My Sister is probably indifferently agnostic. She's quite smart. However, I suspect that she belives big existential questions are an adolescent waste of time, she doesn't really give a damn whether God exists or not, isn't particullarly religious, isn't into church. She probably isn't particularly spirtual. That doesn't mean she can't or doesn't experience religion. She enjoyed chuch camp and had campfire experiences as a middle schooler. She's just grown beyond it. But unlike an agnostic or atheist, she doesn't even give a damn about religion or whether there's a God, and doesn't think about it much.
I'm sure you know irreligious people like this who are agnostic in the sense of being indifferent. They are really common. What do you think makes them like that? I think they are really lucky.
Wish I were able to ignore religion.. But it has a way of forcing itself into our lives. Some take stands, others avoid conflict; I’ll stand with the stand takers
I do not think anyone can ignore religion. The same can be said of politics and science. This is why the secular route - a separation apartheid - is the wrong route
Well said
@Mcflewster I have known a few folks who don't care about any of those things. There is no wrong to it. It is their life to live the way they want. They always seem more content than the rest of us. I wish l could disengage like that.
Apatheists are more common than internet boards would lead you to believe. If it doesn't make any difference whether there is a god, why spend a lot of time and effort into debating it? If there is no higher power, you should be a good person because it will benefit you socially and your group (maybe even the species) as a whole. If there is a god, and you have done this, one would hope the god would judge you favorably.
That said, a lot of us feel forced to think about it because religion still holds a lot of political and cultural power. That makes it difficult to be an apatheist.
...think I just learned a new word
That is exactly right. Damn, people sit around talking about the nonexistence of hobgoblins and grumpkins that they exist again. Its ridiculous. When people start talking religion or nonreligion subjectively, i break out the salt and put a ring of it around me, for protection. Maybe chant.
Ah, I was hoping someone had posted about apatheists.
Shes beyond it and controls her own life. Power to her.
I know a bunch. It seems that if you dig a little you can find them. Kinda like sports, if your into it, it means the world to you, if not then you probaly couldn't name a player or team and wouldn't care less who was in the big game. If it is not your thing, it's not your thing...LOL
THIS is the place to change your sister at least to someone who cares. That applies to thousands if not many millions of people world wide.
Wish ‘this’ would have been around in my formative years ... I could have found a good wife
I actually believe the same as her. in th past I woulda show curiosity towards various religions but in time I pretty much got over it. I had more important things called living my life and enjoying it.
Your sister is not alone in her stance on religion.I know a few people like your sister who regard the existence or non-existence of a god or gods as a matter not worth thinking about. They claim that they have much better things to do with their time than to entertain such thoughts. I guess if you live in a community that has a predominantly religious population and you are an agnostic or atheist it may be an issue for you.
I agree, it would be wonderful to not care about all that stuff. But as a good skeptic I cannot help but wonder why...
Do you know how much she cares about life in society at a greater scale? It can be simple to understand being isolated from religion in a small scale, but does she care about politics or issues that afflict people outside her social circles?
Thats me because I never had a god and was abused as a child so I never had parents either mother manic, father depressive. older brother got away out of it - I wouldn' t know him if I saw him - Its immensely freeing to just be and have your own self - I am not interested in religion at all - interested in people who are having a hard time with it but probably more sympathetic than empathic as i have never been there or done that god thang.
My Sister kind of has a "no whiners, no excuses" attitude. She pretty middle of the road. She doesn't like bullshit, doesn't like Trump. She got her degree in environmental biology and DOES care about the environment and science, but mostly she's kinda apolitical.
If people could just realize that the purported definition "God = creator of the universe" is meaningless, they would realize that no god has been defined to be atheistic or agnostic toward. That's because the word "creator" can ONLY be defined in terms of an ALREADY EXISTING UNIVERSE -- and therefore their using the word "creator" in that purported definitiion proves it's meaningless. Christians do not believe in a god, they only believe they do. Realize it!
I find myself much in that position. I don't give a damn whether there is or isn't a God.
My issues with religion are the power that it puts into the hands of corrupt humans, the unnecessary death and suffering that happens in its name, and the behaviour of zealots towards people who don't believe, or who refuse to live by their religion's moral code.
Surely if YOU decide the code, you get your power back and can un-damn things.
@Mcflewster That's precisely what I've done. You still get to deal with the backlash from people who've based their morality on collections of 1000+ year old stories.
That's not to say that religious people can't be 'live and let live.' I know plenty who are, and who are even supportive, in spite of my 'lifestyle choices' going against their religion's teachings.
The way I see it is that most Christianity, the mainline downtown churches like Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Catholic are not causing much harm, and do a lot of good. They're all wrong of course, but the duped people are OK. These are all losing membership. I think you're talking mostly about strict Islam, right?
@EdwinMcCravy Second time I've posted this video today (the other was over a snippet early on.) It's worth a watch, though.
Religion is ultimately self-serving. Efforts to appear benevolent are usually about control. In Mr Fry's speech above, the Catholic Church providing the finance for medical aid in third world countries, on the condition that they don't promote the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV, for example.
Essentially that is an appropriate sentiment. Humans have been living and dying on this blue ball for millions of years. Anyone is insignificant. It's all zero-sum.
I'm like that. this site is the closest I've found to where I want to spend time and I really enjoy it. I learned off of animals as couldn't care less for bibles, Gods, diamonds, pearls, gold or money and to me unless there being hunted they are happy as fuck especially my dogs. I never did believe. I don't like War but as a teenager, I loved army cadets big time. id love to live in a church.the road they made in the film "Schindler's list" out of tombstones with gravel I thought was fucking brilliant and still do but not the way they had it built.
They’re smart enough to have thought about it just enough to know but too shallow to pursue their thinking any further. I envy them too sometimes!
I'm AGNOSTIC. I've tried too many churches and went for many years. Seems like a lot of them are in competition . Same as the world religions that all think they are right. That is why we have wars.
I'm like that chumbling along getting on with my life - and yet i do get pretty annoyed when i hear or read people saying (because i am an out atheist) that I am believing something. That I am 'believing' in atheism doh !It makes my head spin and I wonder sometimes if we actually need the friction? But certainly after 70 years of being without a religion I rather think I know my own mind, and it doesnt bother to 'believe' in a non subject, a non event a no -no!
Honestly, I don't think about this stuff outside of being here, on this website. The reason for this, I believe, is that I don't think I had a conversion, or deconversion point in my life. I don't recall ever experiencing having a deeply religious, soul-moving emotional moment, or period when I was absolutely convinced that there was unequivocally a supreme being out there, somewhere.
In periods of being directionless, and essentially, without any anchors in life, I went through the motions of church attendance, even up to and including baptism. But, I was never really comfortable, always watching and listening for anything to latch onto that could be that one thing to solidify my "belief". But it has never happened. I have never truly felt the spirit "move me," never had that overwhelming, mind-numbing godification of my being.
So, I cannot in any way relate to the way religionists say they experience god, except in instances of being in nature and seeing a beautiful sunrise, or sunset; or, perhaps, catching a 6' wave, or surfing with dolphins. Or, maybe being in the same room when my daughter was born and feeling a part of creation.
I can certianly identify with her, at 12 I was done with church at 15 I decided there is no god. Never really cared or gave much thought til I was around 25 and figured I'm agnostic more than anything. Curious why you think they are really lucky?
No, you care that you are agnostic, belong to an online community of non-theists. That's way different than just being uninterested or apathetic or not giving a damn. My Sister doesn't waste time worrying about God, lack of god, religion, or whatever. It must be nice to get all those brain cycles back from unproductive concerns, and not worry about them.
How old is she? as you describe her, she seems < 18. Everyone's the right to explore their spirituality in their own. You open up saying she's smart, but then you describe her as an insane teenager. If you could add some more details, probably we might give another point of view.