Any atheists/pagans/wiccans out there? :)

Elizabeth_C34

Also curious, was anyone raised to be Christian/Satanist/Wiccan/Pastatfarian whatever and is no longer? How did your family react?

For me, I was raised to basically believe whatever I wanted. As I got older I understood from my mother to mean "anything except" insert list. lol if I told her I was WIccan she'd call a priest. Which is interesting, because she claims to hate Christians

Does it count if they *tried* to raise us Christian? Haha. I was always adamant about not believing in god and it drove my mom nuts. I used to argue with her about it all the time, thankfully some maturity now prevents me from doing this as it goes absolutely nowhere. But I'm pretty sure she did tell me I was going to hell because I don't believe... even though I live a more accepting lifestyle and treat others extremely well that I've found not to be the case with the religious people I've met.

That very much depends on the person. I know some wonderful very giving Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists and some real turdmonkey atheists. It's important not to over generalize when it comes to people.

I didn't state ALL religious people, I was clear to state the people I have met.

I know what you wrote. I am simply saying that the implication of what you wrote is a generalization and to be wary of it is all.

No harm or attack intended.

n003k

Is being a fence sitter really all that bad honestly?

I've always taken it to refer to someone that prefers to get as much information about a subject as possible before committing, which, I think is an admirable thing. Eh, either way.

brittanyjeanxo

Also curious, was anyone raised to be Christian/Satanist/Wiccan/Pastatfarian whatever and is no longer? How did your family react?

For me, I was raised to basically believe whatever I wanted. As I got older I understood from my mother to mean "anything except" insert list. lol if I told her I was WIccan she'd call a priest. Which is interesting, because she claims to hate Christians

My grandma is a christian goes to church everyday literally. Yet she's the most evil person I ever known.

"Going to church does not make you a Christian more than standing in a garage makes you a car." That comes to mind. Hahaha. I know a woman (to be specific, my fiance's grandmother) who is very old-world Polish Catholic, goes to church every sunday...and still blames the Jews for everything wrong with this world :huh:

Contrarian

st valentines day

Stop stealing the holidays, you.

lkm111

Agnostic, although I lean more towards a combination of Christianity and Wiccan combined (sounds weird, I know). I also believe in science, and the evolution theory as well.

Sounds so similar (except I'm not Agnostic) to me! I was raised Christian and still go to church, but my husband is Pagan. I find similarities, so it doesn't sound weird to me.

catcrazy

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Hoakiebs

Unabashed atheist here!

Collinsky

Well, not Wiccan at all, but I was a Pagan/Heathen (pantheist/polytheist)... now I lean more toward nontheism/pantheism, but I still enjoy the Heathen framework.

I was raised Christian, and was a devout, true believing Christian until about 5 years ago. Fortunately pretty much all my immediate family moved away from the fundamentalist beliefs of my childhood during the last 5-8 years as well, so I've gotten nothing but interest and acceptance from them.

LifeChanged1209

I believe in science and history. I don't believe that anything can happen once, never to be repeated again (eg. the resurrection). I believe that when we die, we are done. I believe the idea of Heaven is something people cling to for comfort when they lose someone they love, or when they fear the end of their own life is near.

Call me what you want. I am human.

MariaAlbinaxoxo

Atheist AND 100% Italian. Don't see many of those. hahaha. But I enjoy learning about other religions. Parents are Atheist as well and raised us to believe in whatever we wanted.

kaikoi47

Folks seem a little confused about definitions of things.

Atheists aren't violently ANTI-god, we are just NON-theistic in our beliefs. For atheists, it doesn't matter whether there is a god or not, and we don't believe in praying, or worshipping, or conversations with imaginary friends, etc. etc. We just tend to believe that it's good to be good to our fellow man, not out of fear of bad things in the after-life or promises of awesome things in the after-life, but just because it's good to be good to other people.

Agnostics aren't sure yet WHICH religion, if any, to follow, but tend to believe in a higher power people often refer to as god.

Atheist here as well! And thanks for explaining to the people who are unfamiliar!! It seems every time I say I'm an atheist someone will ask me how I can believe in the devil and not god. Huh??... I didn't say I was a Satan worshiper!!! Apparently a lot of people think atheists believe in the devil!! LOL

Atheists do eat children. Just sayin.

Obviously we do. Also...anyone who actually looks into The Church of Satan (although there are other Satanist groups) will really just find it's about acceptance of self (good and bad) and a way to live. NOT really about worshipping Satan. Just saying, it's quite an interesting topic.

I actually did a school report about this during my Sophomore year of college. i wanted to disprove the myths of Wicca and Satanism.

ElizabethRoad

For the record, I'm a Christian, but I'm uncomfortable with organized religion. And, I don't think Christianity is the "correct" religion, because I don't think we can understand the nature of god/s well enough to have a correct religion. To me it is one way to relate to god.

Sorry for bringing my Christianness into your thread, lol, but I am way more comfortable over here than in *some* threads I won't mention by name.

brittanyjeanxo

Well, not Wiccan at all, but I was a Pagan/Heathen (pantheist/polytheist)... now I lean more toward nontheism/pantheism, but I still enjoy the Heathen framework.

I was raised Christian, and was a devout, true believing Christian until about 5 years ago. Fortunately pretty much all my immediate family moved away from the fundamentalist beliefs of my childhood during the last 5-8 years as well, so I've gotten nothing but interest and acceptance from them.

I'm sorry, but pan=all. Non=none. How can you be both? Not being rude, just honestly curious :laugh:

brianz72

Just wondering. Since this is allowed now, I thought I'd ask how many people out there are like me. I don't believe in any one "God" and certainly don't subscribe to any code written in a book. Not to say any members of any particular group are silly, just my personal beliefs.

I am an atheist! To put it mildly. In fact I think I've outgrown atheism and become an antitheist. I think religion is a neurotoxin, and belief in god(s) is bad for the individual and even worse for a society.

I don't think the belief is, so much as followers are.

I used to think that too, but the older I've gotten, the more I've realized how damaging religious thinking can be. Religion teaches people the following:

* Don't take control of your circumstances. Just pray. It's all "god's will".
* When something good happens, it's a blessing. When something bad happens, it's because of "sin".
* Animals are just stupid robots designed to do the bidding of humans
* Science is just opinion, not a process of testing falsifiable hypotheses

And so on.

It ruins self-empowerment, subjugates women, persecutes gays, justifies genocide and slavery, and destroys the human drive to understand the natural world.

That's why I'm not a "live and let live" atheist. I think religion is a cancer on humanity.

CoraGregoryCPA

huh? I feel like I'm at my old workplace where Policy #1 was violated if Policy #7 was violated, but if policy #3 was used then Policy #1 was not violated.

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Bentley2718

I keep reading poly-theist and thinking poly-something-else. Then again, many of the poly-something-else people I know are also poly-theists too. AHHHHH, too. many. labels.

brittanyjeanxo

For the record, I'm a Christian, but I'm uncomfortable with organized religion. And, I don't think Christianity is the "correct" religion, because I don't think we can understand the nature of god/s well enough to have a correct religion. To me it is one way to relate to god.

Sorry for bringing my Christianness into your thread, lol, but I am way more comfortable over here than in *some* threads I won't mention by name.

No no! Anyone of any religion who can discuss their beliefs without shoving it down our throats is more than welcome! I would like someone who can show that not all groups of a certain religion are mean

Bentley2718

For the record, I'm a Christian, but I'm uncomfortable with organized religion. And, I don't think Christianity is the "correct" religion, because I don't think we can understand the nature of god/s well enough to have a correct religion. To me it is one way to relate to god.

Sorry for bringing my Christianness into your thread, lol, but I am way more comfortable over here than in *some* threads I won't mention by name.

Hey, if you're not trying to force your beliefs on anyone else (which you don't seem to be doing at all), you're cool in my book.

Dtho5159

Im agnostic for now. Like another poster, Im leaning more towards the atheist side of things... Personally Ive seen enough people trying to shove religion down my throat (mostly friends who say they are Christian and then stab others in the back or whatever) to last me a life time.. Of course Agnostics don't fare well here in Tennessee but oh well

brittanyjeanxo

Just wondering. Since this is allowed now, I thought I'd ask how many people out there are like me. I don't believe in any one "God" and certainly don't subscribe to any code written in a book. Not to say any members of any particular group are silly, just my personal beliefs.

I am an atheist! To put it mildly. In fact I think I've outgrown atheism and become an antitheist. I think religion is a neurotoxin, and belief in god(s) is bad for the individual and even worse for a society.

I don't think the belief is, so much as followers are.

I used to think that too, but the older I've gotten, the more I've realized how damaging religious thinking can be. Religion teaches people the following:

* Don't take control of your circumstances. Just pray. It's all "god's will".
* When something good happens, it's a blessing. When something bad happens, it's because of "sin".
* Animals are just stupid robots designed to do the bidding of humans
* Science is just opinion, not a process of testing falsifiable hypotheses

And so on.

It ruins self-empowerment, subjugates women, persecutes gays, justifies genocide and slavery, and destroys the human drive to understand the natural world.

That's why I'm not a "live and let live" atheist. I think religion is a cancer on humanity.

Fair enough, but that is just one of countless religions. My "religion" (though I don't like that term for it, has a negative connotation) is very big on positive energy. We do not "pray" so much as using our energies in an attempt to will things to happen. We are very open to science, and for the most part are a "DIY" group. There is no "if you don't do it this way, you're going to burn!" It's more, "If you don't do it this way, do it another way!" We feast, we sing, we dance, we hug trees. We live and let live.

ETA: I say "we" referring to Wiccans; I am not a practicer, but I very much subscribe to their "beliefs".