what is your religion?

I find questions of this sort interesting. I will say that at NO POINT should anyone make fun of or otherwise ridicule others for the answers they give. we are all adults here, let's try acting like it eh?

I'll start us off by saying I have no religion, but nor do I believe in god. I am an atheist!!! (gasp!! devil worshiper etc.) heh, but really. being an atheist is rejecting the claims of a theist, eg the claim that god(s) exist. it really isn't that scary, I don't eat babies... often (oh that's just terrible). so, I will reiterate my question, of what religion do you claim to be, and why? (yeah I added an extra question in there, but I believe the why is more important than the what.)

I am a Traditional Catholic. Yes, that means Latin Mass. Yes, that means meatless Fridays. As far as why goes -- well, I was raised Catholic (the more modern kind) but I never really felt comfortable with the post-Vatican II changes. My friend took me to my first Latin Mass back in my college days, and I loved it. I started doing the research and really took a lot of time to study Tradition -- and I believe that it captures the timelessness that the Catholic Church has traditionally embodied. I also think it's good that everyone (English, Spanish, Italian, whatever) can go to the same Mass and worship together rather than having to have a Mass for each language.

I'm agnostic. I don't follow any specific faith or religion (although I have studied the rudimentaries of most of the major ones), but I do believe that a god or multiple gods exist in this world. I am open to the idea of organized religion, but I do believe that at this time, I'm not meant to be a Christian, or Buddhist, or pagan, etc.

I'm not quite sure if it counts, but I do believe in the general concept of this world being in balance, and some kind of greater force. Whether or not that is the god(s) is anyone's guess, in my opinion.

I'm from Dubai, UAE and am a Muslim - born, raised and practicing.

Despite what is said about Muslims, I am proud of being a Muslim woman and solely believe in Allah (God), the teachings of Mohammed and the our holy book. I do wear the veil and am somewhat conservative. I do stick with tradition and culture but that does not stop me from having a great time cruising, going out and having fun with my friends

I don't really want to say anything specific in terms of politics or terrorism but if anyone wants to ask me to elaborate on anything they wanna know about Islam I'll be more than happy to answer them

I am an atheist, and a fairly strong one at that. I believe that organized religion has little purpose (though individual churches have proved beneficial, but the same effect comes from any community). I believe that there is not a God (or Allah, or Spaghetti Monster, etc., pick your preference), at least not in the traditional sense. I do not reject the notion of some sort of supreme being, but believe there are far more likely possibilities. If there was sufficient evidence (or any evidence, other than the fact we are here and the bible exists) I would change my mind, but I find the concept difficult to grasp, especially since so much of what is pointed to as evidence of God or Jesus is not verifiable through any historical or scientific means.

I'm Protestant, born and raised - though that doesn't mean I haven't had my own strugglings with God and what I believed and all of that throughout the years (and I still do). It just means that I found my way back to God every time. My family has been part of the same church (a Foursquare one) for around 12 years now and it's been really great to have that community when we've really needed it (like when my dad passed away).

I don't really know what else to say other than I really love my faith and it is a pretty big part of my life; more than I realize sometimes, I think. I even interned at my church for a year and thought about going into ministry - I decided against it, ultimately, but I'd still potentially like to do mission work at some point. I've been on a couple mission trips (one to LA, one to Mexico) and they were fantastic experiences, even for someone as shy as me. I'd really like to work with kids, especially. In Mexico we stayed and did work at an orphanage and the kids were just amazing. And I serve in the Children's Ministry at my church. (I work with four year olds... favorite age. Seriously. Except for maybe toddlers.)

I think I consider myself agnostic. I do not believe in any form of God as described in religious books. I went to Catholic school as a little girl but never felt that religion in particular suited me. My parents were not religious either, it just happened to be the best school in the neighbourhood and despite the Bible lessons and learning that what I was feeling was/is wrong (I am gay), I still had quite an enjoyable time in school.

However, I do believe in the concept of a balance and if I were asked whether I believe in God, I would answer that I do not believe in a God as described in any of the religious scriptures in any religion but rather in something/someone who does genereally love and understand all creatures and makes no judgment on race, sexuality and colour. I find it hard to believe that if said God was to be forgiving and loving why would He not love those who are different? That is one message that never stuck with me and never will, I am afraid. Also I have read parts of the Bible (Old and New Testament) and it is not a book that I could live by but I respect it if others do. Generally I have an interest in religion as long as I find that said religion can bring up the respect and understanding towards those who do not believe.
I believe in the forces of nature but am not a Pagan or a Wiccan. I believe in the inner strength in a human being and the ability to develop ourselves through our experiences in life. I have never felt the desire to pray though I will light a candle when I am in a church for those who have passed.

Born Lutheran, resigned from church last year due to many years of atheism. I used to be a devout believer, I practiced Christianity, I opened my doors and mind to God, and nothing came.

I feel a lot happier now.

I'm agnostic, I do have a form of a belief but it does not belong in those core religions that are about. I would probably pile myself under the Pagan banner for ease, as most of my beliefs come from there.
Although I do believe there is one God, I also believe They have many different faces and it makes it easier for some people to appreciate Them more by focusing on a certain being/plant/mystical creature.
I was raised as a Christian - I say that I think it was more of a way for my mum to lie in more than having a religion - not that I minded, because I learned about the faith and found that it didn't fit me very well, although the people I met were lovely and I got to munch on biscuits. Hehehe, little things make me happy.

I was raised Anglican, but became an atheist at 15. I didn't understand anything about my religion, and nobody bothered to explain any of it to me, not to mention that I didn't feel like I belonged. I currently take an extremely dim view of all religions and their followers, for various reasons that I choose not to discuss here because it's likely to piss everyone off. :x

Hmmm...good question! I definitely believe in a God of some kind, who I tend to call "Him", though that's more a remnant of my Methodist upbringing than anything else. I don't attend church and I don't pray in the traditional sense of the word, but I do talk to Him on occasion and am known for relying on traditionally faith-based ideas like "everything happens for a reason". But I despise the church's emphasis on ceremony and ritual; I find it encourages mindless repetition rather than honest spiritual expression. Yes that is a generalization but it's been true in my experience across many different churches.

The main thing I take from religion is the "being a good person" parts - helping the poor, for example, or treating everyone with kindness, that sort of thing. I always try to do the right thing and embody love to the best of my ability. You don't have to be religious to believe in those things, of course, but I have a very hard time separating the two. But of course those things aren't specific to any one religion either, and I tend to pick bits and pieces of different systems in a similar fashion. I agree with mushmallow's analysis of the many faces of the one God and am perfectly alright with that kind of focus; I would love to wear the veil but worry it would be inappropriate/appropriation since I'm not Muslim; I have tried yoga and meditation as religious practices though I really didn't do too well with the yoga. I don't pretend to have all the answers (heck, or really any answers at all); I'm pretty much just trying to do the best I can without worrying about the rest of it.

Atheist. I don't believe in anything besides physical reality and scientific law. I think that all our thoughts and emotions arise because of chemical reactions in the brain. I believe that things happen because the laws of physics - even though these are not yet entirely known - dictate that they must happen (or, at least, that events occur according to the probabilities laid out by quantum mechanics). There is nothing out there watching over us, no conscious guiding force, and no objective morality. I believe that when we die, our bodies rot in the ground and our minds cease to exist.

I still think that life is amazing, beautiful, and wonderful - even though deep down I'm aware that emotions are likely to be the result of electrons moving around in different configurations in my brain, doesn't mean I can't enjoy them.

I suspect that religion is so common in our societies because a religious society has some kind of an evolutionary advantage over non-religious ones (such as people being more co-operative, or easier to control).

I'm agnostic. I believe there is a god. In my mind it is a genderless entity so far beyond mortal understanding that it's feelings and intentions are totally unfathomable to us. At the risk of seeming like I'm contradicting myself (after all god is unknowable) I'd guess that this entity is benevolent overall and doesn't care so much about belief. Heaven and hell probably don't exist. Instead there's just an upper plane where all souls mingle.

I've also contemplated the notion that every religion is right at once. Upon death the brain creates some sort of everlasting dream where you imagine whatever afterlife and god you subscribed to while living.

I guess they call me Protestant. I don't care about which church I go to cuz my thing is like "Do you believe in what the Bible says? Do you preach it?" Haven't really gotten into church until I went to college, since the youth groups and such were targeted at the more "extreme" teens that rarely touched their Bibles. I was a quiet gamer that liked to read and started writing. What was there for me? Too young for the typical stuff and too old for my "peers" (in terms of how I was treated).

Yep, so that's what I do in that department. Course, I also celebrate Passover and Hannukah. Yay, matzah!

I would consider myself to be an atheist. While I don't believe in any form of god though, I do believe in a spiritual side to life. I believe that there is more to living than what we can see, feel, or understand. Whether or not there is true purpose or not doesn't really matter to me, I think that we should all create our own purpose to our lives to make them as fulfilling as possible. I don't believe in a heaven or hell, I do have a kind of odd belief that the mind (spirit, if you like) sort of becomes one with the world around us when we die rather than dissappear completely.

I don't know if this falls into any particular religion, but these are just things that I have come to myself :)

I'm somewhere between Christian and pagan, with odd overlaps and divergements between the two, though I don't really actively practice either at this point in time - but I believe that what you hold deep in your heart is enough for either as long as you hold steady. :)

Do people think that their religious beliefs affect their writing? I'm an atheist (or more accurately, I suppose, an agnostic antitheist), and believe that rationality and scepticism are deeply important. It's hard for me to give religion to characters who are supposed to be likeable, I want to make them all rationalists too, even if it wouldn't fit their background (I manage to resist sometimes!)

Wiccan, non-practising. I put Wicca on the last UK census and Mum saw it and came to ask me what on Earth it was! Haha! She didn't mind or anything, she'd just never heard of it. She always claimed I was Christian 'cause I was Christened but we are in no way a religious family, at all.

I'm an Atheist in the way I do not believe that a being or beings could create the universe and I think even if that was achievable Humans would not be able to define a god or exact its will. I think established religion can do more harm then good, then again I think science can sometimes do the same.

I am open that there is a lot that science can't explain, no matter how hard it tries. For example, what is the soul? And could there have been a possibility that creatures like fae may have actually been around, but no scientific proof? Well, we get very little scientific remains of inorganic material on sites in archaeology, by it not being there doesn't mean its real. Also, they could have been energy based creatures, something we can't or haven't thought to identify.

Promise I'm not a loon 8D

I'm a Unitarian Universalist and an atheist/agnostic. Being a UU means that I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every human being; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Yeah, I just copy-pasted the seven principles. Even though I can never remember them. Basically, if what you believe and what you do makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone, you're OK in my book. There's something my minister once said about UUs: we're the worst at singing hymns, because we're always reading ahead to see if we agree with the next line. We also really, really like coffee, although I seem to be the exception to that rule.

I call myself atheist/agnostic because on the one hand, it seems to me that no one can say with absolute, positive certainty that there is or isn't a God. I just happen to not think there is one. To quote Douglas Adams: "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" I just don't see the need to believe in any God or Gods. I get along quite well without it.