Religious affiliations

[Kestrel]

It's more likely to be an oversight than a lie, I'd say. Rare just saw a lot of votes for atheism and didn't realise the length of the individual voting bars isn't representative. While I don't know why Rare would like to see more religious persons on Iwaku, I doubt it's intended as a fire-starter. So let's try and keep the peace, shall we?

 

[Asmodeus]

Yes, he must have temporarily forgotten what site he was on and who was reading and what the reaction would be.

 

[Brovo]

It's more likely to be an oversight than a lie, I'd say. Rare just saw a lot of votes for atheism and didn't realise the length of the individual voting bars isn't representative. While I don't know why Rare would like to see more religious persons on Iwaku, I doubt it's intended as a fire-starter. So let's try and keep the peace, shall we?

Yes. Please do, because I did say that this thread is a sanctuary, so... Let's not go about doing this. Otherwise, I do have soft delete powers and the report button.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

I do have soft delete powers

Since when?
I don't get delete powers when I make a thread. :/

 

[Jorick]

Since when?
I don't get delete powers when I make a thread. :/

Donator perks include limited thread moderation powers, but only over threads you create.

 

[Asmodeus]

And thus, I am ashamed to be religious.

I'll assume he was a cool guy and said something unapologetic and semantic about how we all misunderstood his blatant discrimination, and he's really a victim and Jesus has got his back and we all suck.


Anyway, let's see if I can follow simple instructions and answer the poll without contemptuous caveats.



--What is your (non-)religious affiliation?
Hermeticism

--Why did you choose this belief over others? Is there any particular reason, or were you born into it?
I'm a sucker for interconnected theories that tie together magic, mysticism and science.

--How strongly do you believe in your (non-)religious belief?
I occasionally drive myself to anxiety thinking about it. But most of the time, religious douchebags put me off being spiritual.

--Do you actively attempt to convert others to your beliefs? Why or why not?
Nope. More gold for me.

--Do your parents/family share the same (non-)religious beliefs? Do they approve of your choice, disapprove, or feel nothing about it?
They avoid the subject. They lost their faith when my brother was killed, so I don't bring up religion around them anymore. It was my crutch in the bad times; it was their betrayer.

--Did you always believe in your present (non-)religious belief, or did you convert later on in life? If so, what did you used to belief? Why did your beliefs change?
Converted about 15 years ago, when atheism gave me too many night terrors. Yep - faith motivated by terror. I'm so mainstream.

--Do your (non-)religious beliefs impact your ability to hold stable relationships (friendships, romances, et cetera) with others who do not share the same beliefs?
I went through a Messianic phase that got mixed in with my twenty-something free spirit phase. Left a few girlfriends because I thought there was "something more" to be doing.

--Do you believe you could change your views now, or are they set in stone, never to be changed again?
I would love to be enchanted by a new obsession. It makes life fun.

--Would you ever commit an act of violence in the name of your (non-)religious beliefs? If so, under what circumstances or conditions?
If a variety of factors compelled me towards violence, Hermetic symbology would probably be the final shove that tips me into committing the act. The faith alone would not achieve it.

--Do your (non-)religious views influence your political views? If so, how significantly?
Hermeticism emphasizes the learning abilities of Man. I'm a liberal because I think everyone can being a dick if they really concentrate.

--Would you consider yourself agnostic or gnostic?
Definitely agnostic. Any ONE answer is probably the wrong answer. But they're just so moreish.

--Thank you for answering these questions! Here, have a ferret. Remember, if anyone harasses you in this thread about your beliefs, just let a moderator know and they'll take care of it!
I went vigilante. Spank me, Daddy.

 

[Dervish]

Yes. Please do, because I did say that this thread is a sanctuary, so... Let's not go about doing this. Otherwise, I do have soft delete powers and the report button.

Tee hee.

You said soft.

 

[Wistful Beast]

--What is your (non-)religious affiliation?
I am Christian, Eastern Orthodox. To be more specific, I am Greek Orthodox.

--Why did you choose this belief over others? Is there any particular reason, or were you born into it?
I was born into my religion and never had the desire to challenge this, having been presented with enough reason and blessed with an abundance of faith.

--How strongly do you believe in your (non-)religious belief?
Pretty strongly. I am more casual about my beliefs, but of course they still play an important and influential role in my everyday life.

--Do you actively attempt to convert others to your beliefs? Why or why not?
I believe that people have the right to their own beliefs, even if they are different from mine. I would be more than happy to explain my religion to a non believer or one of a different religion, but I would never shove my opinions down anyone's throat. If people let me practice my beliefs without harassment, I have no right to not let them peacefully practice their own.

--Do your parents/family share the same (non-)religious beliefs? Do they approve of your choice, disapprove, or feel nothing about it?
Yes. Nearly everyone in my family is Christian. My mother's side is Eastern Orthodox while my father's is Catholic.

--Did you always believe in your present (non-)religious belief, or did you convert later on in life? If so, what did you used to belief? Why did your beliefs change?
My belief has never changed and I have always been strongly Eastern Orthodox.

--Do your (non-)religious beliefs impact your ability to hold stable relationships (friendships, romances, et cetera) with others who do not share the same beliefs?
I am totally fine with being friends with non believers and most of my friends don't have faith like I do. However, I don't believe I could marry someone who isn't Christian. I know this makes me sound shallow and picky, but I couldn't live out the rest of my life with someone who isn't a Christian. It would create for an awkward tension and well, the bible does say that nonbelievers don't make it to heaven and naturally I would prefer to be with that special someone for the eternity in heaven instead of having to know I would never see them again.

--Do you believe you could change your views now, or are they set in stone, never to be changed again?
I believe that they are set in stone. No one could convince me that I should change and I don't think I ever will. I know many claim science as reason enough to reject God, but I have read into many reasons and what not that prove those beliefs as incorrect. Also my own opinions and thoughts factor into my will to never let anyone make some much as a dent in my faith.

--Would you ever commit an act of violence in the name of your (non-)religious beliefs? If so, under what circumstances or conditions?
I don't believe that I would do such a thing, considering violence is looked upon in my religion. Thou shalt not kill, and what not.

--Do your (non-)religious views influence your political views? If so, how significantly?
I don't think that my religious views have too much of a factor in my political views. For example, many Christians frown upon homosexuality, while I fully support it. Well, I sort of have to considering how gay I am myself. I believe that God made me the way I am, so why should I believe that he would ever hate me? Also, Leviticus' commonly used phrase against homosexuality has little hold. He was the same person who spoke of outlawing cutting your hair, eating shellfish, and wearing clothing of two different materials. So his ideas are rather outdated and Jesus never spoke against people loving one another.

--Would you consider yourself agnostic or gnostic?
Eh...Probably leaning more towards gnostic, but I'd rather not delve further into this subject.

Well that is it I suppose. The lone Eastern Orthodox follower has spoken.

 

[feelingchimpy]

--What is your (non-)religious affiliation?
Atheist

--Why did you choose this belief over others? Is there any particular reason, or were you born into it?
I was born into Christianity and I followed it without question until I hit high school. Up until then I just accepted literally everything my parents told me as fact. It was around 14/15, maybe 16, that I actually started thinking for myself and realized that it didn't make sense to me and it wasn't something that I could believe in because I had so many questions. I sneaked the questions into conversations as best I could without sounding suspicious (my parents would flip shit if they found out I'm not Christian, no matter how old I am now) and their answers just made it more clear to me that I really didn't believe in any of it at all. I believe in science.

--How strongly do you believe in your (non-)religious belief?
Very strongly. I've been on both sides so to speak and I don't see myself going back to being religious.

--Do you actively attempt to convert others to your beliefs? Why or why not?
Of course not, that's their business. I don't have any right to tell somebody that their beliefs are wrong and that they need to believe in mine, despite what my parents drilled into my head about people who didn't believe in "God".

--Do your parents/family share the same (non-)religious beliefs? Do they approve of your choice, disapprove, or feel nothing about it?
nOPE

--Did you always believe in your present (non-)religious belief, or did you convert later on in life? If so, what did you used to belief? Why did your beliefs change?
I basically answered this already.

--Do your (non-)religious beliefs impact your ability to hold stable relationships (friendships, romances, et cetera) with others who do not share the same beliefs?
To an extent? I mean if one of my friends spews homophobic, sexist, racist, etc venom and uses their religion to justify it, that's pretty much it between us. As long as they aren't using their beliefs to hurt people, I try not to worry about it. At the same time though, its a little hard for me to trust religious people because of the treatment I've received "in the name of 'God'" for being gay until I'm 100% sure that they aren't homophobic. Its a defensive mechanism, I guess.

--Do you believe you could change your views now, or are they set in stone, never to be changed again?
If I was given set in stone, undeniable, solid evidence. I'm not gonna deny what's right in front of my face. But even if I was given proof that "God" is real and all that, I still wouldn't agree with what I've always been told that the bible teaches.

--Would you ever commit an act of violence in the name of your (non-)religious beliefs? If so, under what circumstances or conditions?
Definitely and absolutely NOT.

--Do your (non-)religious views influence your political views? If so, how significantly?
I don't politic.

--Would you consider yourself agnostic or gnostic?
As it is, I'm gnostic atheist. I'm 100% sure that there is no higher power or any of that. But like I said, prove me wrong, and I'll admit that I was wrong.

--Thank you for answering these questions! Here, have a ferret. Remember, if anyone harasses you in this thread about your beliefs, just let a moderator know and they'll take care of it!
Hopefully this wasn't a bad decision on my part xD;