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Religion Census


Artsy Anvil

Religion Census  

234 members have voted

  1. 1. What is your religious affiliation?

    • Christian
      61
    • Catholic
      22
    • Jehovah Witness
      0
    • Jewish
      13
    • Mormon
      3
    • Buddhist
      4
    • Hindu
      1
    • Muslim
      0
    • Pagan
      12
    • Protestant
      11
    • Satanist/Luciferian
      0
    • Atheist/Agnostic
      127
    • Igtheist/Ignostic
      3
    • Egyptian Mythology
      2
    • Greek Mythology
      2
    • Roman Mythology
      2
    • Norse Mythology
      4
    • Indigenous Beliefs
      2
    • Aboriginal Beliefs
      1
    • Other
      33
  2. 2. Have you ever been discriminated based on your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      63
    • No
      161
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      10
  3. 3. Have you ever had to debate and defend your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      160
    • No
      70
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      4
  4. 4. Have you ever thought about converting to a different religion?

    • Yes
      92
    • No
      137
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      5
  5. 5. Have you ever actually converted to a different religion?

    • Yes
      48
    • No
      178
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      8
  6. 6. Have you ever lost friends and family due to your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      36
    • No
      194
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      4
  7. 7. Have you ever been fired from a job because of your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      3
    • No
      171
    • Never Had A Job
      58
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      2
  8. 8. Have you ever felt ashamed about your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      45
    • No
      182
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      7
  9. 9. Have you ever be called a stereotype because of your religious beliefs?

    • Yes
      74
    • No
      84
    • I Dont Think So
      76
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      0
  10. 10. Have people ever tried converting you to a different religion?

    • Yes
      165
    • No
      66
    • Prefer Not To Answer
      3

This poll is closed to new votes


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Artsy Anvil

Hi,

  This, obviously, is a census about religious beliefs. Just choose the options that apply to you, and talk about which options you chose. If I made any mistakes, please tell me so I can correct it :D 

                                                                                          Bye.

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AcornCarvings

Hi, I just wanted to say I think you are doing a good job with these censuses you have been making. They feel really thoughtful and non-agressive, I like how you put the "prefer not to answer" options. so yeah. woooooooooooo! :cake:

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Artsy Anvil
36 minutes ago, AcornCarvings said:

Hi, I just wanted to say I think you are doing a good job with these censuses you have been making. They feel really thoughtful and non-agressive, I like how you put the "prefer not to answer" options. so yeah. woooooooooooo! :cake:

Thank you! That means a lot. I have a huge smile on my face right now! You’re so kind. I hope to make more censuses, all about different topics. Glad to know someone likes them!

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Yatagarasu

Being an open atheist among a ridiculously devoted christians of my country is like... you never know when the inquisition will pay a visit to you e_e

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Nice poll :)

 

I was raised as a catholic. I don't really identify as such. Though I do like the teachings of Jesus.

 

I think igthiest is close to me, my view is I accept that I don't know whether there is a god or not, I am ok with that ignorance of mine. I'll just try to be as good a person as I can be.

 

On q3, I had to defend my beliefs in online arguments.

 

On 5, I went prefer not to answer, as more than converting, I just identify differently than I was raised 

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I cherry-pick, I take from all religions whatever suits me. So I ticked 5 boxes* of the religions I take/toke from most. But at heart I am an animist.

 

* Christian, Catholic (the faith of my parents), Buddhist, Pagan, Indigenous beliefs.

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A lot of the questions were hard for me to give an actual answer. I would have been protestant technically until I was about 9 and then I was not religious and which when I was older would have been just considered atheism but it is not a religious belief so I cannot consider myself having been converted to another religion.

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WinterWanderer

I was raised a Christian, later became agnostic, and now I don't know where I stand on religion so I put "Other." Honestly, as with politics and many other things, I don't have much desire to affiliate myself with any one label. So I haven't made it a priority to figure out the questions of the universe. I probably will delve into religious questions one day, but for now, I'm fine with not knowing what to believe.

 

As a Christian, I did have to defend my beliefs often (to myself, to people online, and to friends in college). I was called a stereotype for being Christian when I was in college. Also felt ashamed about being Christian toward the end. So I "became" agnostic, but I'm not sure that's the right word. I never really switched to an agnostic ideology, I just sort of "let go" of Christianity and didn't bother to continue seeking out the truth of existence. Since then, the few Christian friends I've told about it have tried to convert me back. I think if my family knew, it would alter their lives and they'd also try to convert me. (Either that or disown me, but I think the latter is less likely.) So I'm not going to tell them.

 

Honestly, religion doesn't matter to me very much anymore. It used to be something I pondered about endlessly. Sometimes I'd stay up all night to debate existence. But there are more immediate priorities to worry about now, so I don't bother to even think about it. I probably will one day, but not today.

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Skycaptain

Antitheist, which didn't go down too well at school. I'd decided that even before secondary school I was having none of it, yet having it forced at us was obligatory. 

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Antitheist. The rest was a "no" except for the question about stereotypes. That is an amusing subject :D

 

At school, we could choose between religion or philosophy classes. I picked philosophy, obviously, but it was tempting to take religion classes just to ask uncomfortable questions :D

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Grumpy Alien

Agnostic and no to all. Although I was brought up Christian if changing religious beliefs to disbeliefs counts as conversion. I did recently have some fundamentalist Christians try to get me to debate evolution but I didn’t indulge them.

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Grumpy Alien

Christian should probably say Protestant (mainstream/other) or something because there are a few Christian denominations listed separately. (Catholic, Jehovah Witness, and Mormon are all Christian denominations.)

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My parents used to be Jewish (they're atheists now) and the rest of my blood family is Jewish with varying degrees of observance, so I was raised Jewish until second grade. Then my parents let me decide whether or not I wanted to stay Jewish, so I dropped out of Hebrew school and didn't follow any religion for several years. I've loved mythology, specifically Greek mythology, ever since I started reading the Percy Jackson books in elementary school. In middle school I started researching witchcraft and paganism, and that led to my current beliefs. At the moment I'm an eclectic pagan and a witch. (I acknowledge the existence of all gods within a framework I've come up with that's heavily influenced by animism, and I actively worship Artemis and Hekate.) My family and I go through the motions for a few of the Jewish holidays, but at this point my parents and I are only really Jewish in the cultural and ethnic sense.

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Artsy Anvil
On 5/14/2018 at 9:15 AM, Graceful said:

Christian should probably say Protestant (mainstream/other) or something because there are a few Christian denominations listed separately. (Catholic, Jehovah Witness, and Mormon are all Christian denominations.)

I’ll add a Protestant option. Thanks!

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OmegaTheMetamorphicDreamer

I answered "Other" on the first question. I do not follow any religion, but I do believe in the existence of an entity that could be referred to as God. On all the rest of the questions, I answered "No".

 

I guess I could say I'm areligious, but not atheistic.

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Artsy Anvil
17 hours ago, Omega the Shadow said:

I guess I could say I'm areligious, but not atheist.

Cool! I never heard of areligious, but, it does make sense (at least based on your beliefs). :D

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I am a Christian but I've grown to hate Christians because instead of believing in God, Christians believe in a patriarchal, heteronormative lifestyle. They get more upset if one deviates from heteronormative than they do if one denies the trinity or some other foundational BELEIF.

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I'm an atheist, just your run of the mill agnostic atheist. I've never been discriminated because of it, had to defend it, or lost friends or family because of it, I don't think anyones called me any of the stereotypes associated with atheists because of what I believe, I've never really had to feel ashamed. 

I've never had a job, so, I've never been fired do to beliefs

Between 6th and 8th grade I slowly went from new apostolic to agnostic to atheist, and I mean, sure, people have tried to convert me to some other religion, I mean, several have had someone from one of those religions that walk from door to door telling you about the bible try and convert you... if you don't count them, then no one has tried to convert me to anything.. 

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Artsy Anvil
On 5/17/2018 at 2:25 PM, bejjinks said:

I am a Christian but I've grown to hate Christians because instead of believing in God, Christians believe in a patriarchal, heteronormative lifestyle. They get more upset if one deviates from heteronormative than they do if one denies the trinity or some other foundational BELEIF.

Well, I wouldn’t categorize all Christians as believers of a patriarchal and heteronormative lifestyle, but, I understand where you are coming from. But, in my opinion, I wouldn’t consider all Christians to be like that. Everyone is different :D

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I'm Jewish, specifically Reform, but thinking about being Modern Orthodox. Yes, I have been discriminated based on my religion. I was harassed in high school. The person that did it escalated from hurtful slurs and stereotypes to trying to punch and stalk me. Also, others have treated me differently when they found out. Band directors in school treated me differently, especially when I asked for holidays off. They'd often schedule concerts for those days and say I couldn't skip it. They even held concerts a few times at a church. Other classes would schedule exams on those days. Some didn't believe me. 

 

I've debated and defended my religion quite often in the past. There was a Messianic 'Jew' who debated it every single day while we took a class together. They're not actually Jews, but people who target us specifically to convert us to Christianity. Scary people. They sometimes would wait outside of Hillel meetings (Jewish youth groups in college) and bombard us as we left. Trying to convince us. Oh, and debating to religious Christians in junior high and high school. That would dissolve into saying that I'm going to hell. A 'friend' told me my religion is antiquated, and there's not much to it. And, that Christians are 'complete'. 

 

I love my religion too much to think of converting to another one. I don't think I've lost or family because of it. I think my other parent's side really wants me to convert to Catholicism and 'save' me, though. Most of my friends think it's cool and very interesting.

 

Kind of like I mentioned before, I've had numerous people try to convert me to Christianity. Some were even living in the same dorm as me in college. That was difficult. Especially during holidays.

 

It's hard when no matter where I've lived there haven't been many Jews. People are very ignorant where I live currently, and I have tried to educate people as much as I could in the past. Kind of feel like I had to. Things are a lot better than they used to be, at least.

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I'm from the Caribbean and when I worked at an office it was with older women and lets just say being an atheist in a society that is heavily religious is a minefield for ignorance.

 

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ExquisiteMystery

1. I'm a weird mix of Pagan and Atheist. I believe the universe/Earth was once alive/sentient but can't definitively say it/she  can/will still respond. Also, if multiverses exist, then Gaia/Earth may be just the goddess of this planet. Celebrate the 8 season changes (and cross quarters).

2.  Definitely. Car scratched. Holidays not granted off. Generally spoken to as a child (not frequently, thankfully).

3. In almost any religious discussion.  Though generally better educated about historical versions of Christianity than the locals.

4. and 5. Was originally Protestant.

6. Quit talking to one parent for about 6 years.

7. No.

8.No

9. No

10. All the damn time. About 4 times a week at work. Like I agree with their close-minded beliefs because I am work polite. The most simplistic, illogical versions of Christianity added to insulting phrases about "if I am missing anything at all in life, when I hold a baby of mine, it will all become clear". Seriously,  DO NOT move to Tennessee (or Texas).

 

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Divide By Zero

I've been approached by Jehovah's Witnesses a few times. I'm not sure if that counts as a conversion attempt. Anyways, when I mention that I attend a mainline Protestant church, they always look disappointed but then say they're glad that I know about God and Jesus and they move on. Interestingly, one time while on a visit to Northern Ireland I was approached by Jehovah's Witnesses while standing on a street corner in downtown Belfast waiting for the light to turn. Ever since then I've wondered what it must be like to be a Jehovah's Witness in a place like Belfast.

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I'm Catholic and come from an area with a large Catholic population, so I've never been discriminated against based on my religion. I've had an atheist friend and a rather unpleasant ex-boyfriend make me defend my religion though. I find that experience can vary from an interesting intellectual debate (sometimes happens with that friend) to a really frustrating argument (the ex's arguments were limited to variations on "I don't get it" and "but that's stupid"). What was really unpleasant though was when I had a friend in high school who knew very little about Catholicism, saw a documentary about a different branch of Christianity but wasn't paying attention enough to know that, and decided that she hates Catholics and wanted to stereotype everyone, including casually mentioning that she thinks all Catholics are going to hell. Ugh. Somehow I didn't lose that friend over religion though. I guess I was willing to put up with a lot in exchange for friendship back then...

 

Anyway, since then I have actually been ashamed of my religion occasionally because a lot of its teachings (being against LGBT+ rights, birth control, etc.) are SO out of sync with what I believe, but I still really believe in God, like the core teachings of Jesus, and enjoy going to church with my family. So I think I actually end up with my own personal interpretation of Catholicism that picks out the parts that I like and assumes the parts that I don't like are a mistake (human error when interpreting God's will?) and can be ignored. Maybe that's not how religion is supposed to work, but it makes me happy. 🙂

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1. Atheist

2. No

3. I've debated with people about it a few times, yes.

4. Yes, but not anymore.

5. Yes, I was a moderate/non-denominational Christian until I was 16, then an agnostic for a little while, then finally became an atheist.

6. No

7. No

8. No

9. Yes

10. Yes

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I used to be a Christian, but I am now an atheist. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I am also antitheist… yet. I have always had the mindset that if other people want to believe in and worship a God which I consider to be nothing more than a fairy tale, I am happy to just let them get on with it. However, with the number of atrocities being committed in recent years supposedly in the name of Islam, that is definitely pushing me more and more towards an antitheism mindset.

 

On 5/14/2018 at 1:26 PM, Skycaptain said:

Antitheist, which didn't go down too well at school. I'd decided that even before secondary school I was having none of it, yet having it forced at us was obligatory.

When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, there was no religious education in state schools in France (apart from in the Alsace region due to its historical connections with Germany), and French state schools do not intefere in any way whatsoever with the religious upbringing of their pupils. This is due to France’s firm policy of being a secular state. It was left to parents to teach their children about religion and / or send them to church if they wished.

 

I had cousins about the same age as me growing up at the same time in the UK, and they attended state schools there. I heard how in school right from the age of 5, they would have religious orientated assemblies, and the head teacher would stand at the front and command “hands together and eyes closed!”, and then he or she would recite a prayer, and everyone had so say “Amen” at the end. Everyone had to obey for fear of punishment if they did not. When I learned about it at the time from my cousins, I found that totally bizarre. When I think about it now, I find it absolutely OUTRAGEOUS!

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Anomaly Q3Xr

I am a firm Atheist and Antitheist. I have lost friends and family because of my lack of belief in any gods. I was born Atheist, and although forced to endure religious sermons and assemblies in primary school, I remained atheist. I have never considered converting to any religion. I have never been ashamed for my atheism, or my antithesim beliefs. I have had people try to convert me, including several family members (though both my parents atheists).

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I have to say that some Atheists are as bad as Fundamentalists. On the one hand, I have respect for Sam Harris, Penn Jillette and Neil deGrasse Tyson. On the other hand, I used to have respect for Bill Nye until he went off into a completely fanatical anti-theist rant. I also never had respect for Richard Dawkins because he started off with a completely fanatical anti-theist rant saying things like "mock them". The difference is that Sam, Penn and Neil critique religion. The three of them point out what's wrong with religion. What Bill and Richard do is more like schoolyard bullies saying "nah, nah, nah. I can't hear you." Bill and Richard aren't talking about ideas. They aren't encouraging critical thinking. In fact, Bill and Richard are discouraging critical thinking and instead saying, "think exactly as I do or you're less than human." Bill and Richard are essentially Atheist Fundamentalists.

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