Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is not a post meant for burning the Bible or Koran. I would just like to see where you stand on any religious beliefs that any of you have. If you have none state that as well, because I believe atheism is a religion in itself.

I, myself, consider myself a three stage religion process. Yes, a process.

I was first born into Catholicism. I was baptized when I was a baby and had no choice. When I was about seven or eight I was placed in Sunday School and had my first communion. I was never forced to go to church until I was 12 years old. I attended Mass and hated every minute of it until I was 14. I realized that Catholics condemned too many acts that I didn't agree with. For example, I'm pro-choice, I wish homosexuals all the happiness in the world, and I think sex before marriage and birth control are a healthy practice; but those are completely different topics in themselves.

From there, I decided to explore a religion that had always interested me. Wicca. From the age of 15 to about 17 I practiced, quite strictly, the religion. I bought books and browsed the internet for as much information as possible. I participated in all of the holidays, which included fasting, long rituals, and even a little partying. It was a serious thing for me, and I didn't practice it lightly. No, the religion isn't evil, and no Wiccans do not worship the devil. Wiccans respect nature immensity, and to almost mirror Christianity the year is a cycle of the life of a very important person in the religion. Where Christians have Jesus, Wiccans have the Goddess.

I took a break from the religion once I left high school, and reflected upon myself to understand where I stood then on religion. This is what I call my third stage. I understand and respect the Wiccan religion. The same is true for Catholicism. I respect the fact that it's been around for so long, and sticks to its traditions. I ended up in a world of confusion, so now I call myself Agnostic, and have decided to leave the religion choice up for a wiser, older self.

So, no I leave this to you all. Where do you stand, if anywhere at all? And how did you get there?

Well that was intresting! I guess I will just consider myself an anime fan.
Besides Buddism I've also read stuff on Norse Mythology, which to me has a really intresting view on how the earth was created

Just curious if this is from actual experience (regarding the monks). I'm not a scholar of buddhism, but I have studied it a little and those buddhist monks looked pretty darn strict. I recall reading that in some zen buddhist meditation sessions, the head monks whack their students with "sticks of compassion" if the students start to fall asleep while meditating for many hours.

Qualifying: I haven't met monks, either, I'm just saying from what I've read that they don't seem any less strict or more friendly than the average priest (or what I've heard of priests . . .).

My dad was raised Amish. So...growing up with him was really strict in a lot of ways. I was raised a Christian, and we attended church every week. I can never remember going to Sunday School and feeling like I belonged. I never remember sitting there in church and feeling like it was the right place for me to be. It seemed like, from the very beginning, I knew Christianity wasn't for me.

I'll still go to church if someone asks me to, more for the experience than because I feel I might grow into the faith. I enjoy experiencing different types of worship. I've been to Jehovah's Witness services, Jewish services, Catholic services...they're all beautiful and creepy in their own ways. Organized religion simply isn't my forte.

Religion-wise, I'm not really anything. People might label me a pagan, but that's mostly because I wear a pentacle. I just like it; a dear friend bought it for me, and it serves to remind me that there are people out there who care about me.

I just needed to add in that just because you wear the pentacle doesn't mean that you are pagan, and you should probably set people straight if they draw that conclusion. Being pagan is a large responsibility and a lot of work. I respect anyone who takes upon themselves a religion that is considered pagan.

Oh, and just for fun, I thought I would add in this. My friends call my religious stance Cawiccan (pronounced like the tax software, Quiken). A little bit of Catholic, a little bit of Wiccan, a whole lot of taxes.



That's exactly how I felt when I was forced to go to Catholic Mass. I felt like I was just trying to get through the motions when I was in church. Stand up, sit down, kneel, pray, our father, stand up, kneel. At the age of 14 I just, quite literally, put my hands on my waist right before church began and I told him that I didn't want to go anymore. I sat outside for that entire hour and my dad never made me go again.

There has to be a point in which parents just can't make you worship something you don't feel within yourself, but it's up to you to decide when you're ready to tell them. It might be hard for them. It might be hard for you, but in the end you'll be happier with where you stand with whatever God is up there, if any.

My mother whom I lived with from birth through about 12 did not endorse any religious values. I then went to live with my grandmother who was strictly raised as a Roman Catholic but is now a Christian. My great-aunt is Mormon (or Latter-Day Saint if you prefer). Recently, I studied Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism and find that the Sikhist idea of salvation without sacrifice is the simplest of the three. However, I am atheist through and through as I have not been given legitimate proof of the existence of any diety.