how many of yall are religious ? im curious! and to any nonbelievers do y'all think religion is more harmful or beneficial to society/why? i just saw that question about baptism and i was reminded that religious people exist (i live in atheism bubble)
I’m agnostic, leaning on atheist, to preface. I feel like a lot of religion is harmful to society because it feels like few people are actually religious in private and do so because they want a personal relationship with God. This is what I see happening here in the U.S. anyway. Going to church with a lot of other people is fine, but it feels more performative than ever. There are so many religious people that live by the most non-religious standards you could imagine. I fully believe the average non-religious person does more for their family, community, etc. than religious people ever have. They don’t have a God they’re trying to prove themselves morally good for.
I used to be religious (I went to Catholic school until high school), and I slowly just began to hate Catholicism and similar religions more and more as I got older and actually understood what I was being taught. You can’t do anything in the Catholic Church unless you’re baptized Catholic. If you’re baptized another religion, forget it. I’m baptized Methodist, and not being able to do things like communion with my classmates literally made me feel unloved by God. They also don’t allow gay marriage, committing suicide or dying unbaptized is a one-way ticket to hell, and women have no power whatsoever.
I have no hate towards Catholics, or any religious person for that matter, because it’s not like my religious school is exemplary of the entire religion, but that religion specifically is one that’s so heavily built on the patriarchy and the idea that Catholics are more important than everyone else.
im atheist, i think religion is a way helping people cope with death and the meaning of life.
i think it is good because it makes people want to be good, the only bad things are people using it as an excuse and trying to push their religion on non believers.
i just wish everyone could believe what they want but kinda just keep it to themselves and their community. but overall i think religion is a good thing.
im religious. i understand why some people are not, ive also been there. its just that for me at a time when i was struggling a lot mentally i attended a religious event where there was a kind of a 7 day talk and although i wasn’t really interested at first the content drew me in. i ended up attending and listening with enthusiasm on all 7 days and that helped me kind of get over my depression. the religion i follow is pretty lax in its rules and pretty forward in thinking. a god is said to have said that change is the fundamental law of the universe so consequently each time period will have its laws. what was appropriate before will shift to something else today. so essentially you don’t have to follow the whole rules. it’s said that you have to challenge it and apply it appropriately. ofc there’s basic stuff you’ve to follow like treat everyone and yourself with respect and care, do your duty, etc.
i have more to say but i’ll stop here for now because i have an exam in an hour
sorry for the long paragraph hehe
Growing up, pretty much everyone around me was religious, so it was just the norm for me. It wasn’t until college that I was really exposed to people who weren’t, and honestly it made me reflect a lot. I started to notice how much religion shapes a person’s whole worldview in a holistic way and not in a ‘religious people are better’ but in terms of values, perspective, and how you move through life.
I do think having some kind of faith or spiritual grounding is genuinely beneficial, but I also believe it has to be personal and forcing religion on someone is going to have the opposite effect. Everyone has to find their own path to it. I’m definitely not a perfect representative of my faith, but it’s helped me understand myself and connect with others on a deeper level.
“They don’t have a God they’re trying to prove themselves morally good for.“ good point and that’s a point I hate the most about religious debates, the idea what humans need a god to have objective moral standards. If you need someone to tell you to be a good person, you probably aren’t.
I appreciate your point of view and I as well don’t hate religious people, I just hate the institution.
my first thought when I hear someone is religious is probably the opposite of yours. I think ‘religious people are better’ at starting wars, persecuting others and being complicit.
religion is only helpful as a coping mechanism and indeed has to be chosen not forced.
The way I see it is everyone has their own value system to ‘move through life’, and some people have been conditioned to accept external pressure instead of personal values.
no of course not, i think good people don’t need a reason to be good. but for someone who’s in a deep negative mental swamp and questioning why they have to do certain things when the ‘bad’ people seem to be living better, perhaps it’s a strength. its kind of like philosophy, it gives you kind of a meaning to go forwards.
i think no religion is inherently bad, its just the way people warped it for their benefits. i also think like mars said it shouldn’t be enforced on anyone. i know a lot of aethists who’ve come to hate religion because of the way it was forced upon them. a lot of people I know who are against religion also don’t understand it deeply. but i don’t really blame them because they’ve closed themselves off it after the bad experiences. i’m not saying they would be an ardent believer if they were allowed freedom and knowledge to it but atleast they wouldn’t hold it in a negative regard.
a lot of religious people I know on the other hand are some of the worst people i’ve met. they selectively apply religious aspects to their convenience and disrespect and mistreat people.
i don’t judge someone by how religious they are, i judge someone by how kind they are. the religion i follow is closely tied with spirituality. in fact it was introduced as a religion to get people to understand spirituality better as it’s too deep of a concept hard to understand without stories and enactments and experiences.
yeah so i don’t think a god is needed for someone being good but an idea of a god does help. it’s like the law. people don’t need laws to be moral and act right. but the law does help, in fact might be the only thing holding some people back.
i like having conversations like this so feel free to ask me about anything else
Yeah, I absolutely love people regardless of their religion. As long as they’re a morally good person, I don’t care about what they believe as long as those beliefs aren’t harmful in some way. I really dislike when people only have morals they abide by because their religion tells them too. Basic human decency should be instinctual the way I see it, and using the excuse of “God tells us to” just comes off as that person not having basic kindness to begin with
I get where you’re coming from, and I won’t pretend history doesn’t back up a lot of what you’re saying. Religion has absolutely been used to justify violence, persecution, etc.
But I’d push back on the idea that those outcomes are what religion is at its core versus how it’s been weaponized by people and institutions with their own agendas, it’s lowkey the same way any ideology can be twisted. I also think that personal values don’t exist in a vacuum either since for most people, their faith is their personal value system. Especially if they were able to accept their religion on their own terms.
In the end we probably agree on more than it seems.
i understand where you're coming from but i still see religion as a weapon.
yes, it has been twisted by people beyond original purpose; however, religion is ultimately about controlling the way you live your life the same way a gun is intended to fire. religion at its core is something manufactured by people to cope, and over the years expanded into an ideology equipped to endorse sexism, homophobia, colonialism, etc.
yes, a religious person's value system is influenced by their religion. i was explaining how an atheist has their own sense of morality independent of a higher power. you don't need god to have 'good' personal values is what i was getting at.
Please, share some music recommendations that are beyond the limits of "genre". I love songs that make me feel alive, and I find that in music that isn't confined under a specific style. I need to be aware of more artists that are post genre as I feel im being left behind...
If you are curious to what i mean, experience Imminence, the daughter of metalcore and orchestra, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2mswvfxAis&list=RDe2mswvfxAis&start_radio=1
Also since you read this far ill appreciate any psychological manhwa recs, thank you!
WHY are u saying the MOST popular one tbh none of her songs are THAT popular, Your Face was tiktokified brah listen to Save Me Now, Sword, I remember how your hands felt on mine, And Yellow that was released recently folk why so many people starting w the most pop song of hers listen to the underrated ones no hate
I think it’s very difficult to find songs that define their own genres~I cannot promise these recs will be as good as Imminence, though I am always in search of good music. ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
https://youtu.be/_O2_mxLVWCQ?si=C2BmN6TZ_hvw8K-k ~ vkei, although I find Junkie Honey does something special.
https://youtu.be/IK3nKs0KWq8?si=IZ-_i_2RUJj2ep4S~ quite popular, but one of my favs so I must include.
https://youtu.be/66A_3uwuZ_I?si=JE1H4znIe4nQAcaZ~o quite popular again, but massive attack is so so good.
https://youtu.be/9noLKH9ND0U?si=j79io0yP004m9BWn~ Dead magic album by Anna von Hausswolf is droning music for losing yourself.
https://youtu.be/0jzAO8qC8R8?si=yGeZfvOjP8HLDJB8~ from one of the first metal bands to get a Grammy award.
I’m looking for manhwa recs with a morally grey/flawed main character/cast :D
I really enjoy reading stories like these, and I don’t mind the genre (romance/thriller/historical/etc) so long as there’s a interesting dynamic that makes you wonder whos really “in the wrong” (sorry if that doesn’t make sense.) For example like Pyramid Game where everyone kinda has their own selfish reasons and no one is completely innocent
I really wanna read something that will humble me and get me a grip on reality yk. Something like deep love https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/deep_love_ayu_no_monogatari/ or just yk a really sad story I just wannna cry ngl
These are my personal tearjerkers: https://www.mangago.me/home/mangalist/1237840/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/boys_love/
fucking cried my eyes out at 2am reading that. DONT READ ANY COMMENTS OR WHATEVER IF YOU DONT WANT MAJOR SPOILERS SERIOUSLY. just read the synopsis and go from there, fr all the comments are spoiling such a huge bit

omg i just remembered the plot of this manhwa and it was so peak
the main character is an adult woman with huge tits (this is important i swear). she is a teacher and became a teacher to help students, and the plot follows her killing some bullies to save this particular girl. there was a backstory with a teacher helping her and she i guess wanting to return to favor. i believe the cover is (or was) the teacher smiling, looking down with blood on her shirt and a hand out. and her huge tits were prominent. the last chapter i remember involved her going to a students house and killing them, or at least they got tied up im not sure how far she was yet but she was planning on it. i think the victim pissed herself or something....and there was a stuffed pink doll in her room
pLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LMK
omg i found it and i learned something new, the version i read was a manhwa adaptation
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/the_devil_in_school/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/koakuma_kyoushi_psycho/
highkey this reminds me of maria no danzai lol. if youre interested its also about a woman with huge tits killing bullies after they killed her son.