I for one am not a believer, but I enjoy studying world religions. I find that it helps me to better understand what people believe, and hopefully why. I have found that the more I study, the more I understand my lack of belief.
So my question is do you enjoy researching and studying religion as well, and why?
Yes. So I can get a better understanding of them.
Is there a glitch on commenting? Or only on mine? Mostly my notis get blown up with more comments and likes. So far on all the new waves of posts, not but 2 notis. Weird. I read a post to an admin of a glitch in commenting.
For a number of reasons. 1) the two largest Abrahamic faiths are working to either gain power within, or to eliminate the secular, enlightenment based society I value. 2) I enjoy large amounts of literature in the western (and mostly anglophone) tradition. Getting the most out of this requires an understanding of and familiarity with Christianity 3) People I love are religious. I want to understand their PoV.
I think religion, as a construct, is a left over from our species childhood when we sought supernatural explanations for what we couldn't explain.. We should outgrow it. Some of the moral, ethical and philosophical issues that are included as part of religious discourse should be considered in a post religious reason based world. Many will think that idealistic. But I agree with Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame who said he thought the human species would only begin to achieve its potential if we had three things: a fair economic system; a fair social justice system; and finally a world where religion had been left behind.
I study and research Religion for standup comedy.
What else is it good for.?
I was a fundamentalist whacko. I studied all the time. I am now a solid active atheist. My fascination for religion has not diminished, it may have in fact increased all the more. My focus and reason for study has changed. I really don't as a historian care what the dogma is. I am more concerned with the origins of that dogma. Why do people believe what they do and what are the origins of that belief.
Most Christians can tell you what they believe, but it is very rare they can tell you why. Just because I do is not the underlying reason.
I study so I can with great empathy, having been there myself, help those who wish escape religion.
I think learning about all of them is good for more knowledge , but that’s about it. Never to try to live by it, though. I just can’t grt into making myself beleieve a god exist.
I'm still probably spend at least an hour a day studying religion. I got my degree in it. That was 10 years ago. There's something about it but still captivates me. It pretty much reinforces my lack of belief even more and more.
For some reason I am still obsessed with it. I was a believe, got my BA in religion, and became atheist in the process. But it still fascinates me. I originally was looking for a vehicle for truth and meaning, but now I think I like the absurdity of it. It's like a car accident I cannot look away from. Part of me maybe hopes I will find something of substance, but mostly I am like, "Are they being serious?"
Certainly I do.
I am interested in their philosophical and moral understandings, mythology matches and so on.
And the more I read, the more I am reaching a conclusion that the three Abrahamic ones are the worst of the kind.
Sometimes even consider writing down my own system of values and believes. But do not know when this is going to happen.
I have always enjoyed learning, and learning about what motivates other people is part of that.
Not enough to study it but I enjoy hearing people talk about their versions of it. Granted that seldom happens in my world. My BFF wants me to read the bible even though she is also an Atheist. She thinks that it makes religion seem all the more ridiculous...
Yes-Studied a bit in college-should be offered adult ed. I like studying different cultures.
Of course, religion should interest anyone. It's not about the factual truth or falsity of it. Religion is a message from the past. Frequently the deep past. Religion and religious stories tell us what the people of the past were thinking, their concerns, and what they were trying to tell future generations.
There are meaning and morality in religious stories which have universal application to all people. You shouldn't reject the message of the story just because you don't believe in God.
I maintain an academic interest, yes. I am a follower of the philosophy of Sun Tzu.
I am particularly fascinated by the world's polytheistic religious, both living and dead. Growing up Catholic I sort of think of them as the swingers of religiosity. Concepts of The Trinity (and the Saints) aside, I've only ever really experienced the One God cultures. I might try it. I'm polytheism curious.
I don't get too deep into any of them, because I believe them to all be sort of silly when you look at them for what they are. I can't help but be interested when I find new information on the popular religions though.
I love religion! I find it fascinating. I think that religion makes sense, I just don't have that 'faith' thing. Don't have it. Never have. Maybe it is a vitamin deficiency....hehe
I view it all as fiction and it is as entertaining to me as any work of fiction would be; take Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", basically a bible from the Elves's perspective, or Eru Ilúvatar's(which is more in line with christian's and their word of god).
So when I research and read religious texts I take it as this fantastical alternate universe where it's all true and continue from there with it in order to prevent contamination by it in reality. Though once back in reality it's easy to see that even the true believers don't see it as all true in this universe because they're nothing like the characters that exist in the alternate universe created by the religious works.
I hope that made some sense... I'm not sure if I even understand it now...
Always have, always will. Running the gamut from nominal Catholic to undecided to Wiccan to "spiritual" to agnostic atheist Buddhist has had zero effect on my fascination for religion, spirituality, psychology, philosophy, and culture.
Some are more interesting than others. Anything that people feel, authentically and deeply, is of interest to me.
I’m sure if you were going to debate religion with the religious nuts it would be helpful to study religions. In reality common sense is enough to realize that religions are nonsense. Hell most of the evidence for what’s in the bible is the bible. What person in their right mind could believe that if you reject religion for lack of scientific evidence that your going to burn for all eternity in hell for something that doesn’t exist!