One thing I’m interested in is the relative time burden (and you’ll have to forgive the term) of various religions, which to me seems relatively understudied. For instance, you can be Catholic on 45 minutes a week, while to be an observant Muslim would take you 45 minutes a day, I’d figure.
So reckoning however you like, how much time a week do you devote to religious practice? For me it’s a big fat zero.
Prayer takes up about 10 minutes of my time a day. As for what religion - I have decidedly Universalism leanings, though I’m not a church goer.
I attend an hour service on Sundays and a two-hour small group meeting on Wednesdays. For the most part though, those time commitments are mesh of social life and religion, so I can’t really give a hard number for it. I’m somewhere halfway between Protestant Christian and agnostic.
When I was a practicing Baptist, I spent four hours a day on Sundays*, plus a small amount of time daily, reading my bible and praying, call it half an hour a day, max. Now, zero.
*Approx one hour in Sunday School, one hour church service, 1 hour choir practice, and one hour evening Bible study. Other than school, that was pretty much my whole social life, living out in the boonies. :dubious:
I go to Mass on Sundays, about an hour and 15 minutes. Right now my children are in classes for their Confirmation, and parents go to a class too – so that adds another 90 minutes. That’s the formal part. We say grace before meals – 15 seconds per meal? Prayers before bed – 3 to 5 minutes.
I’ve usually got a book on a religious topic going, along with whatever else I’m reading, so whatever time I can cram in to read, I guess I would count too. I tend to say prayers in the shower or while fixing my hair and makeup; I’m the queen of the multi-task. So, no real added time there.
Thing is, participaing in my faith is a joy, not a burden. Every minute spent is enriching and a grace, so doing a time/benefit analysis is pointless. Either you want to do it or you don’t.
Most times of the year probably 1 hour 15 minutes in church itself. I usually spend about a half hour a day either listening to a religious podcast or reading a book.
This will obviously increase during certain times of the year around Christmas/Easter . Early summer, I tend to relax and probably just hit church once a week and skip the extra study.
Since TV is my religion, about 28-35 hours a week.
On my religion or on my church?
“Time committment” is more comfortable for me than “time burden”
On my religion:
Depending on how early I wake up, anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour of Bible and related study. There are composed prayers which I repeat daily, and throughout the day times of spontaneous prayer. When I’m experiencing a specific problem or just feeling a need I’ll spend my evening reading time on more of the same.
On my church:
I teach Sunday School to 1st and 2nd graders, and attend a weekly service. Combining those with assorted committee work I’d say I’m in the church building between 15 and 18 hours in a typical month.
It’s hard to say for me. An average would be meaningless. Daily, I probably spend only a few minutes thinking about my religion, praying, meditating, arranging altars, etc. I feel I should be spending about an hour twice a month - once at the full moon and once at the new - doing ritual, and ideally I should be spending another 20 minutes a day on daily ritual practice, but right now I’m not. During the warm months, I spend whole weekends (from Beltaine to Autumn Equinox, and then single nights at Samhain and Winter Solstice) at quasi-religious festivals, although there may be only one or two hour long rituals at those. Sometimes I lead the rituals, which requires many hours of planning, writing and other preparations, for every hour spent actually in ritual.
Back when I was really active and leading a magickal order, it was probably in the realm of an hour a day, three on new and full moons, and up to 8 hours a day in the days leading up to our major holidays (of which there are 8 a year). Now it’s much, much, much less.
I miss it, but y’all have become my surrogate community, and I’m loath to overextend myself like that again.
WhyNot,
Agnostic Pagan
On religious events, I spend about 10 minutes daily in formal prayer, a few minutes of random reflection, and an hour on weekends for Mass.
In another interpretation of your question, the answer is “everyday, all day long.” For one to be a practicing Christian anyway, one has to fundamentally order their life around the claim of Jesus’ divinity and the ensuing change of “my will be done” to “thy will be done.” People who think Christianity is an easy religion or, worse yet, a copout, really dont understand.
Daily - maybe 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. This is an average that increases or decreases depending on how faithful I’m being on Scripture study.
Weekly - About 2 aditional hours - taking the kids to church activities and visiting homes of co-religionists.
On SUndays, about 4 hours, mostly taken up by a block of meetings that clocks in at just over 3 hours.
Each minute in public is a chance to show the love of Christ, Each moment is given to God for His purpose, not mine. It is a life change, Jesus is first and foremost in my life, I live to serve Him.
I’m an atheist, but in the past I have felt it a duty to know as much (or more) about Christianity as most Christians. So I have spent the time to study about 10 books or so and to attend about twenty different religious gatherings. Currently I just read articles about religion in th emain newspapers to see what’s going on; takes me a few hours a year.
Now, thinking about morals is an innate part of me. I prefer to do it when practical ethical dilemma’s show up. Which happens here a lot, and also in most good TV-plays.
If I’m an atheist and spend most my time not thinking about religion would this then count as almost 100% of my time?
About an hour a week for Mass, unless I make it to daily Mass. Plus praying for likely half an hour a day, collated. Plus Confession every other week. We’re new Catholics, and have been encouraged not to join anything until we’ve soaked in it a year. I forsee us teaching RCIA and/or Bible study in the future, which will eat up a fair amount of time.
Oh, and religious reading a little bit every day. Let’s see. Maybe between five and seven hours a week right now, total.
And it’s not a burden. I like doing it.
I don’t practice an organized religion so I guess zero.
Neither do I. My religion is very, very disorganized. sigh
Some people treat religion like it were eating or sleeping, an activity done everyday. Some treat it like house cleaning, one to several times a week.
Then, there are others, such as myself, who treat it as if it were fomal education, with intense activity through one’s early 20s and then be finished with it.
And others, such as I (even tho I swear no oaths towards any organized creed) try to live their spiritual convictions during every moment of the waking day (yeah I don’t always succeed but anyway). I never understood this “compartamentalized” concept of religion, a la the old story of the Catholic who would confess his sins each Sunday, then go out and sin like hell for the next 6 days. If you aren’t integrating it into your own life in some deep and meaningful way then it’s just another thing you use to decorate your existence with.
Mmph. Confessing with the stated purpose of clearing your plate for the next round of sinning isn’t valid anyway. Extra mortal sin. Lose-lose situation.
I don’t get spiritual compartmentalization either.