I think the basic idea of religion is awesome

It's interesting that you've sort of implicitly assumed 99% of religions on the planet want to force other people to think differently. Do they?

 

My own beliefs are a religion of one, without the need to preach to people so they see it my way. And it's not merely because it gives me guidance or "because it makes me feel safe." If that were the sole reason, acknowledging that fact would eliminate its effects. *Although it is quite comforting to consider a life after death, it's equally comforting to realize that if death is a return to pre-birth nothingness, eternity won't be bad at all.

Religion persists because it's what people perceive as the truth. Someday we may know, but until then, faith will remain because of what people feel.

 

The basic idea of religion are: Following rules without questioning there necessity or relevance. Rejecting those who are outside or leaving the religion. Claiming criticism is discrimination and having no tolerance for it. Therefore never improving because the religion was always "perfect". Aggressively spreading the religion either though fear or/and social pressure. But ultimately the basic idea of religion is to lie to the vulnerable about what happens after you die, only to spread a meme that gives people power and respect who have done nothing to deserve it.

Religion is a fault with the Human Cultural Mechanism. It is an aggressive meme that only exists due to it's ability to propagate though fear, intimation and social pressure. It tells people that they are some how incomplete without it and if they don't worship a certain god or gods, then they need to or else they will burn forever. Religions tell kids that they will burn if they don't get on their knees and worship a fake god that there is no evidence for. The basic idea of religion is evil and should be fought at every turn.

 

I'm also an agnostic. I was raised in a very Christian family and even went to church and Sunday school, but gave up on it after 3 years. I'm also closeted about being non-religious... My family thinks I'm still a believer.

I don't believe good but I, too, admire those who find strength in a divine character. And if I could choose to be religious (which I obviously can't - you either believe or you don't), I'd go for the ancient greek gods. Why? Well, mainly because of the variety :lol:

 

I don't have a problem with religion. It can be a fantastic healer - when people pass away, its nice to think it; even if deep down we know its nonsense. But it cant control your life. The church is a comforting environment. Its peaceful. And relaxing. Somebody mystical about it. But I don't go to church, I don't pray and I don't think people should run their life to the book of several bearded men written thousands of years ago.

 

If people understood relgion more and tried to question more than just obeying the idea without knowing the real thought of it
As far as i can see relgious people understand relgion in the way they want to live and force it on people they force the idea and tell you not to question because if you find the truth you will not be living by their rules
God did not say not to question why and not to try to understand the real idea behind every rule but people said that
I can go on and on but the bottom line is
Im living as a muslim gay queen who pray and is a true beliver but i stopped going to the mosque because guys are making fun of me and people dont like me in this mosque
But i dont care i have god who needs such humans and well i even found other gay men now in my area who are so open its a dream !!
What else do i want god gives me everything whenever i ask for it in the good way

 

The basic idea of a religion..? I'm not sure what the basic idea of a religion is, if I'm honest. =) Clearly, there are many different religions with all kinds of views, so how can you deduce a basic idea? Saying there's an "almighty creator" is not a basic idea, it's not shared by all religions. A religion like Raëlism says that life on Earth is created by a species of extraterrestrials. Other religions don't agree with the concept "almighty".

Even "doing good things" is very subjective. What are good things? One might say A is a good thing, while someone else rejects A as it's immoral.

Saying religions force their believes is not right, it's a generalisation. Their are believes which do have this, various forms of Christianity (I don't think this requires an explanation), but others don't have this at all. Various forms of Hinduism have nothing to do with forcing believes upon others.

Some religions allow freethinking. You'd be surprised to discover that are things like "atheism in Christianity". A stronger and more common example is Hinduism, atheism is prevelant in many different parts of it (not of all forms of Hinduism - obviously).

Hence, I'm not really sure what the point is you are trying to make. Do you mean the sense of a community is awesome? Because the things you pointed out are not basic ideas of a religion, they might occur in some, but to say they are basic ideas seems odd to me. =)

 

I'm an atheist and I think that religion is man-made. From the earliest ones like the Egyptian gods all through Greek, Roman, Slavic, Norse etc mythologies up to now. It always seemed to me that people have the need to explain everything that happens. Today we explain things in scientific terms because we've got the technology to do so and we follow the idea of reason/knowledge that begun in the Enlightenment period with Rene Descartes' "Cogito Ergo Sum". But before that, people looked to something supernatural because they didn't understand it. I usually think of lightning, so some thousands of years ago people saw lightning and maybe they thought that a supernatural entity in the sky was punishing them for something and being wrathful. Now we know that lightning is just a flow of electricity.

I don't agree that 99% of religions try to force it on other people. Not all religions seek to convert others to their way of thinking. You've got religions like Animism, Witchcraft, Taoism, Hinduism and many indigenous religions that don't actively seek to find new believers or shun non-believers. There are also other ones like Confucianism and Shinto which are more like a way of life or a 'thought system' rather than a religion. In Japan for example Shinto tends to be inseparable from a Japanese person, simply because its ideas and values permeate everything in their life. They're not trying to sway someone else's views and try to make them practice Shinto. Maybe you're talking more about Christianity when churches have sent missionaries to other countries and tried to convert them (especially going to places like New Guinea, Samoa, Trobriand Islands etc where many indigenous people had their own belief systems). And then there were the Catholic Crusades as well...Personally I don't like the idea of missionaries trying to spread their religion to those who already have a belief system. As a matter of fact they tried to do it in Japan but Japanese didn't like them imposing on their beliefs and as a result shut their borders in 1800s so that no more would come. Curiously enough, even though they have flatly rejected Christianity they have readily assimilated Buddhism into their beliefs and rituals.

 

LunaticSoul, I agree with you very much.

As for the last part, the indirect question about Buddhism, it could be because a Buddhist can be either "practicing" or not. As Buddhism and Shintoism have some mutual agreement, it's easier to adopt it in the lifestyle. It didn't "clash" like Christianity did, I think that could be part of it. =)

 

I know that I believe in god and in heaven, however I am not deep into it that I read the bible or go to church or believe a lot of things that they say is in the bible.. I believe there is an afterlife and that we all have a chance to get into heaven, as long as you live your life as is morally right to yourself, then I don't worry about people saying certain people aren't going to get into heaven or the after life.. I try to just live my life the best I can and be kind and caring to people and do what I believe in my heart is right morally for myself, which is why I am able to not feel guilty about being who I am cause I don't take it excessively seriously.. It is just like a guide I use but I am more into Faith and spirituality a little more, positive thinkings and affirmations etc.. It is when people become too deep into anything, including religion that they can find themselves not being able to read between the lines and need to take it all too literally.

 

I feel about religion the same way I feel about sexuality. Yeah sure, you can be religious, just don't attempt to force it on me. I will let people be who they want to be, but what I don't approve is when people try to make others act the same way as them.

 

That is part of the reason why they have adopted it. Buddhism also takes care of the topic of death in their society. This is because in Shintoism there is a strong emphasis on purity/impurity. With death being very impure funerals are done in Buddhist temples .

It's quite a beautiful way of life and I suppose the thought of an afterlife and heaven must be quite comforting. Although, not everyone would have such wonderful moral values as you do. Something that would be morally right for you might not be for someone else. So even if they'd do something bad but it would correspond with their moral values they'd still be leading life that is morally right to oneself. Therefore they'd also be able to go to heaven. Quite worrying...

 

I certainly understand where you are coming from there and I guess it was something I vaguely thought about as I was typing that reply up, I guess you at the same time need to have a moral awareness of your own actions and have a conscience as well in knowing the basics of what is right and wrong.. I just mean I go along doing my own thing, living my own life, try not to hurt or harm people in anyway and am kind and caring.. I know not everyone would be like that and I guess it is my ideal world really that I know will never happen..

 

Thanks for that LunaticSoul! I should dive into Shintoism, it's a religion I don't know that much about. =)

Personally, I think we all can be moral without a deity. I don't need a God to tell me what is right and wrong, nor do I want a reward/punishment. Sure, the thought of going to Heaven when doing good is very comforting. Perhaps seeing relatives again, it's an amazing thought. But believing in it, for me, is fooling myself. I simply cannot believe in it, I feel that there's no good reason to accept it, a lack of reason. It's the same for me as experiencing God. I know people felt God in their lives, but I can't help but thinking, what about those that are sick, want to get better so much, but won't? That's just plain evil. Were they not trying hard enough?

Rather that clinging to the idea of someone helping you out, I think we should make a change. It's very optimistic to say we can make suffering stop, but we can lessen it. Working on a better planet, together, doing the best we can. We have one life and should fully use it. Not living a mediocre life, we should try to make a change. For us, for the future. Doing things that benefit society. Those are my thoughts.

 

You're welcome! . It's a very interesting religion and you can see it in everyday life in Japan.

I think it would be quite sad if we could derive our moral values only with the help of religion. I agree with you when you say that it's people who should make a change. It awlays seemed to me that religion makes people passive to the things that they experience in life or witness because the usual explanation is "It's God's will". However,I would still respect it especially if it's a decision regarding their life , like rejecting blood transfusion or organ transplant. The only thing that makes me annoyed and angry sometimes is zealots trying to impose their views on me or my friends saying that my point of view is wrong. I will get very defensive :icon_mrgr. Another thing is church trying to run the country and preventing important policies passing through the government.

I do know what you mean. I don't believe in higher entity or heaven or even an afterlife but I still try to be a good and considerate person because that's what I value in life and in others. It would be a marvelous world to live in if everyone got rid of their prejudices, misconceptions and stereotypes...

 

I agree with you! I think you know, but there are people who ask "How can you be moral without a god?".. =\ And I agree, people are entitled to have their own religion. It's not up to me to tell them to stop. If it makes them happy, if it comforts them, then who am I to take that away from them (if it doesn't cause harm to others)? The only things that bother me, is indeed like you say, forcing views upon others. I'm a secular humanist, I think that a complete separation between church and state is what we should have. If we don't have a state religion, everyone can decide for themselves. But seeing religion in politics (and the like) is something I don't agree with.

 

Just kidding

 

Well, I'm an Episcopalian, and we're in the 1% of Religions(according to your statistic) that don't exclude people from joining. My church has a rainbow flag up, and we have female priests.