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A religion thats right for me.
I am looking for a religion but I want one thats right for me. Can someone tell me every religion out there and what its about? Also for religions that require you to go to church is it possible to just stay home and do what you would at a church and still have it not be a sin?
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
You might try the Belief O Matic at [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
I'm a Unitarian Universalist. UU's believe in the inherent dignity and worth of every person, in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and in making our world a better place. UU's are free to be on their own personal religious journeys, although there are some theologies that we tend to hold in common. Most UU's wouldn't believe in a literal Hell or Heaven. Thus, it isn't a "sin" not to show up at a UU service, but we tend to think that it's good to come together as a community. A community supports you in living out your values. Supporting a Unitarian Universalist congregation also enables it to be there for other religious seekers who need it. You may find out more about it at www.uua.org.
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Listen to my audio. I answer all of these questions in a lecture I gave recently.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
you can also email me at baseball@stthom.edu
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Step one is for you to give some serious thought to WHY you're looking for a religion. Do you feel some lack inside? Some sort of need? If so, what is it? Once you know what you're looking for, you'll have a much better chance of finding it.
And please be careful. There are a lot of cults out there, and I've seen some people get into terrible situations. I know one girl who joined a cult, and later tried to saw off her tongue for saying "bad words". And she was one of the sweetest, nicest people I'd ever met! She ended up in a mental institution for years.
So please use your best judgement. There are some sophisticated groups out there whose sole purpose is to lure people in with friendship, peer pressure, and the opposite sex. Almost ANYONE can be sucked in by a set-up like that, no matter how smart and strong they are.
Don't ever let yourself get into a situation where you're isolated and dependent on others in the group to get home, or where others control what you can eat - weird though it may sound, one popular technique of brainwashing is to control your sugar and food intake.
Good luck!
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Wicca is just a system of beliefs; you don't have to practice magic to be Wiccan.
Satanism is fuzzier, but sacrificing animals is not required. There are three basic types of Satanists:
The first type aren't necessarily religious; they have a humanistic, materialistic, self-serving philosophy, and use "Satanism" to describe it.
The second type worship the Christian Satan, and typically have the same type of life philosophy as the first type.
The third type is the one that sacrifices animals and so forth. They are a very small fraction of the people who call themselves Satanists, and may have the same characteristics as one, both, or (rarely) none of the first two types.
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Converting one's religion is a very important life decision and needs to be taken seriously. You can't run around changing your religion every week.
A religion also needs to be more about belief than convenience. If you convert to Taoism, for example, you need to -believe- that there are many gods. Don't try to convince yourself of anything or else you aren't being true to yourself.
You don't always need a religion. Many friends of mine don't have a religion. They're not anarchists or satanists, they just don't care about religion and just want to dismiss it all. That's their own choice.
Before you make the switch, I recommend that you make an informed decision by researching the religion of your choosing thoroughly.
Stay away from cult websites or any other religion that asks you for money or your soul :s
A brilliant religion site is [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
It describes a lot of religions and gives you links to other religious webpages.
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I personally am a Christian. Not going to church isn't necessarily a sin. We are asked to encourage each other and build each other up. You can't encourage others of your faith if you don't go unless maybe you attend a Christian club at school, or organization in town such as Young Life. There is so much that comes with being a Christian. We believe in one God. That he sent his son through the virgin Mary, and that he lived a perfect life because God is perfect, and his son is perfect to set an example of how a person should live. His son lived to die so that we may be saved for our sins because we are sinful. We just strive to be Christ-like. We take communion with what is referred to as "wine" (today it is non-alcoholic or 100% grape juice, churches vary) and the "unleavened bread" bread w/ no yeast so crackers. Jesus said the bread represents his body, and the wine represents the blood he shed to die on the Cross. We believe in baptism; baptism in greek means immersion (going completely under water and back up) to represent his death and resurrection. He arose 3 days after his death and lived 40 days before going back to heaven to prove that his prophecy was true. To be saved, you must repent and be baptized, and then strive to live like Christ. We pray to God through Christ. I believe because everything in this world that he created was put together perfectly...God promises to come back someday (the rapture) when we least expect it, and then we will be judged. Those that are FAITHFUL Christians will live eternally w/ Him in heaven. Those that didn't, will be condemned. I could say more...but I'll need a response. Let me know if you have any questions. :-D I hope that gave you an idea of Christianity. Oh yeah, and God is forgiving, but it is best to ask for forgiveness of sins if you are sincere, and loves you because you are His. He created you. You can screw up endlessly but he will always love you. It doesn't mean that there won't be consequences. I would LOVE to tell you more if you are interested!
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Every religion? There are a lot of them. And they all have their own individual sub-religions. And just so you know, Wicca and other forms of Paganism aren't really about magic and Satanism doesn't involve sacrificing animals. Paganism is about loving and respecting the Earth, and basically you are allowed to practice it on your own (but it's also fun in groups). So you don't want to go to Church but would rather practice your religion at home? There you go--that's Paganism. Satanism is...I'm not sure about all of it, but it includes self-indulgence. I do know that most Satanists prefer their animals alive. I'm not trying to get you to pick one of those, I'm just giving you new perspective on them.
Now, personally, I like to take a look at all different religions. Then I take what I like about it and try to apply it to my life, but I leave out the stuff I don't like. I think this way is best because I am not conforming to anybody else's beliefs, but I'm not rejecting them either. If you do this, you can always be your own person. Nobody says you have to settle on one religion. In fact, I really don't think that's good because what if later you decide you don't believe in it? Sure, you can convert, but why go through the trouble when you can just practice different religions whenever you want?
Do research. There are A LOT of books on different religions, just go to the library. There are also a lot of websites, but I prefer books.
I don't know which ones would be right for you, only you can answer that, but I especially like Buddhism and Paganism. If you are worried about "sinning" try looking for a religion that doesn't have such a thing. There are plenty of them. [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) has some more information, but I recommend looking at other websites and books.
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