What do I call myself if I don't believe in religion?

I do not believe in religion. Infact, I honestly believe it's religion that is holding us back as a species, but that's not what I wanted to get into. I do believe in a "God" or "gods" (or some being that initated the "big bang") because something created the universe. I say that I don't believe in religion and people call me an atheist, but by definition, I can't be an atheist because I believe in a higher creator. So what do I define myself as? Can religion be seperated from God?

reply to post by TrueBlood


As an Atheists, you have your options open.
I am an Atheist.
I don't have any view of any established religion.

If you already made up your mind, that there is no god or diety.
Then you are an Agnostic.

Of course religion can be separated from god, god was there long before religion got its claws on it.

You would have to state your specific beliefs on what you think god is and how it operates to get an accurate answer, but until then I'll have to call you a theist.

You are a smart person that is aware of lies.

You sound religious if you believe in a God.

I'm agnostic because I find it pointless to believe in something that seemingly does not seem to exist.

Atheist is a belief and some call it therefore a religion. I don't know if a religion needs a God or not, nor do I care.

reply to post by TrueBlood


Probalby agnostic. But then again. It's not really acurate.

ag·nos·tic - noun

A person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience. Synonyms: disbeliever, nonbeliever, unbeliever; doubter, skeptic, secularist, empiricist; heathen, heretic, infidel, pagan.

Or just simply spiritual.

I don't believe in religion but I do believe in spirituality. In fact I've mentioned this before. Be spiritual all you want but leave religion out of it.

Originally posted by tomten
reply to post by TrueBlood

 

As an Atheists, you have your options open.
I am an Atheist.
I don't have any view of any established religion.

If you already made up your mind, that there is no god or diety.
Then you are an Agnostic.

You got this the wrong way around.

reply to post by sekos


Nice way to sum it up!

I think 'critical thinker' applies here as well.

reply to post by TrueBlood


Agnostic is the answer to your question. If you believe in a general sense. If you have predetermined ideas about God? Then you could qualify as adhering to any number of previously labeled belief systems. All you can really do is research and try to find a label that matches your ideas. If one doesn't already exist? Then agnostic applies.

Originally posted by TrueBlood
I do not believe in religion. Infact, I honestly believe it's religion that is holding us back as a species, but that's not what I wanted to get into. I do believe in a "God" or "gods" (or some being that initated the "big bang") because something created the universe. I say that I don't believe in religion and people call me an atheist, but by definition, I can't be an atheist because I believe in a higher creator. So what do I define myself as? Can religion be seperated from God?

I'd say you could call yourself a deist.

It's not so much that I believe in "God" as a religion would look at the term, but I do think that something had to have created the universe. I look up at those stars and you wonder not so much who made them but where did it all start? At some point, this universe was created. That initial particle or whatever it may have been is what I consider "God" or the creator. I look at the universe from a scientific stand point. I do not believe in man written religion because I believe that everything can be explained aside from the "God particle". Basically something started this universe and that's what I believe in.

Generally:

If you believe in a God that has some sort of involvement with the world, you are a theist.

If you believe in a God who created reality and then, effectively, left, so has no involvement, you are a deist.

If you have neither belief in a God, nor disbelief in a God, you are an agnostic.

If you disbelieve in God, you are an atheist.

Those are all non-religious descriptions, as religion only comes into play as the structured beliefs, sacred texts, traditions and community of believers (or disbelievers, to some extent.)

Spirituality, in my mind is:

1) Personal faith
2) Religion
3) Theology

Those are in order of importance, and one may jump off the list at any time, though in my opinion, religion helps to constrain one's faith (in a good way) and theology is the logic that validates (or invalidates) religion. You don't need theology to have religion, and you don't need religion to have faith, but for most people they are reasonable tools.

reply to post by adjensen



1. belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation ( distinguished from theism).

2.
belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

dictionary.reference.com...

This sounds close.

Originally posted by tomten
reply to post by TrueBlood

 

As an Atheists, you have your options open.
I am an Atheist.
I don't have any view of any established religion.

If you already made up your mind, that there is no god or diety.
Then you are an Agnostic.

I think you have this backwards. If you don't believe in a god, you are an Athiest. If you choose to have your options open, you're Agnostic. Right?

Originally posted by TrueBlood
reply to post by adjensen

 

1. belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation ( distinguished from theism).

2.
belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

dictionary.reference.com...

This sounds close.

The only problem with deism is that it doesn't really get you anywhere, apart from some satisfaction in defining what one is, and settling the question of whether reality was created by an outside party or not. Generally, people strive for spiritual growth by connecting to something and that's not really an option in deism. If that doesn't impact you, then I'm glad you found where you are at

reply to post by Consequence


This sums it up good:

Agnostic vs Atheist: Diffen › Philosophy › Religion

Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge of God or gods; or, alternatively, that while individual certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge.

Atheists have a position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects theism. When defined more broadly, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, alternatively called nontheism. Although atheists are commonly assumed to be irreligious, some religions, such as Buddhism, have been characterized as atheistic because of their lack of belief in a personal god.

Source

reply to post by TrueBlood


I would call you an Agnostic Theist. This is what I call myself as well. Just Google Agnostic Theism and see if it about sums up how you feel.

Originally posted by Ryanssuperman

Originally posted by tomten
reply to post by TrueBlood

 

As an Atheists, you have your options open.
I am an Atheist.
I don't have any view of any established religion.

If you already made up your mind, that there is no god or diety.
Then you are an Agnostic.

I think you have this backwards. If you don't believe in a god, you are an Athiest. If you choose to have your options open, you're Agnostic. Right?

Yes, they have the two backwards.

Some atheists will argue with you until they're blue in the face about "disbelief" versus "lack of belief", but if one equates "lack of belief" with atheism, then there is no such thing as agnosticism, which there obviously is. Someone who insists that they have a "lack of belief", but they don't "disbelieve in God", they are an agnostic, not an atheist.

(Which invariably results in claims of "Agnostic Atheism" and "Gnostic Atheism" and other terminology, all born out of the point that atheists make a non-neutral claim, while agnostics only make neutral claims.)

Do not call yourself any thing. Do not make the mistake of misidentifying what you are.
Erect no walls and let life blow through.