Whom of you is religious but not Christian

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It may be because of the majority of people here coming from the US, Canada and the UK, but most members at WP seem to be either non-religious or Christian. Is there anyone here who practises a religion other than Christianity? Any jews, muslims, maybe buddhists or so?

Personally, I am atheist but I respect any religious believes and especially Islam is a religion I find very fascinating and for which I have respect. I have the Quran at home out of interest in everything Middle-Eastern, I also have several Muslim friends and have lived in Turkey. I also researched Judaism a lot given some friends and interest in Israel. My deep interest in Islam and Judaism also come from my general desire to live in the Middle East again.



Any WP'ers here who practise another religion apart from Christianity?

PS: simply a question out of curiosity. As I said, I respect anyone's believes, regardless which religion.

I don't know what to clasify my beliefs as, my mothers side are all Catholics, but I dislike a few things. One thing I hate is how Jesus name is thrown around so much, I think I belive in Jesus but don't like how they do those things where they throw his name around every 5 seconds. In highschool I discovered a few things, I think I would gain energy from darkness, but I read up on demons and thought that it was not a good idea. But I do still draw energy from this darkness, I have an idea in my that I control the darkness, and felt of it as a state that I could enter if I the stuation came up. I belive in spirit guides in the form of animals, I had a discovery of mine dureing meditation, it was the panther, before that I never realy thought of the animal but now it happens to an animal that represents me. My thought is that we all have these and once you find yours, you can do better in life, when I found mine it was an amazing experience, the most spiritual moment of my life. One of my belifes is that I will not do things to get into heaven, I would rather do things to help people. Someone who does things just because it will give them eternal peace is just as bad as a siner. You should do things to help others, not to try and manipulate god and or spread your versions of his words. I like to think of mine as a personal mix.

I checked 'other religion', but I'd call it spirituality rather than religion, simply because I associate the word religion with a formalized creed with its own rules, holy book and so forth. My beliefs are eclectic and syncretic enough that I probably wouldn't fit into any sort of church or group (although I've felt pretty comfortable among UU folks and some Pagans...although some of the latter can be pretty dogmatic too at times! )

I have looked into Buddhism, but wouldn't call myself a Buddhist unless in the very, very loosest sense of the word. (If you took the Buddha as meaning all enlightened beings, the Dharma as being universal Truth and the Sangha as being all those who seek it, then yes, I take refuge in those things. But most Buddhists, I know, would have a much more narrow interpretation of that, so I don't call myself one.) If pressed upon to label myself, I say Pagan because I've most closely identified with that path for much of my life. Although, some Pagans would call me a heretic for taking inspiration from certain Christian teachings! Go figure.

Bradleigh, I think of darkness as part of the balance of life, and it isn't necessarily 'evil'. You might want to check out books by an author who calls himself Konstantinos - he's written a lot about 'dark magic'. Food for thought maybe. Also, try Starhawk - she's pretty good on the idea of balance...

The 'religion of science', or, faith in the practice of natural philosophy based on experimental evidence and rational conclusiveness, mostly coupled with non-linear modes of hypothetical thought.

The religion of reason

Baptized Catholic, whenever my family went to church as a kid we went to the Episcopalian church that quite a few of my parents' friends went to and I now consider myself philosophically Jewish.

What is the difference between a Christian, a Buddhist, a Jew, Muslim, and Hindu? Fanaticism exists in all cultures. Remove it and all will appear the same.

I'm a Unitarian

I would say I'm pagan. Perhaps it's not the right term, but so far I think it's the best one. I have hypotheses about the universe, but not anything that you could really call faith. I am a scientist. I think science can answer everything. I do not believe in the supernatural. However, that does not mean I do not think that some things labeled 'supernatural' exist. I simply believe there is a logical explanation for everything. Mer, my ideas take a long time to convey.

Pastafarian.