World Religions Class Survey

[Socrates]

I need to get some responses for a World Religions Course. If you could help me out by giving your thoughts on the following questions I would appreciate it. Thanks

Interview Questions:

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?

3. Is there right and wrong? If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?

4. Is there a god? If so how would you describe it?

5. What happens to people after they die?

Background Information:

Gender:

Age:

Hometown (City, State, Country):

Ethnic Background:

Religious Affiliation:

Specific Branch (if Applicable):

Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with?

In which category would you place yourself:
A. Devout
B. Moderate
C. Casual
D. As much as the next person, I guess
E. Well if I had to choose a religion…

[achilles12604]

I need to get some responses for a World Religions Course. If you could help me out by giving your thoughts on the following questions I would appreciate it. Thanks

Interview Questions:

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?

3. Is there right and wrong? If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?

4. Is there a god? If so how would you describe it?

5. What happens to people after they die?

Background Information:

Gender:

Age:

Hometown (City, State, Country):

Ethnic Background:

Religious Affiliation:

Specific Branch (if Applicable):

Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with?

In which category would you place yourself:
A. Devout
B. Moderate
C. Casual
D. As much as the next person, I guess
E. Well if I had to choose a religion…

Hi Socrates and may I be the first to welcome you to the forum and thank you for being observant and placing this in the correct place.

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?

Truth has a few definitions depending on how you use the word.

conformity with fact or reality;
accuracy, as of position or adjustment
ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience

I define truth as something which has merit in the real world. I usually determine truth by means of physical analysis or logical process.

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?

I define evil as something which goes against the standard of morality put forth by religion and my own moral sense. Evil can be linked to suffering but is not necessarily equivalent.

3. Is there right and wrong? If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?

Right and wrong are purely subjective terms and therefore can only apply to a single individual. Society can set up a standard of behavior based on multiple person's subjective analysis of what is right or wrong creating a social standard of right and wrong, but this again goes back to individuals first.

I personally determine right and wrong from three sources. My religion, my society and myself.

4. Is there a god? If so how would you describe it?

I believe that there is a God. I would describe it as powerful, good, just, intelligent, self-aware, all present, all knowing.

5. What happens to people after they die?

I believe that ultimately they either enter into being with God, or disappear into nothingness depending on the state of that person's soul.




Gender: Male

Age: 24

Hometown (City, State, Country): Colorado, USA

Ethnic Background: Caucasian(germanic)

Religious Affiliation: Heretical Christian

Specific Branch (if Applicable): LoL. Not really.

Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with? No.

In which category would you place yourself:
A. Devout
B. Moderate
C. Casual
D. As much as the next person, I guess
E. Well if I had to choose a religion…

F: Deeply interested in finding truth, but not overly religious regarding rites or traditions.

[McCulloch]

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?
Mathematics. Everything else is subjective.

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?
Statistics.

3. Is there right and wrong? If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?
Right and wrong, good and evil, justice and mercy are all useful human ideas. Humans are a species of social domesticated ape, and as such require these ideas in order to succeed collectively. Those ideas about these things which do not work as well tend to get left and those which do, tend to be brought forward by successive civilizations.

4. Is there a god? If so how would you describe it?
The people who believe that there is a god cannot themselves agree on what that means. I have not seen sufficient evidence to believe that there is a god.

5. What happens to people after they die?
Decay.

Background Information:

[row]Gender: [col]M[row]Age: [col]47[row]Hometown (City, State, Country): [col]Toronto, ON, CA.[row]Ethnic Background: [col]Irish, Scottish, Canadian[row]Religious Affiliation: [col]None.[row]Specific Branch (if Applicable): [col]I am a Humanist.[row]Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with? [col]No. My father was a humanist, but I only found that out after he died. He and Mom agreed to not try to influence our religious choices. She is a liberal Christian. [row]In which category would you place yourself: [list=a] [*]Devout [*]Moderate [*]Casual [*]As much as the next person, I guess [*]Well if I had to choose a religion…[/list][col]When I was a Christian, I took it [i]very [/i]seriously.

[cnorman18]

I need to get some responses for a World Religions Course. If you could help me out by giving your thoughts on the following questions I would appreciate it. Thanks

Interview Questions:

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?

In mundane terms, truth is that which accurately describes reality or can be proven by logic or reason.

Religious truth is another issue, and one's perception of such truths would appear to depend on one's beliefs; therefore, in my opinion, there is no one immutable truth in religious terms. I do not claim to know whether the beliefs of others are correct. Or even my own.

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?

An even more difficult question. Off the cuff; Evil is that which injures or harms a living being in any way. There are often tradeoffs; it is always bad to cut a person's skin, but if they have a bad appendix, that harm is preferable to the greater harm of doing nothing. It should go without saying that injury or harm is not necessarily physical.

I'm sure there is more, but that's a quick-and-dirty assessment.

Suffering is related, but is not the same. Evil can cause suffering, and suffering is usually an evil; but sometimes, again, suffering is necessary for a greater good. Recovering from an appendectomy, for instance. Or dieting.

3. Is there right and wrong? If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?

There is definitely right and wrong. Some things are basic and obvious; do as you would be done by. Others are more difficult; turning in an errant child or parent to the police, or helping them work out their problems. Getting a divorce. Eating meat. Some religions have hard-and-fast rules; others say, in effect, "use your best judgment." I subscribe to the latter school.

4. Is there a god? If so how would you describe it?

I believe there is a God. In general terms, the God of modern liberal Judaism. Omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, without form or body, perfect, all that stuff. For those who didn't notice, "all-loving" is not on that list.

5. What happens to people after they die?

I do not claim to know. Most Jews believe in an afterlife, but not all; and those who do don't claim to know what it's like. It's not very important in the Jewish religion.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Age: 57

Hometown (City, State, Country): Dallas, Texas, USA

Ethnic Background: Caucasian of Scottish descent

Religious Affiliation: Jewish

Specific Branch (if Applicable): Conservative or Masorti

Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with? No. I converted to Judaism at the age of 50. I was formerly a Methodist, and at one time a Methodist minister.

In which category would you place yourself:
* A. Devout in belief
* B. Moderate in observance
C. Casual
D. As much as the next person, I guess
E. Well if I had to choose a religion…

Thanks. Good luck with your class.

[Fallibleone]

I need to get some responses for a World Religions Course. If you could help me out by giving your thoughts on the following questions I would appreciate it. Thanks

Hi, Socrates. Welcome.

Interview Questions:

1. What is Truth? Or How do you determine Truth?

Elusive, and mostly subjective. Unless we are talking mathematics (which I'm not very good at), I try to get as close as I can to it by finding out as much information as possible and weighing the evidence. I recognise this as a somewhat slapdash approach.

2. What is evil? Is suffering the same?

'Evil' is a term loaded with religious meaning to which I do not subscribe. Suffering is emotional, physical or mental pain.

3. Is there right and wrong?

There is subjective right and wrong.

If so how do you go about determining right and wrong?

I look to my internal valuing mechanisms, and to a limited extent to social mores to inform my thinking.

4. Is there a god?

I do not have a definitive answer to that question but I believe the lack of evidence regarding God's existence points to a strong possibility that there is not.

If so how would you describe it?

N/A

5. What happens to people after they die?

They cease to exist. The consciousness dies with the brain. The body gradually decomposes.

Background Information:

Gender:

Female

Age:

34

Hometown (City, State, Country):

Liverpool, Merseyside, England

Ethnic Background:

White, Irish, Scottish, English.

Religious Affiliation:

None. I take a Humanistic approach to life.

Specific Branch (if Applicable):

N/A

Is this the same Religious Perspective you grew up with?

Not quite. My mother appears to be agnostic, my father is an ex-Catholic and strong atheist.

In which category would you place yourself:
A. Devout
B. Moderate
C. Casual
D. As much as the next person, I guess
E. Well if I had to choose a religion…

F.

G. Vocally non-religious.