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Do you pray? Do you yearn for spirit-based community?

This question is in my bio too, because it's why I just joined!

Do you pray? Do you yearn for spirit-based community?
I was raised Catholic and also have North American indigenous heritage, so I've participated at times in both spiritualities. Personally, when it comes to spirituality I think there are many ways of knowing around the world but I also believe humans in general know/understand very of the universe and creation. But I miss the feeling of prayer and spiritual community that comes with believing in something, and believing it with others who share that belief. Do any of you ever pray - maybe to your inner self, the universe, or any lingering sense of karma or fate? Do you yearn for a sense of community with others based on ideals or spirituality?

Edit: to clarify for those who mind one way or the other, I am no longer a practicing member of any faith, and I don't believe in any god(s) or pray in the Christian sense of the word. I am not judgemental of those who do, though (so long as they are kind people who don't try to control others). Please see my response post if you'd like more info on my perspective 🙂.

DarkMatter 4 Mar 21
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38 comments

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12

I don't pray at all but, if I did, I'd pray to Odin. He promised to keep the Ice Giants away and I don't think anyone has seen one of those around.

12

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

Nope, don't pray. Never believed there were any gods to hear them.

I get all the community I desire right here.
I don't miss all the hypocrisy of religious communities. Most of the people in them are pretty vile, and only care about appearing more pious and better than everyone else.
As you can see, I clearly have a very low opinion of the religious. Always have, always will.

All gods are myths, all religion- a scam.

11

Fuck, no. Why would I be on this site if I did? Why is it that the atheists/agnostics don't for the most part need to shove our lack of belief into the face of the religious and yet we are constantly bombarded with the misguided religious people? People in most of the world are free to have whatever delusions they like, leave us out of it.

MizJ Level 8 Mar 21, 2022

Right on, right on!

11

I do miss a sense of community.

But religion, spirituality, astrology, crystals, vibrations, aliens or other forms of woo woo .... Nope, nope, nopity nope nope!!!

@Normanbites I second that.

10

I do not pray.

I would be happy to join any whisky club.

8

Excellent, mind if I borrow uit from time to time?

8

Hello and welcome. No, I do not yearn for any of those things, I have a good community, its called a village. I share ideas with other conservationists and humanists, though I am not strictly really one of the later. I believe the world is beautiful and that improving my appreciation of the world, is the nearest thing to praying you can get, and that belief in spirits and karma block that route to self improvement.

8

A simple no is all I have.

8

Welcome to AgnosticDotCom. Yes, a sense of community based on ideals or spirituality would certainly be nice, but like so much of the internet, this site is not such a community. There is a high percentage of people here who have been injured or disappointed by religious fanaticism, and are quite bitter and reactive against anyone who speaks favorably or even tolerably about any aspect of religion. There is a vocal minority who will unmercifully harass any member who acknowledges any positive sentiment for religion... but otherwise it's a great place! 🙂 Best wishes.

skado Level 9 Mar 21, 2022

Psst, do NOT tell anyone else but it is written as Agnostic.com and not as you would have others think AgnosticDotCom.
Oh sorry as well, I HOPE that I have NOT used words of too many syllables for you here btw.

@Triphid I don't often respond to folks who go out of their way to be rude to others, but this comment is quite a desperate and frankly silly attempt to make my new friend seem less intelligent. If I compare the posts, your grammar is objectively much worse (not that grammar is really an indicator of human value either way).

I just wanted to a nice person and bear you no ill-will.

7

Not really. I curse at the universe sometimes for the cruelty and unfairness of life, but I know I'm not cursing anything and nothing is listening; I'm just letting off steam. The closest I might get to praying is praying for the end of religion in this world, but again that more cursing.

7

No. Why? Like the old saying: shit in one hand and pray/wish into the other and see which fills up first.

7

Wrong site

bobwjr Level 10 Mar 21, 2022

Yeo, I think we need a sign on the door something that says, "Catholics to the left, all others to the right, Atheists and Agnostic straight ahead."

6

I meditate and believe that each of us are our own god. Meditation makes the Woody Allen joke true: I know that I am god because, when I pray, I find that I’m talking to myself.

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6

Once in a while I play the National Lottery because no matter how low the probability of winning, it is within the realm of reality. I see no point in painting a wall yellow and hoping that by the time the paint dries it has changed to a blue colour.

6

No, I don't pray. What do you pray to? What evidence do you have anything is spiritual or god like?

5

To those that shared genuine interest in my questions, and even those who disagree with me but are open-minded and kind enough to have a thoughtful and respectful discourse, thank you 🙂. You are exactly the people I was looking to meet when I joined this morning! Please friend me or send me a message, if you'd like.

I'm not a troll and I'm not here to provoke anyone. I don't believe in crystals or that "woo-woo" stuff as someone put it (no hard feelings, thanks for the question so I can clarify). Also, there was a recurring assumption in the comments that I meant praying "for something". To clarify that, I more meant intentionally using gratitude, or "meditating" if you like, on a problem you're trying to solve yourself. As someone else commented, I think many people here have been so burned by religion that they instinctively react to words like "prayer". As I mentioned, I was raised Catholic - if it wasn't clear, I'm not Catholic anymore. In fact, I had the sentence, "I don't believe in god's or spirits" in the original draft of my question. I removed it to be more inclusive.

Some people thought I might be in the wrong place, and I appreciate some of your kind warnings about the political climate here. To be honest, I was expecting it. This app is technically a "community of people who are naturally good without any gods. While [its] name is agnostic.com, [...] members have a wide range of views - be they atheists, skeptics, secularists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics and others". I'm hoping the app has attracted at least some people who enjoy free thinking and the true meaning of skepticism. From the comments (in between the unkind ones) I think there are some of you in there! I look forward to hopefully talking with you 🙂. I actually joined because I know a very intelligent and kind man who has been a humanist for decades, and he is delightful. I'm sure a few of you are too.

Edit: Sorry, someone also asked about the term, "different ways of knowing". I'm a part-time anthropology student, and that phrase is used fairly frequently in sociological anthropology. Essentially, it means that across the world and across cultures, people perceive the world differently. I find the best example of this is the idea is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, or the idea that the language(s) we speak impact the way we perceive or categorize reality. These kinds of concepts belong here, in my opinion, since this is a philosophy chat and one branch of philosophy is epistemology 🙂.

To those of you who bothered to read this response that were unkind (I'm sure there are few of you, if any) - you may be tempted to write another unkind response to this. If that's the case, you'll likely ignore this and write it anyway, but just know, I am quite good at skimming, and I moved on as soon as I saw that your comment was unkind 🙂. If you write another, I will do the same. Enjoy the sound of your own words echoing into nothingness and potential alternate realities❤️.

Well explained, and I think you understand the diversity of the site. There are a lot of loud, allergic reactions to religion, spirituality, etc.

No time to read all the comments now; just read the original and the above comment by poster.

Have you checked out a local Unitarian Universalist congregation? It varies somewhat from congregation to congregation, but many of them have plenty of atheists, agnostics, Humanists, Buddhists, Nature-centered spiritualists, pagans, etc. And ex-Catholics! Yet the services typically have some rituals, meditation, singing, philosophical sermons, etc.

[unitarianfellowshipoflondon.org]

[cuc.ca]

@nicestuff I just did, and am excited to speak with them. Thanks so much for sharing, it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for 🙂.

Is NOT any system of belief other than that which is BASED solely and completely upon and within True REALITY just "woo-woo," mumbo-jumbo, piss and piddle, etc, etc, since it has NO probable foundations, no Verifiable, Tangible, Irrefutable, Undeniable, etc, etc, to back it up?
One may as well say and claim that there are fairies at the bottom of every garden, they exist but they cannot be seen, they sing and dance, perform magic, etc, etc, BUT can neither heard nor can it be PROVEN conclusively that they are the SOLE Source of Absolutely EVERRYTHING that Lives, Grows, Blooms and Dies in and around the garden/s.
NOW, can you see for once how your versions of what is NOT are no different from ANY or ALL of the other versions of what is NOT TRUE Reality?

4

It looks like hospitalized Clarence "Uncle" Thomas is going to recover. More proof that prayer DOESN'T WORK.

Just the opposite for believers in Thomas.

4

Let me also pose to you this question please.
WHAT does "spirituality offer that Reality, Truth, Facts, Sciences, Knowledge, etc, etc, can not?

4
4

No. No. No. No. And no. I fantasize about things that are impossible but I know they are impossible. .

Yep.

4

Some favorite Memes which will answer whether I talk to the imaginary sky daddy.

3

I think everyone longs for some sort of community. After all humans evolved as animals that instinctually gather in groups for safety. Most humans are still instinctually drawn to belong to groups for a sense of community, which is our animal instincts at work, telling us to gather for a sense of safety and well being.

A community does not have to have a spiritual basis.

I agree!

When I say "spiritual," I mean it more in a vague way (the same with "prayer" ). I guess what I mean by "community" is a close-knit, local group of people that agrees on certain aspects of life which make it easy to get along (be it indigenous practice, meditation, socio-political ideals, etc) and which meets for intentional purposes (like discussion, sharing or ritual). Now, don't get it twisted -- meditation, yoga, ceremonial fires, book clubs, and even Dungeons & Dragons are all examples of rituals.

I guess I asked this question because I've really enjoyed participating in Ojibway, Seneca, and Oneida spiritual practices. They made me feel connected to and supported by the people I practiced with, and they made me feel more connected to and appreciative of nature (and I do still spend a lot of time in nature now).

I'm searching for a likeminded community that wants to support each other with compassion and isn't afraid to ask deep questions.

In case you're wondering, I stopped participating in indigenous rituals because I felt like a phony: I don't believe in their gods, just as I don't believe in God or Atheism -- I'm a skeptic in the essence of the word. I also have indigenous heritage, but don't feel that alone gives me the right to identify as indigenous (also, my own indigenous heritage is not local, so the practices may differ from what I've been able to participate in).

I mostly mentioned Catholicism to give some history on myself, which I'm seeing was largely (but not entirely, as it has sparked some good questions) a mistake 😛. I didn't have as bad an experience as I'm sure many on here had, but it wasn't great. I enjoyed the chance to sing and harmonize in choir, but began to detest the words at about 12 years old -- that's about it!

3

Everyone has hopes and desires - for themselves, loved ones, and others. However they may express them, I doubt many would describe them as prayer. We may talk with ourselves, perhaps pondering some event or something that was newly learned or realized. Again, I doubt it was be called a prayer. I also doubt that anyone here expects a magical result from any of these ponderings. It may help clear one's head or may help access whatever subconscience workings that help solve a problem. But prayer? I rather doubt it.

3

Firstly, what is prayer if not nothing but either mumbling in to your hands, to the ceiling or, IF a Muslim, rocking back and forth on ones bended legs and knees mumbling the same, and very often, similar mystic Arcane and Archaic incantations just in case the non-existent, never existed Magical, Mystical Supreme Entity HAPPENS to be listen with EARS that also never have existed.
Now, secondly, WHAT is a religion and a Religious Community?
Well, speaking here as a Psychologist and a person who has studies long and hard to EARN a ThD ( Doctorate in Theology and Comparative Modern Religions) for your enlightenment, Religion and this so-called Religious Community is nothing more than a FARCE, A Sham, etc, etc, created SOLELY to do 3 main objectives of the many and numerous others as well,

  1. to keep the Common peoples, aka Sheeples, in line and obedient,
  2. to provide employment, not hard graft type employment btw, but Pseudo-employment to those who realize full well they are by no means either suited, capable or have the real intellect needed to gain ACTUAL employment in the REAL world, hence they have the " Go To position" available of becoming Ministers, etc, of Religion, and, last but by no means least,
  3. the Scam-artist waiting in wings, the one whose tongue is so glib and slick that he/she could see ice to Eskimos in a raging blizzard, they are ones who seize so quickly and readily upon the opportunities that religions and religious offer up and set about CREATING for themselves the new persona of an Evangelist Minister, etc, etc, and in doing so, take the Religious Art of Fleecing the Sheeple to a WHOLE new level.
    I could continue on from here until the cows come home, BUT, instead I shall leave it here, open and ready for your responses , etc, etc.
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