What Religion do you follow?

[stui magpie]

I thought we might as well get some demographics as well as finding out how religious people are. So, if you identified in the other poll as being religious, whether strong, weak or moderate, here is where you can identify which one.

There's too many religions to list them all so I've tried to hit the main ones. No differentiation is made between the different streams of Christianity, so whether you're Catholic or Protestant, you're a Christian. Same with the different streams of Islam.

I haven't put an option for None, as if you aren't religious, this poll isn't for you. I have included Other as a category as there are many smaller regional religions.

I have included Australian Aboriginal as a collective, although different nations have different dream time beliefs and different "gods" I can't think of a more appropriate collective title. If anyone knows one, I'll happily edit the poll.

[KenH]

Oops my mistake!

[stui magpie]

^

Then you needed to have read the original post before you voted.

[stui magpie]

OK, so we got 2 Christians and a Buddhist.

Anyone else?

[Pies4shaw]

Just quietly, you may have fewer Buddhists than you think.

[Pi]

If there had been onanism on the list it might have had a few adherents.

[Skids]

[Skids]

[stui magpie]

[Jezza]

Christianity - Greek Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox).

[David]

I always suspected you were a supporter of the patriarchy, Jezza.

[Jezza]

^ My cover's been blown

[Wokko]

Something along this path, I'm still working on it...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_becomes_the_Universe

I'm also a believer in the Noble Lie, that even if you don't believe in the religion of your society it would be better to follow it anyway to create solidarity and unity with your fellow (wo)man. I think Western culture has suffered greatly from the loss of its traditions and religion and our descent into atheism and desperate clawing about in the dark for a substitute (Green/Environment/The State as religion) is a sad degeneration of a beautiful but dying tradition.

[David]

For me, the problem with the Noble Lie is that, even if we grant its premise (which is compelling in certain ways; one can certainly value the role of the church in the past as a centre for community, and see it as something that secular society hasn't even come close to adequately replacing), how can one reconcile following something that they don't actually believe without feeling like a hypocrite? And how will such a society treat those who are unable to do so, or who are brave (or naive) enough to point out that the emperor has no clothes?

Personally, I think there's a lot to be said for at least a pose of agnosticism (rather than a more combative atheism) in certain contexts, and that there is a need to support pluralism and religious freedom. But I wonder if, rather than ceding the capacity for community solidarity and unity to increasingly irrelevant religious faiths, secular society would do better to seriously look at appropriating the good aspects of religion and foster its own order, including things like rituals, meeting places, traditions and ceremonies. I think Daniel Dennett has talked about something like this in the past:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5tGpMcFF7U

[stui magpie]

^

North Korea has apparently instituted criticism sessions which serve a quasi religious purpose.