# Religious Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137 "2009-09-22T20:54:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/21 "2009-09-23T03:35:16Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Just like me, but what do you mean by “not sure some of them would agree”? I don’t fit into the standard more conservative denominations. For one thing I don’t believe that it’s necessary to be “born again” in the sense that’s often used, even though I am. I hold to the conservative definitions for things like the virgin birth and the atonement (or at least as close to definition as anybody seems to be able to come), but I also believe that it’s not my call about anybody else. That’s between them and God. Not that I believe that every path is equal or right, but I have no way to know what’s in everyone’s heart. And I just don’t get too exercised about anyone else when it comes to things like sin. Again, not that I’m much of a relativist about it, but it’s not up to me to run anyone else’s life. So I’m a bit too liberal for the fundamentalists and a bit too conservative for the liberals and mainline denominations. Don’t really fit anywhere. And that 's not a good explanation, either. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/22 "2009-09-23T04:19:20Z")
conservative catholic ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/23 "2009-09-23T08:20:12Z")
I was raised … I suppose it counts as Atheist. My family is just very secular, I never went to church and we didn’t even pray on Thanksgiving. On the other hand, they never were all “Zomg, there is no God, people who think that are so wrong!!!111!!!one!”. (I do remember my stepdad once saying “Religion is a crutch for people who can’t take their reality straight,” but that was a rare commentary on the subject.) God, or the lack thereof, was just kinda considered…irrelevant to our daily lives. I rather disappointed them, I think, when I started developing a faith…I became Pagan/Wiccan in my late teens and while I’m generally nonpracticing I do still consider myself such. I occasionally attend a UU church. Oni no Husband, on the other hand, is Catholic by birth, rearing, and choice. The funny part is that he disagrees with a huge amount of Catholic teachings (abortion, birth control, premarital sex, and marriage for priests, just for starters, plus he loathes the current Pope) and has gone to Mass I think 4 times in the 11 years we’ve known each other. But he’s Catholic, darnit! Don’t even try to suggest that another religion might be a closer fit with what he actually believes! To him, Catholicism is an identity, really, rather than a faith. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/24 "2009-09-23T08:38:00Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I need a Jewish/Atheist choice. There are a lot of us out there! > [@jsc1953](#): > > The poll is about religion, not ethnicity. From a religious viewpoint, just click the “atheist” button. I agree with **both** of you, actually… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/25 "2009-09-23T11:41:24Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The poll is about religion, not ethnicity. From a religious viewpoint, just click the “atheist” button. But I’m a practicing Jew- I go to Synagogue regularly, my children have religious education and I believe in and practice many of the tenets of Judaism. I just don’t believe in god, and that position is not incompatible with being a practicing Jew. While much of it does relate to ethnicity, I grant you- much of it also relates to my connection with the ethical and spiritual beliefs found in the religious aspects of being Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/26 "2009-09-23T11:45:37Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The poll is about religion, not ethnicity. From a religious viewpoint, just click the “atheist” button. But there are people here who are jewish and atheist _from a religious viewpoint_. Serious. Promise. They’ve said so! ETA, oops, what **IvoryTowerDenizen** said. **Oni no Maggie** , may I suggest that for **Oni no Husband** , Catholic is actually very much a faith? The items you say he disagrees with are all about practical application, day-to-day legality, rather than about the beliefs themselves. “Thee Shalt Not Abort” is not a dogma; neither are “Priests Shalt Not Marry” or “Thee Art Not Married Until Thine Marriage Hast Been Blest By A Priest”. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/27 "2009-09-23T11:47:03Z")
I third **IvoryTowerDenizen** response/problems! I’m a religious Jewish atheist. Where is your small-minded poll now?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/28 "2009-09-23T11:55:39Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > I third **IvoryTowerDenizen** response/problems! I’m a religious Jewish atheist. Where is your small-minded poll now?! 😉 We really need to start our own shul. 🙂 **Noone Special** is invited. **Nava** - you can come too! ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/29 "2009-09-23T12:00:50Z")
I bet we can come up with up a minyan from the board! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/30 "2009-09-23T12:05:48Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > We really need to start our own shul. 🙂 **Noone Special** is invited. **Nava** - you can come too! OK, but you have to teach me all them fancy words and I refuse to give up shellfish. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/31 "2009-09-23T12:08:27Z")
That’s okay, you can be Reform with me! We also get to turn the oven on on Shabbos. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/32 "2009-09-23T14:09:01Z")
Can I join? I’m not an atheist Jew, but I certainly think of myself as an atheist Hindu, and I feel as though I’m having to choose, too! Don’t leave me out! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/33 "2009-09-23T14:17:39Z")
Come on in, everybody’s welcome! ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/34 "2009-09-23T14:21:26Z")
Non-aligned, born-again, moderately liberal, Christian. Figure _that_ one out, folks! 😛 😃 Actually, I associate with the UUA a lot, but sit to the right of most of their political positions. I sit to the left of the Baptists and Evangelists… Which is why I remain unaligned with any established church. Not that I need anyone to stand between Christ, God, and myself anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Redwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@Redwing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redwing)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/35 "2009-09-23T14:22:34Z")
Deist. I can’t take Christianity seriously enough to be a Christian, I live too close Salem to not giggle at the Pagans and Wiccans, I don’t have enough exposure to Islam, Judaism or Hinduism to comment. I still believe in a First Cause, and External Observer, though I will happily admit that some of that belief is simply a place holder for where I got bored of the question. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/36 "2009-09-23T14:23:14Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Aaaand… suprise, suprise, the biggest group on the Dope is the athiests. Of course, all we really know for sure is that the biggest group among those who chose to respond to this poll is the atheists. This may or may not be a representative sample of Dopers in general. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/37 "2009-09-23T14:53:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Of course, all we really know for sure is that the biggest group among those who chose to respond to this poll is the atheists. This may or may not be a representative sample of Dopers in general. Of course, any poll can have bias because of who chooses not to participate. But is there any reason why Christians are less likely to vote, especially since the responses are anonymous? I think it’s just the way the SDMB leans (partly because a lot of Dopers come from outside the US) – it’s just surprising that it leans so far that way. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/38 "2009-09-23T15:19:33Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > We really need to start our own shul. 🙂 **Noone Special** is invited. **Nava** - you can come too! > [@SecondJudith](#): > > I bet we can come up with up a minyan from the board! 🙂 > [@Nava](#): > > OK, but you have to teach me all them fancy words and I refuse to give up shellfish. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Can I join? I’m not an atheist Jew, but I certainly think of myself as an atheist Hindu, and I feel as though I’m having to choose, too! Don’t leave me out! Well, we’re up to 5 already. Come one, come all! Bacon-cheeseburgers and seafood stirfry will be fed to all who want it, after services 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/39 "2009-09-23T15:23:10Z")
I knew this place was liberal but had no idea there were so many atheists here. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137/40 "2009-09-23T15:33:42Z")
> [@Noone\_Special](#): > > Well, we’re up to 5 already. > > Come one, come all! Bacon-cheeseburgers and seafood stirfry will be fed to all who want it, after services 🙂 With gefilte fish and matzah ball soup? (Still have some left over!). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-poll/511137.md?page=3)