# why can't i be religious even though i wan't to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 21, 2000, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731 "2000-12-21T18:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gordo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Gordo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731/21 "2000-12-23T16:30:31Z")
Maybe you should look into [humanism](http://www.secularhumanism.org). You don’t have to believe in anything, but they don’t mind if you do. It was/is endorsed by Isaac Asimov and Kurt Vonnegut Jr (among other luminaries I’m sure) if that helps your decision at all. I find it deeply satisfying that the organization even exists. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731/22 "2000-12-23T21:54:52Z")
A quick look at the website you linked to suggested that they **do** mind if you believe in theism. The main focus of the site is a list of articles in the current issue of _Free Inquiry_, the official magazine of the Concil for Secular Humanism. One of the articles presents a simple and clear outline of the materialist argument I mentioned, and concludes that science has “proven” that God does not exist. Another article rails savagely against, of all things, the Salvation Army! Every mention of church or religion is negative, with the exception of one mention of Bishop Spong (who is being discussed in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51384) thread)! In fact, the magazine seems pretty vitriolic about any belief system besides their own. That being said, secular humanism itself has a lot to recomemd it. If you check out the site, ignore the magazine and scroll down to some of their other content. And if you really want a group that doesn’t much mind what you believe, but encourages you to find some sort of spiritual path, you might want to visit a local Unitarian Universalist congregation or try [http://www.uua.org](http://www.uua.org) ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731/23 "2000-12-24T02:56:29Z")
I turned atheist back in seventh grade, however the hell old that is. 13? Anyway. Baptist/Catholic (I know, haha) upbringing from different sides of the family. [li]Now I am a devout Discordian. That is, I deify the second law of thermodynamics.[/li][li]No, really.[/li][li]No, I’m serious.[/li][li]Yes, Discordia is hot ;)[/li][li]Nah, you don’t have to do anything tough but not eat Hot Dog Buns on Fridays and be sure to eat Hot Dog Buns on Fridays.[/li][li]Aren’t religions always like that?[/li] I **never** mean to slight believers of any sort but to be honest I’ve found religion to be pretty silly, and like you I’ve done enormous research into many differnt “faiths.” Satanism was nice, I liked the idea of logic LaVey used, but I guess I could never get a grip on majic/miracles/divine intervention. Good luck. Hail Eris. ---
**Author:** ![kaleidoskope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@kaleidoskope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaleidoskope)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731/24 "2000-12-26T05:46:26Z")
> [@](#): > > well i’ve been pretty much talking to God ever since i was a kid, i mean “help me God”, “get me out of this mess God”,“thankyou God” etc. But i don’t believe in him which is the funny part. > I think i believe in him 'cos i want to, but can’t 'cos i don’t. Well i’m confused and i always have been. I am neither religious nor atheist, just a person hanging in between or moving to and fro. You know, it’s funny… I often do the “help me God”, “get me out of this mess God” thing when the occasion arises, even though I find the Christian concept of God ludicrous. It wasn’t until I read your post that I was compelled to ask myself why I do this 🙂 Well, here’s my best shot: I am Southern. When I was but a wee child, we went to a Southern Baptist church - well, we were TAKEN was more like it; we really didn’t have a choice. And that’s exactly my point. While I heard about God every Sunday, I never actually believed in him, so the preacher’s sermons and scriptures reached my ears as mere stories, not unlike Grimm’s fairy tales (which, now that I think about it, is such a delicious comparison, considering how both are twisted from their original versions and packaged up all nice and pretty for the kiddies… Do a little digging and find out what REALLY happened in “Pinocchio” ! ) But I digress… What I am saying is that the whole God thing, while not a part of my spiritual beliefs, was always there in my experience and became engrained in me, so I guess you could call it a part of my culture. When I say, “Please God, get me through this,” it is merely a figure of speech. My advice to you, Prof, is this: If you want to believe, but don’t believe what you’ve been told, search for your own truth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-be-religious-even-though-i-want-to/46731.md?page=1)