Religion - is yours important? Do you have an opinion?

[zonebeuauty]

I was brought up as a Jehovah's Whitness and at the age of 16 I left the Kingdom Hall...
After years of being a outcast and geting bullied at school this was my decision.My mum and dad still attend the Kingdom Hall and go door to door talking about there believe,and I am proud of them and respect what thay believe ,but after years no Christmas,Easter,birthdays.
I was not allowed to attend ensembly,be in the choir,do RE,make Mother's Day cards/gifts I spent most of my school days doing work outside head teachers office...
I also wore a ID bracelet saying no blood to be given ....
My thoughts ,my life is a book each page turns and becomes a chapter,each chapter forms my book and sadly it has The End.

 

[Gabie]

Just because you get your children christened does not mean you have chosen their religious path if they want one.

Once they have chosen a religion/faith if they do. They will then become confirmed in to it. Again their choice.

 

[Redduck]

I am not religious and I expect people to respect that as I respect whatever beliefs they have.

As an aside - I'll always remember a client telling me that my daughter and I were non-people as we'd never been christened and that I may as well give up on her now as she would never amount to anything. She was only weeks old at the time. One of the few times I've sacked a client!

 

[abi326]

Yesterday was holocaust Memorial Day my client did this amazing art piece for the imperial war museum of hundreds of stars there a picture of it in on the bbc news web site I am so proud of her plus I had the honour of doing her nails for the press.We are all human beings what the holocaust did was take human dignity away, we are all different. we may not understand everyone religions
But what is most important is respect and treating people with dignity.


My father always taught me not to expect not what are my rights but what I can give which is why I love beauty so much its a giving profession

 

[lynn amber]

I once had a client and this is what she said to me and im not sure if this is a religious thing or not ,

Quote : lynn I hope you are getting married as we do not want you having bastared children !! Do we.

1. Never said I was having kids,i might have 1 ,2 at the most as the world is massively overpopulated and I don't even know if I can have.

2. I have never really believed in marriage ,now a days you do it because you want to not because your culture says you must ,i personally don't need a piece of paper to tell me in committed to my relationship.

3. Does a piece of paper make you a better parents ,and if so what about divorce do you believe in that .

She had to agree with me >

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[jacquelineanna]

I was brought up as a Jehovah's Whitness and at the age of 16 I left the Kingdom Hall...
After years of being a outcast and geting bullied at school this was my decision.My mum and dad still attend the Kingdom Hall and go door to door talking about there believe,and I am proud of them and respect what thay believe ,but after years no Christmas,Easter,birthdays.
I was not allowed to attend ensembly,be in the choir,do RE,make Mother's Day cards/gifts I spent most of my school days doing work outside head teachers office...
I also wore a ID bracelet saying no blood to be given ....
My thoughts ,my life is a book each page turns and becomes a chapter,each chapter forms my book and sadly it has The End.

Brave lady ... big respect and I hope you are happy xxxxx

 

[Sarah89Nails]

I have mixed feelings about my own faith, but I do find comfort in God and my husband and I are still finding out who we are and what we believe in.

I really enjoy learning about different religions, I studied them at school and especially enjoyed learning about Islam. I ways defend Muslims when friends of outs seem to believe it is a distructive religion. Most religions have very similar morals and values, live each other, respect each other and live a good life. It annoys me so much when people misunderstand things such as jihad and use it as a name for very negative things. I really agree with what spoken words had said about people being extremists and giving religions a bad name.

Education is the key in my opinion, if we understood other religions I believe we would all be more accepting and gave more respect for one another. I will definitely educate my children about lots of religions but let them find themselves when they are older and if they wish to live by a religion then I would support this.

Very interesting thread

Xx

 

[tonicj]

The badness is in the person, not the religion!

 

[jojo@tranquil]

I was bought up in a Christian home, but sadly my parents and grandad just put me off going to church and as I grew old enough to make my own decisions and choices I turned away from church and rebelled against everything I could. When I look back my parents must have felt like disowning me at times ! But they never did and they were always there for me and did everything they could to help me when I needed it. Occasionally mum would say to me about Jesus and needing to change my life, I would completely ignore her, which must have hurt her.
Now after going through so much in my life and at the moment having a hard time with my teenage son, and my parents still being strong and coping with anything life throws at them I have started to pray, at first in pure desperation not knowing what else to do.
I felt better ...
I have been going to church since Christmas with my parents and I feel comfort in going, I am at the beginning of finding my faith, and I feel like my life is changing for the better. My problems will still be there but hopefully God will give me the strength I need to get through them.
The church we go to is full of young people and is made to be relevant to today. X

 

[lydia c]

I have no religion and I'm not christened , I have no problem with religion or what other people's beliefs as we are all different ! I do however believe in the spirit world and that may seem odd to others , my children are not christened I didn't see the point as we do not go to church ! My daughter is learning about god and the bible at infant school at the moment and I have no problem with that Xx

 

['chelle]

I dont have any strong religious views, but I am open to the possibility that there might be something "out there". Each to their own, but what I do strongly believe in is that we respect each others rights to hold whatever religious views we like. You dont have to agree with those views to support a persons right to hold the views, and i find it quite offensive when people say that religious people are stupid, weak minded, controlled by fear etc. Atheists object strongly if religious groups criticise them for their lack of faith, but the most militant people I've met recently have been atheists!!

Religion can be very comforting to people, especially if they have lost someone close to them, or are going through a difficult time in life, and I think its the height of bad taste to call it a load of rubbish when so many people find comfort in it.

 

[dandelionpoppy]

I really appreciate the standard of debate; one in the eye for people who think that beauty/hair professionals are airheads.

Further to what I said in an earlier post, I never say that something is absolute and fixed. So, although I can't totally believe in a greater force, I can't dismiss it either.

I do envy those with absolute faith. I could never achieve this; as I got into my teens I rebelled against any ideals that had been imposed on me. I kind of "threw the baby out with the bath-water".

My own, very anecdotal, evidence is that there is a view that a lapsed Catholic is "worse" than a non-believer.
Also, on very limited evidence, I have found that very devout followers of any religion, can be highly intolerant of other religions.

There are many reasons why organised religion can be a good thing.

And here we are, just to widen the debate I'll ask:

" Is religion a necessary *opium of the masses*. Does it help control the morals and standards of society?"

 

[jojo@tranquil]

Many of the Ten Commandments make for good morals and how many people choose to live their lives no matter if they believe or have a faith x

 

[gr8nailz]

My father is from Puerto Rico...his mother practiced Santeria. My mother, a Native American Indian, believed in the Great Spirit. She later converted to Christianity...hardcore. I grew up in church and we were there whenever the doors were opened. They preached hell-fire and damnation, sin and guilt.


I turned my back on religion one icy-cold Sunday morning 30+ years ago when I saw the deacons escort a homeless man out of the church. Why? Because he wasn't dressed appropriately. After that service ended, one of those same deacons told my mother and me that we looked like whores because we had on makeup. My mom apologized to that deacon. I told him to kiss my a**.


To me, my mother's Native American Great Spirit is the most plausible belief system. That belief system dictates that your actions in life will determine your afterlife. Basically, if you're a good person then good things will come to you. I don't believe in an afterlife but if there were one, I'd like to think this would be a good thing.


As for me...I am agnostic. Feel free to practice your faith. I have no problem with it. Just don't try to force your beliefs on me.

 

[Eyelash Addict]

Just my opinion:

Religion and faith are not necessarily the same thing.

A small minority of people want to cause confict; sometimes they use religion as a screen to hide behind. I believe many religions have been used in this way.

Most major world religions have a great deal in common, eg, looking after the needy.

I was brought up as a Catholic, btw. I'm probably termed as agnostic now.

A really good, thought-provoking thread. We shouldn't shy away from discussions like this.

I totally agree that religion and faith (relationship) are two totally separate things. The relationship I have with God is the most important part of my life. I do not live by a set of do's and don'ts. The more I become aware of God's love for me, the more I want to love those around me. So I don't think of myself as a Christian so much as I think of myself as a Christ follower.

 

[Oklahoma311]

I live in the bible belt of America. Around here you see the klu klux klan, baptist churches on every corner, and a full stadium at high school football games.
This is why it is absolutely terrifying to realize you have no faith.
My husband and I are atheists and a very few know this. It is almost as bad as being gay in southeastern Oklahoma. The hatred and bigotry I have witnessed from religion Is absolutely appalling to me. I am not saying all religious people are hateful nor are they bigots, but where I come from a large sum are. I tend to think critically and rationalize in ways I know how, so for me, atheism was the only reasonable answer.
I believe religion has done good things for the world, but also bad things have happened in the name of god that, for me, is entirely unacceptable.

 

[Eyelash Addict]

I live in the bible belt of America. Around here you see the klu klux klan, baptist churches on every corner, and a full stadium at high school football games.
This is why it is absolutely terrifying to realize you have no faith.
My husband and I are atheists and a very few know this. It is almost as bad as being gay in southeastern Oklahoma. The hatred and bigotry I have witnessed from religion Is absolutely appalling to me. I am not saying all religious people are hateful nor are they bigots, but where I come from a large sum are. I tend to think critically and rationalize in ways I know how, so for me, atheism was the only reasonable answer.
I believe religion has done good things for the world, but also bad things have happened in the name of god that, for me, is entirely unacceptable.

Totally Agree ... Many atrocities have been committed in the name of Christianity

 

[Miss Sparkle]

This is a really interesting thread.

My mum is quite religious and my dad is an atheist. My mum took us to church and we were all christened (I have two sisters) when we were kids, and my dad stayed at home (and did the housework!) and we grew up thinking that was normal, but we were never forced. I enjoyed going to church when I was young, not because of religion but because lots of other children went there too and it was a chance to see my friends! I think that’s a really useful role it plays, it’s a place for people to come together, a community. Nowadays I don’t go to church very often but I do believe in something greater than ourselves. I’m not sure if it’s a god or a higher power. I think it grounds me. I go to church on Christmas day, it’d feel odd if I didn’t. I see all the people that I was friends with there when I was a kid, it’s like a reunion and it’s nice. I also go on Easter day. However, I really believe you don’t need religion in your life to be a good person, and some deeply religious people are deeply bigoted. People’s actions speak louder!

 

[jazmine]

I am not religious my partner raised as Catholic has no religious beliefs. In fact he's very anti religion.

We discussed having our daughter christened as she will grow up in Ireland and will see her friends and family taking communion. We intend to raise an open minded child who is confident and will not feel the need to follow others. I don't think children can fully understand religion so asking them to commit to something in my book is wrong.

One issue I have are people who preach and approach you in the street. I don't care wait beliefs your spouting I don't need to hear it. But then that's something that comes with freedom of speech. However I can't help but think of the uproar if an atheist where to rip into religion on a busy high street.

People are people and their options are down to what they have learnt and how they have interpreted it. A religion doesn't define a person and people's actions don't define a faith.

Be happy in what ever you believe and look after one another

 

[adventuregirl]

I believe religion was created to control the masses.

That is, if you're good, you go to heaven and bad people go to hell.

The principles behind most faiths are good and well intended but are often lost in translation.

If we look back in history to present day, many wars have been accredited to religious beliefs.

I'd love to believe we all go to a better place, once we die, but the cynical (realistic) part of me is very doubtful.

Wish I could have blind faith but science is so definite, it's impossible to argue.

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