I know that there are many people on these boards who are from a wide variety of pladcdes, but I realized I do not know how wide the variety of religions represented are. So, voila! A poll to scratch my intellectual itch.

And to clarify an issue that many are mistaken on (including myself until very recently): agnoticism is not a religion. Agnostics can be either atheists or theists, but it is not a third category. Agnosticism is about what you 'know,' not what you believe.

These are the definitions of atheism and agnosticism I'm using for this poll:

Weak agnostics do not know if a god or gods exist. Strong agnostics claims that it is impossible to know.

Weak or implicit atheists do not believe in any gods. Strong or explicit atheists deny the existence of any gods.

[ October 25, 2002, 08:59: Message edited by: The Deviant Mage ]

Poll Information
This poll contains 2 question(s). 66 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Your Religion (66 votes.)

Are you agnostic? (Choose 1)
* Yes, I am. - 42% (28)
* No, I am not. - 58% (38)

Which faith do you most identify yourself with? (Choose 1)
* Christian (Catholic) - 15% (10)
* Christian (Orthodox) - 3% (2)
* Christian (Protestant) - 26% (17)
* Mormon - 3% (2)
* Scientologist - 0% (0)
* Jewish - 2% (1)
* Deist - 0% (0)
* Manichaeism - 0% (0)
* Zoroastrianism - 0% (0)
* Shinto - 0% (0)
* Wiccan - 2% (1)
* Buddhist - 6% (4)
* Hindu (Any form) - 0% (0)
* Islamic (Sunni) - 3% (2)
* Islamic (Shi'ite) - 0% (0)
* Theist (Vague or Individual beliefs) - 9% (6)
* Other Monotheistic - 2% (1)
* Other Polytheistic - 0% (0)
* Strong Atheism - 9% (6)
* Weak Atheism - 21% (14)

dude, i hope SP's alright with me.(Check the pole).Please don't ban me.....

[ October 25, 2002, 09:41: Message edited by: Ark ]

Don't worry Ark ... I think you're safe. As we used to sing in my church,

"The Lord told Noah to go build and Arky Arky, the Lord told Noah to go build an Arky Arky.
Build it out of, gopher barky bark, children of the Lord." :good: ;)

Deviant ... do you really think that there are practicing Manichaeists these days?

I think Saint Augustine practiced/dabbled in Manichaeism before his garden experience.

I was christianed Protestant, but I have dittached myself from the religion seeing as how it was invented by King Henry VIII so that he could marry his wife.

Z-Layrex: There are several different christian protestant religions. I myself am a Christian Lutheran (about 80% of the population in finland is), and it was invented by a german called Martin Luther (not King).

That's what I tended to think (Catholic here), but gradually learned that history of the Church of England and Protestantism in Britain is somewhat more complex than that.
Protestantism of course originated with Martin Luther, protesting against the excesses of the Catholic Church. Henry VIII refused to allow this new religion into England, and was given the title Defender of the Faith by the Pope; this is still held by the British monarch today. The Church of England was indeed founded to give Henry the authority to divorce Catharine of Aragon, but when it was first founded was a catholic church in all but name; as the Roman Catholic church beforehand it was the only permitted religion. Protestantism, in its more European sense, gradually came to England, partially allowed by the state as a counter to Catholics who were accused of plotting to overthrow the monarch as a heretic. The Church of England also moved in this direction. The English Civil War was, in part, a battle between different interpretations of the faith. Because there was still only one legal religion, different factions wanted the Church of England to reflect their own beliefs; thus Catholics and the more traditional members of the Church of England tended to support the Crown, while the more extreme Protestants (Puritans) tended to support Parliament, in both cases because of the sympathies of those parties.
Later on, the Church of England encompassed a broader spectrum of beliefs, as people decided it was more important to unify people than impose one set of beliefs on them. I think it was in the 18th, or maybe 19th, century when the Act of religious tolerance was passed, so that it was no longer illegal to avoid going to Church of England services, and people could worship as they wished. Now the Church of England still contains a broad spectrum, from anglo-catholics, whose services are very familiar to me, to more evangelical churches, which are not.

Phew!

St Augustine not only dabbled in Manichaeism before he converted, he was an ardent supporter of the Manichee way of life :cool:

That's a tough way of life...the elect in Manichaeism refuse to prepare their own food, for fear of damaging light particles the food contains.

As for their continued existence; I doubt it, but I can't be sure. Manichaeism was always an underground religion, it may have adapted itself somehow, somewhere. It doesn't seem much less plausible than having practising Zoroastrians, but suddenly you find the Parsis of Northwest India comfortably worshipping fire and worrying about Ahriman.

[ October 25, 2002, 20:07: Message edited by: The Deviant Mage ]

@Deviant:

Hey, I wanted to reply to your post, but I didn't find the option I was looking for. i believe in God (Allah, Buddha, Zoroastre, Zeus, Jupiter, Manitou, Quetzalcoatl, Osiris or whatever), but I don't feel my beliefs related to any of those religions, or any other religion for that matter.
There is nothing more subjective than one's own beliefs, so I'll never assume anyone could understand precisely my point of view.

That's why a put in Theist(Vague or Individual beliefs), to catch the religions that may slip through the cracks.

'Theist' isn't a religion in the same sense that Cotholicism or Sunni is. All it means is that the person believes in God(s). It sounds like it fits you perfectly.

And Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) isn't a deity. He's the founder of the religion. The god that would be worshipped is Ahura Mazda...the religion is sometimes known as Mazdaism. Ahura Mazda is the Good Principle, constantly battling Ahriman, the Evil Principle. The world is their chess board, pretty nearly literally.

Woo Hoo!!! Out of 4200+ members, there are 2 Mormons!!!! Heh...living in Salt Lake City, I've gotten used to being the majority...I kind of like being a minority again! :rolling:

Hmmm, I see myself as an atheist, I see no reason to believe in a/any god(s). If I have to choose any religon wich I found somewhat attached to It must be Buddism...

I think it would be cool with gods like the mythologies and forgotten realms...

Oh god, you're not planning to make a new religion like those Jedi enthusiast geeks, are you?

"Like those Jedi enthusiasts geeks"

Lol. I've never understood that. I mean I am a huge SW fan/geek/whatever you wish to call me :p . But I'm not making a religion out of a movie concept. That wasn't Lucas' goal either.

This has of late been bothering me. I am a Christian. And yet... when I think of God, the afterlife, and eternal heaven... It's sort of the same way I thought of Santa when I was eight. It would be really cool if they did exist, and I really try to believe in their existance... but deep down, I just don't believe. Do you have any idea how much it sucks to be an UNWILLING atheist?

I am a Christian. I don't understand atheism or agnosticism.

I'm sort of strange. I'm agnostic insofar as I don't know whether or not there is a god, but I'm atheist in that I tend to disbelieve in every religion I learn about; I have no more belief in Jesus's divinity than I do Zeus's (though I do think that the Bible, has some worthwhile messages).

I'm a pagan convert.

Hmmm... I don't see 'grassroot pantheist' anywhere on the list? (/me gets a disturbing feeling of being separated from the unity)

Hey, where's Satanism on that list?

Satanism is a splinterreligion of Christianity,

hah never saw that one coming, huh?

I am a Christian. I don't understand atheism or agnosticism. Theist means: I believe in God
so
Atheist means: I dont believe in or understand God

Agnostic is just being openminded, dont pick a side but open yourself for different religions... so I´m agnostic

[ October 28, 2002, 16:51: Message edited by: Morgoth ]

I would say that I believe in god but not in any religion. All the religions that exist today are created by man for man to control and/or comfort man. There may be divine inspiration here and there but if there is it has been to twisted that it is inrecognisable. God may be good but humans use of him is something of the most evil we have here on earth imo. It must be awfully hard for those that believe in any religios dogma and books to see what their fellow men do in the name of the god/faith that they view as something good.
Oops didnt intend for this to be a rambling post but it seems it turned out to be and if that is the case I might as well continue a bit more.
In my eyes there is no difference between the words of Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Mohammed and Voltaire, Kant and Sokrates as in they are all philosophers with something to say. But it is a human that is saying it in all instances and what they say may be good or bad, logical or not but it is still the words of a human being just like all of us here.

True, joaq, but the essence of religion is not necessarily the fact that a man may have said certain words that are the major basis of a religion; the essence of religion is faith/belief. What you (or any person) believes is the true foundation of their religion, and not sayings from a philosopher or believed prophet.

I am not saying that belief creates ultimate and transcendant truth - just that our own personal understanding of truth is rigorously affected by our own personal beliefs. Truth is not relative, but understanding of truth is.

Ah, the ramblings of those who say that all the major religious figures say the same thing just prove that you haven't really read what they say.

There are radical differences between the teachings of Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. Kicking back and saying "I don't believe any of them, but I'm sure they have good things to say" is just lazy. Go discover the truth. It's the most important thing you can do in this life.

I'm what would be considered a Militant Agnostic...

I don't know, and you don't know either :D

I think you misinterpreted me Shralp, I didnt say that they said the same things, I said that what they said had the same value ie the value any words said by a man, theirs perhaps a bit more as they gave things alot of thought. But I dont see any divine inspiration in their words. That is why I put up philosophers that dont have the label of a prophet but have still said very thoughtworthy things.

AMEN, joac. Certainly, shralp, the teachings of Moses and Jesus are incredibly different - not to mention all of the variety found in non-christian traditions. I am not judging the teachings, only commenting on the human tendency to create different meanings for themselves. Just look at the ever-popular Creationist/Evolutionist dialogues that have been hurting my ears ever since someone misinterpreted Darwin and read too far into his study. This kind of controversy is a prime example of the tendency to create meaning - regardless of the meaning of the text themselves. (This goes for not only theology, but also poetry, prose, and any other form of discourse - including messageboards!)

Oh - and I am a Methodist-turned-Catholic, btw.

[ October 29, 2002, 01:00: Message edited by: Falstaff ]

I'm a Christian, Protestant of the Protestants (That's what they think I am, where I live)

Mmmh, I wonder what Headbanger/Marnix would be.... :D ;) :p

Morgoth, when I said I didn't understand atheism or agnosticism, I knew what they meant; I just don't undestand why people choose to follow such trains of thought. For atheists, well, there's nothing to believe in; life is essentially meaningless, you live in a Godless world, then you die. As for agnostics, I feel that each should be making up their mind about one belief or another. Perhaps faith is something alien to agnosticism.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooo-
oooooooooooooooooooooooo-
oooo...

Shralp.

What religion are you, again?

I must've missed where you said it in your last post. :)

I was raised christian, went thorough and atheist phrase when I was twlve or so,, now I am an agnostic and identify mostly with wicca and the other nature beliefs, if I bother to identify with anything. I mostly just don't see any reason to believe in anything. What does that make me?

Ara
(Back for a few moments)

I worship Joacqin.