BF2S Forums We All Are Religious

sergeriver wrote:

What is Religion?

Religion Tolerance wrote:

The English word "religion" is derived from the Middle English "religioun" which came from the Old French "religion." It may have been originally derived from the Latin word "religo" which means "good faith," "ritual," and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin "religãre" which means "to tie fast."

Defining the word "religion" is fraught with difficulty. All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency:

*Some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic  religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief.

*Some definitions equate "religion" with "Christianity," and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. 

*Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. For example, David Edward's definition would seem to include cosmology and ecology within his definition of religion -- fields of investigation that most people regard to be a scientific studies and non-religious in nature.

*Some define "religion" in terms of "the sacred" and/or "the spiritual," and thus require the creation of two more definitions.

*Sometimes, definitions of "religion" contain more than one deficiency.

According to the above definitions we can't say who is Religious and who is not.  But what about this one?

Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. (A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe.) Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Native American Spirituality, and Neopaganism to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a "belief about deity" -- their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist.

So, are you Atheist, are you Christian?  Nevermind, you are Religious.

RicardoBlanco wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

What is Religion?

Religion Tolerance wrote:

The English word "religion" is derived from the Middle English "religioun" which came from the Old French "religion." It may have been originally derived from the Latin word "religo" which means "good faith," "ritual," and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin "religãre" which means "to tie fast."

Defining the word "religion" is fraught with difficulty. All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency:

*Some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic  religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief.

*Some definitions equate "religion" with "Christianity," and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. 

*Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. For example, David Edward's definition would seem to include cosmology and ecology within his definition of religion -- fields of investigation that most people regard to be a scientific studies and non-religious in nature.

*Some define "religion" in terms of "the sacred" and/or "the spiritual," and thus require the creation of two more definitions.

*Sometimes, definitions of "religion" contain more than one deficiency.

According to the above definitions we can't say who is Religious and who is not.  But what about this one?

Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. (A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe.) Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Native American Spirituality, and Neopaganism to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a "belief about deity" -- their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist.

So, are you Atheist, are you Christian?  Nevermind, you are Religious.

You got this from a religious website promoting religious beliefs? Not exactly an objective list of explanations are they? If they want to define 'religion' as encompassing every ideological beleif then that's their perogative. I, however, will treat it with the disdain it deserves.

Dictionary.com wrote:

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Last edited by DesertFox- (2007-04-27 19:06:39)

Pubic wrote:

Changing the definition of religious just so that you can call atheists religious is not a good way to make a point.

RicardoBlanco wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

We all have beliefs in a deity, some of us believe in a certain deity, and others believe that such deity doesn't exist, but we still believe, thus we are Religious.  Even if you are a tree hugger or environmentalist, you are Religious, because those are your beliefs.

I don't believe God doesn't exist, I know.

I don't believe anything until I've seen the evidence, God doesn't seem to be able to present a case for himself, and once I have seen said evidence, it's no longer a belief but a fact backed up by impirical data i.e. evolution.

[THE] comben wrote:

im actually quite affended someones telling me im religious when quite blatantly im not.  also....everything is subjective to the individual.  so i poo-poo that idea and replace it with my entirely non-religious apathetic world view.

Bertster7 wrote:

Yeah, of course we're all religious. What of it? Any form of belief (or disbelief), about anything, could be classed as a religion (although not in the commonly accepted meaning of the word).

So what?

sergeriver wrote:

RicardoBlanco wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

We all have beliefs in a deity, some of us believe in a certain deity, and others believe that such deity doesn't exist, but we still believe, thus we are Religious.  Even if you are a tree hugger or environmentalist, you are Religious, because those are your beliefs.

I don't believe God doesn't exist, I know.

I don't believe anything until I've seen the evidence, God doesn't seem to be able to present a case for himself, and once I have seen said evidence, it's no longer a belief but a fact backed up by impirical data i.e. evolution.

According to Plato knowledge is justified true belief.

RicardoBlanco wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

RicardoBlanco wrote:

I don't believe God doesn't exist, I know.

I don't believe anything until I've seen the evidence, God doesn't seem to be able to present a case for himself, and once I have seen said evidence, it's no longer a belief but a fact backed up by impirical data i.e. evolution.

According to Plato knowledge is justified true belief.

Plato was a philosopher and "knowledge is a justified true belief" is a theory.

Bertster7 wrote:

Do you believe that what you can see and touch is real? If so that is still classified as religion.

Bertster7 wrote:

RicardoBlanco wrote:

Bertster7 wrote:

So what do you believe in then?

Do you believe that what you can see and touch is real? If so that is still classified as religion.

Well going by my definition of religious, and not the one on a website promoting religion, I am not religious.

re·li·gious     

1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with religion: a religious holiday. 
2. imbued with or exhibiting religion; pious; devout; godly: a religious man. 
3. scrupulously faithful; conscientious: religious care. 
4. pertaining to or connected with a monastic or religious order. 
5. appropriate to religion or to sacred rites or observances. 
–noun 6. a member of a religious order, congregation, etc.; a monk, friar, or nun. 
7. the religious, devout or religious persons: Each year, thousands of the religious make pilgrimages to the shrine.

Having a belief does not make you religious by any definition outside of Sergerivers source.

Yes it does.

Dictionary.com wrote:

6.    something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.

Last edited by topal63 (2007-04-27 09:53:27)