Do you believe in God?

[Hexagon]

NOOOOOOOO...... But i'm slightly pantheistic.

[G4RRYs]

I ticked all the boxes when I voted! I like being open-minded!

The main problem I had with the question was with the word belief.

As a Buddhist I don't really have any beliefs. I have read that beliefs are generally for the unwise and blind people from the truth. I agree with this. It is one of the main things about Buddhism that attracted me to it in the first place.

So do I "believe" in God/s? NO!

Yet at the same time I do think that it is highly possible that something spiritual does exist. So PROBABLY!

Also, the teachings of Buddha state that there are heavenly realms where Gods and Demi-Gods do exist, and I am willing to accept this on some level, especially as the rest of the Buddha's teachings are sound and in my opinion sane. So YES!

But as with most things of a spiritual nature I am very much undecided. So I'm also NOT SURE!

Lastly, Buddhism is very accepting of people with different sexual orientations and/or gender identities.

[missvegeta]

I am not surprised by these results. Sometimes it seems to me that people who don't believe in a God or aren't very religious are more open about sexuality. Religion can be limiting to people. I think this poll says more about who are the kinds of people who would make their sexuality a little public, rather than what kinds of people asexuals really are.

Of course, my observation doesn't apply to everyone. Don't be insulted please!

[Xanag]

Yes absolutely. But I also think it is up to each individual to decide on whether that connection is there.

[Guest]

Agnostic. Just sorta whatever you believe is fine by me, but don't force it on me 'cause I'm going to believe what I want to believe and it's not organized religion.

This. I don't know if I believe in a greater power but I for sure don't believe in any organized religion I know of. I don't really care what others believe as long as they respect mine I will respect theirs. :)

[Menschenfeind]

I am an agnostic, atheistic apatheist: I do not claim to know, am more inclined to say that a deity(ies) or higher being(s) proboably does not exist and am doubtful that I would be moved in any one direction if their existence were evidenced. Nonetheless, I am also something of an Ignostic, because there are far too many definitions of "god" for me incorporate all of them in my determination for their existence, and each must be independently described. Besides that, there is no empirical data, or means by which to differentiate levels of correctitude for each interpretation, so deciding the existence or non-existence of a god is completely ungrounded; I must still don Ignosticism in the event that someone refers to something evidenced as "god," such as the earth, the galaxy, pantheism, etc.

[Strider]

Atheist here *raises hand* ^_^

[Verp]

Agnostic atheist here. I'm fully willing to admit that the universe is largely still a mystery and that I'm not one who should be bragging about their knowledge concerning the big questions, but I still assume with relative confidence that something like a deity existing to be pretty close to that of the Sun turning out to be a giant ball of space whale dung that is on fire. So, I voted no, not even probably no, just no.

[Araminta]

Not sure.

In fact I think we all are our own gods in some way. ^^" I mean, that we all have much more power on the world than we think and that it is at the moment impossible for us to really understand what is really happening.

But I am open to all the beliefs.

I also think everyone should be treated with love, and that nothing is wrong as long as you don't hurt anyone.

[DracoBorealis]

Nope. I do believe in tea and cake at random intervals ;)

[AceSpace]

I am an atheist.

Based on the evidence, the probability of a god existing is close to zero.

I think a more important question would be: do you believe in evolution?

[DexM]

I was raised a Catholic,but raised in fear.A strict Catholic school and at times a disturbingly God Fearing family,led to me resenting said family.I'm an atheist and have no belief in any theories other than evoloution.I WILL BURN IN HELL,or so says my Cousin.

[strangeLady]

Oh gosh I wrote a whole paper on this for my Philosophy class

I don't believe in a "being"; I believe there is an unknown element that has always existed and will always exist that is responsible for the creation of the other elements, the "Big Bang" (are we still calling it that?), etc., etc. Not a "God" but something other.

Yes, I had to pull up the paper to remember what, exactly, I had written. It's been 3 years since that class.

[Kaillem]

I was brought up in a Judaeo-Christian home, and I am also ethnically Jewish.

Even though a lot of my opinions on the particulars of my belief system have changed over time (e.g. evolution and gays), I still believe in the basic tenants of my faith. So, yes, I believe in a god (I usually call Him Adonai or HaShem).

Honestly, if I didn't believe in something "else," I probably would have hurt/killed myself about six years ago when I went atheist for a few years after I stopped believing in young-earth creationism. The thought that the ultimate purpose to life was to have sex and make babies so my genes keep going was completely repulsive to me, and I didn't want any part of it. How I ended up back to being a Christian after that bout with atheism is a bit of a long story, but the bottom line is that--for me--I need to know that there's something else to this life other than what we see that gives us a greater purpose. Otherwise I personally do not see what's so great about being alive.

Obviously, not everyone sees things the way I do, and that's totally fine. :D Not trying to make any general statements here, just talking about where I am with this whole issue.

Anyway. Didn't realize I was going to share all that when I started typing. My faith has certainly been a struggle over the years. (And, no, I'm not suicidal or anything like that now. Just want to make that crystal clear! :P )

[dino-saw]

I went for probably, because there's a lot of questions that are answered by there being one, for me anyway! I don't belong to a religion though, and I get slightly annoyed when people assume I do.

[AceSpace]

I need to know that there's something else to this life other than what we see that gives us a greater purpose. Otherwise I personally do not see what's so great about being alive.

If reality does not match what I *want* or *expect* or *need to know,* then I would rather face it instead of pretend that I know what I want to be true.

[Kaillem]

I need to know that there's something else to this life other than what we see that gives us a greater purpose. Otherwise I personally do not see what's so great about being alive.

If reality does not match what I *want* or *expect* or *need to know,* then I would rather face it instead of pretend that I know what I want to be true.

I think I know what you mean.

I'm a bioarchaeologist, and I am quite familiar with rejecting a hypothesis or theory when the data do not support it.

Here's the thing. "Reality" can mean many things to different people and cultures. The western version of "reality" is what we can see and measure and observe and quantify. Science, basically. I don't believe that the western perception of "reality" is better or "more real" than other versions that factor in things that we can't see/measure/observe, like spirits/witchcraft/god(s).

I live and work with science and theory every day. But my perception of reality says that there is something more than those things which are quantifiable. Without going into a ton of detail, there are other reasons I believe in a god other than the "I can't handle it" factor. That was just one piece of it.

Lastly, I don't *pretend*. Perhaps for you it really would be pretending, but I believe. Believe ≠ Pretend. Just sayin'. ;)

[Moonchaser]

I believe in Spirit, that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. I'm not sure about a personified God (and I'm more sympathetic to the idea of God and Goddess or a genderless or androgynous entity), but I am rather pantheistic in my views as well. I believe to some degree in nature spirits. I DON'T believe in organized religion or in doctrines that are too rigid or hidebound. To me my spirituality is a very personal experience, a process more than a belief. I've read some Jung, and the idea of the Self makes sense and appeals to me. I'm independent spiritually and don't like to be pinned down, because my beliefs have changed so much, evolved through the course of my life from at one time a very conservative church membership (as a young adult) to now a complete rejection of what organized religions have stood for and done to those that don't follow them. I like to study mythology and religion but not to follow anything blindly. I like the Buddhist teaching to believe what you know to be true, but I also think there are some who call themselves skeptics who let their disbelief rely too much on what is measurable and physical and thus miss out on a lot by not being in tune with a more subtle layer of life experience. But that's their right. I don't think any of us should interfere in the beliefs of others as long as they're harming no one. I think that psychology (especially Jung, whose psychology I favor) can explain more about the human spirit than any church pastor or priest ever could. All that said, I think ritual is important, symbolic, and can be rather magical as a part of one's spiritual practice, and for that reason that one consciously following a religion is a lot different than one unconsciously or blindly following it.

[Gysti]

What a coincidence! Today at work there were people preaching with megaphones outside, I found a flier for a church wedged in my car door, and hey, Easter is tomorrow too. Haha, that seems to be the theme of the day, eh?

The short answer is maybe, I guess. There could be, there could not be, there could be one but they're nothing like any of us imagined, or there could be many. Who knows. There's no way of telling so I don't really think about it too much. I'm open to all the possibilities, though. It would be comforting to know that there is someone or something out there keeping an eye on me - but I just don't know. That's wishful thinking I guess.

[Levon]

I'm an atheist, but I'm massively superstitious: I believe in ESP, and I see signs everywhere. These ideas don't really go together that well, if you think of atheism as a rationalist worldview, but that's what's going on in my mind. No gods, but pretty much everything else.

[Wayland Cybersmith]

I am a believer. My background is occult, I had a demon from age 7 to 21 and, during that time, experienced telepathy, precognition and astral projection. I was exorcised when I was 21 and have been a Christian for 34 years.

I have a few problems with atheism.

First of all, why is there something instead of nothing? Without God, there is no logical reason for the universe to exist.

Secondly, according to scientists, the visible universe is 347,160,287,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic metres, and is 13,750,000,000 years old. If, as Christians believe, the universe was created by God, what evidence could you expect to find for the existence of God? Imagine I made a globe out of clay. Now, imagine that the atoms in the clay are actually stars, and imagine that around one of these is a world with intelligent life on it. What evidence would that life have for my existence?

A couple of other thoughts.

If this universe is a reality within God's reality, it is, in a crude way, similar to a virtual world we might create on a computer, but uses matter and energy instead of data. A virtual world designer would only concern themselves with an area of interest, such as a city or country, where their characters will interact. They may have scenery, which might include sun, moon, and stars, but these would be mere decoration. It may be that characters in this virtual world can analyse and measure these bodies, but they would be limited by the information their instruments gave them. In a similar way, this world may be the most important place in the universe, with man, made in God's image, His signature. What we understand of the universe comes from what our instruments tell us, but we have no way of being certain that what they tell us, or what we deduce from what they tell us, is true.

Also, just because something can be explained in a logical, scientific, and rational way, does not make the explanation correct. Any analysis is limited by the information available and assumptions made about that something. If a scientist excludes the possibility of spiritual/theological explanations, that does not mean that there is not a spiritual/theological explanation, or that the spiritual/theological explanation is not the correct one.

[Starr]

Baptized Catholic started identifying as an atheist in 2008.

[Boo42069yomomma]

Nah

[Guest]

My journey so far:

Catholic ---> Apathetic Agnostic ---> Existentialist/Borderline Atheist ---> Spiritual Agnostic (current)

Plus I haven't set foot in a church in nearly 4 years and I couldn't be happier.

That's it for now :)

[Boo42069yomomma]

My journey has been Christan, atheist, (something else, when I was in a state of whats out there is out there) to Buddahist.

[Centzon]

Absolutely not.

I don't believe in any gods, or the concept of gods.

I used to believe in aliens and ghosts and the supernatural when I was a teenager, but that's it. I like the idea of ghosts and plant-spirits and rock-spirits (it's just a cute thought), but don't believe there's any evidence supporting that kind of phenomenon.

[Janus the Fox]

Voted No. I view the concept of God as the figment of a very creative and influential person when discuvered, the ability of said person had to be powerful enough to convince others. Even still, without religion ancient civiliation would not gel well thus the existance of civilization as we know it today, will not exist.

[Senwyn1]

I'm agnostic as I don't think we can prove anything exists, let alone God/Gods. True, there might be one but there's no way I can prove it. And all arguments given for or against his existence tend to rely on our understanding of this world which may or may not exist. :/

[LonelyWind]

ITT: A bunch of atheists make up other names for atheism.

[LonelyWind]

I am a believer. My background is occult, I had a demon from age 7 to 21 and, during that time, experienced telepathy, precognition and astral projection. I was exorcised when I was 21 and have been a Christian for 34 years.

Yeah... okay.

I have a few problems with atheism.

First of all, why is there something instead of nothing? Without God, there is no logical reason for the universe to exist.

Secondly, according to scientists, the visible universe is 347,160,287,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic metres, and is 13,750,000,000 years old. If, as Christians believe, the universe was created by God, what evidence could you expect to find for the existence of God? Imagine I made a globe out of clay. Now, imagine that the atoms in the clay are actually stars, and imagine that around one of these is a world with intelligent life on it. What evidence would that life have for my existence?

A couple of other thoughts.

If this universe is a reality within God's reality, it is, in a crude way, similar to a virtual world we might create on a computer, but uses matter and energy instead of data. A virtual world designer would only concern themselves with an area of interest, such as a city or country, where their characters will interact. They may have scenery, which might include sun, moon, and stars, but these would be mere decoration. It may be that characters in this virtual world can analyse and measure these bodies, but they would be limited by the information their instruments gave them. In a similar way, this world may be the most important place in the universe, with man, made in God's image, His signature. What we understand of the universe comes from what our instruments tell us, but we have no way of being certain that what they tell us, or what we deduce from what they tell us, is true.

Also, just because something can be explained in a logical, scientific, and rational way, does not make the explanation correct. Any analysis is limited by the information available and assumptions made about that something. If a scientist excludes the possibility of spiritual/theological explanations, that does not mean that there is not a spiritual/theological explanation, or that the spiritual/theological explanation is not the correct one.

The burden of proof is not on atheists to prove God doesn't exist, but theists to prove God does exist. You must disprove the null hypothesis because you are making a claim. You've put forth the possibility of a scenario in which a God exists, but you haven't done a single thing to prove that scenario exists. Instead, you seem to propose that the scenario is impossible to be proven for one reason or another. Well, if your claim can't be proven, it's fundamentally worthless because the burden of proof is on you. What if I said "There's an undetectable spirit duck that floats above my head at all times". Well, he's undetectable, so you can't prove or disprove that he's there. While my claim is theoretically possible, you would obviously reject it. Can see why your line of argument isn't valid?

Oh, and scientists don't leave out spiritual/theological explanations on a whim, they do it because not a single one has ever proven to be correct and so many have been proven to be wrong. If scientists wanted to take into account theological arguments, a long time ago we would have concluded that rain gods cause the rain and stopped looking for the real answer. Where would we be now?