LGBT and Religious Beliefs

Or.... you could cut it down to one word by calling it "agnosticism."

 

Believe is active. So the default position is you don't believe. Hence you are an atheist. Maybe a very weak atheist but still an atheist. If some days you believe others you don't. Then some days your a theist and some days your an atheist.

 

Buddy, you can justify what is right and wrong, but I'm only saying that they might think that way. They might feel there is something, but sometimes they don't feel that way, that's possible.

 

Agnostic means you're not sure whether or not there's a god. Atheist means you're absolutely sure that there is no god. Personally I'm more of a de facto atheist, meaning I concede that we'll never be able to prove or disprove a deity's existence. However I believe, based on a psychological term called Occam's Razor, meaning that the simplest answer with the fewest assumptions is most often the correct answer, that there is no god. I had a question about this on my Psych exam earlier today and it went along the lines of,

"Sarah believes her dog, Fido, has a special doggy sense that lets Fido know right when she's about to arrive at home. You believe that it's because Fido heard her footsteps and knew that someone was at the door, or he looked out the window and saw her walking up the street. This is based off an idea known as (blank).

Agnostic doesn't necessarily mean atheist, just like atheist certainly does not mean agnostic.

 

Muslim here...and obviously having great difficulty reconciling faith and sexual orientation..quite a challenge to say the least.

 

I voted Atheist, but I don't really identify myself as such.

I don't believe in Santa Claus of the Tooth Fairy either but that doesn't make me an Asantaist or an Atoothfairyist.

 

Atheists are not necessary absolutely sure there is no god. That is the definition for strong atheism. If you are agnostic then you are either an atheistic agnostic, an theistic agnostic or an deistic agnostic. As I said before you either believe or you do not. Atheism is the rejection of the claim that a god/gods exist. That's not the same as believe that god/gods don't exist as that is itself a claim.

 

This describes me pretty well. I also attend a weekly TLM, chant Gregorian Chant and sing polyphony with the schola, and the priest just got his doctorate in philosophy, so those are some of the things that draw me. I do love the pageantry, and the fact that it is same week after weeks and predictable is comfortable for me.

I also on occasion attend an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy (much like Orthodox, but they also pray for the pope). Same with the Roman Catholic liturgy, I like the chants, incense, and the people there. Officially, they are also anti-LGBT, but the individual members that I have told have been accepting and have treated me no differently after I've come out.

I don't really believe, any more, though, yet I still go. I do have to say that the priest, who I consider a friend, did not freak out or tell me that I'm going to hell because of my sexuality when I came out to him. He cracked a funny joke and told me that God loves me. I know he believes with what the Church says, and he did mention it once when I came out to him, but only in passing.

 

No, atheism does not mean you're sure there isn't a god. Atheism just means you don't think there's a god. Agnosticism is for the people who would reply "I'm not sure" as to differentiate themselves from "normal" atheists, but that does not mean atheists are 100% positive that god does not exist, we're just OK with saying we don't believe in a god.

 

Problem solved.

 

I was raised Catholic and was very Christian during my early teen years. During the coming out process I felt alienated from my Church and associated that anger with religion.

Now I consider myself a buffet Christian - I pick and choose what I like :lol:

 

I think this poll might also overstate how many people who answer are actually practicing. Some identify as belonging to a religion but don't practice. That's actually quite common.

 

Born and raised Jewish, in a Jewish private school. But I've started finding solace in the teachings of Buddhism. I was agnostic at one point, but I think I'll fully accept Buddhism when I move out.

 

I'm actually a Deist, well sorta most Deists believe in God and Jesus, but not the Bible. I however Believe in small portions, for instance I do NOT believe in the very first verse in the Bible, nor do I believe in anything like creationism (God making the Earth, Adam and Eve, etc...) I also don't believe anything that is against the LGBT community. Therefore, I am a Bisexual Deist.

 

I follow the path of Mara.

 

I identify as an Atheist because I don't believe in any gods but if I seen good evidence my views would change.

 

Wrong, (a)gnositiscm deals with knowledge, in this case about gods.
Someone who's an agnostic claims to have no knowledge about whether gods exist or not.

Again, wrong.
Atheism means what the word is made up of:
A = without/not
theism = belief in the existence of one or more gods.
An atheist is someone who does not have that belief.
Which is not the same as believing the opposite.

Occam's Razor is simply about the answer that requires the least tacked on assumptions.
That doesn't mean it's the correct answer.

Correct.
However everyone who does not positively believe that god(s) exist, is an atheist.

tl:dr






---------- Post added 17th Oct 2014 at 07:16 AM ----------

Beat me to it.
That oughta remind me to read the entire thread before posting. :icon_redf

One confusion that still seems to arise with several posts on this page is that atheism = the belief that there are no gods. Which is incorrect. That's strong atheism.
Atheism in and of itself = lack of belief in the existence of gods.

 

I am an atheist, but it is not because I am transgender (and gay).

I simply do not believe in god. I also do not believe I have to live my life by rules; moral standards preached by all religions. I do what I please, I have no need to fear "sinning", or going to a hell that is non-existent.

 

I used to be Christian, but now I guess I'm agnostic but with a bit of pantheism? I haven't really searched into it yet, I'm still trying to figure it out.

 

Unitarian Universalist