Friday Five

[siercia]

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?
Yes, I was "raised" Roman Catholic. I put raised in quiotes because although I was baptized into the Church, and went to Catholic school from Kindergarten through 12th grade, my family did not attend church regularly, and the faith was not actively followed in my home. I was not confirmed.

2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?
No, I don't. Mostly because I just never felt it - I had no faith, and without faith, following rules I don't agree with made little sense.

3. What do you think happens after death?
I don't know. If I had to guess, I think I'd hope for re-incarnation.

4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
I love Christmas services, in every denomination I've ever attended. I think it's mostly because after 13 years of Catholic school I'm very very attached to the music. I'd love a family tradition of going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve together before descending into the frenzy of Christmas morning.

5. Do you believe people are basically good?
I believe that the vast majority of people are basically good. The small percentage that aren't get far more than their fair share of the press, making it look like there's more of them than there actually is.

Comments

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?

Yes. I was raised Lutheran, and was stuck in Lutheran Schools for a long, long time. Even (For reasons I will NEVER understand) went to a Lutheran University. Most of my more entertaining stories are about this period of my life.

2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?
No.

I never really had faith. I was brainwashed, and once I learned to think on my own, I left it behind. I'm largely disgusted with organized religion and have no real interest in it. I went to church when I was living with my family, and I went to church when living with a woman who went weekly, but after she moved out, I stopped. I never had a very strong faith.

I spent too much time around bitter, hypocritical Lutheran to remain religious myself.

3. What do you think happens after death?
Oblivion. We cease to exist. If we perceive anything, it is the remnants of electrical activity in our decomposing brains.

4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
Good Friday Service. It was the only service I can remember that wasn't campy or obsessively commercialized by the surrounding culture. It was the one service that felt real, and not a dull, depressing repetition of monotonous ritual, or a syrupy show for children.

5. Do you believe people are basically good?
Not naturally, but effectively.

We are how we are raised. Civilization has resulted in most people being raised as civilized human beings, or some approximation of such. The primary common thread in the oldest human religions is the "Golden Rule," which is, in effect, a law of self preservation if enforced. The "just" laws boil down to this one, the "Unjust" laws give someone else the authority to violate the Golden Rule.

As most people are raised in a cooperative civilization, most of us are raised as good, decent human beings, if a bit brainwashed and foolish.