How do you know what religion you are?

You go by what you believe in. Of course, everyone would preach about their own God and salvation, but in the end, it will be you who will need to decide. There are many reasons to do so . . .Some people convert from one religion over the other due to marriage. Others convert due to a bad taste left in their mouth (no pun intended) by the previous.

How I chose mine? I didn’t . . . I was baptized into the faith and grew with the congregation. and I am content where I am now.

Most people are what their parents told them they were and it stuck with them because that’s what they were brainwashed to believe in. Some switch because they like what the other religion has to offer. I know what religion I am not because I asked questions that couldn’t be answered.

Because it made the most sense to me.
It’s not what my parents pushed on me. It’s not what my school taught me. It’s not what my friends tricked me into thinking. It’s what I decided on.

I choose not to follow any religion because I haven’t found one that appeals to me ideologically/theologically, and I don’t feel any burning need to join a religious community. But I classify myself as a believer in the Judeo-Christian tradition. I believe in the things I believe for 2 reasons: I came up with things on my own through personal reflection, or I came across things in my studies that sounded right to me.

I decided no religion was for me because they’re all one and the same way of viewing the world – my way of viewing the world is different, there is no need for god (s).

i dont have one. but if you tell me what you believe ill gladly put a label on you if it helps. (if thats what you want to know)

I’m neutral when it comes to religion, so I won’t be wrong if I ever die… (shut up, I can hope to live forever if I want to..)

Personally, I followed my heart.

My heart tells me that humans are fallible, therefore it is unlikely that any of us really knows the true nature of the Universe; that it is all guesswork. I also know that there are enough dishonest and delusional people to take second-hand information with a large grain of salt, so if someone claims to have talked to anyone, I won’t automatically take their word for it.; maybe they made the whole thing up to sound impressive.

From there, I applied a bit of reason to deduce that following any religion would be a mere guess anyways and may lead to being duped. That led me to Agnosticism.

I am a recovering Baptist

Cof E. My mam told me. Simple really.

I still have certain religious beliefs that I was taught as a child, but only the ones that make sense to me as an adult. Beyond that, I have various spiritual beliefs that I have adopted as an adult. For the most part, my religious and spiritual beliefs are in comfortable harmony. (By the way, there’s nothing that irritates me more than someone trying to foist his religious beliefs on me, either in person or on a bumper sticker.)

My parents are Jewish so I am too. Luckily, Judaism has Reformed, Conservative and Orthodox, so you can be non-religious and still Jewish. Well, at least the Reformed Jews think so. Judaism is kind of an exception, it can be a religion and also an ethnicity sort of kind of depending on who you speak to and how they see it.

It is nice that some had a choice. :-)

If you are looking for a particular faith to belong to, then I would suggest trying out the faiths that have the most similar beliefs to yours. See how they fit. You will get a better idea after seeing what each one has to offer you spiritually. I was raised Christian, however it did not stop me from inquiring into other faiths. In the end, Christiananity made more sense to me, but I know it doesn’t to everyone. Its like picking out a spouse. You wouldn’t decide to marry someone without getting to know him.

@ChazMaz GA.

I choose not to follow any religion, my parents were Episcopalian (like “high church” Anglican) more for the sake of cultural respectability than anything else.I consider myself agnostic, leaning towards atheism. I won’t attack anyones religious beliefs as long as they are not bothering me with them. Religion brings many people a sense of comfort, there’s no harm in that as long as they don’t legislate their beliefs.

nobody chooses their religion. what they do is, they hear about a list of ideas and rules that are professed to belong to a particular church group or mosk.. they find these ideas match their own set of ideas well enough.. they get excited and then they join up. there’s no choice involved, you simply agree with and/or enjoy one religion or another or none.

oh, and of course, over time whichever religion you find yourself able to agree with and/or enjoy may or may not change on you.

I don’t say I’m any religion; I observe those principles and practices (from whatever source) that make sense to me.

accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, repented of my sins, and that would make me a Christian!

I’m an agnostic. But since I live in Ireland apparently I’m automatically Catholic. They certainly count me in the surveys.

@LeotCol By that logic, you are also an alcoholic ;)

I was raised Southern Baptist, but tried a wide variety of different faiths and religions after I got older: agnosticism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Unitarianism, etc. I am now a christian, but not the sort of christian most people are use to. I seem to have incorporated various aspects of different belief systems into my own peculiar version of Christianity. : )

I like to pretend I apply Taoist principles to some elements of my thought processes, and maybe I do, but I’ve certainly mastered few concepts.

I’m agnostic, and I know this because when I searched for my belief, I never found any.

Most people end up belonging to whatever religion they grew up in, or at least something similar. Personally though, I am an atheist because of years of intense research and logical analysis of different religious theories.

My Mom was Southern Baptist growing up. When she married, she visited many of the local churches, and studied their beliefs. She ended up with the American Baptists, which is how I grew up.
When I was in my early 20’s, I looked at many other beliefs, and found that my Mom was right.

Try the Belief-O-Matic

My scores from “Belief-o-Matic” test. I find this interesting, amusing and rather irrelevant. : D

1. Reform Judaism (100%)
2. Sikhism (100%)
3. Liberal Quakers (94%)
4. Baha’i Faith (94%)
5. Unitarian Universalism (94%)
6. Hinduism (93%)
7. Mahayana Buddhism (90%)
8. Neo-Pagan (88%)
9. Orthodox Judaism (88%)
10. Jainism (84%)
11. Islam (83%)
12. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (74%)
13. Theravada Buddhism (73%)
14. New Thought (72%)
15. Scientology (71%)
16. New Age (67%)
17. Orthodox Quaker (53%)
18. Eastern Orthodox (50%)
19. Roman Catholic (50%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (50%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (49%)
22. Taoism (44%)
23. Seventh Day Adventist (36%)
24. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (35%)
25. Secular Humanism (35%)
26. Jehovah’s Witness (24%)
27. Nontheist (21%)

I haven’t taken that beliefomatic test in a while. Here’s how I worked out:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (99%)
3. New Age (98%)
4. Secular Humanism (89%)
5. Liberal Quakers (86%)

I’m pretty happy with this.

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Secular Humanism (84%)
3. Theravada Buddhism (75%)
4. Liberal Quakers (71%)
5. Neo-Pagan (70%)
6. Nontheist (59%)
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (59%)
8. New Age (55%)
9. Mahayana Buddhism (53%)
10. Reform Judaism (51%)
11. Scientology (50%)
12. New Thought (47%)
13. Taoism (47%)
14. Sikhism (44%)
15. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (40%)
16. Hinduism (39%)
17. Orthodox Quaker (35%)
18. Baha’i Faith (28%)
19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (28%)
20. Jainism (27%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (21%)
22. Orthodox Judaism (20%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (18%)
24. Islam (18%)
25. Roman Catholic (18%)
26. Seventh Day Adventist (17%)
27. Jehovah’s Witness (7%)

Hmm…. Judeo-Christian faiths mostly place near/at the bottom of my list. Go figure :D

Concerning Belief-O-Matic…I looked at the comments and wondered why the total percentage didn’t equal 100%, until it occurred to me that the test results are probably obtained from comparing the participant’s answer with the applicable traits found in each religion. or belief system.

With all due respect to @CaptainHarley, I find that alone to be highly relevant since the Belief-O-Matic list (if not each specific answer) points to the commonalities among various religions.

It sort of begs the question of why, with so much in common, are we be so inclined to continually magnify the differences?

- I forgot to say so earlier…*welcome to Fluther, @dawn2k1!”

@SABOTEUR

Seems like you should ask that question of people of certain other unnamed faiths. I have no problem with whatever people want to believe… right up to the point where they threaten others.

@CaptainHarley : Yeah, you’re right.

BTW…my comment wasn’t critiquing your comment as much as it was an observation of how many of us choose to practice (or not practice, as the case may be) our religion.

Here are mine:
1. Secular Humanism (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (94%)
3. Liberal Quakers (77%)
4. Nontheist (69%)
5. Neo-Pagan (68%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (67%)
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (62%)
8. New Age (56%)
9. Taoism (48%)
10. Reform Judaism (46%)
11. Mahayana Buddhism (39%)
12. Scientology (38%)
13. Orthodox Quaker (37%)
14. New Thought (36%)
15. Baha’i Faith (29%)
16. Sikhism (29%)
17. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (27%)
18. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (20%)
19. Jainism (18%)
20. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (13%)
21. Eastern Orthodox (9%)
22. Islam (9%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (9%)
24. Roman Catholic (9%)
25. Seventh Day Adventist (8%)
26. Hinduism (5%)
27. Jehovah’s Witness (5%)

Hmmmm…very interesting…!

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (98%)
3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (93%)
4. Hinduism (81%)
5. New Age (79%)
6. New Thought (76%)
7. Neo-Pagan (75%)
8. Mahayana Buddhism (74%)
9. Orthodox Quaker (74%)
10. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (71%)
11. Scientology (71%)
12. Taoism (68%)
13. Theravada Buddhism (65%)
14. Reform Judaism (63%)
15. Secular Humanism (55%)
16. Seventh Day Adventist (53%)
17. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (52%)
18. Baha’i Faith (49%)
19. Sikhism (45%)
20. Eastern Orthodox (44%)
21. Roman Catholic (44%)
22. Jainism (40%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (36%)
24. Nontheist (31%)
25. Islam (27%)
26. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (14%)
27. Jehovah’s Witness (8%)

I thought I made it a good point I didn’t give a flying fuck about nature.

1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%)
2. Theravada Buddhism (98%)
3. Neo-Pagan (91%)
4. Hinduism (88%)
5. Unitarian Universalism (83%)
6. Sikhism (81%)
7. New Thought (79%)
8. Liberal Quakers (76%)
9. Orthodox Judaism (74%)
10. Nontheist (73%)
11. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (71%)
12. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (71%)
13. Islam (70%)
14. Jainism (70%)
15. Scientology (70%)
16. New Age (68%)
17. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (67%)
18. Secular Humanism (66%)
19. Eastern Orthodox (65%)
20. Reform Judaism (65%)
21. Roman Catholic (65%)
22. Taoism (64%)
23. Baha’i Faith (60%)
24. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (60%)
25. Jehovah’s Witness (46%)
26. Orthodox Quaker (46%)
27. Seventh Day Adventist (44%)

@dee1313 You were crafting a response when I went to bed eleven hours ago!

I think it’s telling that there are a lot of UU people here and a lot of low scores for mainstream Judeo-Christianity. I don’t know exactly what it tells me, but it seems to be saying something about the average intellectual person.

@jerv: My thoughts exactly. Add mind reader to your list of accomplishments.

@jerv So, do you think the “intellectual” person moves away from religion, or that people who are not religious tend to be more intellectual? Do you think the very religious stunt themselves in some way?

@JLeslie like that approach…looking forward to the answer!

@JLeslie I think that intellectual people are more likely to adhere to the scientific method; they won’t place total faith in things that cannot be empircially proven. While some may retain some degree of faith and consider holy scripture to be an eyewitness account, it is more likely that they won’t take it as literal truth unless it is repeatable and consistent.

Many religions require you to adhere to someone else’s interpretation as opposed to thinking for yourself whereas most of the intellectual people I know prefer to llok at the raw facts and form their own opinions. As a result, we tend to stray from traditional faith, whether that leads us to a newer faith (or an evolved interpretation of an older one) or Agnosticism/Atheism.

And let us not forget the big blow-up between Galileo and the Church over his heretical Heliocentric theory. I think that the main reason intellectuals leave religion or form their own is that “traditional” religions tend to be egotistical and refuses to be proven wrong; something that many of us find totally irrational. The fact that certain religions have a bad history doesn’t help matters either.

I know I personally can’t follow any religion that refuses to admit that translating a text umpteen times can lead to misinterpretations, nor can I base my behavior on a book that is self-contradictory or even ambiguous. Therefore, I cannot follow any faith that sets rules instead of mere guidelines.

And yes, I feel it is entirely possible that religion can stunt people since they may reject reality in favor of the words of someone who has been dead for centuries. If we all believed that our ancestors were 100% correct then we would be reliving headaches by drilling holes in people’s skulls to allow the evil spirits to escape instead of developing Tylenol.

@dee1313 You still alive?

As I have been at great pains to point out both on Fluther and in other venues, there is no essential conflict between spirituality and science. It’s unfortunate in the extreme that many fundamentalist protestants seem to have a built-in bias against science. It is my opinion that this is due in large part to the insistence on the part of some religious teachers that the book of Genesis is to be taken literally. What they seem to forget is that the Bible was written, compiled and repeatedly revised by men, most notably the Roman Emperor Constantine.

And my gripe, like yours @CaptainHarley is the trouble secularists of all sorts have with religion. It seems so clear to me that there is no conflict between religion and science, and that religion is necessarily a product of science. But trying to get anyone to agree with me on that is like pulling teeth!

@CaptainHarley True, religion and science are not automatically mutually exclusive, it’s just that enough of the people who practice certain religions are anti-science that it’s easy for misconceptions to start. (+1GA to you)

@ninjacolin I would not say that religion is a product of science, unless you count faith in F = G * ( (m1 * m2) / r^2 ) as “religious”. Then again, that is only the major faiths that most people think of when they think of religion anyways. It’s possible that the decline of religion has less to do with losing faith in the basic tenets than it is losing faith in the clergy as people become better informed
And since people now (2010) have the internet, we are better informed than people 50 years ago who only had TV and newspapers, who in turn are more informed than those who only had telegraphs, who in turn are more informed than pre-literacy peasants, it stands to reason that faith in general will either decline or change, and that intellectuals who are ahead of their time will be at the forefront of that wave.

Does somebody want to poke @dee1313 with a stick?

@jerv

True. : ) And thank you. : ))

@jerv I know. most people wouldn’t say religion is a product of science until they really really start to recognize that change in religious behavior is the direct result of people becoming better (or sometimes just differently) informed.

There’s a measurable correlation.

@CaptainHarley I think many people agree with you. As you point out the problem is with the uber religious who insist every little word in the bible is exactly as it should be and perfectly accurate to history and God’s word. Almost all Catholics I know understand that the bible is not word for word perfectly translated, and it is more the spirit of the message, than a worry for literal translation. The Catholic church also seems willing to accept and seek science. Miracles are put through rigors of medical doctors and scientist evaluating claims of miracles, and Popes have voiced acceptance of evolution. My father was telling me that the Dalai Lama had stated once that if something is proven through science then it would be accepted as a truth, that he sees no need to argue such a thing even if his beliefs were different on a particular topic previously Certainly Jews, especially Reformed Jews value science, even if they believe in God.

@ninjacolin That makes more sense, and I think I see where you’re heading with that now.

I know because I chose it for myself. I wasn’t converted, I was completed.

So far I’m the only one with a zero.

Also @JLeslie is the only one who dropped below 50% higher up on the list than I did.

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Secular Humanism (99%)
3. Theravada Buddhism (90%)
4. Liberal Quakers (86%)
5. Taoism (80%)
6. Nontheist (79%)
7. Neo-Pagan (73%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%)
9. Mahayana Buddhism (58%)
10. Sikhism (56%)
11. Reform Judaism (49%)
12. Jainism (47%)
13. New Age (46%)
14. Orthodox Quaker (46%)
15. Hinduism (38%)
16. Baha’i Faith (34%)
17. Scientology (29%)
18. Seventh Day Adventist (27%)
19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (26%)
20. New Thought (26%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (20%)
22. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (19%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (15%)
24. Islam (15%)
25. Orthodox Judaism (15%)
26. Roman Catholic (15%)
27. Jehovah’s Witness (0%)

But I am not a subscriber to any system.

Home > Entertainment > Quizzes > Belief-O-Matic

My results:

1. Orthodox Quaker (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (97%)
3. Eastern Orthodox (91%)
4. Roman Catholic (91%)
5. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (88%)
6. Liberal Quakers (75%)
7. Seventh Day Adventist (71%)
8. Reform Judaism (62%)
9. Unitarian Universalism (62%)
10. Orthodox Judaism (59%)
11. Islam (55%)
12. Sikhism (54%)
13. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (51%)
14. Baha’i Faith (50%)
15. Neo-Pagan (41%)
16. Secular Humanism (37%)
17. New Age (33%)
18. Hinduism (33%)
19. Taoism (32%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (28%)
21. Mahayana Buddhism (28%)
22. Scientology (28%)
23. Theravada Buddhism (27%)
24. New Thought (26%)
25. Jehovah’s Witness (24%)
26. Nontheist (21%)
27. Jainism (18%)

I am a Baptist, which I think falls into the Liberal Christian Protestant, but it could be the conservative side. That said, this test will not cause me to change my affiliation.

@filmfann; you and I are almost identical!
Why are there no Orthodox Quaker congregations?

The Quaker’s are still around in the US.

@JLeslie, yes, but they are far from Orthodox.

First become aware of your spiritual self, needs and ways, and that will help guide you, then read about religions, their history and texts, and it will become clear where you fit in – it will not happen overnight. It is like letting something happen rather than making it happen.

My results:

1. Orthodox Quaker (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (88%)
3. Seventh Day Adventist (85%)
4. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (85%)
5. Eastern Orthodox (81%)
6. Roman Catholic (81%)
7. Liberal Quakers (73%)
8. Unitarian Universalism (67%)
9. Reform Judaism (59%)
10. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (55%)
11. Orthodox Judaism (54%)
12. Sikhism (53%)
13. Baha’i Faith (50%)
14. Neo-Pagan (49%)
15. Hinduism (48%)
16. Islam (47%)
17. Mahayana Buddhism (47%)
18. Theravada Buddhism (46%)
19. New Age (44%)
20. Jehovah’s Witness (41%)
21. New Thought (34%)
22. Secular Humanism (33%)
23. Jainism (33%)
24. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (31%)
25. Scientology (31%)
26. Taoism (28%)
27. Nontheist (17%)

My childhood through young adult religious experience was Pentecostal / Conservative / Evangelical. I’ve found comfort in a wide variety of churches—Episcopal, Brethren, MCC, Catholic, Methodist, and Nazarene.

As far as religion is concerned, I lean towards inter-faith, ecumenical beliefs and practices. Not one church “fits” me. Solitude, meditation, reading Scripture, prayer, community, and service are parts of the religion I practice—they are methods of experiencing the relationship I have with (who I believe to be) Jesus.

The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.

Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

How did the Belief-O-Matic do? Discuss your results on our message boards.

1. Jainism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (89%)
3. Liberal Quakers (88%)
4. Hinduism (86%)
5. Mahayana Buddhism (86%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (86%)
7. Unitarian Universalism (83%)
8. Orthodox Quaker (79%)
9. Secular Humanism (79%)
10. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (74%)
11. New Age (70%)
12. Sikhism (68%)
13. Taoism (66%)
14. Seventh Day Adventist (65%)
15. Baha’i Faith (57%)
16. Reform Judaism (56%)
17. Nontheist (51%)
18. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (50%)
19. Orthodox Judaism (50%)
20. Islam (45%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (41%)
22. Jehovah’s Witness (36%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (36%)
24. Roman Catholic (36%)
25. New Thought (29%)
26. Scientology (28%)
27. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (22%)

I don’t know how acurate this test is… I squish bugs but I’m nice to cats…and I belive in being nice to peolpe and being helpful…but not commited or stressed out by them…. I don’t even know what I belive in other than that I don’t know what I belive in….Does considering oneself a god count as faith… I play Dungeons and Dragons