Why do you have a religion at all?

[The Grumble]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

Why should you have a religion? Are some reasons better than others?

I just can't not be this way. I don't worship gods (don't believe in them) but I do believe in spirits and energies. My path lets me feel more in tune with the world around me, especially the nature aspects I revere. It's helped me over come bad times and keeps me on a path of learning and constant self improvement. Even if I never discovered paganism, I would probably still be doing the things I do naturally (as I did as a child).

I don't think people NEED to have a spiritual belief system. My husband is a strict atheist (the kind that doesn't believe in any sort of spiritual thing) and is a very fulfilled and happy person. But I personally need it to feel whole.

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

*mournful voice* My deity says I have to.

Absent

[Taliesin]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

Why should you have a religion? Are some reasons better than others?

My faith is what makes my life meaningful. I feel that it gives me a sense of purpose, and helps to shape the way I lead my life and deal with others around me. I have always had a strong sense that there is something 'more', and faith/belief/religion/etc gives me the ability to realise that, and to ultimately connect with it. I believe it helps to humble me too, when I consider the vastness of the universe - the wonderful things I do know and cherish, and the part they play, alongside the infinite other possibilities and 'unknown' facets - it really makes me appreciate the chance of living that I have, all the potential things I can do, see, learn, the endless possibilities not just for me as an individual but for the experiences that I could have that could allow me to 'give something back' to the other lives touched by my own, the Gods and the vast, awesome universe that we're all intrinsically part of. I believe that at the very heart of my faith is the desire to find true peace, and a life in harmony with the world around me, both the things I can see and touch, and the mysteries I have to uncover with my mind and heart. I realise that I am a romantic in many senses of the word, but I think that religion gives me a chance to touch the things we cannot explicitly know, the things that sustain us behind the scenes. Most importantly and simply, it gives me comfort and joy.

I don't think people 'should' have a religion/faith etc, it's right for me but that doesn't mean its right for others. I think we all have an impact in our own way, so if religion gives someone extra happiness then that's great, but I don't think it's necessary to live a fulfilled and joyful life, which is all anyone can ask for.

[Kessei]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

I don't have a "religion," per se, in that my path is individual and subject to change and alteration on a daily basis.

But I include spiritual practice in my life for the same reasons I include art, music, literature, dancing, and the like. It enriches my life, and helps me come to a multi-faceted understanding about my self, my experiences, my feelings, and my relationship with the world(s) around me.

To take one example.... Sure, getting really tranced out in the bath tub and seeing some female figure sending comforting messages about my pregnancy and pending birth could very well just have been my hormones and brain chemistry screwing with my head and letting my unconscious mind get a word in. But when I went into labor a few weeks after, and had a very difficult and protracted prodromal labor, my placement of the vision in my world-view helped me screw up my courage and strength and get the job done. I would've had to dig a lot harder if I'd thought the vision was because I'd been so stressed out that my mind was playing tricks on me.

I don't need to have music on to help me work, but it helps. I don't need to dance in my living room when I feel sad, but it helps. It may be all about the adrenaline and oxytocin and other chemical interactions, but I don't particularly care.

[Teigue]

Why should you have a religion? Are some reasons better than others?

For me it's a matter of believing that there's more than just what we have here.

As a scientist by training way back in my college days, I'm use to looking at the physical world and piecing together things into a cohesive whole; from the big things like cosmology (hobby astronomy)to the little things such as single-cell life forms (part of my college major).

To not have a belief system would undermine that in my head; what's it all for, is there more than what we can see/hear/touch. Spirituality (I refuse to call it religion) is a way for me to get in touch with that other reality, to interact and maybe affect it and the physical reality in a positive way.

I guess one quote boils it down for me

"Is this all there is, is there nothing more?"

Of course, that's my viewpoint, others may come at it from different angles

[Vella Malachite]

*mournful voice* My deity says I have to.

Absent

And once again, I learn not to drink tea while reading this forum. You'd think I'd have learned by now...

As for the topic:
1: I believe partly for the reasons that HeartShadow in her infinite wisdom said better than I in her post - either I'm insane, or I have faith, and I'm not hurting anyone, so why not have faith? Partly also because I like the structure of the religion I'm in. Honestly, I'd be following that rough path whether I believed in the deities or not. Having the deities there was an amazing comfort system for me last year when I moved away from everything to go to university, and I can't imagine not giving a little something - offerings, my time, my thoughts - back now.

2: I don't think people *should* have religion. I think that it's great if people do, and equally great if they don't. People *should* be able to choose their own ways for their own reasons.
But I guess you were referring to whether there were any 'wrong' reasons? I'd say the only 'wrong' reason to believe in something is a reason which makes you unhappy: "I have to because I'll be rejected if I don't", or something like that - I'm not expressing this well, but I think I'm trying to say that if the reason you believe is also forcing you to believe something your heart's not really in, then maybe it's not the right reason...I think that makes sense...

[brannigan]

It make sense to me. i do not expect other to believe as I do. i do not want others to believe as I do. As a Man Of Faith I feel that walking the Path that i have chosen gives me a certain amount of peace.

[SunflowerP]

A Reminder:

Hi, brannigan, Just a quick note: Please remember to quote, even if you're just replying to the first message in the thread. It makes the discussion easier to follow, and it's required by our rules. This isn't a formal warning, just a reminder. No reply is necessary, but if you have questions or need clarification, please feel free to contact a member of staff privately. Thanks! Sunflower, TC Forum Staff

[SatAset]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

Why should you have a religion? Are some reasons better than others?

My gods are awesome. :-)

Many religions help connect the physical world with the unseen one. Religion can give us a way to interact with many incorporeal entities (different manifestations of Holy Powers) that inhabit the cosmos.

For me, it helps me maintain the connection between myself, my gods, my spirits and my ancestors. And it gives me a framework in which to do so.

[Onyx Raven]

Why do you, personally, have a religion? (or faith, or a path...)

This is one of the most intriguing questions I've ever read, and I honestly can't give a straight-forward answer to it, but I want to at least try.

I follow my particular spiritual path because I feel like I am where I belong. I take solace from it when I'm troubled, and use it to help heal my heart when I'm hurt. I feel empowered in the knowledge that I can use magick to try and change things. I feel like being Pagan has made me a better person, that I am more capable of empathy, more tolerant, more loving, and more at peace than I ever was before I discovered my path.

In a way, I feel like I have always been Pagan. I never believed anything I was taught as a child about God, but when I was old enough to rebel, I called myself an Atheist, because that was the only word I knew for someone who was not Christian. I always believed there was something, it was just a matter of eventually finding out what it was.

And when I finally found it, I felt something click into place inside me, as if I'd finally found what I never knew I was searching for.