Demographics Poll: What is your religion?
semiticgoddess
Member Posts: 14,903
This is the fourth in a series of polls to measure the demographics of the Beamdog community (I was just curious). The poll is anonymous by default, but you're welcome to discuss the issue publicly if you like.
The other polls are here:
Sex/Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Nationality
Political Affiliation
The other polls are here:
Sex/Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Nationality
Political Affiliation
- Demographics Poll: What is your religion?122 votes
- Christianity26.23%
- Islam1.64%
- Buddhism0.82%
- Hinduism1.64%
- Atheism/Agnosticism50.82%
- Folk religion (local traditions)2.46%
- Judaism0.82%
- Other (please specify via post or PM if you wish to remain anonymous)15.57%
Post edited by semiticgoddess on
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Edit: to be clear, I’m not one of those criminal Mormons with the 10 wives and all that. We are supposed to refer to ourselves as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though not too many people know of that name.
It may be silly that I’m asking as it’s in your name. Just curious, though.
The parable of the blindfolded people describing an elephant is a pretty good one. Little do they know they are all describing the same entity.
The name "semiticgod" came from the "Semitic god" idea from the Buddhist thinker Dharmapala. In a nutshell, Dharmapala thought that the Western world was violent and oppressive and evil, and the reason was that the Abrahamic traditions--Christianity, Judaism, and Islam--were governed by a cruel, vengeful, jealous "Semitic" god... unlike Buddhism, which he believed, of course, was peaceful and tolerant and good.
It always struck me as a profoundly ignorant and xenophobic idea and a stellar example of lazy, reductive thinking based on stereotypes. Since it stuck in my mind, I tried to use it as a password on Youtube... but accidentally made it my username instead (that account no longer exists).
When a friend of mine (who happened to be Jewish) pointed out that it would be great for trolling Youtube videos about the Arab-Israeli conflict, I realized that it was a hilariously over-the-top name and decided to make it my username here.
I am religious, though other people of my faith might disagree as I don't practice it much, don't believe the entirety of the holy texts can be taken literally and don't even agree on some of the core "truths".
My family has many informed between Christianity, Hinduism, paganism, guna guna and more. I have no clue what values and beliefs belong to what.... So confusing.
Regrettably started off as Lutheric for a good decade. Then switched to Buddhism. After a while I took a dip in Animism and then got a crash course in Shinto. Paid a visit to Wicca for a couple of years, too. And probably got a level or two in both Heathenry and Slavic Native Faith down the line as well. Now, I mostly just don't care anymore.
TLDR: Most of the above poll choices and then a couple more.
Anyway this is all to say I picked atheist (technically theological noncognitivist if you wanna punch something into a search engine that gets more precise than atheist) and it's fun to think about. Like I've given it a lot of thought, and spent my teen years being a militant atheist, but at this point I'm like way into a very relativistic but also an enthusiastic orientation and not like...avoidant or bored orientation towards other people's spirituality/religion if it's important to them. I don't mind engaging in those kinds of discussions and having an open mind and heart to what people want to express and I try to switch the lens over my mind's eye to one that's attempting to inhabit what they're expressing. I find my own personal stance fun to think about, but I find other people's stances fun to think about too.
When it gets down to it I'm too much of a nihilist skeptic to think anything has some essential meaning, I think essentialism full stop is unrelatable to my own experience...but it's just my experience and my opinion! I love when people I love and who love me gush about things that bring them deep, broad positive feelings, and over time that (and my nihilism lmao) has eroded into dust any desire to be a militant atheist. It's way more fun to try and put yourself in someone else's shoes while they're profoundly moved or excited about something than to sit there negging that perspective (even silently in your own head).
First of all, if I would start doing that out of fear, then my devotion would not be sincere so I would be pretty screwed anyways. The second it, no one deserves worship by just "being", not even gods.
I do think the paranormal occurs though (first-hand experience) but widespread proof isn't available and is hard to reproduce in a controlled manner. I'm fascinated by all stuff paranormal both in real life and in-game hence my avatar and role as the "IE spells guru" within the team.
Can't really blame people for leaving the church en masses with such things.
Otherwise indifferent.
Sometimes I feel there may be something in believing there's a figure up above. Like even as we grow adult, we may still sometimes believe in Santa even if we know he doesn't really exist.
Voted agnostic.
Not atheist, because there's that niggling little chance that there IS a divine being. And it is hard to prove that God does NOT exist, probably harder than that God DOES exist. You can prove God does not interact with the universe, but that doesn't mean he isn't there.
Interesting, this poll restores my faith in humanity, I expected to be alone in "atheist" option.
Which is the baseline for Christianity however I do not need to believe in a higher being to follow those basic principles. I do not have to believe in the miracles of Christ to understand his message.
I do not like organized religions because they tend to add more useless clutter, or steer away from those 4 basic philosophies, but it is how I attempt to live my life.
in my childhood i was cristian, then i become agnostic in my teen years as i realized that there is no real proof about a god existing or not, is like to talk of the elephant basing only on what we like it to be and not according to what it is.
to talk about what is behind a hill is imho pointless unless we go on the top of the hill and see. one kan tell that there is a lake, an other that there is a desert, an other that there are more hills, pointless unless you go and see it by yourself.
some people decide to trust some prophet or revelation, that is like to trust to someone that has been on the top of the hill, imo better than deciding according only to our taste. but it seems that the prophets and revelations tells different things, maybe those prophets have touched different parts of the elephant that (maybe) is behind the hill. or maybe is not so easy to describe an elephant to someone that has never seen one...
so i decided to try to become a gnostic, to go myself on the hill and see beyond. this was more than 40 years ago. did i reach the top of the hill? pointless to tell it... each one has to go himself or try to do it if really interested.
on an other level i am convinced that buddha was right talking about the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path that brings the man to liberation from suffering.
but this is not a religion at all, buddha never talked about god existence and such kind of things, mahayana, vajirayana , theravada and hinayana are creations of his followers, them are or can be regarded as religions, what buddha told in his plain form is not.
so i don't qualify myself as buddhist even if i am convinced that enlightenment can be attained following the path he showed to us.
@Mirandel, is funny how i expected to see much more atheists in the poll than what i actually see.
EDIT: Btw, never understood why some feel the need to categorize ppl based on religion or ethnicity. Nationality is enough for me personally, "race" and religion is just ridiculous.