Your religious views and positions on matters such as God and the meaning of life?
 

Before I speak, I just wanna clear up, I do not intend for this to turn into a flame thread and I only want people to respectfully communicate their views on the matter and if replying to someone else, please don't attack them, just politely state why you agree or disagree with them and move on.

Anyhow, what are your views on these matters? Do you think God and religion are important or unimportant in society today? Are God and religion compatible with science? Should Church be seperate from state? Comment your thoughts down below, I hope there are some interesting discussions :)

Religion and politics are no no on the 'Drome.

I find that to be a bit of a shame, and I think that if people would treat others with respect in these discussions, these topics would've not been banned.

But we don't. The 'Drome is a cesspool of assholes, these threads are just gasoline on the fire.

We should have learned by now with The Volanic Asteroid.

Nope, not doing this. Politics is bad enough, but religion always resorts to name calling and insulting around here

Around here?
Try everywhere.

People are jerks about religion everywhere.
Fanboys will ultimately ruin that which they love, regardless of what it is they love.

With the same hatred and sh*t flinging as the Internet? I like to believe people are a little more held back irl

Are you seriously turning this into another fanboy thing? C'mon. We get it, you hate manchildren.

I've met Internet-level of hate in real-life when it comes to religious discussion.

I'm a fanboy.
Fanboy has nothing to do with gender.

And yeah, people are just as unhinged and hate filled wrt religion in meatspace as they are online.

I'm around religious people a lot so maybe that's why I wouldn't hear it, but wow. That sucks.

Man, I must live in the nicest community

I don't care about religion. It has never been part of my life. I'm not even baptised since my parents are both Agnostic/Atheist.

I don't believe in any Gods and don't think life has really any meaning. Death? I view it is an eternal sleep with no dreaming, which seems kinda boring.

I wish a place like Valhalla was real, however. Would actually make me look forward to death.

She must be really unlucky to run into religious douche bags in Norway of all places.

Toe the line and you'll be fine.
Cross it, and you may need to duck and cover.

I don't recall the last time someone asked me anything religion related. No one cares, I guess.

It's funny how here Brazilian immigrants brought some crazy protestant sects such as Evangelicla and 7 Day Adventist churches. It seems the people who join them are all Brazilian or Africans. Sometimes, as in once a year or so, I'll see Mormons trying to talk to people... and no one gives them any time :lol:

It's both sides of the spectrum really. I've seen more assholes that are anti-religion online than religious ones. It's like what Cure said, tolerance is key. You just gotta realize people are gonna think what they want.

The douchy online Atheists I see are mostly american. Same for the religious ones. Americans just tend to be loud and vocal about themselves, it seems. The Americas as a whole seem to be more religious than Europe. I mean, you'll find many religious people in Europe, but not on a level as big as you see in places like Brazil and the USA. Here people are usually just religious out of tradition and don't feel like proving it to others.

America is a huge pot of asshole. Gotta love it. :lol:

Well, at least you're self-aware :)

I have no interest in religion whatsoever

Good. Imagine if you were as passionate about religion as you are about the TMNT and Pokémon. Scary sight...

Religious zealots are the worst thing in the world, even worse than political zealots.

Religion fanaticism is the worst kind out there since it's hard to prove if there exist gods or not. After all these years we can't still prove that.

I haven't stated my own personal beliefs so here I go...

I grew up in a moderately religious household, was the goody good God loving boy who everyone knew and lived like that until about 16, when I began doubting my faith and eventually became atheist, subscribing to a materialist outlook on life.

However, it has been recent that I have decided that atheism is not for me, and I no longer see the reasoning of the position to be sound after my research and insight into religious teachings and their connection to the human condition. I respect all religions, but I usually do not limit myself to one religion. In real life, I go to church, attend Islamic festive and prayer events with family/friends and often sit around with Buddhists and have heartwarming discussions.

Well, since that topic is frowned upon... when I walk in these doors I'm just the average Turtleist like the rest of you. :trazz::twink:




In real life...
Same boat.


Was always kind of a 'nature kid,' and that whole feeling connected to nature, universe, what have you... so I suppose you could loosely label that as some vague form of 'spirituality,' for lack of a better term, but that's as far as it goes. Unseen world making/controlling entities, no. Though I'm not entirely closed off to the concept of the paranormal (and see that as being able to exist as an entirely separate thing), however I can't help my strong natural skepticism and can't say I actually believe in such things, even while there are still a few experiences with no logical answer that I continue to wonder about after nearly 20 years.

And for the record, I oughta be fair and say that atheism also has blood on its hands. Look at communism and the Spanish Civil War, per example.

I don't think any philosophical school of thought, be it religious or non, has a history without blood on someone's hands. That's just now how people function in an Us vs Them situation.

I don't think real life Jediism followers have killed anyone yet. :trazz:

I don't think I've heard of there being any fatalities from the Flying Spaghetti Monster camp either, but...time will tell.

Well, I doubt anyone on Earth actually takes the whole FSM thing seriously.

Though technically it's individuals, not religion/atheism that did it, and in some cases just using the perspective/belief/philosophy to find a twisted justification.

Generalizing ignores (edit: :lol: ANNOYS) me. As does ignoring history. Christianity isn't innocent, though some like to seem to forget. But was it all Christians, no, just some. Atheism isn't communism, even if some within communism were atheists. Most Muslims are not out to get us, the decent ones far outnumber the nuts. Who else can I add...


Sooner or later there is going to be a pasta recall for something that would make people sick and FSM adherents are going to be pointed at. lol They're going to be expected to publicly condemn the contamination, else be suspected of being a part of it or in support of it.

Communists do tend to be agnostic/atheist but I doubt most agnostics/atheists are communist. Certainly not nowadays where atheism is getting more and more common with younger gens. My parents are both agnostic/atheists and they are not communists nor am I. I know several right wing atheists.

In before disintegration.

https://media.giphy.com/media/V5lM6OffQXOgg/giphy.gif
HAVE YOU NOT BE BLESSED BY HIS NOODLY APPENDAGE?!11112DAAAJFALASOWQE

I was legitimately surprised to learn that prayer was removed from American schools not because of some sort of Atheist Secular agenda, but because no one could agree on which Christian prayer should be used.

QFT.
Ramen.

You guys pray in school? And it's mandatory?

It's "a moment of silence" now from what I heard. I'm a Catholic school kid. Thankful for it too, because the standards for teaching are a lot higher. No, we don't have nuns :lol:

Really? Any reason why the standards for teaching are higher at a Catholic school than at an ordinary one?

Public vs. private education.. here it depends. many private schools just want cash and will inflate your grades just to look good in rankings. Private universities here are a joke. Just diploma factories, really.

On the books: not anymore.
Off the books: it still happens. It's not supposed to, but it does.

There are invocations at graduation ceremonies, before sporting events, and even before such mundane things like City Council meetings.

I can't speak to Snake's experience, but where I'm from you can make more money at religious/private schools, because they can pay more.
Mostly because they charge admission to go. Those schools also don't require state licences to teach, where as at public schools here not only do you need a Masters Degree in the subject you're going to instruct, but you need to be certified by the state as well.

I think there are moral guidelines that private school teachers have to adhere to as well, which differ by the institution.
For instance, they can claim a religious grounds as a reason to fire someone for being gay, or pregnant during the school year, or cohabitating.
It all depends.

Yes. Our school did have mandatory but brief Christian prayer in assemblies and before lunch began everyone except for Non-Christians religious believers were obliged to recite a Christian prayer. Alot of Muslim boys had also voluntarily set up one of the rooms for their friday prayers during lunch time.

In general, where I live (New Zealand) public schools still have a level of religious influence in them (in the form of prayers and being given Bibles, outside of the written curriculum of course) that decreases over time until the point of the last years of high school where its practically non existent, despite the high rate of atheism here.

The Catholic schools cost $$$ so the teachers have to actually put effort in. I've heard horror stories about the sh*t that goes down in public schools.

Some schools offer a class/subject called "Moral and religious education". it is optional and it's offered at both private and public schools from 5th to 9th grade. Dunno if it's still around. I've never signed up for it obviously. Heard it was basically a subject about catholic religion, but seems so pointless considering the kids form more religious families already attended catechism/sunday school.