Faith Being Lost

[agchristie]

Secular or agnostic? Which is it?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/no-religion-outnumber-christians-england-wales-study

[Old_Geezer]

They are different, not really comparable, surely ?

One can have spiritual beliefs and yet remain secular depending of the job one is doing. Whereas agnosticism is a belief that the question is unanswerable/unknowable so it makes no sense to speculate.

Having no religion merely indicates there is no particular one, that one wishes to subscribe to/join. This maybe because one feels they all have faults, all the way across the spectrum to having never bothered to think about it.

[mibn2cweus]

Faith is Hope's evil twin.

[RATTER15]

Of course you can still be a believe in a God without prescribing to any particular brand of religion.

[Khandro]

Ratter; So you're not an atheist then?

[naomi24]

//Secular or agnostic?//

Neither. Despite the findings, whilst church attendance is falling, and whilst many people have dispensed with the formality of religion, I think many retain a belief in a God - albeit vague.

Khandro, Ratter didn’t say that.

[RATTER15]

Khandro, "Ratter; So you're not an atheist then?" how do you work that out?

For a start I said you not me! I also said "a God" with no reference to any particular God. There are many people out there that belie in "a God" but no actual prescribed God, they just believe in a superior God somewhere in the heavens or were ever!

[RATTER15]

Of course, many people will also list a religion, as the religion their family were brought up in, but when questioned they don't actually believe in any God or "not really thought about it"

[ummmm]

Ratter, you are correct, I always say I'm Catholic even though I don't believe in God.

[Old_Geezer]

:-D
Must leave a bit of a hole in your Catholicism.

[Khandro]

Ratter; So you were really explaining the viewpoint of some people without disclosing your own?

[Old_Geezer]

I believe he was expressing a general truth.

[Khandro]

OG; //I believe he was expressing a general truth.//
Sadly, not very 'general' on R&S.

[naomi24]

Cheer up, Khandro. With the state of the world as it is right now, non-believers should be the least of your worries.

[mikey4444]

Sorry agchristie....I didn't notice our post, when I posted mine this morning !

It looks as if Atheists are in the accendance at last.

And for the record, I used to be a Catholic, although I can't still be a Catholic today, as I am now an Atheist.

[agchristie]

Mikey, no worries, it happens!

[RATTER15]

Khandro, I think most people on this site know my thoughts and beliefs in religion and Gods.

Yes, I am an atheist through and through, just to clarify the situation! and I don't see my beliefs changing any time soon.

[birdie1971]

I'm deeply sceptical of polls that try and distill complex subjects into 'yes' and 'no' answers. Most people are more nuanced than that but when pushed make the binary distinction.

Also, this is from the Guardian. A newspaper that, to be blunt, has all the credibility of the below average intelligence of the local village idiot.

I keep telling myself that I must purchase the T-Shirt and/or mug with the Daily Mash (http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/) slogan - “The Guardian. Wrong about everything. All the time.”