# What Should I Say I Am? Religion-Wise **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437 "2014-12-05T19:21:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/21 "2014-12-06T00:45:47Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > If you just want an answer for your colleagues and it needs to be a religion, I would say “catholic” They don’t need to hear the lower-case “c”. > > If you actually want to find a group to worship with, or at least to share spiritual ground with, I think you should investigate the Mormons (seriously), the Wiccans, and the Buddhists. Maybe Hindus and Shinto, as well. But most of those won’t be good answers for your colleagues. Agreed. As an aside, most Buddhists believe in ghosts, gods and a few other realms but they also believe that the gods won’t help you attain enlightenment. That’s what Buddhist doctrine (or dharma) is for. (Western Buddhists tend to lean less towards the supernatural.) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/22 "2014-12-06T06:55:38Z")
Sort of [ignostic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism), but not [theological noncognitivist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theological_noncognitivism)? CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/23 "2014-12-06T08:16:59Z")
I refer to myself as a “vague theist”, as in, “I believe that basically there’s a god, but other than that, I don’t know.” (Well, that and I’m a lapsed Catholic, so I tend to still have some of the old habits. They stick with you!) ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/24 "2014-12-06T09:49:20Z")
Hey OP, Do you believe that the ghosts and/or spirits can be contacted, and communicated with? And do you also believe that the ghosts and/or spirits _should_ be contacted, and communicated with? If the answer to both questions is yes, you might lean towards [Spiritualism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism), and/or [Spiritism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritism). ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/25 "2014-12-06T10:31:18Z")
**Steken** , no I don’t think there’s any two-way communication possible. My sister has encountered a lot of spirits, and the only communication she had was asking them to leave her alone, which they have done for a long time, now. Also I doubt dabbling in any ‘black arts’ (witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, or black magic) is advisable. My aunt, on my mother’s side, tried a ouija board when she was young. For a few days, every time she looked in a mirror she saw her as an old lady looking back. Not something I’d particularly enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/26 "2014-12-06T11:46:01Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > Can I be a Christian, but doubt the words in the Bible? Yeeeees… ever heard of a dude named Thomas? AKA Saint Thomas the Unbeliever? As one of my parish priests put it, “patron saint of all of us”. The only believers whose faith doesn’t waver are dead. I think that in your case what would fit best in the US is the already proposed “spiritual but not particularly religious”; being in the Middle East, “Christian” without specifying a denomination or even “nondenominational Christian” might be better, or it might be worse. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/27 "2014-12-06T13:14:50Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yeeeees… ever heard of a dude named Thomas? AKA Saint Thomas the Unbeliever? As one of my parish priests put it, “patron saint of all of us”. The only believers whose faith doesn’t waver are dead. > > I think that in your case what would fit best in the US is the already proposed “spiritual but not particularly religious”; being in the Middle East, “Christian” without specifying a denomination or even “nondenominational Christian” might be better, or it might be worse. The name kind of rings a bell. While in the ME, it certainly is much better to say ‘Christian’ (or ‘Buddhist’). I’ll stick with that if anyone asks, which happens quite often. If you greet a taxi driver or shop assistant in Arabic they’ll often follow ‘Where are you from?’ with ‘Are you Muslim?’ It used to bother me but now I just take it in my stride, answer and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/28 "2014-12-06T13:29:23Z")
I’m glad I don’t live in a country where people ask me what religion I am? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/29 "2014-12-06T14:01:17Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > I guess I’m asking what religion can I connect with that doesn’t follow the rules of some book, written 100s of years ago, without me saying I’m an atheist? [Spiritualism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/30 "2014-12-06T15:27:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m glad I don’t live in a country where people ask me what religion I am? 😕 You get used to it. It’s the equivalent of discussing the weather, something which we usually only have 2 types - hot and scorching. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/31 "2014-12-06T15:55:25Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > I guess I’m asking what religion can I connect with that doesn’t follow the rules of some book, written 100s of years ago, without me saying I’m an atheist? > [@Shodan](#): > > [Spiritualism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism). No. He made clear in post #25 that he doesn’t dig the idea of two-way communication with the dead. Spiritualism, as a religion and as a movement, was based on the idea that two-way communication with the dead was both possible and advisable. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/32 "2014-12-06T16:47:05Z")
It depends on who you are talking to. What I would say, if asked my religion, would be based on what I could get away with saying to that particular person, avoiding offense if appropropriate. To an intelligent stranger, I might say "The concept of ‘religion’ and my own self-awareness do not intersect . To my mother, “Of course I believe in a higher power, but I don’t think any church serves my spiritual needs.” To the Mormons who accost me in my parking lot, “Piss off. How dare you imply that you little boys possess a truth that I am too ignorant to find on my own”. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/33 "2014-12-06T20:57:23Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Sort of [ignostic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism), but not [theological noncognitivist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theological_noncognitivism)? > > CMC fnord! If you want to stop the conversation in its tracks, I’d say “I’m a Theological Noncognitivist” ought to do it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/34 "2014-12-07T04:23:34Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yeeeees… ever heard of a dude named Thomas? AKA Saint Thomas the Unbeliever? As one of my parish priests put it, “patron saint of all of us”. The only believers whose faith doesn’t waver are dead. Well, Thomas did declare Jesus as his Lord and God, and Jesus referred to him as a believer. The OP doesn’t seem interested in following the tenets of the Bible (“I guess I’m asking what religion can I connect with that doesn’t follow the rules of some book, written 100s of years ago, without me saying I’m an atheist?”) so it’s not like he wants to be a Christian who is seeking to understand better. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/35 "2014-12-07T04:42:48Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > You get used to it. It’s the equivalent of discussing the weather, something which we usually only have 2 types - hot and scorching. It’s really just not done here. It would be like saying “Hi! Are you circumcised?” totally unnecessary totally uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/36 "2014-12-07T07:36:22Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s really just not done here. It would be like saying “Hi! Are you circumcised?” totally unnecessary totally uncomfortable. I’m more used to uncomfortable questions now, in China the third or fourth question would often be ‘How much do you earn?’ (not enough), in Korea it was ‘What do you think of Korean food?’ (bleeuughghg, mostly, although there were some wonderful exceptions), in Saudi and Kuwait it’s about religion. You can answer ‘My religion is between me and my God’ and it’s seen as less evasive than ‘Mind your own business’. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/37 "2014-12-07T15:00:52Z")
I don’t think anybody in the world has ever asked me my religion, except hospital admitting staff. Ive lived in two countries that are Muslim, and nobody ever asked. On my residence card, the authorities checked the box marked Christian, without asking, since the only other alternative was Muslim. Everybody in the world is either Muslim or not, and foreigners feel more comfortable with Christian than with Infidel, which triggers images of guys with scimitars. People who were members of the Christian minority also assumed I was Christian, and I rarely bothered to correct them, unless they invited me to their church (for their own spiritual needs, not mine), which Christians love to do the world over. ---
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/38 "2014-12-07T22:03:16Z")
I guess it all boils down…to let’s say you should pass away… what type of religious service would be given to you? Would you want nothing? Or feel comfortable with a Roman Catholic Service or a generic Christian service at a funeral home? You don’t need to get into specifics. If you feel like a good debate, then by all means, explain your belief system. If you just want to get the JW’s off the doorstep, or the cutie Mormon boys away from you…you can tell them whatever you think of at the moment. Latvian Orthodox, a la George Costanza of Seinfeld is a good shot. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/39 "2014-12-07T22:14:18Z")
I’ve found “Fallen Catholic” expresses the right degree of dismissive ennui about the whole business. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437/40 "2014-12-08T01:28:58Z")
If asked I would say I am a cultural christian, that is my history and my ancestors were mainly identified as christian (lutheran, catholic, etc) but I don’t believe that the bible is a real historical account. So at the end of the day I am a cultural christian with agnostic tendencies [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-say-i-am-religion-wise/706437.md?page=3)