Spirituality poll

[hornblower]

looking at the poll, if you lump agnostic & atheist together we'd be ~20% then. I think that's interesting.

[JonesinIndiana]

I was raised (and saved) in a rule-following-legalistic fundy Baptist church until I met my husband in an evangelical Presbyterian church.

 

27+ years later, I identify as a nondenominational, Calvinist/reformation leaning (occasionally raising my hands during worship!) conservative voting Christian. :D

[Matryoshka]

I don't know. . .  I don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. I didn't grow up in any faith(after being baptized into the Catholic church as an infant) Christmas was always about trees and presents and food, family. You could keep it. ;)

 

Well, I don't really celebrate it as a religious holiday either, although I do put up a creche, as it is ostensibly Jesus' birthday (although I know it really isn't...).  But I do love the carols and the tree and food and family... I guess if I actually converted to a whole different non-Christian religion, I'd feel odd about celebrating even that part.  The Bahai's do have their own holidays and traditions...

 

[AlmiraGulch]

If pressed, I identify as agnostic atheist; meaning, I cannot state with 100% certainty if there is/are any god/gods, but I do not believe that there is/are.

 

I was born and raised Catholic.  I'd still go to Mass if it weren't for the whole god thing.  I really enjoy the Mass.  

[Rosie_0801]

Well, I don't really celebrate it as a religious holiday either, although I do put up a creche, as it is ostensibly Jesus' birthday (although I know it really isn't...).  But I do love the carols and the tree and food and family... I guess if I actually converted to a whole different non-Christian religion, I'd feel odd about celebrating even that part.  The Bahai's do have their own holidays and traditions...

 

 

Non-Persian Bahais probably do their own as well as adopted holidays and traditions too.  Assuming there are non-Persian Bahais. I don't actually know. A Bahai bookshop is opening in our city in a couple of months so maybe I'll find out! Coz, like, going to religious book shops when I don't subscribe to the religion is one of my favourite things. Have to pick up an order from the Muslim shop today actually. Am sad Pagan bookshops are so boring.

[Catwoman]

Well, I don't really celebrate it as a religious holiday either, although I do put up a creche, as it is ostensibly Jesus' birthday (although I know it really isn't...). But I do love the carols and the tree and food and family... I guess if I actually converted to a whole different non-Christian religion, I'd feel odd about celebrating even that part. The Bahai's do have their own holidays and traditions...

 

I think you can do whatever you want to do, and if it works for your family, it's all good. :)

[*Lulu*]

TexasMama-

 

What are you doing on the inter webs?

 

You are supposed to be on a date.

 

Go be a paragon of flirtation and fun with your DH-

 

We will save you a spot on the couch and a lampshade to wear if you get tipsy!

 

 

ETA- totally meant in a lighthearted, auntie Lu has taken her medication, way....:)

[Matryoshka]

I think you can do whatever you want to do, and if it works for your family, it's all good. :)

 

Yeah, that's true.  For my own self, though, somehow I'd feel disingenuous if I committed to another faith and didn't embrace the whole thing.  I also don't know if I'd be able to really embrace all the holidays and traditions that would go with a new faith; I have a hard enough time fitting in the ones I already have! ;)

 

Luckily, the church I go to doesn't care what I believe or don't believe...   so I don't feel any pressure to run to something else.  :)

 

[texasmama]

TexasMama-

 

What are you doing on the inter webs?

 

You are supposed to be on a date.

 

Go be a paragon of flirtation and fun with your DH-

 

We will save you a spot on the couch and a lampshade to wear if you get tipsy!

 

 

ETA- totally meant in a lighthearted, auntie Lu has taken her medication, way....:)

Ooh, what meds? Can I have some?

 

Then we can be proper paragons of moderate medication mishaps and alliteration alacrity together.

 

(Best.sentence.ever. It will probably break the Internet.)

[*Lulu*]

Ooh, what meds? Can I have some?

 

Then we can be proper paragons of moderate medication mishaps and alliteration alacrity together.

 

(Best.sentence.ever. It will probably break the Internet.)

It is right up there with: I am the very model of a modern Major General, I've information vegetable, animal and mineral, I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical, From Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I picked Agnostic, although i'm between that and atheist.  But in the end I don't know for 100% sure that there is absolutely nothing sentient out there that had something to do with our creation (trying to encompass every possible option/idea of supreme being) but I don't think there is. Really though I don't think I would have led my life much differently had I believed in a creator who actually cared what I did with my life.  I might have taken less chances, stuck around in a bad situation longer then I did (due to divorce being anathema to the religion I was raised in).  

 

ETA: clarification

I was raised Pentecostal.   

[unsinkable]

Here's a similar (archived) poll from 2008... and a "Branches of Christianity" poll

 

How would you describe your faith/religion/worldview?

• Agnostic (19 votes [6.19%])

   

• Atheist (22 votes [7.17%])

   

• Buddhist (4 votes [1.30%])

   

• Christian (220 votes [71.66%])

   

• Deist (7 votes [2.28%])

   

• Hindu (0 votes [0.00%])

   

• Jewish (4 votes [1.30%])

   

• Muslim (3 votes [0.98%])

   

• Pagan (12 votes [3.91%])

Other (16 votes [5.21%])

 

 

 

If Christian, What Branch?

• Catholic (33 votes [17.28%])

   

• Lutheran (11 votes [5.76%])

   

• Reformed/Presbyterian/Episcapalian/Anglican (46 votes [24.08%])

   

• Baptist/Brethren/IFCA (41 votes [21.47%])

   

• Anabaptist (2 votes [1.05%])

   

• Methodist (13 votes [6.81%])

   

• Charismatic/Pentacostal/Holiness (28 votes [14.66%])

   

• Messianic (3 votes [1.57%])

   

• Latter Day Saints (9 votes [4.71%])

   

• Jehovah Witness (5 votes [2.62%])

[with the correction that #1 was Catholic *and* Eastern Orthodox and #8 included 7th Day Adventists]

Wow...so very similar results,

[albeto.]

Exactly for which "sub-community" am I lobbying?

Presumably the community whose threads are getting barged into for the purpose of pointing out how idiotic it is to believe in God. I don't where this is happening. That's why I asked you for specifics.

 

As I recall, I specifically mentioned offenses made by both religious and non-religious posters, yet you seem to be hyper-focused on only one side.

 

It's interesting that you only asked for specific examples about the non-religious offenders.

 

My point was that there is both good and poor behavior on this forum, and that I don't think religion or the lack of religion has any bearing on it.

 

I share your opinion about good and poor behavior on this forum, but I you're mistaken about my posts in this thread. In the posts prior to the one in which I asked for examples of this barging to point out how idiotic it is to believe in God, my comments referred to people in general, my understanding of evolving online etiquette, the problem with deciding whose basic manners and courtesy counts, more ideas about etiquette, and my first post, which was a sloppy rendition of Joanne's idea. I think that shows I've not shown interest merely in examples about the non-religious offenders, but in the idea that people try to be mean or rude (regardless of religious beliefs, or lack thereof). Eventually, I was trying to follow up one time with a comment you made. This is hardly "hyper-focused" behavior. 

 

You are intentionally misrepresenting both my posts and my intentions.

If I am misrepresenting your posts and your intentions, It's not on purpose, and I'm happy to be corrected. How can you know my intention is to misrepresent your posts and your intentions when I am not aware of this intention myself? As I type, I'm feeling quite intent on a different purpose altogether. 

 

If history is any indication, I expect you to make some "joke" about my replying to you, but I do so because you've misrepresented my posts (the "hyper-focus" idea doesn't conform with the reality of my posts, for example), and my intent in such a way in such a way as to create a negative character of me and others. I find that unnecessarily divisive on the forum, and likely against the rules. I'm trying to politely ask you to stop doing that to me and simply reply to the words I type, not what you think must be the reason I type them. You're not accurate when you do that, and it makes a mess of conversations.

 

 

[naturemom]

I'm a Crustaceanist but that wasn't a choice, so I voted atheist.

Praise Jibbers! :tongue_smilie:

 

(Back to lurking.)

[IsabelC]

I selected atheist as the best choice although I don't really identify with that term (I am not against theism or even actively non-theistic, it's more that theism has no relevance to me). I'm basically humanist with a dose of neo-paganism thrown in. I occasionally attend Christian churches because I have a love of Christian music (and likewise Christian literary tradition). Scientific Pantheism is the closest "official ism" to my personal outlook.

[EndOfOrdinary]

I was raised Catholic. It is in me, though I attend a much more non-denominational spiritual only slightly Jesus oriented church (we are social justice God types in a rural area. It is a catch all). When stressed, I turn to my patron saint and the saints in general. I celebrate Catholic holidays with my son. Dh is not down with it. He has some childhood religious trauma. Christian leanings are in him too, but he doesn't like to admit it. He is most definitely not Catholic, though.

[EndOfOrdinary]

Non-Persian Bahais probably do their own as well as adopted holidays and traditions too. Assuming there are non-Persian Bahais. I don't actually know. A Bahai bookshop is opening in our city in a couple of months so maybe I'll find out! Coz, like, going to religious book shops when I don't subscribe to the religion is one of my favourite things. Have to pick up an order from the Muslim shop today actually. Am sad Pagan bookshops are so boring.

There are non-Persian Baha'i. I do not exactly know how to pluralize that word :). We have a Baha'i Community out here in the sticks. I know almost nothing about them, but the chants/songs that they sing at the Interfaith holidays the whole community does are absolutely beautiful. They are in a language I do not know, but they are haunting and stay with you.

[TianXiaXueXiao]

What does it mean to identify as pagan in this community? When I think of pagan, I think of people who worship gods and goddesses of local-folk origin. I imagine blood sacrifices being made to these gods and other rituals, but all the people I know IRL who claim to be pagan, have no such traditions. I have had friends from Laos and Cambodia who still practice religious customs of their culture (Miao/Hmong) that do include blood sacrifice and other "pagan" rituals. What exactly does your worship consist of if you call yourself pagan and are of Western Eureo-American culture? Are you observing Hellenic and Roman paganism? Are you lumping Druidic and Celtic folk religion into this practice? How do you live your religious world view on a day-to-day basis? Are you using the term "pagan" in the sense that it is a catch-all definition for religious world-views that fall outside of the Judeo-Christian framework? I am asking out of sincere curiosity because the people I know who call themselves pagan seem to be more new-age deists without any superstructure of specific gods and goddesses with a cohesive creation narration that they follow. They tend to invoke a generic "goddess" and the ritualistic nature of their practice mostly involves the practice of herbalism, using the We'Moon calendar, and coordinating some sort of gathering to observe solstices and equinoxes that usually involves a circle of people around a fire. Is this what constitutes paganism in this age? Thanks!

[mamaraby]

Are you using the term "pagan" in the sense that it is a catch-all definition for religious world-views that fall outside of the Judeo-Christian framework? I am asking out of sincere curiosity because the people I know who call themselves pagan seem to be more new-age deists without any superstructure of specific gods and goddesses with a cohesive creation narration that they follow. They tend to invoke a generic "goddess" and the ritualistic nature of their practice mostly involves the practice of herbalism, using the We'Moon calendar, and coordinating some sort of gathering to observe solstices and equinoxes that usually involves a circle of people around a fire. Is this what constitutes paganism in this age? Thanks!

No to the first question and it depends to the second. There are atheist pagans, pantheist pagans, panenthiest pagans, and polytheist pagans. There are hard polytheists and soft polytheists. There are reconstructionists who worship a particular pantheon. There are also Wiccans. I likely have forgotten a few, but all of these generally fall under the umbrella of paganism.

 

In short, I suspect you'll get a number of different answers or possibly as many answers as there are pagans on the board.

[Heidi]

You're making vague accusations against unknown persons, identified by being a part of a community, and I think that's rude and mean to members of that community. If it occurs overtly, why not address it then and there? If it occurs covertly why not ask for clarification? Perhaps the intent isn't what you assume.

 

Anyway, this is far and above beyond the point of this thread. I'd suggested a new thread so as not to give the appearance of hijacking this one, but yet here we are. Funny how that happens when no one actually intends to hijack the thread. In any case, I won't tell you to "just let it go," but if you want to continue this, I would join you in another thread. In any case, I'd prefer to see an end to these blanket accusations as I think they're more divisive than uniting, and that, I think shows the lack of basic manners and courtesy you're lobbying for towards your own sub-community. Probably this is in the terms of use as well.

It's not you.

 

I agree with catwoman that there are a few on here whose sole purpose seems to make fun of Christian beliefs, but you are not one of them IMO. You've always respectfully disagreed with beliefs. You are not a bully.

[Rosie_0801]

What does it mean to identify as pagan in this community? When I think of pagan, I think of people who worship gods and goddesses of local-folk origin. I imagine blood sacrifices being made to these gods and other rituals, but all the people I know IRL who claim to be pagan, have no such traditions. I have had friends from Laos and Cambodia who still practice religious customs of their culture (Miao/Hmong) that do include blood sacrifice and other "pagan" rituals. What exactly does your worship consist of if you call yourself pagan and are of Western Eureo-American culture? Are you observing Hellenic and Roman paganism? Are you lumping Druidic and Celtic folk religion into this practice? How do you live your religious world view on a day-to-day basis? Are you using the term "pagan" in the sense that it is a catch-all definition for religious world-views that fall outside of the Judeo-Christian framework? I am asking out of sincere curiosity because the people I know who call themselves pagan seem to be more new-age deists without any superstructure of specific gods and goddesses with a cohesive creation narration that they follow. They tend to invoke a generic "goddess" and the ritualistic nature of their practice mostly involves the practice of herbalism, using the We'Moon calendar, and coordinating some sort of gathering to observe solstices and equinoxes that usually involves a circle of people around a fire. Is this what constitutes paganism in this age? Thanks!

 

Go ahead and resurrect this thread if you like :) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/455100-ask-a-pagan-thread/

 

It's a bit outside the scope of this thread here. :)

[DawnM]

I didn't read this correctly the first time.....I thought I missed a section of the poll!

 

Interesting.

 

 

Here's a similar (archived) poll from 2008... and a "Branches of Christianity" poll

 

How would you describe your faith/religion/worldview?

1. Agnostic (19 votes [6.19%])

    

2. Atheist (22 votes [7.17%])

    

3. Buddhist (4 votes [1.30%])

    

4. Christian (220 votes [71.66%])

    

5. Deist (7 votes [2.28%])

    

6. Hindu (0 votes [0.00%])

    

7. Jewish (4 votes [1.30%])

    

8. Muslim (3 votes [0.98%])

    

9. Pagan (12 votes [3.91%])

    

Other (16 votes [5.21%])

 

 

 

If Christian, What Branch?

1. Catholic (33 votes [17.28%])

    

2. Lutheran (11 votes [5.76%])

    

3. Reformed/Presbyterian/Episcapalian/Anglican (46 votes [24.08%])

    

4. Baptist/Brethren/IFCA (41 votes [21.47%])

    

5. Anabaptist (2 votes [1.05%])

    

6. Methodist (13 votes [6.81%])

    

7. Charismatic/Pentacostal/Holiness (28 votes [14.66%])

    

8. Messianic (3 votes [1.57%])

    

9. Latter Day Saints (9 votes [4.71%])

    

10. Jehovah Witness (5 votes [2.62%])

     

[with the correction that #1 was Catholic *and* Eastern Orthodox  and #8 included 7th Day Adventists]

 

[KarenNC]

Yeah, that's true.  For my own self, though, somehow I'd feel disingenuous if I committed to another faith and didn't embrace the whole thing.

 

 

That's a large part of what kept me from converting to Reform Judaism 15 years ago. We got through almost a year of study with the rabbi, then we hit December and I started crying every time I saw a Christmas tree, which told me I needed to take a step back and look at things a little more thoroughly.

[KarenNC]

What does it mean to identify as pagan in this community? When I think of pagan, I think of people who worship gods and goddesses of local-folk origin. I imagine blood sacrifices being made to these gods and other rituals, but all the people I know IRL who claim to be pagan, have no such traditions. I have had friends from Laos and Cambodia who still practice religious customs of their culture (Miao/Hmong) that do include blood sacrifice and other "pagan" rituals. What exactly does your worship consist of if you call yourself pagan and are of Western Eureo-American culture? Are you observing Hellenic and Roman paganism? Are you lumping Druidic and Celtic folk religion into this practice? How do you live your religious world view on a day-to-day basis? Are you using the term "pagan" in the sense that it is a catch-all definition for religious world-views that fall outside of the Judeo-Christian framework? I am asking out of sincere curiosity because the people I know who call themselves pagan seem to be more new-age deists without any superstructure of specific gods and goddesses with a cohesive creation narration that they follow. They tend to invoke a generic "goddess" and the ritualistic nature of their practice mostly involves the practice of herbalism, using the We'Moon calendar, and coordinating some sort of gathering to observe solstices and equinoxes that usually involves a circle of people around a fire. Is this what constitutes paganism in this age? Thanks!

 

Definitely look at the thread Rosie mentioned, but I'll try a quick answer for my family:

Not New Age, not deist, not Wiccan or Goddess-worship, no ceremonial magic (with or without a "k" ;) ), no herbalism, no crystals, etc so we don't tend to gather with others in the local Pagan community as we have a fairly radically different worldview and practices. For instance, we aren't going to our UU congregation's Winter Solstice program this weekend. Last year's statement that "we know that when we honor the gods we are really honoring those parts within ourselves" turned us off (the service is led by some folks who are definitely in the New Age Goddess-worship camp). 

 

Hard polytheist (specific gods who are individual entities of some variety, not interchangeable, not aspects of some single entity), and we honor the Hellenic gods as they have come to us through Western culture, along with some syncretization with British (not Celtic), Shinto, and Buddhist---basically those deities which we feel have "spoken" to us in some way (not literally), who have particularly resonated with us.

 

No blood rituals, just as Judaism no longer has blood rituals---mostly prayers and libations of wine or oil (or Diet Pepsi if the need arises and that's what we have handy :) ). We use the stories that have come down through the millenia as a guide but there is also room for personal gnosis based on experience, so we fall more into the revivalist camp than the strict reconstructionist, particularly since there was never a strict canon of orthodoxy in Hellenic worship (at least as far as we can tell from the information that has survived). We don't have a "cohesive creation narration" because there wasn't a specific one in ancient Greek religion, just as there wasn't only one way to interact with any particular god. If there is a singular entity who was Creator of everything, it is as relevant to me and my daily life as the Horsehead Nebula is to an ant in my front yard, so I don't worry much about it.

 

We have several small shrines set up in the house (Zeus Teleios and Hera Teleia in the bedroom, Hestia in the kitchen, Kwan Yin in the library, in the living room we have ones to the Olympians, Athena, our ancestors, and to American deities (Columbia, Liberty), and we have an altar stone outside, which is where we usually pour libations if we have the opportunity. Primary activities for us center around Zeus Teleios/Hera Teleia as patrons of marriage, Athena, Hermes (when traveling), Hestia as goddess of the hearth and home, but day-to-day it's more about an awareness of the world around us than a strict set of rituals. For holidays, we observe the American cultural holidays, the solstices, acknowledge the changes of season, and various other celebrations at times (this is an area in which we are somewhat hit and miss). We're more likely to study Walter Burkett's scholarly work "Greek Religion" than dance around a fire (though we have done both).

[Desert Strawberry]

Well, I don't really celebrate it as a religious holiday either, although I do put up a creche, as it is ostensibly Jesus' birthday (although I know it really isn't...).  But I do love the carols and the tree and food and family... I guess if I actually converted to a whole different non-Christian religion, I'd feel odd about celebrating even that part.  The Bahai's do have their own holidays and traditions...

 

When I converted, I struggled a bit with this. I was raised Deist, D was mildly Catholic. I felt we maybe should not continue to celebrate "Christian" holidays-Christmas and Easter specifically. 

 

On closer inspection, nothing we were doing, short of Mass, was in any way tied to Christianity. Trees, gifts, Santa, ham, mashed potatoes, candy canes. Even in Japan, they do those things, just as a fun cultural exercise. Well, not the ham and mashed potatoes, because, you know, rice. 

 

We decided that the Pagan-based celebrations of the seasons that happen to coincide with certain events on the church calendar and have been appropriated over a very long time are still separate and culturally, belong to us as much as any church. 

 

We do occasionally attend mass. I view it similarly to theater. For my children, Cajun French Catholic services are still a big part of their culture. We don't have to believe, but we should be knowledgeable. Besides, mass is beautiful. 

 

We sing ALL of the Christmas carols, no matter how religious or not. I was a classically trained vocalist. I spent hours and years of my life immersed in those songs, telling those stories, bringing them to life. The beauty of Oh Holy Night is a deeply imbedded part of me. Not because of the words, but because of the music, the history, my personal history. I will always love it. I won't NOT share that with my children. 

 

ETA: We really don't have any Buddhist holidays to substitute. "Buddhist" holidays are tied to local culture, usually having nothing to do with Buddhism at all. In the communities in Japan where we lived, there were versions of "Friendship Day" uniting the US and Japanese cultures, and all of Japan celebrates the Shinto Golden Week, which is a time to reuinte with ones family, living and dead. We no longer have use for Friendship celebrations, and Golden Week never applied to us, as we had no ancestral home. The local celebrations are of New Year (on Easter Weekend), but we don't belong to those conmmunities and haven't been yet. 

[Firefly]

What does it mean to identify as pagan in this community? When I think of pagan, I think of people who worship gods and goddesses of local-folk origin. I imagine blood sacrifices being made to these gods and other rituals, but all the people I know IRL who claim to be pagan, have no such traditions. I have had friends from Laos and Cambodia who still practice religious customs of their culture (Miao/Hmong) that do include blood sacrifice and other "pagan" rituals. What exactly does your worship consist of if you call yourself pagan and are of Western Eureo-American culture? Are you observing Hellenic and Roman paganism? Are you lumping Druidic and Celtic folk religion into this practice? How do you live your religious world view on a day-to-day basis? Are you using the term "pagan" in the sense that it is a catch-all definition for religious world-views that fall outside of the Judeo-Christian framework? I am asking out of sincere curiosity because the people I know who call themselves pagan seem to be more new-age deists without any superstructure of specific gods and goddesses with a cohesive creation narration that they follow. They tend to invoke a generic "goddess" and the ritualistic nature of their practice mostly involves the practice of herbalism, using the We'Moon calendar, and coordinating some sort of gathering to observe solstices and equinoxes that usually involves a circle of people around a fire. Is this what constitutes paganism in this age? Thanks!

 

No specific ritual or worship here.  I'm not a fan of organized religion of any kind, and that includes Wicca.  As I said, I'm agnostic, but I do feel like there is some sort of life force/energy we're all connected to; not any specific god or goddess.   Our spiritual practice is basically living in sync with the earth, celebrating the change of seasons --my ancestry is Scottish/Irish, so ancient Celtic customs speak to me... but no, definitely no blood sacrifices :eek: .   (Unless you want to count the times I've poked or sliced myself while working on a seasonal craft project.)  We celebrate the equinoxes and solstices as well as the cross quarters (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasad, and Samhain).  We usually celebrate privately with small family traditions, but sometimes get together with friends to do the big bonfire thing too.  Also, I am an herbalist, so I guess I fit that part of the stereotype.  

 

There are lots of threads that would answer your questions more in depth. Rosie's thread is an excellent place to start. If you also do a search for "pagan," "Yule," "Samhain," etc you'll find there's a lot of information.  HTH

[friscomom]

My family is Hindu. We are lucky in that we have several temples where we live and a big Hindu community as well.

[TianXiaXueXiao]

Thanks to those of you who responded to my off topic question. I noted a few different side discussions going on, so I thought it wouldn't hurt. Your answers were very helpful.

 

As for the topic at hand, I was raised new age and was baptized Christian (Orthodox) last year :)

[8circles]

What an interesting poll. It seems like quite a big chunk of Christians would be missing - I wouldn't fit into any of those categories.

Here's a similar (archived) poll from 2008... and a "Branches of Christianity"

If Christian, What Branch?

• Catholic (33 votes [17.28%])

   

• Lutheran (11 votes [5.76%])

   

• Reformed/Presbyterian/Episcapalian/Anglican (46 votes [24.08%])

   

• Baptist/Brethren/IFCA (41 votes [21.47%])

   

• Anabaptist (2 votes [1.05%])

   

• Methodist (13 votes [6.81%])

   

• Charismatic/Pentacostal/Holiness (28 votes [14.66%])

   

• Messianic (3 votes [1.57%])

   

• Latter Day Saints (9 votes [4.71%])

   

• Jehovah Witness (5 votes [2.62%])

[with the correction that #1 was Catholic *and* Eastern Orthodox and #8 included 7th Day Adventists]

[Mrs. Tharp]

I put "Other". I was raised Catholic but fell away from the church in childhood. These days, I practice Stoicism but attend a Lutheran church with my family.

[Tsuga]

I don't define myself* but if someone needs to know where I can be classified, I'll take atheist because even though I don't know (so technically am agnostic) I'm not seeking, so I more fall into the ranks of atheists for statistical purposes. If "agnostic not seeking" were a category, I'd be in that. Like I don't take on faith that I'm right but I still feel I have enough information to govern my behavior.

 

I went from spiritual not religious / transcendentalist (my upbringing) to Christian as a teen/young adult and finally came back to atheism. I don't like "spiritual" because that can be taken to imply supernatural, and that's not what I believe.

 

The trees are more than enough for me.

 

*I will identify myself as atheist to let people know more or less where I stand because I don't want to create a whole discussion around terminology.

[Scrub Jay]

Yeah, the trees work for me too. And birds.

 

Ooooo, we need to hang out.  I lurve me some trees and birds.

 

[Tsuga]

I like how Sadie's avatar is a round saw blade though. Like it's coming to get this tree of mine...