting.


----------



## aanallein

Its a decent test but I don't personally identify with any of those belief systems.. so oh well.


----------



## neonads

My top ten.

1.  Secular Humanism (100%)  
2.  Unitarian Universalism (98%)  
3.  Theravada Buddhism (89%)  
4.  Nontheist (81%)  
5.  Liberal Quakers (78%)  
6.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (67%)  
7.  Neo-Pagan (62%)  
8.  Mahayana Buddhism (57%)  
9.  Taoism (57%)  
10.  New Age (50%) 

I did this test a few years ago, it's good to see the monotheist influence dwindling.


----------



## Pharcyde

1.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)  
2.  Liberal Quakers (83%)  
3.  Unitarian Universalism (80%)  
4.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (69%)  
5.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (68%)  
6.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (67%)  
7.  Reform Judaism (66%)  
8.  Bahá'í Faith (62%)  
9.  Secular Humanism (62%)  
10.  Neo-Pagan (60%)


----------



## stonerfromohio

1. 	Mahayana Buddhism 100%
2. 	Hinduism  97%
3. 	Neo-Pagan  83%
4. 	Theravada Buddhism 78%
5. 	Unitarian Universalism 78%
6. 	New Age 77%
7. 	New Thought 76%

very accurate


----------



## alasdairm

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Secular Humanism (98%)
3. 	Liberal Quakers (91%)
4. 	Neo-Pagan (87%)
5. 	New Age (77%)

alasdair


----------



## Jabberwocky

There is something in common with my highest and lowest the Unitarian part of
Unitarian Universalism started with the rejection of the trinity, Jehova's Witnesses also reject the trinity.



			
				spaceyourbass said:
			
		

> I am not a damn liberal quaker, dammit! Rigged!


Liberal Quakers are one of the coolest groups as far as a history being enlightened socially. First to treat Native Americans compassionately, and mental patients, and prisoners, when a good social cause comes around you will usually find Quakers were at it before anyone else had even started considering the issues. 


1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100)

*NSFW*: 



2. 	Neo-Pagan (86)
3. 	Liberal Quakers (75)
4. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (73)
5. 	New Thought (73)
6. 	Reform Judaism (73)
7. 	Sikhism (66)
8. 	Secular Humanism (61)
9. 	Hinduism (60)
10. 	Taoism (57)
11. 	Scientology (56)
12. 	Mahayana Buddhism (55)
13. 	New Age (55)
14. 	Theravada Buddhism (55)
15. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (52)
16. 	Nontheist (51)
17. 	Bahá'í Faith (46)
18. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (46)
19. 	Orthodox Quaker (46)
20. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (37)
21. 	Orthodox Judaism (37)
22. 	Jainism (35)
23. 	Eastern Orthodox (32)
24. 	Islam (32)
25. 	Roman Catholic (32)
26. 	Seventh Day Adventist (25)



27. 	Jehovah's Witness (5)


----------



## jpgrdnr

1. 	Nontheist 100%
2. 	Secular Humanism 96%
3. 	Unitarian Universalism 96%
4. 	Theravada Buddhism 82%
5. 	Liberal Quakers 80%


----------



## Noodle

1. 	Unitarian Universalism ( 100% )
2. 	Neo-Pagan ( 98% )
3. 	Liberal Quakers ( 93% )
4. 	New Age ( 91% )
5. 	Mahayana Buddhism ( 89% )
6. 	Theravada Buddhism ( 72% )
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants ( 70% )
8. 	Taoism ( 69% )
9. 	Secular Humanism ( 66% )
10. 	Hinduism ( 65% )
11. 	Sikhism ( 57% )
12. 	Jainism ( 56% )
13. 	Bahá'í Faith ( 54% )
14. 	New Thought ( 52% )
15. 	Scientology ( 52% )
16. 	Orthodox Quaker ( 48% )
17. 	Reform Judaism ( 48% )
18. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) ( 46% )
19. 	Nontheist ( 39% )
20. 	Orthodox Judaism ( 28% )
21. 	Seventh Day Adventist ( 23% )
22. 	Islam ( 22% )
23. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) ( 20% )
24. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant ( 19% )
25. 	Eastern Orthodox ( 18% )
26. 	Roman Catholic ( 18% )
27. 	Jehovah's Witness ( 17% )



I'm a confirmed Roman Catholic.

*weird*


----------



## Thanatos

Mahayana Buddhism 100%
Unitarian Universalism 97%
Neo-Pagan 96%
New Age 92%
Liberal Quakers 87%
Taoism 87%
Scientology 87%
New Thought 83%
Theravada Buddhism 82%
Hinduism 75%
Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) 72%
Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants 71%
Secular Humanism 68%
Jainism 64%
Reform Judaism 57%
Sikhism 57%
Orthodox Quaker 55%
Bahá'í Faith 42%
Nontheist 39%
Orthodox Judaism 33%
Islam 27%
Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant 27%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) 25%
Seventh Day Adventist 23%
Eastern Orthodox 16%
Roman Catholic 16%
Jehovah's Witness 12%


----------



## Jabberwocky

I'm a neo-pagan apparently :D

i always knew that dancing around bonfires on acid in the woods might make me into one :D


----------



## Noodle

I know silly.

I'm just saying I was brought up Catholic. I made mention of it because Roman Catholicism is almost last on my list.


----------



## IGNVS

1. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants  (100% )
2. 	Unitarian Universalism (87% )
3. 	Theravada Buddhism (87% )
4. 	Liberal Quakers (84% )
5. 	Mahayana Buddhism (84% )
6. 	Hinduism (72% )
7. 	Orthodox Quaker (71% )
8. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (70% )
9. 	Jainism (69% )
10. 	Bahá'í Faith (67% )
11. 	New Age (64% )
12. 	Sikhism (61% )
13. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (57% )
14. 	Jehovah's Witness (56% )
15. 	New Thought (56% )
16. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (54% )
17. 	Neo-Pagan (54% )
18. 	Seventh Day Adventist (50% )
19. 	Taoism (44% )
20. 	Reform Judaism (40% )
21. 	Eastern Orthodox (35% )
22. 	Roman Catholic (35% )
23. 	Scientology (33% )
24. 	Orthodox Judaism (31% )
25. 	Secular Humanism (30% )
26. 	Nontheist (23% )
27. 	Islam (17% )

interesting... it would have been nice if they went more in-depth with each one of the questions as some can be easily misinterpreted. or even if you could mark multiple circles like the boxes on some questions.


----------



## SKL

I was raised atheist, spent some time as a (conservative) Baptist ... now very very very pragmatic in my beliefs ... lots of Eastern influence but also a lot of Christian ideas too

Results	, which I'd disagree with highly , are ...

1. 	Orthodox Judaism (100%
2. 	Hinduism (93%
3. 	Islam (93%
4. 	Mahayana Buddhism (87%
5. 	Jainism (80%
6. 	Bahá'í Faith (79%
7. 	Neo-Pagan (76%
8. 	Unitarian Universalism (76%
9. 	Reform Judaism (75%
10. 	Theravada Buddhism (74%
11. 	Sikhism (73%
12. 	Liberal Quakers (71%
13. 	New Age (70%
14. 	Orthodox Quaker (67%
15. 	Seventh Day Adventist (64%
16. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (61%
17. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (57%
18. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (56%
19. 	Jehovah's Witness (56%
20. 	Eastern Orthodox (49%
21. 	Roman Catholic (49%
22. 	New Thought (47%
23. 	Scientology (45%
24. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (36%
25. 	Nontheist (35%
26. 	Secular Humanism (32%
27. 	Taoism (29%


----------



## QuestionEverything

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Neo-Pagan (94%)  
3.  Liberal Quakers (91%)  
4.  New Age (91%)  
5.  Mahayana Buddhism (86%)  
6.  Secular Humanism (80%)  
7.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (77%)  
8.  Taoism (75%)  
9.  Theravada Buddhism (75%)  
10.  Scientology (73%)


----------



## Max Power

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Liberal Quakers (96%)
3. 	Neo-Pagan (96%)
4. 	New Age (88%)
5. 	Secular Humanism (79%)
6. 	Mahayana Buddhism (79%)
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (76%)
8. 	Taoism (69%)
9. 	Theravada Buddhism (63%)
10. 	Orthodox Quaker (55%)


----------



## Max Power

I see a lot of people share the top score of Unitarian Universalism.

Can someone please tell me what that is exactly?


----------



## neonads

MaxPowers said:
			
		

> I see a lot of people share the top score of Unitarian Universalism.
> 
> Can someone please tell me what that is exactly?



It's a fairly extreme liberal religious view that has roots in Christianity.  Steve Waldman, the editor-in-chief of beliefnet.com shows a lot of bias towards this ideology so I'd just ignore that result if I were you.


----------



## Max Power

callupjah said:
			
		

> Haven't you heard of google?



Ever heard of suicide?

Try it.


----------



## qwe

id rather get fucked than commit suicide

i got 100% secular humanism


----------



## opiate3

1. 	Orthodox Judaism  (100%)
2. 	Reform Judaism (100%)
3. 	Unitarian Universalism (91%)
4. 	Islam (86%)
5. 	Jehovah's Witness (86%)
6. 	Liberal Quakers (86%)
7. 	Jainism (85%)
8. 	Bahá'í Faith (84%)
9. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (83%)
10. 	Sikhism (78%)


orthodox jew ey? thats intense.


----------



## B9

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Neo-Pagan (98%)  
3.  New Age (92%)  
4.  Liberal Quakers (89%)  
5.  Hinduism (78%)  
6.  Mahayana Buddhism (76%)  
7.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (71%)  
8.  Sikhism (70%)  
9.  Taoism (69%)  
10.  Bahá'í Faith (68%)  
11.  Scientology (64%)  
12.  Jainism (63%)  
13.  New Thought (62%)  
14.  Theravada Buddhism (60%)  
15.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (57%)  
16.  Reform Judaism (52%)  
17.  Orthodox Quaker (50%)  
18.  Orthodox Judaism (45%)  
19.  Secular Humanism (43%)  
20.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (37%)  
21.  Eastern Orthodox (30%)  
22.  Islam (30%)  
23.  Roman Catholic (30%)  
24.  Seventh Day Adventist (25%)  



But what is a Unitarian Universalist - besides the obvious answer - me 

& why are there emoticons lurking next to each %age ?


----------



## Fishface

Because % + ) = %)

Oh, and neonads answered your other question on the previous page


----------



## B9

^ Why thank you fishface %)


----------



## Fishface

Ever my pleasure, Mr.B %)


----------



## B9

Coolest thread in P & S I reckon %)


----------



## Fishface

Who said that?

Can't see a fucking thing with these sunglasses on %)


----------



## Jabberwocky

B9 said:
			
		

> But what is a Unitarian Universalist - besides the obvious answer - me
> 
> & why are there emoticons lurking next to each %age ?



Last question first, VBS as set up here makes a % followed by ) an emoticon.

Unitarian-Universalist are very liberal church that came about from the merger of two previous churches. They don't have much doctrine except that divinity is present through out everything and that everyone is free to come to their own conclusions about theology and ethics.

The Unitarian side was historically more concerned with the position that there isn't a trinity. My experience is that services can focus on anything but are often focused on 19th century American  Transcendentalists like Emerson an Thoreau.


----------



## B9

^ Ah right thankee   whoops sorry %) %) 


I often wonder about quite how these things are structured & the influence of the person who sets the values.%)


----------



## neonads

Seriously, if opiate3 can score high on most of the monotheistic faiths while I score high on most of the non-mono's, but we both get >90% UU - WTF!



			
				Enki said:
			
		

> They don't have much doctrine except that divinity is present through out everything



And I answered "Not applicable" to all of the divinity questions...

Aside from that, this thread is 100% %)


----------



## Delsyd

this was a fun test

my results:

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Liberal Quakers (90%)
3. 	Theravada Buddhism (84%)
4. 	Mahayana Buddhism (79%)
5. 	Neo-Pagan (71%)
6. 	New Age (69%)
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (68%)
8. 	Secular Humanism (67%)
9. 	Hinduism (62%)
10. 	Taoism (62%)
11. 	New Thought (57%)
12. 	Jainism (50%)
13. 	Scientology (48%)
14. 	Reform Judaism (44%)
15. 	Nontheist (42%)
16. 	Orthodox Quaker (42%)
17. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (41%)
18. 	Sikhism (40%)
19. 	Bahá'í Faith (36%)
20. 	Seventh Day Adventist (19%)
21. 	Orthodox Judaism (15%)
22. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (13%)
23. 	Jehovah's Witness (13%)
24. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (10%)
25. 	Eastern Orthodox (9%)
26. 	Islam (9)
27. 	Roman Catholic (9)

did you guys hear about that unitarian church that was shot up recently for its liberal views?


----------



## neonads

Answering "none of the above" or "not applicable" for all questions yields:

1.  Nontheist (100%)  
2.  Secular Humanism (100%)  
3.  Neo-Pagan (50%)  

With 0% for all others.  Results were the same with all "high" and all "low" certainty.

Guess it's not rigged, UU just scores high on most questions because it allows so many views - except utter rejection of divinity.  Begs the question, "What is the purpose of Unitarian Universalism then?"

Stemming the tide of non-belief?


----------



## Dxmmonster

Im a hardcore lean mean fighting machine.


----------



## Pillthrill

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100% )  
2.  Secular Humanism (99% )  
3.  Theravada Buddhism (83% )  
4.  Liberal Quakers (77% )  
5.  Neo-Pagan (72% )  
6.  Nontheist (66% )  
7.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (61% )  
8.  New Age (60% )  
9.  Taoism (59% )  
10.  New Thought (53% )  
11.  Scientology (53% )  
12.  Mahayana Buddhism (49% )  
13.  Reform Judaism (47% )  
14.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (45% )  
15.  Sikhism (44% )  
16.  Orthodox Quaker (35% )  
17.  Bahá'í Faith (32% )  
18.  Jainism (31% )  
19.  Hinduism (26% )  
20.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (22% )  
21.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (18% )  
22.  Jehovah's Witness (12% )  
23.  Orthodox Judaism (12% )  
24.  Eastern Orthodox (10% )  
25.  Islam (10% )  
26.  Roman Catholic (10% )  
27.  Seventh Day Adventist (9% )  




Hmm was a JW back in the day lol


----------



## Kul69

1. 	Mahayana Buddhism  (100%)
2. 	Unitarian Universalism (99%)
3. 	Theravada Buddhism (96%)
4. 	Liberal Quakers (92%)
5. 	Neo-Pagan (91%)

I kind of expected Buddhism to be up there. Didn't think I'd get two types in the top 5 though.


----------



## Beatlebot

...


----------



## swilow

B9, Ken Kesey had a bit of fun with the Uniatarian Church in the '60's I believe, as recounted in the Acid Test...

Heres me-

 1.  Mahayana Buddhism (100%)  
2.  Neo-Pagan (94%)  
3.  Unitarian Universalism (92%)  
4.  New Age (82%)  
5.  Liberal Quakers (82%)  
6.  Hinduism (80%)  
7.  Taoism (74%)  
8.  Theravada Buddhism (73%)  
9.  New Thought (69%)  
10.  Scientology (69%)  
11.  Secular Humanism (63%)  
12.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (60%)  
13.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (59%)  
14.  Jainism (58%
15.  Orthodox Quaker (50%)  
16.  Reform Judaism (43%
17.  Bahá'í Faith (41%)  
18.  Nontheist (37%)  
19.  Sikhism (28%)  
20.  Orthodox Judaism (27%)  
21.  Seventh Day Adventist (26%
22.  Islam (24%)  
23.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%
24.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (16% 
25.  Jehovah's Witness (16%
26.  Eastern Orthodox (13%
27.  Roman Catholic (13%  

I fucken love how everyones so 'cool' with their beliefs.


----------



## swilow

callupjah said:
			
		

> ^Get fucked.





			
				callupjah said:
			
		

> ^What the fuck?



Fuck %)


----------



## Medications

1. 	Secular Humanism (100%)
2. 	Unitarian Universalism (92%)
3. 	Liberal Quakers (79%)
4. 	Nontheist (74%)
5. 	Theravada Buddhism (74%)
6. 	Neo-Pagan (72%)
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%)
8. 	Taoism (57%)
9. 	New Age (56%)
10. 	Reform Judaism (49%)
11. 	Mahayana Buddhism (45%)
12. 	Orthodox Quaker (43%)
13. 	Scientology (32%)
14. 	Sikhism (31%)
15. 	New Thought (30%)
16. 	Bahá'í Faith (28%)
17. 	Jainism (24%)
18. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (23%)
19. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (21%)
20. 	Seventh Day Adventist (18%)
21. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (17%)
22. 	Hinduism (14%)
23. 	Eastern Orthodox (12%)
24. 	Islam (12%)
25. 	Orthodox Judaism (12%)


----------



## Inso

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Liberal Quakers (98%)
3. 	Mahayana Buddhism (98%)
4. 	Theravada Buddhism (95%)
5. 	New Age (93%) 

I am open to many different beliefs, not really focussed on one or the other, so I guess this fits.


----------



## swilow

I am 100% Buddhist and 50% Orthodox Jew....okay.


----------



## B9

I must reread the Electric kool aid acid test. Gotta find the fucker first tho.......


----------



## Vimana

1. 	Jainism  (100%)
2. 	Mahayana Buddhism (97%)
3. 	Unitarian Universalism (97%)
4. 	Hinduism (96%)
5. 	Liberal Quakers (95%)
6. 	New Thought (92%)
7. 	Bahá'í Faith (89%)
8. 	New Age (88%)
9. 	Theravada Buddhism (87%)
10. 	Scientology (86%)
11. 	Orthodox Quaker (84%)
12. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (83%)
13. 	Taoism (80%)
14. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (79%)

Yeah well, thats what you get when you decide to take a fucking PERSONALITY TEST on a fucking COMPUTER. What better to judge your personality and most intimate spiritual beliefs then a test that tries to categorize people into defined organized religions, each with their own complex philosophic idiosyncrasies, created by somebody that has never met you or 'your type'. People don't have types, certain people may have similar traits but each is an individual. Probably written by some sanctimonious cunt with a PHD and a 'God complex'


----------



## TRPPNASS_DSCOMONKE

I can tell you with out  a quiz, panentheism.  or maybe mysticism.


----------



## Ernestrome

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100% )
2. 	Liberal Quakers (88% )
3. 	Theravada Buddhism (84% )
4. 	Secular Humanism (82% )
5. 	Taoism (80% )
6. 	Neo-Pagan (74% )
7. 	Mahayana Buddhism (74% )
8. 	New Age (72% ) 
9. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72% )
10. 	Nontheist (67% )
11. 	Jainism (55% )
12. 	Orthodox Quaker (55% )
13. 	Scientology (55% ) 
14. 	Hinduism (51% )
15. 	New Thought (51% )


----------



## BurnOneDown

1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. 	Theravada Buddhism (96%)
3. 	Secular Humanism (82%)
4. 	Liberal Quakers (79%)
5. 	Mahayana Buddhism (71%)
6. 	Neo-Pagan (71%)
7. 	Taoism (66%)
8. 	New Age (62%)
9. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (56%)
10. 	Nontheist (55%) 

I had to wiki unitarian universalism, but I really appreciated the belief. Very open minded, practical, and benevolent in a general sense. I disagree with some of their essential spiritual views and I could never be part of a spiritual practice that is at all organized and practiced in ceremony. It's just good to learn about an organization that is promoting an appreciation of diversification and personal responsibility.


----------



## ebola?

There was another thread like this.  I'mma try to merge now.

ebola


----------



## Ernestrome

swilow said:
			
		

> B9, Ken Kesey had a bit of fun with the Uniatarian Church in the '60's I believe, as recounted in the Acid Test...



I haven't got round to that yet, can you briefly tell me what sort of fun?

I went to a unitarian church in england. I think they might've been willing to give entheogen use 'shelter' within their church.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

I've been fascinated by this poll for a long time. I wonder how good a representation of the whole BL community this is.

I'd even consider sending this poll around to other forums, to see if the results changed any.


----------



## Jamshyd

^ Probably not something to put too much thought into. Its kinda difficult to take seriously something titled "belief-o-matic" 

ps. Ebola, I love your grammatical correctness: "I'mma" 

I completely disagree with my results:



> 1. 	Neo-Pagan  (100%)
> 2. 	Mahayana Buddhism (98%)
> 3. 	New Age (93%)
> 4. 	Unitarian Universalism (92%)
> 5. 	Theravada Buddhism (88%)
> 6. 	Liberal Quakers (87%)
> 7. 	Taoism (84%)
> 8. 	Hinduism (75%)
> 9. 	Jainism (72%)
> 10. 	Secular Humanism (64%)
> 11. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%)
> 12. 	New Thought (62%)
> 13. 	Scientology (61%)
> 14. 	Orthodox Quaker (55%)
> 15. 	Sikhism (54%)
> 16. 	Reform Judaism (52%)
> 17. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (51%)
> 18. 	Bahá'í Faith (43%)
> 19. 	Nontheist (35%)
> 20. 	Seventh Day Adventist (29%)
> 21. 	Orthodox Judaism (26%)
> 22. 	Islam (22%)
> 23. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (20%)
> 24. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)
> 25. 	Eastern Orthodox (18%)
> 26. 	Roman Catholic (18%)
> 27. 	Jehovah's Witness (15%)



Although...



> Sufism/Gnostism



...fits the bill to the T.


----------



## ebola?

OT:
>>ps. Ebola, I love your grammatical correctness: "I'mma" >>

This one's tricky for me, as 'going to' doesn't have an 'a' in it, so I don't really know where to put the apostrophe or if I need 2 ms.
...
Yup.  I find describing my beliefs a good bit more accurate than the quiz.

ebola


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

It amazes me how often Unitarian Universalism rises to the top of people's lists. This to me indicates some kind of methodological flaw in the test -- either questions that skew people in that direction, or an inherent bias on the person who designed the test. Or maybe it says something about the people likely to go to that webpage!

Could any list of belief systems ever be exhaustive? That's like asking someone to name all the musical genres there are. I say at any given time and place, the list of belief systems looks like the right half of a Gaussian curve -- a few large categories catch most people, but the list of smaller categories continues on out to infinity.

Add another level of complication when you realize that any belief label is dynamic, both in the number of people who claim it, as well as what specific articles of faith that belief label carries. Just because we both label ourselves 'Neo-pagan' (to use the most salient example), does not mean we have a matching set of specific beliefs, nor that we both believe each item with the same amount of zeal.


----------



## Jamshyd

^ You are right, the list is flawed. 

The list offers a lot (all?) of Christian sects (as separate "religions" nontheless... Liber and Orthodox Quakers as separate religions?? come on!). These include UU. If this were to be done with christianity, then it is only fair to do it with other religions. There is greater variety between different types of Hindu and "neo pagan" beliefs than there is between Christian sects. What about Shinto, of which every Japanese person is by default a practitioner? And what about sunni vs shi'a Islam? Sufi thought? Orthodox and radical Judaism, and everything in between?

If anything, the poll betrays a background in Christian theology, and not much else.

Then again I have reason to think that beliefnet is itself a Unitarian Universalist site.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ Well, as a person who'd consider himself a Universalist (but not a Unitarian), I can see how it might take someone raised in the UU tradition to even create a page like that. It would definitely take someone who is not hostile to religion in general -- the pages comparing different religions that are even slightly irreverant or funny tend to be made by, and mostly attract, atheists, IME. It would also take someone who has no particular bias toward any religious tradition, but sees things from a decidedly Western vantage point. This all sounds pretty UU to me.

I'd also like to see Sufism represented in the list -- it's a decidedly different animal, theologically, from the rest of Islam.

Jam, I was given to understand that the difference between Sunni and Shi'a Islam is more one of authority or lineage, than one of doctrine or practice. I was also given to understand that until recently with the spread of Wahhabism, different Muslim communities around the world maintained some very distinct local traditions that varied a lot from place to place, and freely incorporated local folk religious and esoteric traditions that predate Islam. Is this accurate?

Most Western academics accept Shinto's reclassification as a tribal-animist belief system, rather than as a major world faith, for its theological structure, probable evolutionary history, and worldwide influence. It's Japan's 'pagan religion' or 'indigenous religion', which, unusually for an industrially developed nation, remains largely intact since antiquity; that is to say, none of the important lore, traditions, or holy artifacts have been lost or eradicated.

I would say about the same thing about Hinduism, except replacing 'Japan' with 'India' -- it's simply the traditional religious component to being Indian.


----------



## GoddessLSD-XTC

Logos-Logic will save U.
(A soul-mate or Best Friend Forever helps.)
I also know god & karma exists 'cause I've experienced miracles.
It's okay if U don't know God as it is okay if Ur a virgin and haven't experienced sex.
To "know God" is to have sex (an intimate relationship) with God, belief that "everything happens for a reason."


----------



## Jamshyd

Very interesting points, MDAO.

Re: Sufi practice, it most definitely is very different from mainstream Islamic practice. Worthy of note is that it was the Sufis who spread "Islam" to Central Asia, and that is why Central Asian "Islam" still retains traces of Tengrism, Ancestor/Saint worship, and above all, mysticism. Oh, and Vodka .

Re: Sunni vs Shi'a: Yes, the main difference is political. All sects of Islam (as there are several within Shi'a and Sunni comes in two main flavours, Hanbali and Shafi'i) maintain that the Koran is the literal, infallable word of God. However, Shi'a have evolved their own practises such as Ashura and the Alawi _shahada_. The Shi'a also have their own tradition of _Imams_ that the Sunnis simply do not recognize. It is also notable that the _Ism'aili_ Shi'a tend to classify themselves as "Esoteric" (_Batiniia_) and are therefore far more accepting of Sufism than any other Islamic sect. 

As for Shinto and Hinduism, I would agree that Shinto is more of a tribal practice. However, I would say that Shinto is very much a "state religion" with heavy connections to nationalist sentiment while Hindu practice is not tied politically to Indian nationalism (at least, not in the majority).

It seems to me that the Japanese, seeing themselves as the grandchildren of Amateseru, tend to view themselves as slightly more perfect than other humans.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

Wow Jamshyd -- it's amazing how good Islam's most vocal spokespeople are about presenting their religion as a homogenous front worldwide. Or maybe it's just that from a distance, it's easy to see forest and hard to see trees. My wife was quite surprised to learn that different Christian denominations have worship services that are structured quite differently, and theologies that don't jibe. She'd thought the different labels like 'Roman Catholic' or 'Congregational' were just part of the name of the church.

I'd say there's hope for Islam yet, though probably not in our lifetimes, as soon as Wahhabism runs out of fuel (literally!), so long as the faith never gets fully steamrolled over and homogenized. It's a religion I respect very much on paper, and it would make me happy to see the some of the 'deeper' schools of it thrive.

Having been to India during a time of political violence (a bit scary!) I regret to say that there are quite a few Hindu ultranationalist groups active. Many are simply committed to retaliatory attacks against Muslims. Others are in it simply to ensure that India doesn't cede any more land to anyone. But the most extremist ones have it as their goal to cleanse India of all non-Hindus.

In Japan, the ultranationalist factions are sloppier about hiding their connections to political parties, and don't seem to play up their religious side so much. In fact, since WWII, Japan has really put on a secular face as much as possible, though it's easy to see that a lot of their traditions, though framed in secular terms nowadays, came from religious contexts not too long ago.


----------



## Jamshyd

^ Indeed, a lot of non-social scientists whom I met in Japan seem to not realize at all the effect that Shinto has on almost every aspect of "secularized" Japanese life. As for militant hindus, I was unaware of how much emphasis they put on religion, thanks for clarifying.

I forgot to comment on Wahhabism. I honestly have no idea where that came out of, although I suspect it has something to do with (as you have suggested) oil power. Wahhabis are everything bad you ever heard about Islam, and more. They are also the most staunch opposers of anything remotely esoteric (I assume, because no matter how powerful/rich a ruler gets, he cannot control what goes on underground).

I am not sure just how easy it would be to unite everyone. Theoretically, Suni and Shi'a have coexisted peacefully since the caliphate. Iraq seems to disagree. So does Lebanon (as if Christian-Muslim conflicts were not enough), and so do Syria and Iran. The list goes on. While growing up in Jordan I've never personally witnessed conflicts between Sunnis and Shi'a, I did notice the extreme _absence_ of Shi'a. I've heard about those slightly heretical people but I never met them. It seems that, like homosexuality, Shi'a is such taboo in Suni society that they simply aren't brought up. For all intents and purposes, neither one is Muslim in the eyes of the other.


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

^^^ He-who-must-not-be-spoken-of 

It's amazing the lengths some people will go to to remain living in a little bubble. You can tell volumes about a group of people from what they REFUSE to talk about, dontcha think?


----------



## B9

> I'd also like to see Sufism represented in the list -- it's a decidedly different animal, theologically, from the rest of Islam.



Absolutely agree - I reckon ( & yeah I speculate ) that Sufism may well predate Islam & simply allowed Islam to incorpoprate it - discretion being the better part of valour & all that, or they weren't that ego/dogma driven to think it mattered that much, which fits nicely with what I know about Sufism ( which isn't much) but enough to know it's primarily spiritual as opposed to religious.

 I'm not quite sure why I think that - however think it I do


----------



## Jamshyd

^ In all honesty, no... sorry my friend .

Sufi thought began in the 9th century AD, about two centuries after Muhammad. It is widely considered (but still arguable, for sure) that "Sufism" was sort of "sparked" by the tension between Junayd and his disciple, Al-Hallaj. The mystics that followed were split into the "Intoxicated School" (no McKenna, they weren't refering to shrooms!), following Al-Hallaj; and the "Sober" school, following Junayd. This was pretty much the first time there had been a structure to Islamic mysticism (mind you, the structure itself was only realized by later Sufi writers). 

Junayd, while being mystical, did not really bring anything new home. He was simply a very passionate Muslim who believed in the essence of Islam: complete surrender to God's will. Still, he is highly considered by later Sufis and is general classified by them as one. One of the most important followers of the "sober" school is the very famous Islamic Theosophist Al-Ghazali.

And so heterodox Sufism (the one familiar to most of us, with followers such as Rumi) really started as Hallaj's attempt to reform Islam, with which Junayd disagreed. The latter thought that Islam as-is could provide for a mystical experience, while the former thought that Islam was too dogmatic to allow for it. The mystics that followed usually would align themselves with one or the other, or have that done to them postmortem by later Sufis who documented their lives. In the middle ages, when sufi thought began to spread more widely, people formed _Tariqas_ ("Ways" - the arabic equivalent of orders) which loosely aligned themselves with Sunni or Shi'a Islam (but most were all-accepting). 

To be sure, it is not unlikely that there was the odd _Majdhub_ (the arabic equivalent of a raving lunatic) here and there during the first 200 years of Islam. But the thoughts of these people (if they had any ) were never similar, nor documented, nor coinciding in any way, and it is very unlikely that Hallaj (or Junayd) was influenced by them.

An other big factor that most definitely DID influence Al-Hallaj was Zoroastrianism, since his grandfather was Zoroastrian. And wherever we find Zoroastriansm, we are surely to find Manicheaism (especially in what is modern-day Iraq and eastern Iran - Hallaj's homeland), and so by extension, Gnostic thought. 

It is also documented that Hallaj travelled to India and lived there for a while and so was deeply influenced by Hindu (and maybe Buddhist) thought. 

I hope this sheds some light on the origins of Sufi thought, I absolutely adore the subject, and would love to hear any questions anyone might have about it . 

EDIT: If I were to quote a source for the above info, my main source would be _The Mystical Dimensions of Islam_ by Annemarie Schimmel, a tome of serious scholarly research into the history and practises of Islamic Mystics. I highly recommended if you are really interested although a strong background knowledge of Islam and mid-eastern history and geography would help. I'll try to find a book or site that can offer this, and I'll let you know 

This, in fact, is why I think serious study of Sufi thought and history remains out of the mainstream. I would say it is pretty impenetrable for the average person - or average scholar for that matter - without a background in Islamic studies.


----------



## ChillinJ

Did the quiz go figure I go to a RC school, and got 9%  

1. Unitarian Universalism  (100%
2. Liberal Quakers (99%
3. Mahayana Buddhism (95%
4. Neo-Pagan (92%
5. New Age (85%
6. Theravada Buddhism (83%
7. Reform Judaism (80%
8. Jainism (79%
9. Bahá'í Faith (78%
10Taoism (75%


----------



## Ashtonmuffin

I scored highest on the Buddhism. I've always thought was really interesting, religion isn't really important to me though..


----------



## Morphling

1.  Neo-Pagan 100%
2.  Mahayana Buddhism 89%  
3.  New Age 83%  
4.  Unitarian Universalism 83%  
5.  Hinduism 77%  
6.  Sikhism 74%  
7.  Reform Judaism 70%  
8.  Liberal Quakers 69%  

Test seems accurate to me.

18% Catholic.....  Went to catholic school 6-12 go figure.


----------



## amor fati

I am agnostic, however I know what makes sense to me. If that makes sense
I have my beliefs but if somebody said they knew the absolute truth and asked me place a 1 dollar wager on me being right, I wouldn't take it.

Heres my poll results

1. 	Mahayana Buddhism (100%)
2. 	New Age (96%)
3. 	Neo-Pagan (95%)
4. 	Theravada Buddhism (90%)
5. 	Unitarian Universalism (88%)
6. 	Taoism (88%)
7. 	Liberal Quakers (80%)
8. 	New Thought (78%)
9. 	Hinduism (73%)
10. 	Scientology (72%)


----------



## MyDoorsAreOpen

OK maybe I'm going nuts here, but as I'm seeing this poll voted on and bumped, it almost seems to me that supporters of the first three choices are engaged in a slow and subtle game of oneupsmanship, and the only other category that ever gets any votes is 'Other Belief'.

Kind of like exactly what goes on at any meeting of semi-intelligent people who meet under the banner of 'humanism'.


----------



## Kul69

Jamshyd said:
			
		

> ^ Indeed, a lot of non-social scientists whom I met in Japan seem to not realize at all the effect that Shinto has on almost every aspect of "secularized" Japanese life. As for militant hindus, I was unaware of how much emphasis they put on religion, thanks for clarifying.
> 
> I forgot to comment on Wahhabism. I honestly have no idea where that came out of, although I suspect it has something to do with (as you have suggested) oil power. Wahhabis are everything bad you ever heard about Islam, and more. They are also the most staunch opposers of anything remotely esoteric (I assume, because no matter how powerful/rich a ruler gets, he cannot control what goes on underground).
> 
> I am not sure just how easy it would be to unite everyone. Theoretically, Suni and Shi'a have coexisted peacefully since the caliphate. Iraq seems to disagree. So does Lebanon (as if Christian-Muslim conflicts were not enough), and so do Syria and Iran. The list goes on. While growing up in Jordan I've never personally witnessed conflicts between Sunnis and Shi'a, I did notice the extreme _absence_ of Shi'a. I've heard about those slightly heretical people but I never met them. It seems that, like homosexuality, Shi'a is such taboo in Suni society that they simply aren't brought up. For all intents and purposes, neither one is Muslim in the eyes of the other.



I watched a low key documentary about Iraq's first heavy metal band and the lead singer said the "conflict" between Suni and Shi'a is completely fabricated. He said he was Suni and his wife was Shi'a and both their families get along and such.

Here's a link to a short clip with them. The documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is pretty interesting. Shows things from the side of the Iraqi's who don't really give a fuck about any of the political or religious stuff and just want to play some heavy metal. Something I think a lot of American's should see as I imagine their image of Iraqis are people riding camels to their mosque so they can plan terrorist attacks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT5ZuXqZ6pw


----------



## DA6

I could not understand as a child what the difference between the other kids who believed in santa, which I did not, and adults believing in god.

The only explanation my father, a behavioural scientist, could come up with was that for non-academics and non-scientists acknowledging the void in our knowledge is frightening and rather than accepting what is not known and seeking real answers it is easier to just make something up that sounds good.

Not knowing is hard, and not knowing when one has no real tools to find out is harder.

But remember these simple rules and you can make it with out resorting to fairy tales.

-- 
1) Use what rules you hold to prove what you have reasoned or observed.

2) If the rules allow a contradiction to be derived, then you must reassess your rules and remove and/or revise those which allow this contradiction. In any complex system this will be a constant effort.

3) It does not matter who you are, what degrees you have, or how nice the ideas involved in the contradiction are.

4) Don't add things which do not need to be there. Remember for the supernatural to exist there would be arbitrary events. I.E. events without cause and effect. There are not any.

5)This is why ideals never hold true, and always cause problems.

“There are things that are so serious that you can only joke about them. ”
Werner Heisenberg


----------



## TVcommercial

Unitarian Universalists


----------



## Dinker

I got 100% on secular humanism.

As for religion, I have no preferences in it whatsoever. If God/afterlife/religion exists, I feel like I couldn't possibly understand it, so I just don't take any approach. I share a lot of beliefs with nihilism, and I strongly believe that there is no correct morality.


----------



## Ryan1411

Secular Humanism. As I figured.

1. 	Secular Humanism  (100%)
2. 	Nontheist (97%)
3. 	Unitarian Universalism (95%)
4. 	Theravada Buddhism (94%)
5. 	Liberal Quakers (60%)
6. 	Neo-Pagan (53%)
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (43%)
8. 	Taoism (36%)
9. 	New Age (32%)
10. 	New Thought (30%)


----------



## Sturnam

TVcommercial said:


> Unitarian Universalists



WoO! Go us!


----------



## ebola?

Heh...but it's a 'no-religion religion'! 
...
To be a bit cheeky, if I were drawn to the Middle Eastern monothestic god (y'know, the one that preoccupies Jews, Xians, and Muslims), I'd probably go with Islam.  Might as well get the latest word on what's going on with that deity, y'know?   A case could be made for Mormonism, but (mainstream) Mormons fail to recognize that Jews, Xians, and Muslims worship the same entity.  Perhaps there's a newer, more esoteric faith that I'm forgetting here. . .


ebola
ebola


----------



## AmorRoark

> 1.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
> 2. 	Liberal Quakers (85%)
> 3. 	Reform Judaism (82%)
> 4. 	Unitarian Universalism (73%)
> 5. 	Baha'i Faith (73%)
> 6. 	Orthodox Quaker (68%)
> 7. 	Neo-Pagan (61%)
> 8. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (61%)
> 9. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (60%)
> 10. 	Sikhism (58%)



I'm not terribly surprised.


----------



## mararies20

my religion is EVOLUTION & IMAGINATION


----------



## mararies20

WHY? bcause think about it....we have evolved because of our imagination..when we were monkeys..we were imagening ourselves as humans...


----------



## mararies20

and now that we are humans...we are imagening ourselves as those thin, green looking with big eyes and big heads so called "aliens" when in fact it could likely be us in the future...with the means to survive in space and withstand zero gravity and move on into space


----------



## mdmantpa

I chose christian, as I am Mormon which is a christian denomination.  I find religion very interesting, and have tweaked my views a little bit dif. than that of a traditional mormon.  I find that all religions have essentially the same message and values.  I believe that no matter how dif. our religions and beliefs are that there is one higher power or being, that I simply like to call God.  It works for me very well, if you have found something that better suits you, more power to you!


----------



## ResinTeeth

1. New Thought - 100%
2. Mahayana Buddhism - 98%
3. Neo-Pagan - 98%
4. Unitarian Universalism - 98%
5. New Age - 96%
6. Liberal Quakers - 89%
7. Taoism - 88%
8. Scientology - 85%
9. Christian Science - 82%
10. Mainline Liberal Christian Protestants - 81%

still none seem to fit me like a glove, the new thought thing is relatively close though


----------



## thexremedy4love

*Beleifnet results*

My beleifnet quiz has me as:
1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Liberal Quakers (94%)  
3.  Secular Humanism (87%)  
4.  Taoism (85%)  
5.  Mahayana Buddhism (83%)  

I don't even know what Unitarian Universalism is. I'll have to do some research on it. And I'm actually Jewish, but that came much farther down on my list.


----------



## GoddessLSD-XTC

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)  
2.  Liberal Quakers (96%)  
3.  Secular Humanism (89%)  
4.  Neo-Pagan (85%)  
5.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (85%)  
6.  Theravada Buddhism (80%)  
7.  Mahayana Buddhism (75%)  
8.  Taoism (71%)  
9.  New Age (65%)  
10.  Reform Judaism (63%)


----------



## NikosDeCalifas30

*What Religion are you REALLY??*

My Philosophy Professor had us take this during World Religions class because you may actually believe differently than what your Faith or Sect holds as its  doctrines, you also may be closer to certain religions that you didnt know based on mutual beliefs, many religions have the same views on certain aspects of God, e.g. the trinity or god speaking the universe into existence with a Word.

One thing, when it gives your percentages it means that according to your beliefs, you believe  __% of their doctrines, you can believe against a MAJOR tenet of the faith that would definitely keep you away from it but you may happen to hold the same beliefs in other areas.

Anyways, its interesting to find out, make sure to read the inormation AFTER you get your results, ithelps clarify.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx


----------



## hoopyfrood

Secular Humanism  (100% ) 

Spot on. 

That's what I've called myself all along.  ^^





... 


... 	Theravada Buddhism  (82% ) 

YES!


----------



## ThaiDie4

100% athiest


----------



## acid_monkey414

1.  Unitarian Universalism (100 %)  
2.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (97 %)  
3.  Liberal Quakers (92 %)  
4.  Orthodox Quaker (81 %)  
5.  Hinduism (73 %)  
6.  Mahayana Buddhism (73 %) 

unitarian universalism me likey big words


----------



## acid_monkey414

Can someone tell me where all the smileys came from lol


----------



## jackie jones

Roman Catholic


----------



## daysonatrain

acid_monkey414 said:


> Can someone tell me where all the smileys came from lol



a percent sign with a ) after it turns into %)


----------



## NikosDeCalifas30

mrjackjones said:


> Roman Catholic



Thats an awesome Holly avatar....I went with the lame Oxys until I find what I am looking for. Is it me or does BLs avatar space seem a little smaller than normal??


----------



## specialrelativity

kabbalistically jewish.


----------



## NikosDeCalifas30

acid_monkey414 said:


> Can someone tell me where all the smileys came from lol



LOL I just thought you were happy about the scores...

Lets see , what did that old Dial commercial say...it killed (99.44%) of germs


----------



## ocean

I think this went arounbd once before-
I took it then and I redid it now..........
It is fun to see what it comes up with
Here are my results-
1. 	Neo-Pagan  (100% )
2. 	New Age (95% )
3. 	Mahayana Buddhism (82% )
4. 	Unitarian Universalism (77% )
5. 	New Thought (72% )


----------



## SececaRD

100% Holy Ghost fire Baptized in the name of Jesus Christian!!!


----------



## hoopyfrood

100% Awesome.


----------



## vegan

> Can someone tell me where all the smileys came from lol


you can type in advanced mode and disable the smileys in a post
(and edit this one doing the same)

i'm 80% "none of the above"


----------



## hoopyfrood

^ Doesn't that make your highest category 20%?


----------



## LivingInTheMoment

QUOTE:Vegan>>you can type in advanced mode and disable the smileys in a post
(and edit this one doing the same)

I thing he was saying that jockingly upon reflection of the overloading, he knows he placed them there-intentionally like bullet points!




No organized religion, but, Spirituality-the truth of our real self-within


----------



## sarsXdave

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100% )
2. 	Secular Humanism (98% )
3. 	Liberal Quakers (87% )
4. 	Neo-Pagan (75% )
5. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (74% ) 

This is actually the second time I started the test, as the first questions had me thinking "What would it possibly say besides nontheist?" Until this thread, I was unaware of the label Unitarian Universalism. I also got a smile out of "nontheist" as I prefer the term, since "athiest" almost sounds like I'm doing it out of active opposition to religion, not just because I don't find rational reasons to believe.


----------



## vegan

> I thing he was saying that jockingly upon reflection of the overloading, he knows he placed them there-intentionally like bullet points


it was his third post and he asked for someone to explain this to him in his fourth
he may have meant it 

(i didn't forget your message in my inbox. i just can't concentrate on a long answer these days. maybe later)


----------



## New

1. 	Sikhism  (99%)
2. 	Reform Judaism (94%)
3. 	Unitarian Universalism (85%)
4. 	Orthodox Judaism (84%)
5. 	Neo-Pagan (82%)
6. 	Baha'i Faith (80%)
7. 	Mahayana Buddhism (76%)
8. 	Islam (75%)
9. 	Liberal Quakers (72%)
10. 	Hinduism (71%)
11. 	Jainism (69%)
12. 	New Age (68%)
13. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (64%)
14. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (61%)
15. 	Scientology (61%) 

Just thought the focus and array was interesting.


----------



## Bob Loblaw

1. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants  ( 100% )
2. 	Liberal Quakers ( 78% )
3. 	Unitarian Universalism ( 76% )
4. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant ( 75% )
5. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) ( 73% )
6. 	Baha'i Faith ( 72% )
7. 	Orthodox Quaker ( 69% )
8. 	Reform Judaism ( 66% )
9. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) ( 62% )
10. 	Seventh Day Adventist ( 61% )
11. 	Orthodox Judaism ( 57% )
12. 	Mahayana Buddhism ( 56% )
13. 	New Thought ( 56% )
14. 	Sikhism ( 55% )
15. 	Islam ( 55% )
16. 	Theravada Buddhism ( 55% )
17. 	Jehovah's Witness ( 54% )
18. 	Scientology ( 52% )
19. 	Eastern Orthodox ( 48% )
20. 	Roman Catholic ( 48% )
21. 	Neo-Pagan ( 46% )
22. 	Hinduism ( 44% )
23. 	New Age ( 43% )
24. 	Secular Humanism ( 40% )
25. 	Jainism ( 38% )
26. 	Taoism ( 38% )
27. 	Nontheist ( 25% ) 

4,5, and 18 are most surprising.


----------



## New

why is that?


----------



## Bob Loblaw

I don't identify with many Conservative Christian beliefs (e.g. anti-abortion, anti-gay rights), Christian Scientists and Scientologists seem way out in left field heh.


----------



## New

I see. I'm more scientologist than you.


----------



## LivingInTheMoment

[B said:
			
		

> VEGAN[/B];7171136]
> 
> it was *his third post* and he asked for someone to explain this to him *in his fourth*
> he may have meant it  *      <<<<<I missed that part!!
> *
> (i didn't forget your message in my inbox. i just can't concentrate *on a long answer* these days. maybe later)[/QUOTE
> 
> ^^^^
> 
> >Hey I like your posts these days they carry your essence through them! I sense you, not just head stuff alone!
> 
> >Doesn't have to be a long one>>>>>     *Hi  is a shorter message *
> 
> ====================================================================
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> 
> On the topic:
> 
> I take the scriptures metaphorically so in this sense, they meet with transcendance and inner spirituality!


----------



## ThaiDie4

100% Secular Humanism. Not a surprise.

...25% Mormon???? what???


----------



## October

I got 100% Seventh-Day Adventist, which is exactly what I am, even though I don't live the way I should, I was raised as a SDA, and I believe in it. Drugs just keeps me down...


----------



## hazmat

1.  Unitarian Universalism 100%  
2.  Theravada Buddhism 91% 
3.  Neo-Pagan 89%  
4.  Mahayana Buddhism 77%  
5.  New Age 76%  
6.  Secular Humanism 68%  
7.  Liberal Quakers 66%  
8.  Hinduism 65%  
9.  Sikhism 63%  
10.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants 57%  
11.  New Thought 57%  
12.  Jainism 53%  
13.  Scientology 52%  
14.  Taoism 52%  
15.  Reform Judaism 50%  
16.  Nontheist 48%  
17.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) 34%  
18.  Orthodox Judaism 28%  
19.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) 25%  
20.  Orthodox Quaker 25%  
21.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant 18% 
22.  Baha'i Faith 17% 
23.  Seventh Day Adventist 15%  
24.  Eastern Orthodox 15%  
25.  Islam 15%  
26.  Roman Catholic 15%  
27.  Jehovah's Witness 5%  

Wow, I gues this just mean Im confused or I have done far to many psychadelics


----------



## rachamim

I am a Jew, plain and simple.


----------



## rachamim

About the questions posed on Islam, as to the difference between Shi'a and Sunna...

When Muhammed died he had npt picked a successor. His eldest followers met and ELECTED a successor, Abu Bak'r who was both one of Muhammed's oldest friends as well as one of his fathers-n-law via 'Aisha, his 6 year old wife.

This did not please everyone because some belived Ali ibn Abi Talib should have been chosen. Ali was Muhammed's 1st cousin, his adopted son, and also son -in-law via Fatima, Muhammed's daughter by his 1st wife Kadijah.

Ali and his supporters ate crow though, and waited for their chance.

Bak'r was already old and died before long, and was succeeded by 'Uthman who was also elected by majority. When 'Uthman was assasinated, some say by Ali's followers, Ali won the election and became the 4t Khalifa, i.e. "Leader of Islam."

Ali made some enemies as well and after less than 5 years was himself assasinated as he prayed at his HQ in what is now Karbala, Iraq.

The Khalifa was grabbed by a pretender who became the 5th Khalifa and Ali became an icon for those Muslims who had always believed that only a blood relative of Muhammed was fit to lead the faith, a very common sentiment amongst very paternalistic Arabs.

Incessant warfare continued until Ali's son Hassan was killed in what is now Iraq. Though fighting continued pretty much from that point onward, Shi'a was crystallised with Hassan's death.

The word "Shi'a' is actually an acronym for "Faction of Ali?" while "Sunna," which means "}radition" has come to signify Orthadox Islam.

Shi'a is actually an umbrella term with various groups like the Alawi (Jam, not a form of worship but actually a distinct school within Shi'a mostly only fpund in Syria though we have 3 villages in Israel), the Alavi (mostly in Turkey and though often confused with Alawi, they are distinct), Ismaili who themselves are distinct from so called "6ers" who they are often confused with, and the stereotypial Shi'a, the so called "12ers" who are really only found in Iran, eastern Iraq, Bahrain, and Azeribijan...and of course the shi&hole known as S. Lebanon thanks to active prostelysation of Iranian groupswho have managed to steer the peasantry from their synchrestic faiths (Alawi, Alavi, Druse off shoots more in line with traditional Islam, and other homegrown forms of Islam...as an aside, Ba'albek in Beka'a held Phonecian rites ubtil the 1600s CE/AD!), back tothe bosom of the 12ers.

Coincidently, the holiday Jam mentioned, Ashura? It celebrates the "Martyrdom" of Hssan in Iraq and to show their grief at this event they often literally whip themselves into frenzies and with blood spraying eveywhere end up attacking male bystanders in orgiastic violence. It was an Ashura flagelation where I had to kill my first civlian actually but enough of that. What Iran has done to Lebanon makes me sick.

Ashura actually is called Ashura Mazda which actually was originally a Zoraostrian holiday! Interesting anyway.

While Jam is correct that both Sunna and Shi'a hold the Qur'an to be sancrosanct and
immutable, they hold very different theological approaches and indeed often hate each other to the point of genocide up until the present.


----------



## crooked_letter

Anyone here read the book Siddhartha? Many people identify me with him, which is an amazing thing to me, since I haven't even read the book!!

I have since learned what the book is generally about, and think people are probably right, and I got a copy of the book but haven't read more than two pages, but I already identify with it. I'd say I'm a questioning Buddhist.

I love you all.

crooked_letter.


----------



## spindizzy

I love Buddhism and what it stands for, I dont know nearly enough about it to consider myself one though.


----------



## rachamim

I think anyone even remotely considering conversion to Buddhism would be well served in reading "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I am not a devotee of hers in any real way, only to say that with regard to that Western interest in all things Eastern, specifically Buddhism, she did nail it on the head.


----------



## JoFace

I define myself as an aetheist for the purposes of the poll.
At a very young age I was Christian, although that was because I grew up in a very small country town where scripture was a weekly school subject, much like sport, even though it was a public school. 
As a teen I looked into paganism and buddhism, and they remain my favourite religions. If my beliefs are ever shaken to the core and I discover a passion for deity, one of those two will get my vote.
My atheism is not a get out of gaol free card, a way to feel no guilt for immoral or bad behaviour. I can argue til I'm blue in the face for my beliefs.
However, I have a decent amount of respect for most moderate religions. I'm also aware of their many pit-falls.

I just can't bring myself to believe in deity or supernatural mythology, in heaven and hell or any other kind of afterlife. Sometimes I wish I did, the death of loved ones would be a lot easier to handle.

So yes, I'm an Atheist,
But mostly,
I'm just faithless


----------



## lostNfound

Belief o matic is retarded

I got this

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Neo-Pagan (90%)
3. 	Secular Humanism (90%)
4. 	Liberal Quakers (87%)
5. 	New Age (83%)
6. 	Theravada Buddhism (76)
7. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (70%)
8. 	Mahayana Buddhism (67%)
9. 	Taoism (65%)
10. 	Nontheist (64%)
11. 	Orthodox Quaker (43%)
12. 	Scientology (43%)
13. 	Hinduism (42%)
14. 	New Thought (42%)
15. 	Reform Judaism (41%)
16. 	Jainism (39%)
17. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (33%)
18. 	Baha'i Faith (30%)
19. 	Sikhism (26%)
20. 	Seventh Day Adventist (19%
21. 	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (17%)
22. 	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (14%)
23. 	Orthodox Judaism (13%)
24. 	Eastern Orthodox (11%)
25. 	Islam (11%)
26. 	Roman Catholic (11%)
27. 	Jehovah's Witness (8%)


----------



## Nibiru

I had to choose Hinduism, because Samkhya and Yogic Hindu philosophy seems to cover most of the bases in terms of spiritual thought for me. But Buddhism and Jainism also have a lot of concepts which I think are spot on, and to me, all three are part of the same kind of thought. Hinduism has the concept of Brahman that the other Dharmic religions lack, which is why I chose it. Brahman is sort of the underlying soul and consciousness of everything in the Universe.


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## MyDoorsAreOpen

^ A really neat property of Hinduism, to me at least, is that it has a place in its cosmology for all other faiths and systems of belief. (Jesus is seen as an avatar of Vishnu, for example). It is, in its most stripped down definition, a culturally Indian perspective on all spirituality in general. All worldviews are really compatible with Hinduism, because any can be filtered through a traditional Indian metaphysical perspective. The flipside of this is that Hinduism doesn't export well -- one cannot truly understand what it feels like to be Hindu without a good understanding and familiarity with the Indian cultural and social mindset.

Buddhism (Dharmic), and Islam (Abrahamic), by contrast, are really designed to be exportable across cultural boundaries. They are worded and transmitted in such a way that can be grasped, appreciated, and integrated even by people who have little in common with the religions' founders.

This is not a statement of endorsement of any kind, on my part. Just an interesting aside about the sociology of religion.


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## pyrrho

I'm a Pyrrhonist, I selected other.


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## PracticalPrankster

1. 	Unitarian Universalism  (100%)
2. 	Liberal Quakers (89%)
3. 	New Thought (85%)
4. 	Neo-Pagan (85%)
5. 	New Age (85%)
6. 	Scientology (79%)
7. 	Reform Judaism (76%)
8. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72%)
9. 	Mahayana Buddhism (70%)
10. 	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (70%)
20.   Catholic (3%)  <------ This is funny to me because it is the religion I was brought up under and was the root for most arguments with my parents between ages of 10 and 16 because of how very little sense it made and my lack of ability to identify with it's major beliefs


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## Nibiru

MyDoorsAreOpen said:


> ^ A really neat property of Hinduism, to me at least, is that it has a place in its cosmology for all other faiths and systems of belief. (Jesus is seen as an avatar of Vishnu, for example). It is, in its most stripped down definition, a culturally Indian perspective on all spirituality in general. All worldviews are really compatible with Hinduism, because any can be filtered through a traditional Indian metaphysical perspective. The flipside of this is that Hinduism doesn't export well -- one cannot truly understand what it feels like to be Hindu without a good understanding and familiarity with the Indian cultural and social mindset.
> 
> Buddhism (Dharmic), and Islam (Abrahamic), by contrast, are really designed to be exportable across cultural boundaries. They are worded and transmitted in such a way that can be grasped, appreciated, and integrated even by people who have little in common with the religions' founders.
> 
> This is not a statement of endorsement of any kind, on my part. Just an interesting aside about the sociology of religion.



The syncretistic nature of it is really one of it's more unique points for sure, and is definitely influenced by an Indian perspective. I think it has something to do with the fact that India is one of the oldest, if not the oldest extant culture, and one of the most culturally diverse and dense of population. One writer described it not as a religion, but as "the religions of Hinduism." 

You can see it's evolution from an ancient 'feed angry gods with sacrifices' sort of belief, to a monistic sort of religion, through to a subjective, philosophical type of spirituality parallel to Buddhism in many ways by the time of Patanjali.

The reason I identify with Hinduism more than any other established religion, (with the exception of Discordianism) and not, say, Theravada Buddhism is because the concept of Brahman, or the idea of the soul and consciousness of everything and part of everything isn't really elaborated upon in the way that it has been in Hindu theology. It's vaguely touched upon in Gnostic traditions, somewhat ignored or only partially recognized in Buddhism and Jainism, and over-personified in popular Abrahamic religion.


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## MyDoorsAreOpen

^ I agree. The Hindu concept of the godhead (Isvara) definitely resonates with me as well. Given the immensely diverse human landscape in which Hinduism evolved, I think the Hindu notion of divinity would be a great starting point for any and all attempts at interfaith dialogue: The real God is unknowable and entirely without form or attributes, so metaphors, art, and imaginative imagery will have to suffice in giving us some grasp.


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## Juvenile

I am an atheist. Have been since I was old enough to think for my self about such issues. I think Richard Dawkins put it well when he stated that children should not be considered "christian children" or "muslim children" Instead they should be considered "children of <insert faith here> parents"
 I was fortunate enough to be raised by athiest parents who taught me to question everything. I guess the hard work was done by both of my parents as they were raised as christians but changed their minds in their teenage years. 

I have met many christians and others that have tried their mind games to convert me over the years. Each time that happens I tend to go out of my way to do some research about their religion, so if it happens again I am better prepared for debate. 



My results from that link at the start:

1.  Secular Humanism (100%)  
2.  Unitarian Universalism (89%)  
3.  Liberal Quakers (77%)  
4.  Nontheist (72%)  
5.  Neo-Pagan (66%)  
6.  Theravada Buddhism (66%)  
7.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%)  
8.  New Age (53%)  
9.  Taoism (50%)  
10.  Mahayana Buddhism (46%)  
11.  Orthodox Quaker (44%)  
12.  Reform Judaism (42%)  
13.  Jainism (33%)  
14.  Baha'i Faith (31%)  
15.  Sikhism (29%)  
16.  Scientology (28%)  
17.  New Thought (26%)  
18.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (23%)  
19.  Seventh Day Adventist (21%)  
20.  Hinduism (21%)  
21.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (19%)  
22.  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (18%)  
23.  Eastern Orthodox (16%)  
24.  Islam (16%)  
25.  Orthodox Judaism (16%)  
26.  Roman Catholic (16%)  
27.  Jehovah's Witness (13%) 

There seems to be an awful lot of religions / faiths missing from this list! Why no examples from the Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia or even The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? (ok joking on the last one)


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## New

Funny. I was raised by Jewish parents who taught me to question everything.

It seems we share a common link.


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## Solipsis

Zen-buddhism to be precise, especially the mystical approach to it.
That is the most deconditioning conditioner I have come across... beliefs are ultimately all a form of conditioning so immediate escape is therefore extremely hard. So the best you can do is use a belief that undermines everything as much as possible including itself. Thence optimal generation of freedom is inevitable.


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## Jabberwocky

Bump for prune


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## Sweet P

Judging by the questions and answer choices in the quizz, I think it should have been called "Are you a Christian or not?" 8)

I'm an agnostic.


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## Quantum Perception

ZEN and TAOISM


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## Mariposa

Mariposa said:


> I answered the beliefnet test for fun and was surprised by what I got:
> 
> 1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)
> 2.  Neo-Pagan (97%)
> 3.  New Age (95%)
> 4.  Liberal Quakers (92%)
> 5.  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (90%)
> 6.  Mahayana Buddhism (84%)
> 7.  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (83%)
> 8.  Theravada Buddhism (79%)
> 9.  New Thought (76%)
> 10.  Bahá'í Faith (70%)  / Scientology (70%)
> 
> What boggles my mind is I scored 14% on the religion of both sides of my family (all but my father and I are very devout) - ROMAN CATHOLIC.
> 
> I scored higher on Orthodox Judaism and Jehovah's Witness than I did my religion of origin.
> 
> I identify as an agnostic.



I would still receive the same result.


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## panic in paradise

i always, allwaays haha, have Libera-Quaker on top, with like 98.9%
then Unitarian Universalism... christian science, buddhism, taoism, and different forms of paganism will change places for third, i guess the 3rd spot kind of shows what sort of general mood im in that day 
~lol.

im going to take it again, fuck it.
im going to try and manipulate Satanism on there...
hahaharrr
_i guess i could do that actually, i remember them asking asking questions pertaining to it before._

when i read about Liberal Quakers, i had to agree with it... a quote that stuck with me describing the religions premise, was that it is maybe the _laazzziest_ religion there is..! 
good enough then.
i think they couldnt put ~Hippie in the Woods Growing Food CoExisting~ on there, so LQr we are labeled as...
;-)

but Universalism is the KEY>

---
Edit:
Ohhh
seems ive voted on this pole already.
~_Agnosticism_
how boring.


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## ebola?

I now identify as a simultaneous pantheist and atheist; how does this position me vis-a-vis the test?


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## panic in paradise

yeah, personally i would agree with that as my self, definitely.

religion and spirituality always lead me directly back to nature.

Edit:
with that much love and respect for nature, 
univesalism kinda falls into place along the way.



> 1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100% )
> 2. 	Neo-Pagan (97% )
> 3. 	Liberal Quakers (90% )
> 4. 	New Age (88% )
> 5. 	Taoism (83% )
> 6. 	Secular Humanism (81% )
> 7. 	Theravada Buddhism (78% )
> 8. 	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72% )
> 9. 	Mahayana Buddhism (72% )
> 10. 	New Thought (68% )
> 11. 	Scientology (67% )
> 12. 	Nontheist (57% )


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## Jabberwocky

everyone should be agnostic. it is the only legitimate belief. the higher power (or lack of) is unknowable. we have no way of knowing, it's impossible. until some miracle happens and we see proof, then we will have something to believe in.


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## panic in paradise

yes religion is a great, the best divider...


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## Jabberwocky

SomeKindaLove said:


> I'm a Christian but have gained much spirtual insight from psychedelics to the point at which my belief system is pretty heterodox to the point to which it would be virtually unrecognizable to your usual churchgoing Christian type, but yes it involves God & Jesus and believes in what is written in the Bible, so for what it's worth, I voted "Christian" ... "Entheogenic Christian?"



you really think an old man built a boat and was able to fit all those animals on it...and survive for 40 days


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## Jabberwocky

to those who don't believe in god/a creator...don't you think that is kind of dumb? i mean something/someone hard to start all of this some where along the line. all i believe is this all was created at one time, but in reality everything is unknowable, so it's impossible to say god doesn't exist.


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## panic in paradise

FFS
ive read the Tao of Physics(haha), but that was a while ago.
this pages description of Taoism is VERY fitting for me, took the thought right out of my head, and a lot of what ive been typing right off these pages!
~neat-o.

_arguing about ones beliefs *~* *~* shows lack of confidence in your own._


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## being

Tickle My Pickle said:


> everyone should be agnostic. it is the only legitimate belief. the higher power (or lack of) is unknowable. we have no way of knowing, it's impossible. until some miracle happens and we see proof, then we will have something to believe in.


I think you could learn a lot of interesting stuff, if you got past your understanding, that religion/spiritual teachings are all about believing in a higher power or believing in anything at all.
I would even go so far and tell, that believing in anything unverifiable is not a requirement to understand the meaning of most religions/spiritual teachings.
But of course, this is merely an opinion and conclusion I have arrived to.


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## panic in paradise

^
++

i was asked to draw my higher-power once, and drew a snowflake; to represent perfect unique nature.
and there it was.

:D


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## QuasiModo

I am against religion. Grew up in a Christian home, the first church I went to as a child ended in scandal. The pastor was fucking the secretary who was married, the congregation sought spiritual council elsewhere once that became public knowledge. Over the years I began to see that the Sunday service was more often akin to a business meetings than anything. Religion formed in a time of human evolution where manipulation became an integral part of the way society functions. Tell the brutes they will suffer eternal damnation beyond the grave and your village became safe. 

My religion is skepticism. My philosophy is happiness.


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## Mariposa

ebola? said:


> I now identify as a simultaneous pantheist and atheist; how does this position me vis-a-vis the test?



Nothing necessary than you are agnostic/impossible to define, like me 

I expect you have read on religion more extensively than I have.  The test is likely flawed.


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## paranoid android

I grew up in a irish catholic place where the church very much had a iron grip on the province. Thankfully after the horrible scandals that are simply beyond words came out that was the end of seperate schools for catholics and protestants. Not that much changed where i live because there simply are no protestants here on my little part of the island. So even though we all got dumped into public schools we where still indoctrinated in catholic=good and everything else was bad.

 Once i grew up i went from agnostic to outright athiest due to the fact that i see no evidence of any god at all. Either there never was a good or he has long since abondoned and forgotten about us.

 In anycase i consider it irrelevant so ya athiest it is.


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## panic in paradise

"Either there never was a good or he has long since abondoned and forgotten about us."

i think youre on to something.


***
?!>||<!?


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## The HiVe MiND

OMG, I'm the f*ckn 666th voter... =0


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## The HiVe MiND

OMG... that was my 999th post......................... ?


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## The HiVe MiND

Just for the record, I picked 'other', but my beliefs and practices are closer to Hinduism than any other.
But I never identify as Hindu, because the word 'Hindu' was introduced by Mongols invading the Vedic people living on the Sindu river (they pronounced S as H), and plus even most Hindu's today aren't even sure what they believe. You'll get different responses from many of them.
But I've never in my life found a system of spiritual & material knowledge/philosophy as advanced, intricate and all-encompassing as that found in the Vedic scriptures of ancient India. Some say they're over 5000 years old, yet contain detailed understandings of atoms, molecules, physics, parallel worlds/dimensions, multi-universes, extra-terrestrial life, psychology, anatomy, geography, cosmology, etc..
Namaste


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## ocean

ocean said:


> I think this went arounbd once before-
> I took it then and I redid it now..........
> It is fun to see what it comes up with
> Here are my results-
> 1. 	Neo-Pagan  (100% )
> 2. 	New Age (95% )
> 3. 	Mahayana Buddhism (82% )
> 4. 	Unitarian Universalism (77% )
> 5. 	New Thought (72% )



So that was back in May of 09-
I always find these things fun.......
Figured I'd see what came up now in Feb 2011- 
Almost 2 years later 

1. 	Mahayana Buddhism (100% )
2. 	Theravada Buddhism (87% )
3. 	Neo-Pagan (87% )
4. 	New Age (85% )
5. 	Hinduism (76% )
6. 	New Thought (70% ) 



Very interssssting


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## DOB

every life form from smallest to biggest,from most primitive to one with most sophisticated inteligence... all are equal,all deserve good life  except Amerikans,jews and womens,I voted islam


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## qwe

1. 	Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. 	Secular Humanism (95%)
3. 	Liberal Quakers (82%)
4. 	Theravada Buddhism (74%)
5. 	Nontheist (72%)
6. 	Neo-Pagan (70%)


			
				qwe in 2008 said:
			
		

> i got 100% secular humanism





			
				qwe in 2005 said:
			
		

> for some of the questions, i wanted to check more than one
> 
> i especially dont like how it combines "Not Sure" with three other choices
> 
> i got Liberal Quaker
> 
> i think its a stupid survey


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