Spirituality
The spirituality meme, gacked from mews1945 and claudia603
I want to preface this by saying that I'm only posting this meme after a bit of a debate with myself. The last thing I want to do is alienate anybody. I decided to assume that anybody reading my LJ who is religious is open-minded enough not to be offended and unfriend me just because I don't share this one view with them. I am also trusting that they don't mind a challenge to their beliefs, and that they will realize that I am not trying to change those beliefs, only to explain mine.
1. What faith were you born into or raised with (if any)?
Neither of my parents was ever particularly religious, that I know of. My mom used to occasionally go to a church which, if I remember correctly, was Unitarian Universalist, but more for the activism aspect than any religious one. I also remember being sent to Sunday school at a Lutheran church, though I'm not sure if the "school" was affiliated with that religion or if it was just a "keep the kids busy" program that happened to take place at that church. There was a bunch of talk about God, though.
2. Were you devout as a child/adolescent?
No. There was never any real effort on my mom's part to instill religious beliefs in me or my siblings. (My dad was out of the picture due to divorce and his moving away, but if he ever had any religion, I'm not aware of it.) After my mom drifted away from the Unitarian thing, she took me to a few feminist/pagan-type ceremony/meetings, I guess to see if that took with me. It didn't, really, though I did think it was cooler and more logical than Christianity.
3. If you are not currently practicing your childhood faith, what led you away from it?
There was nothing to really "lead me away" from. I just never really believed in a God, per se. Even as a kid, I looked on organized religion with skepticism, though I didn't know that's what it was. Later that turned into skepticism toward the whole concept of God(s).
I did try for a long time to hold on to the idea that if there was no God, there at least had to be some kind of "higher force", though my ideas of it were always sort of nebulous. The moment that I finally took the mental plunge was the moment I looked at all the aspects that are attributed to God (at least, the Judeo-Christian idea of God which I'm most familiar with) and realized that believing in them all would require me to believe in too many things that I found contradictory to each other and to the world as I understand it. Therefore, the only sane alternative, *for me* (I want to emphasize that) was to believe none of them. Which meant I was that scary thing, the "A word": an atheist.
Yep, I'm a member of what is possibly the most hated, feared, and misunderstood group of all, at least in the US. In some places here, it's illegal for me to hold public office. If I were a boy, I wouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts. There are some other social organizations that wouldn't allow me to join them, if they had a religion section in their application and I were honest and ticked the box that said "none" (assuming there was one). And there are people (the first George Bush, for one) who think I shouldn't even be counted as a citizen.
4. How many religious denominations, traditions, and/or groups have you belonged to?
I wouldn't say I ever "belonged to" any.
5. How would you describe your religion now?
Nonexistent. Atheism isn't a religion, it's simply a lack of belief in God. That's all it is.
Am I immoral or amoral? Let's see. I don't steal. I've never killed anything bigger than a fly. I'm courteous to others. I do my best to treat people kindly and understand their points of view, even ones I disagree with. I help take care of disadvantaged animals (the feral cats in our backyard). I love my husband, my cats, my best friend, her husband, my family, and my flist.
Is my life a swirling, sucking black hole of gloom and despair without the light of God to show me the path to heaven? Well, it's not perfect, but I'm reasonably content. I'm not bitter or cynical (skeptical, yes; cynical, no). I do get angry at times, when religious people try to push their beliefs on me or say ignorant things about atheism; also when religion muscles in on government (they should ideally be completely separate, but the line is getting thinner and thinner).
If I don't believe in God, what do I believe in? To put it simply, reason. I don't think science has all the answers, but I do believe it's our best bet to find the answers. I also believe in logic, which does not mean I am therefore cold, emotionless, or joyless. I don't think gods, unicorns, elves, hobbits, Time Lords, psychic powers, etc. actually exist, but that doesn't preclude me enjoying the idea of them.
Do I hate God? That would be rather silly, hating something I don't believe exists. Do I worship Satan? Why would I when I don't believe in Satan any more than I do God?
Do I hate religious people? Of course not. Most of the religious people I know are wonderful folks with whom I happen to disagree on one thing. I wouldn't mind having a friendly debate with them, but I have no interest in "deconverting" them to my views. I also don't think religion is entirely a bad thing. Some good (along with a lot of evil) is done in its name. There's also the thought that if believing in eternal punishment in the afterlife is the only thing keeping someone from hurting me or anyone I love, then I fervently hope that they continue to believe that.
6. How long have you been practicing that religion?
One does not "practice" atheism. Unless you count getting to sleep in on Sundays as "practicing".
7. Do you pray? If so, how?
No. I don't believe praying literally helps anything, unless it's in the fact that it gives some people comfort and helps them to think that they are doing something to control their circumstances. But I do believe that *taking actual action* to improve those circumstances is much better than just praying. For instance, when a loved one is sick in the hospital, it would be much more helpful to go visit them, or do something practical such as feeding their pets while they're incapacitated, than to pray. Of course, praying *and* taking action is fine. (Ever notice, though, that if someone does both and good things result, the praying is what tends to get the credit?)
8. Do you practice magic? If so, do you distinguish it from prayer?
No, I don't believe in magic any more than I do in God.
9. Do you work with divinatory oracles like Tarot, astrology, the Runes, etc?
No. I do admire some of the artwork on tarot cards, but that's as far as it goes. Otherwise, in my opinion, tarot and any other form of divination or oracles are merely fancy ways of guessing.
10. Describe your personal concept of God/dess/Higher Power/etc.
Nonexistent. Probably. I don't actually know if there is a God or higher power. There could be. But if there is, I don't understand why it's too much to ask them to show some definite sign that they do exist.
There's an argument that goes something like, "You can't prove God doesn't exist, so why not believe that he does?" Because it's impossible to "prove" a negative, so logically, the burden of proof should always be on the person on the positive side of the argument (the one saying "yes, there is"). BTW, I don't take the wonderful complexity of the universe, etc. as being a sign of a divine intelligence at work. I take it as a sign of natural forces at work. If one wishes to translate "natural forces" into "God", they can.
11. How does your religion/spirituality explain the concept of/presence of evil?
Evil comes from people. So does good. That's my basic philosophy.
See, just because I don't believe in God does not mean I don't believe in morality. I believe that the principles of being kind and polite, doing the right thing (and not doing the wrong thing) were not given to us by some being on high, but evolved along with us simply because that's what makes groups work, and living in groups is what has always enabled us to survive. Evil is what happens when someone seeks to dominate others unjustly and/or puts their selfish desires above the rights of others in a harmful way. It's part of our natures, as much as good is. We simply need to try to do more good in the world than evil.
12. Is music and/or dance important to your path? Why or why not?
Um, I don't really understand this question. Of course I like music. Don't know if it's "important" to me beyond the enjoyment of it. I also like dance -- watching it, at least. (I'm the stereotypical "white girl" when it comes to dancing: no rhythm whatsoever.)
13. What is your concept of the afterlife?
I think that believing in an afterlife and in an immortal part of us that continues after our bodies die is prevalent because people find it comforting. Just because a belief is comforting doesn't mean it's literally true. But it doesn't mean it isn't either; it's just comforting.
I guess I don't necessarily believe there is absolutely no afterlife, but any concept I might have of it would be meaningless, because I can't *know* until I actually die. The ones who do know can't tell us. Despite anything John Edward might say.
14. Do you believe in ghosts, spirits, Faeries, devas, and/or other beings beyond ordinary perception?
No. I think they're just as much constructs of our minds as God is.
15. If you have children, are you raising them in your religion/spirituality? Why or why not?
I don't have children, and it's likely I never will; but if I did, I wouldn't necessarily automatically teach them to be atheists. I would do my best to teach them to *think* and to examine life. If they conclude that they do believe in God and want to practice a religion, I would honestly be a bit disappointed, but I would love them regardless.
Thanks to the originator of this meme, for the opportunity to organize my thoughts and finally speak my mind, something I rarely get to do on this matter.
I want to preface this by saying that I'm only posting this meme after a bit of a debate with myself. The last thing I want to do is alienate anybody. I decided to assume that anybody reading my LJ who is religious is open-minded enough not to be offended and unfriend me just because I don't share this one view with them. I am also trusting that they don't mind a challenge to their beliefs, and that they will realize that I am not trying to change those beliefs, only to explain mine.
1. What faith were you born into or raised with (if any)?
Neither of my parents was ever particularly religious, that I know of. My mom used to occasionally go to a church which, if I remember correctly, was Unitarian Universalist, but more for the activism aspect than any religious one. I also remember being sent to Sunday school at a Lutheran church, though I'm not sure if the "school" was affiliated with that religion or if it was just a "keep the kids busy" program that happened to take place at that church. There was a bunch of talk about God, though.
2. Were you devout as a child/adolescent?
No. There was never any real effort on my mom's part to instill religious beliefs in me or my siblings. (My dad was out of the picture due to divorce and his moving away, but if he ever had any religion, I'm not aware of it.) After my mom drifted away from the Unitarian thing, she took me to a few feminist/pagan-type ceremony/meetings, I guess to see if that took with me. It didn't, really, though I did think it was cooler and more logical than Christianity.
3. If you are not currently practicing your childhood faith, what led you away from it?
There was nothing to really "lead me away" from. I just never really believed in a God, per se. Even as a kid, I looked on organized religion with skepticism, though I didn't know that's what it was. Later that turned into skepticism toward the whole concept of God(s).
I did try for a long time to hold on to the idea that if there was no God, there at least had to be some kind of "higher force", though my ideas of it were always sort of nebulous. The moment that I finally took the mental plunge was the moment I looked at all the aspects that are attributed to God (at least, the Judeo-Christian idea of God which I'm most familiar with) and realized that believing in them all would require me to believe in too many things that I found contradictory to each other and to the world as I understand it. Therefore, the only sane alternative, *for me* (I want to emphasize that) was to believe none of them. Which meant I was that scary thing, the "A word": an atheist.
Yep, I'm a member of what is possibly the most hated, feared, and misunderstood group of all, at least in the US. In some places here, it's illegal for me to hold public office. If I were a boy, I wouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts. There are some other social organizations that wouldn't allow me to join them, if they had a religion section in their application and I were honest and ticked the box that said "none" (assuming there was one). And there are people (the first George Bush, for one) who think I shouldn't even be counted as a citizen.
4. How many religious denominations, traditions, and/or groups have you belonged to?
I wouldn't say I ever "belonged to" any.
5. How would you describe your religion now?
Nonexistent. Atheism isn't a religion, it's simply a lack of belief in God. That's all it is.
Am I immoral or amoral? Let's see. I don't steal. I've never killed anything bigger than a fly. I'm courteous to others. I do my best to treat people kindly and understand their points of view, even ones I disagree with. I help take care of disadvantaged animals (the feral cats in our backyard). I love my husband, my cats, my best friend, her husband, my family, and my flist.
Is my life a swirling, sucking black hole of gloom and despair without the light of God to show me the path to heaven? Well, it's not perfect, but I'm reasonably content. I'm not bitter or cynical (skeptical, yes; cynical, no). I do get angry at times, when religious people try to push their beliefs on me or say ignorant things about atheism; also when religion muscles in on government (they should ideally be completely separate, but the line is getting thinner and thinner).
If I don't believe in God, what do I believe in? To put it simply, reason. I don't think science has all the answers, but I do believe it's our best bet to find the answers. I also believe in logic, which does not mean I am therefore cold, emotionless, or joyless. I don't think gods, unicorns, elves, hobbits, Time Lords, psychic powers, etc. actually exist, but that doesn't preclude me enjoying the idea of them.
Do I hate God? That would be rather silly, hating something I don't believe exists. Do I worship Satan? Why would I when I don't believe in Satan any more than I do God?
Do I hate religious people? Of course not. Most of the religious people I know are wonderful folks with whom I happen to disagree on one thing. I wouldn't mind having a friendly debate with them, but I have no interest in "deconverting" them to my views. I also don't think religion is entirely a bad thing. Some good (along with a lot of evil) is done in its name. There's also the thought that if believing in eternal punishment in the afterlife is the only thing keeping someone from hurting me or anyone I love, then I fervently hope that they continue to believe that.
6. How long have you been practicing that religion?
One does not "practice" atheism. Unless you count getting to sleep in on Sundays as "practicing".
7. Do you pray? If so, how?
No. I don't believe praying literally helps anything, unless it's in the fact that it gives some people comfort and helps them to think that they are doing something to control their circumstances. But I do believe that *taking actual action* to improve those circumstances is much better than just praying. For instance, when a loved one is sick in the hospital, it would be much more helpful to go visit them, or do something practical such as feeding their pets while they're incapacitated, than to pray. Of course, praying *and* taking action is fine. (Ever notice, though, that if someone does both and good things result, the praying is what tends to get the credit?)
8. Do you practice magic? If so, do you distinguish it from prayer?
No, I don't believe in magic any more than I do in God.
9. Do you work with divinatory oracles like Tarot, astrology, the Runes, etc?
No. I do admire some of the artwork on tarot cards, but that's as far as it goes. Otherwise, in my opinion, tarot and any other form of divination or oracles are merely fancy ways of guessing.
10. Describe your personal concept of God/dess/Higher Power/etc.
Nonexistent. Probably. I don't actually know if there is a God or higher power. There could be. But if there is, I don't understand why it's too much to ask them to show some definite sign that they do exist.
There's an argument that goes something like, "You can't prove God doesn't exist, so why not believe that he does?" Because it's impossible to "prove" a negative, so logically, the burden of proof should always be on the person on the positive side of the argument (the one saying "yes, there is"). BTW, I don't take the wonderful complexity of the universe, etc. as being a sign of a divine intelligence at work. I take it as a sign of natural forces at work. If one wishes to translate "natural forces" into "God", they can.
11. How does your religion/spirituality explain the concept of/presence of evil?
Evil comes from people. So does good. That's my basic philosophy.
See, just because I don't believe in God does not mean I don't believe in morality. I believe that the principles of being kind and polite, doing the right thing (and not doing the wrong thing) were not given to us by some being on high, but evolved along with us simply because that's what makes groups work, and living in groups is what has always enabled us to survive. Evil is what happens when someone seeks to dominate others unjustly and/or puts their selfish desires above the rights of others in a harmful way. It's part of our natures, as much as good is. We simply need to try to do more good in the world than evil.
12. Is music and/or dance important to your path? Why or why not?
Um, I don't really understand this question. Of course I like music. Don't know if it's "important" to me beyond the enjoyment of it. I also like dance -- watching it, at least. (I'm the stereotypical "white girl" when it comes to dancing: no rhythm whatsoever.)
13. What is your concept of the afterlife?
I think that believing in an afterlife and in an immortal part of us that continues after our bodies die is prevalent because people find it comforting. Just because a belief is comforting doesn't mean it's literally true. But it doesn't mean it isn't either; it's just comforting.
I guess I don't necessarily believe there is absolutely no afterlife, but any concept I might have of it would be meaningless, because I can't *know* until I actually die. The ones who do know can't tell us. Despite anything John Edward might say.
14. Do you believe in ghosts, spirits, Faeries, devas, and/or other beings beyond ordinary perception?
No. I think they're just as much constructs of our minds as God is.
15. If you have children, are you raising them in your religion/spirituality? Why or why not?
I don't have children, and it's likely I never will; but if I did, I wouldn't necessarily automatically teach them to be atheists. I would do my best to teach them to *think* and to examine life. If they conclude that they do believe in God and want to practice a religion, I would honestly be a bit disappointed, but I would love them regardless.
Thanks to the originator of this meme, for the opportunity to organize my thoughts and finally speak my mind, something I rarely get to do on this matter.