Your interaction with religion (present day)

[Medusa]

Ok. So what can we talk about in religion that isn't all Anti God butthurt. Seriously? That's so 1996! 


Ok seriously. A majority of us probably came from some form of theistic upbringing. Being indoctrinated by family obligations and or sometimes as our own willing participant. For whatever reasons, we left that path and came to this one. But as of now is where my question lies. What interactions do you have with religion in any way that is NOT adversarial but conversational. I want to know if you are doing any on going listening to religious programs and why. Maybe participating in open forum interfaith dialog/groups/forums. And on going studied in particular religions for knowledge based reasons. Some see it as learning about your enemy. Some just find religions interesting like myths. Some do so for practical purposes etc. I guess I'm just curious where you guys stand in your now understanding of religion as opposed to the sour taste we got in our mouths from our early childhood years.

I'll start first!

I listen to The Frank Pastori show on terrestrial radio. In fact, other than NPR its the only thing I listen to on radio. Everything else is podcasts! Anywho...I do so for a few reasons. They do alot of legal stories on there about fighting for religion..of course it's specifically their Christian religion. But my religion gets saved under the umbrella of religion so the lawsuits etc really are important to me. I also like to know what the majority of the religious world is thinking on every day practical matters. It's a call in show and I like that aspect too. Some people have some pretty smart things to say. Some scare the living daylights out of me and I don't even know how they can pick up the phone with ape knuckles dragging so low to the floor.

On-Line. I belong to a Pagan forum for about 6 years. It's extremely open minded. Our moderators are Pagan, Mormon and Muslim (That's my fiance) And I am friends with a few IRL actually. I still don't get the Pagan belief system because it's so all over the place. But they tend to be very open minded to all sorts of religions and non. I also belong to an interfaith one of all kinds of religion. A kinder place to be. But a few Christian coocoos to keep it interesting. I'm a member of a Islamic forum that's based on outsiders coming in to ask questions and challenge Islamic rules etc. And 2 Satanism forums. It took a while to find those because I am not Anti Butthurt Christian God. I am Pro Satanism. There's a difference. I can't concern myself with being hurt over what God did to me. There is no god so it's pointless etc. One is more laid back while the other is pretty strict. I had belonged to an Agnostic and one other Atheist forum. Just mean people and I couldn't bite my tongue. I had to call them on their shit. And I was on a Christian forum or two. But I seriously had a case of coocooitis going on there.

I also am currently in on-line Islamic courses. After I passed my food and dietary laws course I am now taking a Islamic etiquette course. I'm also working through a tough How to interpret the Qur'an course there as well. Of course for me, it's a practical course needed if I am going to be immersing myself in this religion and culture in another country.

Hmm that's about all I can think of for now.

So what say you?

[Tom62]

Basically I lost all interest in religion. Nowadays I limit my interaction with religion to visiting places of worship as a tourist. Even that gets less and less, because most of these buildings start to look pretty much the same. Whenever possible, I try to avoid religious ceremonies, because either I find them extremely boring, annoying or just plain silly. On-line you'll only find me here.

[The Magic Pudding]

I often have a radio on, there is a program called The Spirit of Things, I don't always appreciate it but I hear it anyway.
One episode is described as:

Egyptian-born Muslim feminist and New York-based reporter, Mona Eltahawy is an advocate of the Egyptian revolution and believes it will deliver freedom and democracy. Professor Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of the Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, is a proponent of a new Islam that is modern but conservative. They have different views but both are the new Muslim voices calling for change.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/spiritofthings/index/current.htm?month=&year=2011

[Gawen]

An opposing point of view here?

I am not connected to any superstitious cult in any way. I strive to stay away from them in every way. I am a member of several atheist, secular and free thought discussion boards but active in few (but I do read them) and subscribe to more than a dozen atheistic, secular and free thought blogs and websites, which gives me all the information about the religions (past and current, political or non, Biblical criticism and history, theological, eschatological, tautological, etc) I'll ever need to know. And I flatly refuse to join anything religious online because it will bolster their numbers of active users and/or support their advertisers.

[Medusa]

An opposing point of view here?

I am not connected to any superstitious cult in any way. I strive to stay away from them in every way. I am a member of several atheist, secular and free thought discussion boards but active in few (but I do read them) and subscribe to more than a dozen atheistic, secular and free thought blogs and websites, which gives me all the information about the religions (past and current, political or non, Biblical criticism and history, theological, eschatological, tautological, etc) I'll ever need to know. And I flatly refuse to join anything religious online because it will bolster their numbers of active users and/or support their advertisers.

Well yes, that's definitely opposite of my view on things. But then again I have a big fascination with myths of all kinds. I find them giddy with fantastical stories. I have a Medusa tattoo on my left shoulder to represent my sheer love of all things mythical. Oddly the Agnostic and other Atheist forum I have visited also gets religious adverts. And alot of sex ones too.

[Whitney]

On occasion we have christian/atheist discussion events here.  I haven't been to one yet but have considered going only for the sake of more positive nonbeliever PR.  I don't find discussing religion that interesting anymore and think almost all ritualized meetings are boring...so you won't find me on a religious forum or at a religious meeting unless I have some other reason for being there (such as increasing the public image of freethinkers or something like that).

[roy1967]

I only pay attention to the religious stuff that affects our lives. Most generally that means religion in politics.  Local, state, and national.  99% of the time (seems to me!) it is something that must be opposed. Like Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's effort to defund planned parenthood in our state, or his current effort to remove all prison counselling except "faith based" counselling.  What a turd.....

Anyway, othere than that, I don't care what religious people do to or by themselves.

[Stevil]

I was pretty allergic to religion.
There mere sight of a bible made me cringe.
My wife has a couple of friends who are devoutly religious and they invited us to a cutural event being held at their church. When we arrived in the parking lot I looked at people going into the church and immeadiately felt uncomfortable. They looked like zombies, eyes open but nobody home. Of course it was only my perception that was a fault and highlighting to me a deep ceeded fear of this stuff. When we got close to the church I could hear some preaching going on. My wife and I looked at each other, then we turned around and went home.

So now I have been a member of HAF for a while now. It was an odd feeling to join and to talk about religion. But now I am much more comfortable with it. It is a fact of life, some people are religious and it is not just something I can continue to ignore.

I've joined a Catholic forum and have been having mostly civil discussions there. I haven't been anti religion and haven't been getting argumentative. Have learned heaps about the people and their struggles and some of their reasonings to the stances they have that I oppose. I feel that I have been representing the Atheist position well and have been helping to break some of the anti Atheist perceptions some of those people have.

At some point I will move on to Protestant or Hindi or Muslim forum to learn a little more about those people and their culture.

I really feel that the Atheists label is not promoted well, Most people don't know what it means and even most Atheists don't even know that they are Atheists. The majority of the people that are organised enough to promote it are anti-theists and hence it is incorrectly assumed that the Atheist is anti-theist with a belief that there are no gods. The more we can do to break down this perception the better and I feel it benefits us to break our own perceptions of other groups be it cultural or religous

[xSilverPhinx]

Even though I consider myself as always having been an atheist (I never actually believed in any gods, not even as a child, as anything beyond some explanation for unknowns)  I was apathetic in regards to religion before coming across a good example of mob/herd mentality and how groups (generic groups, not exclusively religious) of people can become rather dumb.  I already live in an area where not thinking but conformity and group culture is encouraged, so I don't know if that heightened a predisposition.  This mob example had nothing to do with religion, though they did adopt religious themes (both the angelic and demonic - funny)

After that sparked my interest in mob mentality and how (supposibly...though not sure) intelligent people can suddenly become so blind, that ultimately led to religion and how religion works in people's minds.

[Shy]

This is the only forum I am part of.

I have been to church about twice a year. I have teenagers (one has a baby) and they were both going to church for awhile. I had to drive my son to the youth group once a week until the woman found out he was gay. She wouldn't give up trying to save his soul, so he left. My daughter still goes to church, so I go there on occasion for special events.

[Sweetdeath]

You know, I hate what religion does to people so much, so I just avoid it like the plague. Luckily none of my friends are very religious.  In general, it's a hot topic button, so I don't even go there. 

[Medusa]

You know, I hate what religion does to people so much, so I just avoid it like the plague. Luckily none of my friends are very religious.  In general, it's a hot topic button, so I don't even go there. 

I know your true distaste for religion. I somehow wonder if learning a bit more about it might not make it such a hot topic button. Usually that's because we end up feeling like no one really can hear or understand our side.

[Gawen]

You know, I hate what religion does to people so much, so I just avoid it like the plague. Luckily none of my friends are very religious.  In general, it's a hot topic button, so I don't even go there. 

I know your true distaste for religion. I somehow wonder if learning a bit more about it might not make it such a hot topic button. Usually that's because we end up feeling like no one really can hear or understand our side.

I'm a lot like Sweetdeath. The last two times I was at a church was a wedding for a coworker and a funeral for a coworkers wife (the two instances were years removed and not related...*chucklin*). I've been to a church 3 times in the last 10 years. I simply cannot stand it. And like Stevil, I wanted to get up and go home but I choked down the better part of courage and supported my coworkers. Hitchens is right, religion is a poison. And the hypocrisy that abounds turns my stomach.

Yeah, I've been to two Christian discussion boards; Rapture Ready (to which I got banned on my third or forth post) and another I can't remember years ago that I gave up on. I figured, why not talk about it without having to sit on a pew and go through the rituals? But...alas, it can't be done at least by me anyway, on their discussion boards. And it seems one just cannot intelligently talk to these people.

Take this board, for example. Achronos comes to mind...and another whom I can't remember...about 6-8 months ago. These two knew our position. But regardless of what one said, you just cannot wrench them out of their cherished belief system for various and obvious reasons. It goes for any religion, when their standards of acceptable evidence is so totally corrupted by communal reinforcement, confirmation bias, lack of critical thinking skills and numerous logical fallacies, one outside the religion really has their work cut out for them in learning their religion. I don't like to hang out with people in venues that uphold such lofty, so lofty that they are out of site, values...or as some would say, virtues.

And that is why I stay put in atheistic type DB's. I'd rather they come to us then for me to go to them. It's a lot easier on my mind and blood pressure...*grinnin*

[Sweetdeath]

You know, I hate what religion does to people so much, so I just avoid it like the plague. Luckily none of my friends are very religious.  In general, it's a hot topic button, so I don't even go there. 

I know your true distaste for religion. I somehow wonder if learning a bit more about it might not make it such a hot topic button. Usually that's because we end up feeling like no one really can hear or understand our side.

I understand it enough, which is why I am atheist.

When you say "no one can hear and understand our side" --  what do you mean exactly?

[fester30]

My whole family, as well as my coworkers and friends are christian. I just try to make sound arguments aimed at increasing tolerance and decreasing ignorance