Different Religions - Do you see it as an obstacle to love?

To be fair Yuusaku, I didn't really identify my religion, I just said I was pagan. Pagan, in modern context, is an umbrella term used to describe about a thousand religions and spiritual concepts. I tend to be of the stance that unless you're coming after me for something, your religion is none of my business. I don't mean that dismissively, more that I respect a persons privacy.

I understand Paganism and that it branches off into various other beliefs and structures, et cetera, et cetera. I just thought stating you follow a religion to state an opinion and then completely leaving out what you follow loses some steam when making your point. It's not that I disrespect people's privacy tobibairu, just it was a bit more effective when people in this thread posted what they follow to compare their situations and answer ますじ's question. We are all being open and honest responding. Just trying to keep the flow. <P> Dude, it's the internet. Privacy is kinda hard to guard. =P <P>

I wasn't accusing you of infringing or anything, I was just offering a suggestion as to why he wouldn't post it outright. It was something of a devil's advocate response, rather than defensive.

I dont believe in any religion at all, IMO its nothing but a crutch, an excuse for not taking responsability and dismissing most of the difficult issues in life as caused by something else than life and its grittyness. I do believe in some occultism though, mostly due to 1st and 2nd hand experiences, but also in part because our masters use symbolism and ritualism to control and direct our actions, and do so with overwhelming succes.

As long as they do not try and force their beliefs on me. I am borderline atheist and agnostic. They can believe what they believe and i will what i will. As long as we are understanding about each others beliefs there is no issue. I am understanding of other's beliefs, so i would hope they would be too.

Hmmm. I like to consider myself christian but, I'm not someone who places the responsibilities of my actions on God. I also feel ya about the raising kids christian. I mean its not bad or a horrible thing but allowing kids to decide their own path when they are older is the best way. My father, who recently past, was not sure about whether or not he was religious when he was around 20, so he decided to read everything about every religion he could find. He decided that Christianity made the most sense for him. I don't think religious beliefs should be a reason to judge someone, and I don't favor pushing beliefs on to other people. Relationships....I'm not positive, but I think that if people really click and all that jazz, that it could work. As long as honesty is involved and the two people can understand one another and appreciate who the other is as a person then it should work awesomely. ( i dated an atheist for 2 years and the reason it broke off was because he moved. and nothing can really be done...*cough cough* so to speak at such a distance) And its a major factor for both people to respect one another and not degrade each other. I think an open mind and accepting hearts are the things people need in ANY relationship :D

Religion can become a major "problem" if you aren't careful. I'm an atheist that used to date a girl that was fairly religious. As the relationship grew, it became more of a "problem" because she became even more religious. I tried going to church, read books on Christian conversions, got a Bible for my birthday... In the end, she told me she couldn't marry someone that wasn't Christian, and that was the end of that. If your partner is religious AND conservative, they may become intolerant of others so be careful...