Do I even have a religion?

E

Equinox

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Hello, I'm Equinox and I'm 15 years old. I've been really confused lately, I called myself an atheist and I go to a Christian school. I've switched my label to 'agnostic' but I still don't think that fits. Basically, while I called myself an athiest, I was searching for a new religion. I was looking at Wicca and I do really like it. A lot of my beliefs line up with Wicca but I still didn't believe that entirely, I still believed in evolution but I liked the ideas of Wicca. Now, I'm also starting to feel a strong connection to Christianity and I think I believe that, mostly. I like a lot of the Jewish traditions but I don't know if I want to be Jewish (I'm not trying to be anti-Semitic or anything, I just don't know if it's right for me). Religion's been a big problem for me because every religion seems to make sense to me. Kemetism (which I was reading about just the other day) makes equally as much sense to me as becoming a Jehovah's Witness (which I've also considered) and an atheistic/LaVeyan Satanist (also considered). I also want to look into Buddhism and I want to read the Quran at some point, I'm open to every religion that I know of...Is there a name for where you sort of "mix up" views from different religions? Thank you :)
 
I'm guessing the Traditionalist here will encourage you to pick one and delve deeper into it, while others will encourage to you to keep looking and discard those faiths that holds something that you don't agree with.
I'll be honest here, I'm agnostic, and I'm atheistic in the sense that I haven't found a faith in something, not that I don't think that there is a God. I also have some things in common with you as I can see from the perspective of each of the faiths you listed, I even meet some Witnesses regularly to understand them better. That being said, I do lean more toward the Traditionalist thinking here. If you want to actually practice a religion you need to know and understand the basic assumptions of the faith. Not the small stuff like if there is a hell or what God thinks of homosexuals, but the essentials like human nature, their relationship to the divine. And these things can get sort of hard to grok sometimes.

There are several practician Muslims here, a Catholic who loves answering questions (I pester him all the time), some Baha'i, I know of one Buddhist but he also practices Theosophy so there might be a conflict. I haven't seen Jewish practitioners in a long while. Mostly there protestant Christianity here and they seem to incorporate things into their faiths they resonate with. Oh and DA is also a Deist, and I think Wil will have to define his own faith, I don't think I can do it justice.

Best of luck, and don't let any one of us trick you into anything, we all love the sound of our own voices.
 
Hi Equinox and welcome to the forum.

Let's put aside the names of organizations aside for a moment (Christian, Jewish, etc.) and look at specific ideas. Which ideas do you believe in? God? No God? Jesus? No Jesus? Forgiveness of sins? Karma? Reincarnation? No reincarnation? Heaven? No heaven? Hell? No hell? Eternal hell? Temporary hell?

By the way, it took me many years for me to come up with answers to all these questions. (Yes, I have found answers to all these questions, answers that I am very happy with.) Be prepared that it may take you many years too. Enjoy the ride!
 
Hello, I'm Equinox and I'm 15 years old. I've been really confused lately
Hello there Equinox and welcome. Religion is a tricky thing as each of us are completely unique in our thinking. For now at least, I would say, don't get hung up on labels or the idea that you must decide on a religion. Search within first. My late father-in-law used to say:

"Faith in God lie not in the words of man,
but is born unto you and contained in your heart."
 
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Salaam Allahikum,

I am one of those Muslim members here at IO, and there are others. My advice is if you want to know what the more accessible religions say, First, read the book. (cover to cover) Then weed out the ones that you cannot agree with. Then ask questions to others of that faith to see if their answers align with what you believe. I realize this can be tricky, I was a Christian (some points of my life a die hard Bible Thumper) for 27-28 years. It took nearly 2 years of studying the Bible and Quran before I knew which was correct. At some point, you will know what is right, whether that means right for you or right in general. I don't really adhere to the "right for you" mindset, as it is part of my creed.

The quiz wil posted may help weed out many religions, but I wouldn't discount too many based on it, I found some of the questions that were obviously pointing to what is perceived in religions without much of an actual understanding behind it.

One source of your confusion seems to be focused on the likeness of many of the religions you've looked into, that being said Allah tells us that before the Quran he sent prophets and messengers to all nations. Which in our opinion is why so many have likenesses, but none are "complete".

Lastly, I will say you are young. You have plenty of curiosity and that is a good thing, try to slow down and look into the beliefs and listen to explanations, reading some articles here that turned into debates and discussions is 1 good way to learn a lot of different views on a topic.

May Allah Guide you and us all to the Straight Path.
 
Hi Equinox –
...Is there a name for where you sort of "mix up" views from different religions? Thank you :)
Well I'd say there's two ways to go.

As an analogy, take the Rainbow.

If you get all those colours in paint, and mix them together, you get a rather drab looking brown, and that's the problem of mixing religions together, everything tends to lose itself, and what's left is nowhere near as interesting as the colours you started with.

The other way is to try and discern the 'white light' that carries all the colours of the spectrum. What is it that unites all religions. This is what the writers of the Sophia Perennis do. That was my inspiration, but I have to say, it's not easy-reading. Google Sophia Perennis or Perennial Tradition. Frithjof Schuon is perhaps the most famous author in that line.

Good luck on your way
 
Is there a name for where you sort of "mix up" views from different religions?

I think that would be called a smorgasbord. ;)

But seriously, picking and choosing as you are seems you are weighing lots of different concepts from all of the religious traditions. Since you are that unsure of a direction, don't sweat the direction at this time. Chances are excellent that as you refine your thinking processes, some of the pieces will begin to carry more weight with you than others. Which may give you a more solid foundation on where to focus.
 
Lol where?
Not all study is in formal settings (I'm assuming you are condescending my research because I didn't do so at a collegiate level). You can learn a lot from reading and reflecting... ie studying...
 
Hello, I'm Equinox and I'm 15 years old.
Hello. I encourage you to be non-committal about religions. You are fifteen, and that means you are not the person that you will be. The best preparation to choose your religion is a moral life. So I encourage you to be moderate in all areas of your life, be judicious about how you spend your time and be reasonable about yourself. Practice moral actions, such as occasionally donating of your time to good deeds. Appreciate your life and view all situations in both a negative and a positive light, and realize that one day you will die. These things are enough, and before you know it you will not feel confused about religions.
 
Nope...you inquired who was proselytizing where...
you know, everything on this forum would go smoother without you accusing everyone else of proselytizing. I'm Muslim, It's quite obvious that I found Islam to be correct. you are... well, whatever you are, because you find it to be correct. I swear sometimes I think you would blow a gasket if you ever heard someone changing their religious views because of something they read here, unless of course it was to Atheism, Agnosticism, Hinduism, or other Eastern worldviews.
 
People come with questions... Telling them where to go for more info....websites, mosques, synagogues, churches... No probs

Eye studied for years before eye found the truth...

Pounce
 
People come with questions... Telling them where to go for more info....websites, mosques, synagogues, churches... No probs

Eye studied for years before eye found the truth...

Pounce
or advice... studying to find the truth is good sound advice... do you not agree? I know that you don't believe in a "truth". that doesn't mean there isn't one. If I think it is truth, it is my opinion, that you cannot prove false. I didn't state to come to my religion, nor for him to accept my way is absolutely true, I encouraged him to take the time and get it right rather than rushing to pick one.
 
For the record, Joe, I agree with you. I thought your post was open handed and you encouraged him to follow his own path. But then so much of the stuff that ends up getting called out as proselytizing never occurred to me to be that. For me the ones that come here to proselytalize hit us over the head with a hammer they are so obvious.
 
For the record, Joe, I agree with you. I thought your post was open handed and you encouraged him to follow his own path. But then so much of the stuff that ends up getting called out as proselytizing never occurred to me to be that. For me the ones that come here to proselytalize hit us over the head with a hammer they are so obvious.
Honestly I thought I had been here long enough not to be accused of that every time I posted a welcome/ seek advice post. That's what bugs me about it.
 
Honestly I thought I had been here long enough not to be accused of that every time I posted a welcome/ seek advice post. That's what bugs me about it.
It's no good mate. Wil's on to you. Your evil plot for world domination.... one convert at a time has been exposed!:D
 
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