After reading an article that said 29.4 million Americans said

[rzemanfl]

that their religion was "none," I asked my wife what her response would be if she were asked. She replied instantly "Catholic." I have lived with this woman for 29 years, during that time she has never entered a church except for weddings and funerals and has never gone to confession nor taken communion. When I was a kid my parents told me that if I was asked what my religion was I was supposed to say "Protestant," my response was "how do you spell that?" Since adulthood I have always responded "none."

My personal opinion is that the majority religion in this country is probably "none" but that for various reasons people don't admit it.

Agree or disagree?

[kliljedahl]

1. agree

Keith’s Barbeque Central

[true_notes]

2. In a country such as the US

being an atheist/agnostic is the complete antithesis of what people expect you to be. I agree that people are afraid to say their true beliefs in fears of being either bullied or opressed.

[HockeyMom]

3. I would say Catholic too

although I haven't been to Mass in a few months since I moved and I stopped going to Communion as a teenager in protest over birth control issues with church. Lately, I would say if I could find another church that I was more in tune with, I would switch, especially given how "militant" the Catholic church has become lately.

[annabanana]

5. Check out the Episcopalians....

(You will not be asked to check your brain at the door!) PLUS you get the bonus of apostolic succession, and transubstantiation.

[rzemanfl]

7. Too hard to spell. n/t

[Warpy]

17. Then spell it "Anglican"

Seriously, some of their churches are quite liberal (and some are trying to be more Catholic than the Pope). I know quite a few people who have gotten very comfortable going there.

I fled from Mother Church when a stuffed shirt of a priest said women should be glad to die in childbirth because the infant might be male. Really. He also said the only place for women within the church was cleaning it. He eventually was discovered having an affair with a lay teacher in the attached school, was defrocked, and married her. I've always felt very sorry for that poor woman. I was ten.

[rzemanfl]

32. Do they call them "lay teachers" because of that? n/t

[rzemanfl]

36. Wasn't this the Church that was started by King Henry VIII so that

his daughter Elizabeth would be legitimate? Seems like a slim reed to balance a faith on...

[QC]

37. Slim reed to balance a post on, too, even a smirky driveby one.

Quite a lot has happened since 1531.

[rzemanfl]

38. And *, Frist, DeLay, Robertson, Falwell, et al are against most of

it.

[rzemanfl]

39. Smirky driveby posts can be true, as that one was. n/t

[rzemanfl]

8. I will have to look up that apostolic thing? Is it like alcoholic? I

understand that-practised it for a long time.

[annabanana]

22. lol..

It just means that our Bishops have a "hands-on" tradition that goes all the way back to the Apostles (just like the Roman Catholics do)

[rzemanfl]

34. To me a bishop is a chess piece. When some church offers a

two day free tour of heaven like any crappy time share would, then I will be interested.

[rzemanfl]

35. Lots of businesses advertise how long they have been around.nt

[HockeyMom]

9. My Grandpa came from England

and belonged to the Church of England. What is the American equivalent of that? Grandpa converted to Catholicism since my Grandma was an Irish Catholic.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. equivalent of the

Church of England, although some of the rest of the Anglican Communion isn't too happy with us for our liberal stance on gay rights.

[annabanana]

23. Boy you got THAT right..

The new Bishop in question is an old friend of our pastor.

[madrchsod]

4. actually it`s-none of your business-

at least it used to be before we became under the control of the right wing

[rzemanfl]

6. Ah! The "reluctant religion responder," no wonder these polls

don't make any sense.

[JI7]

10. you are equating being a certain religion with attending church

there are many people who consider themselves a certain religion but don't attend church, temple or some other "place of worship".

[rzemanfl]

11. Isn't that sort of being like a Chicago Cubs fan who doesn't go to

games, watch them on TV or follow them in the newspaper?

Do you think the Pope would call someone who said they were Catholic but never went to church or contributed money to the church and supported choice, etc. a Catholic-just because that person thought they were?

It would really save a lot of money if people would just "consider" themselves a certain religion. Could close all those churches and synagogues, lay off the staff, etc.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. It's a cultural thing with them

It's sort of like people in Minnesota considering themselves "Scandinavian" when they speak no Scandinavian language, have never been to Scandinavia, and wouldn't be able to answer a simple ten-point quiz about any Scandinavian country.

By the way, the churches and synagogues that are currently open stay open only as long as they have supporters. They don't get by on people who never attend services, so your idea, as attractive as it might be to an atheist, wouldn't work.

[rzemanfl]

18. Regarding your second paragraph, same thing goes for

baseball teams.

[rzemanfl]

19. But I bet a lot of them have blond hair and blue eyes. I don't see

any halos on these "consider themselves" Christians.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Yeah, but mortals never have haloes

That's hagiography 101. :-)

[rzemanfl]

28. Hago what??? Bush has them in photos all the time..... n/t

[kevsand]

16. Actually, most Cubs fans

don't "go to games, watch them on TV or follow them in the newspaper." It's less painful that way. ;-)

[rzemanfl]

20. Sort of like hoping for an afterlife but skipping all those boring

Sunday services.

[kevsand]

21. LOL!

I never thought of it before, but I guess post-season does sort of qualify as an "afterlife"!

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rzemanfl]

13. Nah! Its maybe fifth after heroin, crystal meth, crack and

alcoholism.

On edit, with the first four though, you know you are fucked up.

[beyurslf]

25. Does your wife follow Lent? I have an ex just like your wife who

ALWAYS gave up smoking during Lent and never ate meat on Fridays in Lent. I could never figure it out---especially the smoking. If you stop every year for a few weeks to honor a religion you don't follow, then why not quit? :)

[rzemanfl]

30. I bet she doesn't even remember when it is. On edit, I need to

watch what I post early in the morning. Of course she would, it's right after the Mardi Gras parade we have here, isn't it?

[NAO]

26. I always answer "Secular Humanist"

and I suppose that is honestly my religion, although it is not really a religion.

I think that there are quite a few people who will defer to a default answer like "Catholic" or "oh, yes, of course I am a Christian" out of convention or habit, but in reality they live their lives and act from the secular perspective.

The Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles
http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/affirmations.html

A Secular Humanist Declaration
http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/declaration.html

[Dr Fate]

27. The DEMS are mainstream on Faith issues- and many dont even know it.

I agree with you- And I like how Kerry and Dean spoke out against the RWingers on this recently.

[harpo]

29. what article? a link would be nice

[rzemanfl]

31. It was on the editorial page, by George Will, probably in a lot

of papers last week. The underlying data is a survey from 2001. I will try to find a link to that.

[rzemanfl]

33. Here's a link to the data.

www.atheists.org/flash.line/atheist4.htm

[bush_is_wacko]

40. I was raised Catholic and that is what I answer...

None certainly doesn't describe how I feel about myself despite the fact I am very similar to your wife in my appearance at Sunday mass. I put the term Catholic on my paperwork because in the event of my death I feel that religion would comfort my family more than anything.

Would you consider all or us Christians who believe Gods Kingdom can be found on every corner of the earth and in every beast upon it's surface to have no religion? I don't have a "specific religion" to call my own anymore, for sure, but none isn't adequate either, you know?

[rzemanfl]

41. Your second paragraph is fine with me, but to quote someone

unknown, I'm betting "it is enough to piss off the Pope." I have no quarrel with religious beliefs, just the with the greed, hypocrisy, wars and persecution that organized religion has fostered through the centuries and today.

[bush_is_wacko]

42. Without a doubt I would not be on the Popes list of "good Catholics"

but his opinion is not the opinion that matters to me. He is a man, nothing more. God will utimately decide the merits of his words and mine in the end. In reading through my Bible it is clear to me the Pope will be held to a higher standard than me becuase of his choice to lead others to God. It is not my duty to judge whether he will be judged worthy by God. It is my duty to judge for myself how I should conduct myself on this earth.

I honestly don't think God wouldn't be offended by me wishing to comfort my family in death either. Religion is an earthly experience in my opinion. It isn't the same in Gods Kingdom. If the Pope has a problem with that let him leave me to Gods judgement the way I will leave him.