oh yes... im going there.... RELIGION!

[ilovemykids]

do you have a religion?
No
do you believe in god?
No
are you a "spiritual" person?
No
do you pray?
No
how do you feel about religion?
I'm not going there today... Well maybe a bit...
I think it destroys people. Robs them, to some degree, of sense.
My dad was a miracle. He got cured from his illness that was killing him. He spent 2 mths in the hospital. He's not cured however it is now in check what was happening. But that was "Gods will"??? It had nothing to do with the team of Dr's that were working on the issues at hand?
I believe in science. I believe in things that are real.
Being without religion and God has taught me many things. The first and foremost... YOU and ONLY you is responsible for what you do and the consequences that follow... good or bad. I believe in family. People. Love. Hate. and all the things thoughs few things bring to you. Again, good and bad.
what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?
When you die... you die. That's it no more. The ground will reabsorb your body and you'll become part of the ground... fertilizer if you will. Well that is if you were just placed in the ground instead of being pumped full of chemicals and placed inside a box.

[2busy2bme]

No religion here...but I do believe there is something. I believe in spirits and in guardian angels (for lack of a better word). I would like to think you come back in another form after life as well. But I too am one of those "see it to believe it" people...for the most part.
I was not raised with religion but I teach my children to explore and form their own beliefs I also encourage them to talk to people to find out what and why they believe in the things they do.

This is one part of Canada that makes our country so great. Everyone is free to believe in what they wish

[eri]

do you have a religion? no
do you believe in god? not in the traditional sense
are you a "spiritual" person? yes
do you pray? no, but i feel the need to respect the earth and it's inherent powers, i try not to give a crap about the galaxy and what might be out there..i have too much on my plate
how do you feel about religion? i've changed, as a young marxist i bought the opiate of the masses argument but as i age i see that it makes certain people..i just hate when people get on their righteous high horse in the name of religion, i also think it divides us...i'd love to see 'us' as a complete functioning whole..obviously there are more factors than religion
what are your thoughts about the "after-life"? don't think about it, live for the here and now

[haunish]

this is a hard one. I am not sure I believe. I believe in ghosts and other things, but dont think there is someone dictating what is going to happen to everyone. My dh was raised in a very religious home and believes nothing anymore, was pushed hard on him and they are trying to do the same to our kids.
We are raising our kids to search out and think what they want, not to believe what they are told but what they truly believe.

[elliott_gyal]

this is a hard one. I am not sure I believe. I believe in ghosts and other things, but dont think there is someone dictating what is going to happen to everyone. My dh was raised in a very religious home and believes nothing anymore, was pushed hard on him and they are trying to do the same to our kids.
We are raising our kids to search out and think what they want, not to believe what they are told but what they truly believe.

i think thats smart.

when i have children, i will encourage them to read and research about different things. if they decide to believe in nothing, thats fine. at least they will have the knowledge about different beliefs, theories... etc

[roseofblack25]

ya I wish we were given that option to read different things then form an opinion instead we were just told there was nothing and now I have to hide reading up on stuff because my parents don't understand why we would waste our time

[swouper2]

do you have a religion?

Yes

do you believe in god?

Yes

are you a "spiritual" person?

Yes

do you pray?

Yes

how do you feel about religion?

It gives me a sense of peace. (let's not confuse religion with stupid people manipulating others for politics or money - That's NOT God's will)

what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?

I will go to heaven - and will meet many of you SC's up there, and we'll all have a good laugh about some of our silly threads and avatars.

[spoony]

i love this thread! i find it so interesting to read everyone's response (regardless if we agree or disagree)

your opinion on religion...

do you have a religion?
technically, i'm presbyterian (i was baptized twice because i wiped it off the first time, i was 6 btw)

do you believe in god?
not really

are you a "spiritual" person?
i think so, in a way

do you pray?
i tried once, my aunt died when i was 15 and after her funeral (which was in the catholic church) i felt like i should. i felt stupid because i didn't know how.

how do you feel about religion?
i am so all over the place... for the most part i feel like popular organized religion is pure bs and merely a cult like form of segregation. but, on the other hand there are times when i kind of feel like maybe i should put myself out there, put my faith in something, what if i am the fool for not having a faith? that being said i can't put blind faith in a story book (really that is what the bible is) and a bearded sandal wearing guy.

i also don't believe in teaching a child one religion. people are going to disagree with me on this, but i don't agree with teaching a religion to a child, and making them believe in it because you do, or your mother did or anyone else. i'm not saying children shouldn't learn about different religions (they should, not enough people do), they just shouldn't be taught that one (their own in most cases) is the "right" one.

i do believe in karma (especially the hindu form of karma) and aspects of some eastern religions where there is less of a focus on a greater being and more focus on one's self.

what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?
it would be nice to believe in a perfect land in the clouds (not unlike Care-a-lot from the care bears!) but i can't. i do find reincarnation incredibly interesting... i mean if i could come back as my cat, that would be awesome (she lives a pretty cushy life)

[vibrantflame]

It's so interesting to see everyone's different thoughts without a debate I think this is the first topic on religion I have seen where no one is fighting lol


do you have a religion? Yes, I'm a Jehovah's Witness
do you believe in god? Yes
are you a "spiritual" person? Not sure what that means.....I take my religion seriously, and read spiritual literature regularly....
do you pray? oh yes, though not as often as I would like
how do you feel about religion? I honestly think my life would be much much worse if I did not have my religion and my beliefs
what are your thoughts about the "after-life"? I don't believe in one. When we die, we go to the grave and we don't exist anymore. But I do have the hope that eventually God will resurrect us into a perfect paradise where we can live forever.

[ilovemykids]

It's so interesting to see everyone's different thoughts without a debate I think this is the first topic on religion I have seen where no one is fighting lol

I totally agree.

[anisa]

do you have a religion?
Yes, Islam. Making me a Muslim, not as some people would say, an islamist

do you believe in god?

Yes, most definitly

are you a "spiritual" person?
I believe so.

do you pray?
Not as often as I believe I should, but when I do, I do take it as a serious one on one with God.

how do you feel about religion?
It is something that obviously satisfies something in people of all walks of life, all over the world. I believe it starts as something good, and that it's usually power-tripping men who twist it into something more complicated than it should be.

what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?
I believe there is one, in a heaven and hell sense. The pedophiles need somewhere to go. (not heaven of course)

[rachel1496]

do you have a religion?
Used too, the Catholic church and I parted ways some time ago, they aren't big on questions.
do you believe in god?
I believe that there is something out there, it could be God, it could be spirits, it could be the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who knows.
are you a "spiritual" person?
In my own way.
do you pray?
Not in a long time, I don't know who I'm supposed to be praying to at this point.
how do you feel about religion?
I think that there are a lot of religions in this world and who are we to say that our religion is the right one and everyone else is wrong.
what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?
I think that our spirits live on but not in a traditional heaven and hell sense.

[SCRawl]

do you have a religion?
No
do you believe in god?
No
are you a "spiritual" person?
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean.
do you pray?
No
how do you feel about religion?
In its most common forms, it's a set of myths -- set up, for the most part, by goat-herders for goat-herders. The fact that a few of these myths have managed to survive for thousands of years can be attributed mostly to good luck. Religion has been a staggeringly effective tool to keep the peons in line, but we've outgrown it.

One of the linchpins of most religions is the miracle. If you don't believe in miracles, then the whole thing falls apart. Let's try a little thought experiment for a moment. Suppose a good friend of yours tells you that he saw something that is clearly impossible, such as, say, he saw a guy walking on water. For real. Would you believe your friend, or would you be somewhat skeptical, perhaps believing that he thought he saw what he says he saw? What if it was a complete stranger who told you the same thing? If you believe that the miracles from the bible are true, then you're relying on some very far-removed strangers indeed, and ones who had some pretty good reasons to lie about them.

what are your thoughts about the "after-life"?
It's an essential part of the successes of Christianity and Islam, and it's entirely bunk. I mean, who'd follow all of those silly rules -- which have nothing at all to do with living a happy, non-ethics-impaired life -- if there wasn't going to be a payoff at the end?

[gryphon]

yes i have a religion, orthodox judaism
yes i believe in the Almighty
i call myself a "scientific spiritualist" i have seen through science, so much that can explain the spiritual. i have found harmony between science and religion and science has helped me learn more about my religion and the universe. for example, i believe in theisitc evolution, the belief that G-D made man through evolution whcih is very plausible and scientists like Francis Collins who was the head of the human genome project have promoted that belief. i believe and was taught that the bible is not to be taken so literally like fundamentalists do, and is not a history book. it wont say how man was made just that man was made. i also have incorporated some bhudist beliefs into my daily life and i meditate.
yes i do pray, out of required prayers and sometimes for those that need them.
how i feel about religion is tricky. what we see today in most religions isnt the actual religion but how people have altered it. christians have altered christianity and muslims islam, and judaism is also altered. that is without question, the thing it we now have to deal with many new forms of one belief. i can name 5 diffrent types of judaism of the many and there are hundreds of forms of christianity. the thing is i believe that if your religion helps you in life then there is no reason you shouldnt have it. if it helps you do good then its a good thing. if it causes you to hurt others then it is a problem that must be dealt with. i dont believe religion to be the cause of war. i believe war is in man's nature. as well i believe relgion is being taken advantage and and twisted to suit agendas as well as other things which many times go against the core principles of the religion.
i have a few thoughts on the afterlife. there is the idea of gilgul or reincarnation. there is the world to come, which isnt exactly heaven as most people understand it. and there are several other ideas i have about the afterlife.

[elliott_gyal]

do you believe in god?
I believe that there is something out there, it could be God, it could be spirits, it could be the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who knows.

hahahaha !!!!

i dont know where you pulled that out of but it made me laugh for real!