What Do You Want Out of Religion?

[Lucas Moonrose]

Religion, for me, Is a set of guidelines that lay out what is morally correct.
Out of all other religions I've found, within the countless religions of Paganism, a much more stable and sound core of Beliefs and moral structures that don't seem to turn around and slap itself in the face.
Given the choice of path I'm not forced into one belief, And through Eclecticism I'm able to incorperate all that I deem Fit for my own beliefs, and through Witchcraft in General I am given a greater control of my life and a freedom through which the monotheistic religions of modern times don't give.

 

[Teh Bloody Princess]

Set a seal upon my heart...

For me my religion and personal belif system give me a set of right and wrongs, conciquences and feeling of purpose.
I don't use one religion for what I believe in I say I am Pagan. I believe in Yogic teachings aswell as Wiccan belifes, the only religions that don't sit well with me are Christianity (I'm sorry but the bible contradicts itself to much) and Radical Islams.
I'm alot of things, in religion I look for a meaning and a sense of morality. I want to know why I'm here and I want to know that people who do horrible things done to them feel the pain they cause-weather it is in life or death.
I doon't know if that sounds silly or not but thats what I believe.

...love is as strong as death.

 

[Morgandria]

Teh Bloody Princess

Set a seal upon my heart...

For me my religion and personal belif system give me a set of right and wrongs, conciquences and feeling of purpose.
I don't use one religion for what I believe in I say I am Pagan. I believe in Yogic teachings aswell as Wiccan belifes, the only religions that don't sit well with me are Christianity (I'm sorry but the bible contradicts itself to much) and Radical Islams.
I'm alot of things, in religion I look for a meaning and a sense of morality. I want to know why I'm here and I want to know that people who do horrible things done to them feel the pain they cause-weather it is in life or death.
I doon't know if that sounds silly or not but thats what I believe.

...love is as strong as death.

What do you believe in that you think are Wiccan beliefs?  

[Teh Bloody Princess]

Morgandria

Teh Bloody Princess

Set a seal upon my heart...

For me my religion and personal belif system give me a set of right and wrongs, conciquences and feeling of purpose.
I don't use one religion for what I believe in I say I am Pagan. I believe in Yogic teachings aswell as Wiccan belifes, the only religions that don't sit well with me are Christianity (I'm sorry but the bible contradicts itself to much) and Radical Islams.
I'm alot of things, in religion I look for a meaning and a sense of morality. I want to know why I'm here and I want to know that people who do horrible things done to them feel the pain they cause-weather it is in life or death.
I doon't know if that sounds silly or not but thats what I believe.

...love is as strong as death.

What do you believe in that you think are Wiccan beliefs?

Set a seal upon my heart...

The Wiccan Creed is what I go. But its different for each person.

...love is as strong as death.

 

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Teh Bloody Princess

The Wiccan Creed is what I go. But its different for each person.

You mean that poem by Aunt Doreen?  

[Teh Bloody Princess]

Set a seal upon my heart...

Do you to always attack people together? Because its really rude.
I ment Wiccan Rede I was half asleep while typing.

...love is as strong as death.

 

[Orchidsandfractals]

Teh Bloody Princess

Set a seal upon my heart...

Do you to always attack people together? Because its really rude.
I ment Wiccan Rede I was half asleep while typing.

...love is as strong as death.

A lot of people who call themselves Wiccan know nothing about the religion known as Wicca, and even those that try to correct them don't always know a ton and often get angry. Wiccans or supporters thereof seem to have less patience for new people than many other religions, and often do try to clarify in a harsh way, because a lot of them(or people who have studied about it) are so fed up with people having utterly no idea about their religion. I'm sure I'd be annoyed if I frequently had to explain that yes, Hellenic pagans do sacrifice things to the gods, but we generally don't do animals in the modern era. Or other things like that. XD So, just try to go along with it. If you want their answers to be backed up(Or debunked), I'd suggest going to a major city near you and going into a pagan/witchcraft bookstore. Wiccans do offer to teach people under age 18 some of the more basic ideas(So they can start to decide if they want to join a coven when they're 18. If you're 16 or under, you may need your parent's permission for anything other than a book or a basic talk, without any classes), without initation and such, and most are kinder in person, or maybe just the people who know about Wicca on Gaia are a little harsh. I'm not personally Wiccan, but as I go about my path to discover more about Greek neopaganism(Hellemiso. I can't spell, so let's not get on that rant.) and reconstructionist parts(To a degree.), I am meeting some Wiccans. There are a lot of crazy people out there who call themselves Wiccan, which is tricky as well, so it's hard to figure out where you want to get your info from, as is the case with all sorts of neopagans. I will say this though. Gaia was unable to interpret a dream of mine as being about Hera, and I was basically told I was imagining things for seeing a hawk goddess. I asked around, and I asked pagans IRL, and on other forums, and it was soon discovered that Hera has a hawk as one of her sacred animals. Admitedly, I did do prayer and some guessing as to which goddess it was, and upon prayer, the name Hera came up, and it was confirmed thru talking with other people. These guilds aren't bad, but they are by no means perfect, and can be overly harsh on new adherants to a faith.  

[numeera]

Bump  

[numeera]

numeera

Bump

To fix the above Bump:

I want to get a sense of belonging out of my religion, which is something I feel when I'm studying the various aspects of paganism. As far as my moral code, I think my current one works pretty well with the Wiccan Rede, as it seems to be a pleasant set of guidelines about behavior. If nothing else, I do believe strongly in karma.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

numeera

numeera

Bump

To fix the above Bump:

I want to get a sense of belonging out of my religion, which is something I feel when I'm studying the various aspects of paganism. As far as my moral code, I think my current one works pretty well with the Wiccan Rede, as it seems to be a pleasant set of guidelines about behavior. If nothing else, I do believe strongly in karma.

You know, you could just edit your original post wink

When you say "a sense of belonging", do you mean within a group or community, or do you mean more that you "belong" with that particular religion or type of religion?  

[Morgandria]

numeera

I want to get a sense of belonging out of my religion, which is something I feel when I'm studying the various aspects of paganism. As far as my moral code, I think my current one works pretty well with the Wiccan Rede, as it seems to be a pleasant set of guidelines about behavior. If nothing else, I do believe strongly in karma.

Some food for thought:

1) Paganism isn't itself a unified religion. It is an umbrella term, one that indicates only that a religion is non-Abrahamic. There are likely hundreds of religions underneath that Pagan umbrella, all of which are distinct, individual, and often nothing alike. One can say they're Pagan, but in the end it doesn't mean much as there's not often much in common between Pagan religions.

2) The Rede is just advice. It isn't a law. 'An' it harm none, do what ye will.' That's all of it - if it harms no-one, do it freely. It doesn't mean 'Harm None'. It simply says that whatever causes no harm requires no thought. You can still do harm - just think before you do it. Which is fine - if you like the advice, you may choose to heed it.

Also, the Rede itself is not Wiccan. It first appears in 1963, used by Doreen Valiente in a speech after she had left Gardner's coven, and Wicca. This is a full ten years after the founding of Wicca, as well, and it forms no part of Wicca's laws, the Ardanes. Since Wicca doesn't dictate any kind of belief or morality to its' initiates, it's their individual choice as to whether or not they choose to abide the Rede. Many don't, and not following the Rede does not change their initiatory status.

3) What you think of as karma may not be. Karma does not directly respond to our actions - it neither rewards nor punishes. Eastern religions that involve karma also involved dharma, and understand the two concepts as inseparable. A person may be a genocidal maniac - and if that is his dharma within their current lifetime, their karma will reflect that they are pursuing the correct action their dharma has indicated. In effect, following one's dharma is correct, a natural law and order, and is moral - whether or not we percieve it to be from outside that individual.

Western new-age thinking has separated karma from dharma, and effectively watered the concept down to a 'like earns like' - 'do unto others' sort of concept, likely in response to leaving heavily-dogmatic varieties of Judeo-Christian religions. Karma does not directly respond to our actions - it neither rewards nor punishes.  

[numeera]

Sanguina Cruenta

numeera

numeera

Bump

To fix the above Bump:

I want to get a sense of belonging out of my religion, which is something I feel when I'm studying the various aspects of paganism. As far as my moral code, I think my current one works pretty well with the Wiccan Rede, as it seems to be a pleasant set of guidelines about behavior. If nothing else, I do believe strongly in karma.

You know, you could just edit your original post wink

When you say "a sense of belonging", do you mean within a group or community, or do you mean more that you "belong" with that particular religion or type of religion?

lol I realize that now, but it was like 2 or 3 in the morning at the time.

Sense of belonging to the religion itself. I've tried Christianity, but it's never seemed to fit. I haven't met any groups I've connected with yet, but I expect I will at some point. There are none in my area, and I can't drive any real distance to meet a random coven just to see if it could work.  

[rmcdra]

Quote:

What does having a religion mean to you?

That I have a culture and way of life that I can claim to be a part of, to participate in, and help grow and cultivate.

Quote:

More importantly what is your purpose in having a religion or spiritual practice?

To help develop myself in to a person who is willing to be myself and to be honest with myself. Someone that is willing to work with the will of my God and help this will. To grow into someone that help others do the same.

Quote:

Do you even consider your practices to be a religion?

Mostly.  

[Alkalune]

rmcdra

Quote:

What does having a religion mean to you?

That I have a culture and way of life that I can claim to be a part of, to participate in, and help grow and cultivate.

Quote:

More importantly what is your purpose in having a religion or spiritual practice?

To help develop myself in to a person who is willing to be myself and to be honest with myself. Someone that is willing to work with the will of my God and help this will. To grow into someone that help others do the same.

Quote:

Do you even consider your practices to be a religion?

Mostly.

I agree~  

[numeera]

Morgandria

Some food for thought:

1) Paganism isn't itself a unified religion. It is an umbrella term, one that indicates only that a religion is non-Abrahamic. There are likely hundreds of religions underneath that Pagan umbrella, all of which are distinct, individual, and often nothing alike. One can say they're Pagan, but in the end it doesn't mean much as there's not often much in common between Pagan religions.

2) The Rede is just advice. It isn't a law. 'An' it harm none, do what ye will.' That's all of it - if it harms no-one, do it freely. It doesn't mean 'Harm None'. It simply says that whatever causes no harm requires no thought. You can still do harm - just think before you do it. Which is fine - if you like the advice, you may choose to heed it.

Also, the Rede itself is not Wiccan. It first appears in 1963, used by Doreen Valiente in a speech after she had left Gardner's coven, and Wicca. This is a full ten years after the founding of Wicca, as well, and it forms no part of Wicca's laws, the Ardanes. Since Wicca doesn't dictate any kind of belief or morality to its' initiates, it's their individual choice as to whether or not they choose to abide the Rede. Many don't, and not following the Rede does not change their initiatory status.

3) What you think of as karma may not be. Karma does not directly respond to our actions - it neither rewards nor punishes. Eastern religions that involve karma also involved dharma, and understand the two concepts as inseparable. A person may be a genocidal maniac - and if that is his dharma within their current lifetime, their karma will reflect that they are pursuing the correct action their dharma has indicated. In effect, following one's dharma is correct, a natural law and order, and is moral - whether or not we percieve it to be from outside that individual.

Western new-age thinking has separated karma from dharma, and effectively watered the concept down to a 'like earns like' - 'do unto others' sort of concept, likely in response to leaving heavily-dogmatic varieties of Judeo-Christian religions. Karma does not directly respond to our actions - it neither rewards nor punishes.

1) I know that. But I'm still learning the specifics of my beliefs, so it's nice to have an umbrella term to show my general preference, which I know to be a non-Abrahamic religion that incorporates various aspects of multiple Pagan religions.

2) I know that, too. I just think the advice is sound, and that considering the advice into my own beliefs will help remind me of the good advice of 'don't do harmful things just cause you can'. I know I can think of it myself, but it's nice to have a reminder.

3) I do mean the Western idea of 'you get what you give', so I suppose I should just call it that. I know the word dharma, but didn't know what it meant. So thank you. smile