What is your religious affiliation?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

Poll question: What is your religious affiliation?

In several threads I have noticed that some posters seem to think that most of the DU members are or should be atheists.

I tend to believe that we are a wide and diverse group here, so this poll is just to satisfy my curiosity rather than a desire to get into your business.

So are you a...

[blondeatlast]

1. If you are really interested, you may want to edit your opening line.

It reads as provocative, even if theat isn't how you meant it to be.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. I've read several posts lately that indicated that the posters felt

that anyone with a belief in an organized religion was stupid or crazy and certainly not a "proper" democrat.

Since it was these posts that made me curious enough to post a poll, I won't delete the opening line, but I don't have a horse in this race. I am just curious about the religious composition of our membership.

[blondeatlast]

28. I empathize, but I've learned long ago to avoid the whole

mess in GD. Some pn both sides refuse to see the value in "Live and let live."

I am a proud Christian and I've found this book to be enormously helpful in dealing with many on both sides of the issue--and political spectrum:

Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical's Lament
by Randall Balmer

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?isbn=0465005195

He's truly Evangelical as I grew up understanding the word and the book is very readable.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

59. There is also a book called

"How to be a Christian Without Embarrassing God." Also a good read.
http://www.padfield.com/1998/light.html

[iamahaingttta]

73. While I don't know about "proper" democrats...

... or what DU members "should" or "should not" believe, I do tend to agree with the notion that anyone with a belief in an organized religion is probably a little stupid and probably a little crazy. Children's stories should be left for the kiddies, adults should get over the big-daddy-in-the-sky hoooey. Nobody knows how or why we are here, and anyone who's gonna try to tell me otherwise is probably a little stupid and probably a little crazy. The irony in all of it is that whatever the "truth" is, it's gonna be so much more incredible and interesting than what bronze-age goat herders were able to imagine. Yet, that's where we are stuck...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

98. Isn't DU great?

We can always find commonality. See, I have always felt non-believers just a tad dim! Lack of insight, intuition...very limiting. Inability to see the wisdom in children's stories.... sad, limiting comprehension of the world.

So we have something in common!

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my rosary and I'll be on my way.

[Dorian Gray]

100. Yes, as belief in God

(in any theological religion) is about being obtuse. We all just want to believe in fairy tales, and we have not evolved beyond our six year old selves. Naive and innocent. Oh, and dimwitted and stupid. :eyes:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

103. And see, the cool thing is I feel exactly

the same about you!

I guess I'm really in touch with my inner child!

Life is good.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

104. Yeah, it's rude

...that anyone with a belief in an organized religion was stupid or crazy and certainly not a "proper" democrat...

But it still beats the lake of fire thing by a mile.

[Rainscents]

2. I use to call myself Christian...

After GWB got in the office and spouting how God told him he can invade Iraq and kill, I turn away from being Christian. I believe in Jesus words and I follow it and that's what I call myself now.

[lpbk2713]

3. How about breaking 'Christian' down into Catholic or Protestant?

I, for one, would be interested just as a point of curiosity as long as this is an anonymous poll.

[RB TexLa]

5. There are some that would want one to be an entirely separate

category. A friend of mine was looking for a couple of books and asked for help the lady at the counter told him, "This is a CHRISTIAN book store, you need a Catholic book store for those."

[MADem]

32. Good gravy, then you get into the divisions within the divisions

There's Mel Gibson Catholics, Orthodox Catholics, and Roman Catholics. You've got yer Lutherans (ELCA and the other kind), yer Methodists, Baptists of all shades, Episcopalians, African Methodist Episcopalians, Jehovah's Witnesses, the mega-church Fallwell types, the snake handlers, and on and on and on and on. And, are the MORMONS allowed in, or are they a cult? Depends on who ya ask. And those Christian Scientists? What about them? Every group seems to think THEIR religion is the "real" Christian one, and the rest are a bunch of mistaken buffoons.

And Muslims? You can subdivide them to beat the band. Wahabbists, the ultra-Sunnis? Regular Sunnis? Shi'a? Way out there shi'a? Sufis? Druze, who aren't "real Muslims" but they skim chunks and mix it up with Greek philosophy, Xtianity and so forth?

Ooops, then there's the Jews. They aren't all of a piece, either. Orthodox? Reform? Ashkenazi? Sephardic? Persian? Kaifeng? Jews for Jesus? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

What about those SCIENTOLOGISTS? Pagans? Native peoples with their nature worship? Pastafarians? Peyote eaters? Rastas? And I've not even warmed up.

There's just not enough categories in a poll to break it all down. You'd need hundreds, at the least.

I like that wall between church and state, and I don't give two shits what Moxie and Spunk have to say about it!

[don954]

43. even among wiccans,

you have American Tradition, Triad of the Goddess, Quantum, Eclectic, MoonDragon, EarthGuard, Gardnerian, and so many others i cant count.. ;) Who is it that said the Devinne has a billion names?

[MADem]

54. You should see the military listing of faiths

It is a numerical datapoint entry in the personnel files. It runs for PAGES of very small print....

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. Too many votes at this point to change the poll,

but posters feel free to specify.

[JackRiddler]

79. So can it and start again with a poll that is less insulting n/t

x

[onehandle]

16. That would be another poll.

This one was meant to be broad, imo.

[JackRiddler]

78. What's this? You got something against the Orthodox?

Well, good point otherwise. In the US, Catholic and Protestant are still longstanding identifiable largely separate major demographics.

And nowadays the Eastern Orthodox churches (representing hundreds of millions of worshippers worldwide) probably cover around 3 percent of the US population, making them as "big" as Jews or Muslims. As a Greek I must declare eternal irk against this poorly considered poll. (I guess if they were as rabid in their political expression here in the USA as their cousins in the Balkan/Slavic homelands, they would get more traction in this country.)

And as for Protestant, you going to lump in the Pentecostals with the Episcopalians, the Mormons with the Lutherans, the Jehovah's with the Presbyterians? These are clearly huge divides.

And what about Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists, Shintoists, Animists, Unitarian Universalists, Wiccans, generalized deists, New Age, Wiccans, agnostics... Is all that supposed to be lumped in as "other"?

Further, many people not organized in one of the Official Mind Mafias will refuse to call themselves atheists, although in my experience about half of this country is not interested in organized "religions." So including an "atheist" category without "agnostic" bespeaks a certain mindset here.

And what about Mammonite Consumerism - the biggest church in America, worshipped at screen-shaped altars in nearly every office and home? To say nothing of its always fast-growing, fundamentalist sub-sect, Salvation Through Sales?

[patrice]

4. I love Jesus and I believe that he loved me.

But, I am no longer "Christian".

I belong to a church without walls.

[MorningGlow]

6. Proudly Pagan

Particularly pertinent: we don't proselytize. Everybody's cool as long as they don't bug anyone else. A good philosophy to have in these times, I think.

[saltpoint]

7. I'm a junkdrawer of affiliations and non-affiliations.

[tularetom]

8. I used to think I was a Christian - guess I was wrong

because those who make the most noise about being christians don't think anything like I do.

[wryter2000]

19. You weren't wrong

They're wrong. I'm not a believer, but if I were, I don't think I'd surrender my faith to those ^&)*_(_(.

[blondeatlast]

25. (Pardon the expression) AMEN. nt

[acmavm]

9. Firmly believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Have no use for what

can be called 'organized' religion. When it gets to the stage that it qualifies as being a religion, it also means it's more interested in gaining wealth and power than it is in the best 'interests' if its followers.

[onehandle]

14. Religious affiliation doesn't necessarily mean a particular organization.

If you believe in Christ, you're classified a Christian.

[onehandle]

10. 81% of Americans have a religious affiliation. 77% Christian.

The result of this poll will speak volumes about DU.

[jonnyblitz]

18. actually the result of a non-scientific poll where participation

is voluntary will tell you NOTHING you can count on as being an accurate reflection of DU. the result will be based on who happens to be around when the poll is posted and who decides to participate.

[onehandle]

22. This poll has been posted many times here over the years.

It never deviates far from the results I've seen so far.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

53. I'm sure it has and yet oddly I have never caught one, so I was

curious. But you say the results are pretty much the same. Interesting.

[mike_c]

23. currently running at 64 percent with a religious affiliation in this poll

...which isn't that far off of the national average, especially given the relatively small sample size. Much lower percentage expressing a preference for christainity, but that's likely an artifact of self selection in the polling itself-- people wanting to express their individuality are more likely to participate. Of course the numbers are changing even as I write this.

I suspect that DU is not too far from the general population in terms of religious affiliation demography. What likely DOES differ is the degree of religious tolerance expressed here. We don't often call for burning witches and the like.

Fair disclosure-- I'm a dyed-in-the-wool atheist.

[onehandle]

55. "DU is not too far from the general population"

Hillary Clinton is the leader in Democratic Presidential polls.

Not so much here.

77% vs. 34% Christian.

Yep. Mainstream city.

[MADem]

38. People lie. They lie with GUSTO, too.

When a pollster calls up, some bastard who hasn't been to church since Mama dragged him by the ear five decades back, and who doesn't contribute, care, or raise his spawn in any faith, will hark back to, and claim that long-abandoned denomination just so they don't 'sound like' a 'godless bum' to a complete and stranger!!! But they are about as "Christian" as my parrot.

Muslims lie, too--they dissimulate to stay alive...a Sunni surrounded by angry Shi'a is gonna pretend to be Shi'a, and vice versa. The Druze do the same thing. It's actually a process that is SANCTIONED by their faiths.

You find any roomful of people who are currently pissed off at GWB, and you'll be hard put to find anyone who admitted to voting for him. They'll LIE. It was the same way with Nixon--during Watergate, you could maybe find fifteen, twenty percent of the population, on a good day, who would even admit to voting for the guy. People would rather claim that they stayed home!

[CJCRANE]

95. You're dropping that

little tid-bit about muslims lying into the discussion again. I've just gone over to have a look at the Muslim Group forum on DU and noticed there are about half a dozen regular posters, three of whom I know are muslim from their posts. Just because they haven't shown up on this thread doesn't mean there are scary muslims lying and choosing another category!


on edit: corrected subject line.

[demigoddess]

12. pagan here , but if I weren't I would join the Church of Reality.

Love their attutude about religion. Paganism is based on earth centered philosophy, and that is a religion of reality for me. Love the earth, it is your mother.

[soothsayer]

33. I swear I thought you meant 'Church of the Subgenius'---had to

look the Church of Reality. Who knew? Educational---thanks!

[CJCRANE]

15. Other.

Depends on my mood.

But basically agnostic. I like all religions in terms of their stories, art and architecture. To live in a world of just one religion or one type of person however would be boring.

I like the idea of making up meta-religions like Zen Muslim or Taoist Christian.

[wryter2000]

17. Other -- agnostic

I also like none of your business.

[datadiva]

20. You need one more

Liberal Christian. That's me. :D

[Dervill Crow]

21. Pagan. eom

[dweller]

24. refused

...


dp

[tinfoilinfor2005]

26. Very interesting so far, and not exactly what I expected

but it might explain a lot, such as why so many threads turn into all out brouhahas. :)

[LostinVA]

27. Lots of Pagans on the board -- that should be a choice

[tinfoilinfor2005]

35. I know, and I never even considered it...

so would pagans be what the Romans were considered? I know nothing about paganism, even thougn I took several classes on religion in college. We must have covered it on a day after a kegger. :)

[LostinVA]

48. Many different forms of Paganism, although the Romans were one type

[theanarch]

29. just a stodgy, 18th C....

..."Age of Reason" deist...

[Bucky]

30. All of the above

Well, okay, Unitarian-Universalist, technically speaking.

[soothsayer]

31. nice lesbian Catholic

[rman]

36. I didn't know lesbianism has anything to do with religion.

How's lesbian Catholic different from Catholic?

[MADem]

42. Because the pope has a problem with the young lady, I would guess.

The same as he has a problem with gay men.

This harsh disapproval, from a guy who eschews sex and prances around in a dress and a goofy hat?

There's certainly grounds for making the distinction! Not all Catholics recognize the infallibility of Rome...

[rman]

65. ah, i see

I hadn't realized that.

[soothsayer]

88. They didn't throw me out for being gay (reason for annulment) so

I get to say I'm a nice lesbian Catholic (since the church knows, and presumably, so does God). Priest told the ex "eh, those people have enough problems as it is" or something along those lines. For some reason, I found that sweet.

[GoneOffShore]

34. Voted Atheist

I was raised Presbyterian, flirted with Catholicism (girlfriend thing), got involved with the Unitarians, and am now firmly in the atheist camp.

Religion, imho, has caused more and deadlier wars than anything else going.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. It is starting to look like national trends

except for christianity which shoudl be higher

[tinfoilinfor2005]

41. I was thinking more Jews and at least a few Muslims.

And definitely more Mind Your Own Business. :popcorn:

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Well I answered truthfully

and the mind your own business crossed my mind, because I would like to know the actual split

You are right though, it explains the brouhahas.

Oh and in this environment of muslim hate, I am actually not surprised that nobody has answered to that one... sad statement of our times, but I would not say I am a Jew in Germany in 1936 either... and at times I wonder about admitting it today.

[rman]

39. We can only wonder how many of the "other" are agnostic.

After all, both agnostics and atheists don't have a religious belief in god, even though agnostics don't know for sure whether or not god exists - doesn't mean they don't know whether or not they have a religious belief.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

50. Nah. Probably Scientologists.

STAY OFF MY THREAD, CRUISE!!!:rofl:

ok, sorry...

[patrice]

40. Too bad there aren't more Muslims on this board.

I'll try to recruit some if our paths ever cross, which is somewhat unlikely here in Cupcake Land.

[gorbal]

63. They-may-not-want-to-advertise

I-can't-even-send-my-grandfather-letters-using-his-full-name.

(spacebar-broke-sorry)

[patrice]

68. Of course, I didn't think about that.

Good that you aren't letting that broken space-bar stop you.

One of the reasons I come here is to interact with people who really are different from me.

Unfortunately some people really DO come here to engage in hostility and Muslims would be quite a target for that wouldn't they.

[pecwae]

44. SOM

Science of Mind.

[genie_weenie]

45. "I am a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew."

That which is hurtful to you, do not do to your neighbor.

God is truth and light therefore it is a tragedy he does not exist.

[CJCRANE]

49. I like that.

Reminded me of Krishnamurti for some reason.

[rman]

66. That's...

excellent.

Goes to show spirituality has nothing to do with religion, it's just a reality of the human condition.

[genie_weenie]

70. The quote belongs to Gandhi.

Spoken during his 21-day fast of 1924.

The second line is, of course, the Golden Rule, but I think the best parable of it is attributed to Rabbi Hillel, who taught the Golden Rule in a particularly emphatic way.

One day Hillel was asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching while standing on one leg. Hillel stood on one leg and replied: ‘That which is hurtful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah; the rest is commentary.'

[tinfoilinfor2005]

74. Do unto others.

Even shorter.

Funny how the messages are all pretty much the same, but no one wants to accept them if they are spoken within the framework of on opposing religion.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

97. Before they do unto you?

[CJCRANE]

47. What about Hindu?

That's a major religion. And Taoism is quite big in the world.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

52. I know, but that's what the other was for because I didn't expect

a large Hindu turnout in DU. Not many Muslims showing up either.

[MADem]

57. Taqqiya, you see, could well be at play

http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter6b/1.html

This guy argues for it from a Shi'a perspective, but in actual fact, it's a two, even three way street. Sunnis will do it too, and the Druze in Lebanon, Israel and elsewhere will as well.

[CJCRANE]

85. I'd like

to see a muslim comment on that. I've met lots of muslims and lived with muslims and never heard anyone mention that or any muslim try to hide their religion. In fact from my experiance the current islamophobia seems to make muslims more determined to show their religion.

The propagation of this idea reminds me of the same accusation being made against Jewish people in the early 20th century, that they tried to blend in and hide who they were. The accusation was was overplayed then and I believe it's overplayed now.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

51. Agnostic with Buddhist leanings.

Though I can't imagine any God worthy of the name giving a rip about what any of us believe.

[TahitiNut]

56. In any group of liberals, "Spiritual, not religious" and "Unitarian/Univ."

... should definitely be included as demographic choices.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

58. Other: I Have My Own Private Relationship With God.

It is very deep and spiritual, and I don't undermine it by classfying it into a wholesale organized concept. My religion is personal and my own, rather than dictated and itemized. I still have learned some amazing wisdom from the old and new testaments of the bible, however. I find Jesus's teachings to have been amazingly wise and Proverbs is full of solid wisdom.

[Cleita]

60. You don't want to know.

And right now I don't want to tell.

[peaches2003]

61. What I resent the most about BushCo....

is the smug arrogant attitude that they are the only truly religious people and that if you are not a Repug or fundy Christian you cannot be religious, have any morals or beliefs, and certainly cannot be a patriotic American. In the long run this is one of the most dangerous attitudes that Bush has allowed to be fostered and it has done more to spread hatred in this country than anything else he has done.

Who the hell do they think they are? Read the conservative websites and it will make you sick. I am a Democrat and a Protestant (Presbyterian) who is a churchgoer and very active in our church. But it is not my business what anyone else believes and you can be a good and moral person whether you believe or not. Funny thing is I live in GA, supposedly so conservative, and our church is 95% Democrats and anti-Bush.

Everyone is just afraid to confront these rw Christians and openly/publically call Bush on how he has hurt this country by mixing HIS religious beliefs with governing.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

62. 55% "Atheist" or "Other."

There's still some work to do.

Just short of cloture.

[Pastiche423]

64. Agnostic

[MissMarple]

67. Deist.

Dogma drives me around the bend. I like the Latin mass, though. I put it in roughly the same category as my grandmother's homemade bread with her homemade peach preserves, oh, and lots of real butter.

[patrice]

69. I want the heal off that loaf please!!

Hot out of the oven . . . .

And yes, I love the Mass too, though I don't go anymore.

[MissMarple]

86. That's the best part!

Well, you can have one of them, if she was still making bread, that is. It's been over 40 years.

Yup, I'm that old. The memories are great, though. :)

[Totally Committed]

71. Other.

UU

TC

[qnr]

72. Atheist n/t

[Charlie Brown]

75. I'm a Gardnerian Wiccan

but I'm willing to stand with anyone who supports religious freedom and separation of church/state.

[Mythsaje]

76. Ah, c'mon...

When filling out "official" documents--like at a hospital, pagans have ALWAYS been forced to list themselves as "Other."

It's too bad this poll requires them to do the same.

I'm a pantheist/humanist who happens to think ALL revealed religion is a bunk. But I have to say I find it interesting that such a poll here at DU would so carelessly ignore pagans. The vast majority of pagans are politically active liberals. Go figure.

[Chovexani]

80. For what it's worth

In my years around here, I've noticed that most DUers' first exposure to Paganism is here. You'd be surprised at the number of people, even in this day and age, that have no clue what it is or what it's about.

I don't even wear a pentacle, just a scimitar pendant (symbolic of my goddess), and I've had to give the Paganism 101 spiel tons of times at work.

--C.

[Mythsaje]

82. I've had to explain it a number of times myself...

I'm only "pagan by default" LOL...but I'm married to a witch and most of my friends are pagan or as close to it as I am.

In my world, Christians are a minority. LOL

[tinfoilinfor2005]

83. Never crossed my mind to list paganism.

I've never met or known a pagan in my life, or if I did I didn't know it. I'm honestly surprised at the large pagan showing.

[immoderate]

77. Jewish Atheist (I didn't vote.)

Yes it's possible to be both. I don't follow any dogma or believe in anything supernatural. But I can appreciate traditional Jewish ethical systems, which are not very different from what Jesus preached, the point being that goodness is its own reward, and not a ticket to the afterlife.

Funny thing is I value religions as cultural treasures and guides to how the mind works. So I want to preserve them, at the same time suspending belief in them.

In short, being Jewish is a tribal identity; atheism is an intellectual position. I have a lot of stuff about this in my journal if anybody is curious.

--IMM

[rainbow4321]

81. Unitarian Universalist n/t

[Critters2]

84. UCC

Christian, but lots of "Christians" tell me I'm not.

Critters
president of the local ministerial association--but most of the "real" Christians quit after my election

[MelliMel]

87. Orthodox Jew

Modern Orthodox, actually. Shomer mitzvot/shomer shabbos. We have some chasidic ties through family, but we ourselves are litvish.

[varkam]

89. I voted Christian.

Ha! Made you look!


sorry...couldn't resist :D

[trotsky]

90. LMAO

Yep, you made ME look! :)

[gorbal]

91. I'm-A-Lapsed-Unitarian

One-of-the-patients-at-the-pscychiatric-facility-I-work-at-made-me-accept-
jesus-as-my-personal-savior.I-just-couldn't-say-no-to-him.
(spacebar-broke-sorry)

[ismnotwasm]

92. Agnostic

Fence sitter I suppose. I find faith in a Deity impossible, but I don't rule out the possibility of some sort of "higher" consciousness.

One of the interesting questions for me is always the duality found in Western and some Eastern faiths.

Is there also an "evil" higher consciousness? And does either really influence human behavior? Is there more than the "One", is there a multitude of Gods and demons?
Are they opposite sides of the same coin? The story of Job in the bible always seems to demonstrate they are, for instance.

Or do we have free will?

Psychology and biology seems to make us a slave to environmental, physical and genetic influences. Social Anthropology to social conditioning, and regional influences. All the sciences have partial answers to the human condition and are actively searching for more. Is it possible to overcome these influences though spiritual enlightenment? There have been such cases, I believe, even though they don't "prove" the existence of God.

The sense of the spiritual-- or faith-- even though it's conceptual (like love, it can be demonstrated, but not proved) Spreads itself throughout all human study. It seems to be an intrinsic part of who and what we are, however it came about.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

93. Here's a guy with some interesting ideas...

Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist, has written very persuasively on this topic. He again brings us into the philosophical implications. Ross says that, by definition,

Time is that dimension in which cause and effect phenomena take place. . . . If time's beginning is concurrent with the beginning of the universe, as the space-time theorem says, then the cause of the universe must be some entity operating in a time dimension completely independent of and pre-existent to the time dimension of the cosmos. This conclusion is powerfully important to our understanding of who God is and who or what God isn't. It tells us that the creator is transcendent, operating beyond the dimensional limits of the universe. It tells us that God is not the universe itself, nor is God contained within the universe
------------------------------------

Stephen Hawkings has gone back and forth on his opinion as to whether God exists. I believe his most recent writings indicate that he leans toward the "doesn't" side. But in his earlier writings, he opined that the type of order that exists in the universe and the series of near impossibilities that created planet earth and led to life appeared to be a purposeful creation by a higher intelligence.

I bet he has the most interesting arguments with himself. :)

[Igel]

94. Christian.

But most Xians here wouldn't be comfortable calling me that.

[hunter]

96. Mostly Catholic.

For about two decades now.

Haven't discovered what it takes to get kicked out of church yet. Arguing with Priests and Bishops about gay marriage, or birth control, or the ordination of women didn't get me kicked out. What next? Harry Potter?

It's okay, in a few hundred years maybe they'll come around to my point of view.

[Coyote_Bandit]

99. You would probably call me

Christian based on my beliefs. It is not a label I claim.

[Random_Australian]

101. Atheist. Given you are in R/T, you will find many an atheist here.

I say more than in some of the other forums.

[Goldensilence]

102. Buddhist comes closest

pretty much agnostic but most buddhisim leans to that... i like a good diet of zen...sprinkle in some incense and mediation and...yeah....

Though i do wonder what Pagans think of Gaia theory...which i find...fascinating really.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

105. This week I'm an agnostic.

Next week I'm a "nontraditional theist."

:P :P

[zonmoy]

106. maltheist

with my family pushing me into right wing baptist. thus the maltheism.