Are a lot of you people religious?

[col37400]

Looking through lists of applications for mobiles (on various programmes) I am often slightly surprised to see a fair number of scripture type apps on offer, and they often seem to be quite popular too.

To me, the type of person that is likely to be into computers and geek stuff seems unlikely to be the religious type. Firstly, you expect geek types (and I don't use the term "geek" pejoratively) to be quite into science and rational thought and all that. Secondly (and maybe I am making too many assumptions here) you expect them to be relatively young (mainly under 40 say) and again, I tend to expect religious types to be older rather than younger (having grown up in a time where religion was much more strongly tied into everyday life than it is now).

So for these reasons I'm always a little surprised, but I have generally assumed it is to be explained by the large number of people in the United States. I'm aware that religiosity remains rather more prevalent there (especially among younger people) than it does in most of Western Europe.

But I do notice some apps in the Maemo repository - for both Christian and Islamic scriptures - that seem to be quite popular. Yet I thought that Nokia and Maemo were virtually unheard of in the States and so I assume most Maemo users are European.

So anyway, I have made this poll out of curiosity.

[Spotfist]

Religion is the work of the devil!

[geneven]

Religion has been banned as a topic in the Infinite Wisdom of Our Creator.

[Aranel]

Voted. Anyway, I think this thread will be closed soon. Religion and Politics dont go well with technical forums, including Maemo Talk, even if you have good intentions :)

[ysss]

I think there's plenty of wisdom to be found, as long as you don't take them all literally...

[roger_27]

when it comes to religion, I personally see two different types of people:

people who are religous, and people are are spiritual.

(I believe) You can have a close relationship to God without having to go to church. I think as long as you try to follow what the good book says, pray routinely (in your car on the way to work every morning), you should be A O K ! Just thank him for what you have (your N900 for example, or your job, or family)

Being religous is just going through the actions, like those catholics who judge everyone, touting how great of a devout catholic they are. People like this are religous people, but they are by no means good people, or very spiritual. They are just as bad (I believe) as people who have no morals at all!

I think these apps are good for people who are spiritual, who just want some wise words every now and again. I would love one that pops one up after every phone call, or only upon phone start. a nugget of wisdom from the good book.

[mmurfin87]

To me, the type of person that is likely to be into computers and geek stuff seems unlikely to be the religious type. Firstly, you expect geek types (and I don't use the term "geek" pejoratively) to be quite into science and rational thought and all that. Secondly (and maybe I am making too many assumptions here) you expect them to be relatively young (mainly under 40 say) and again, I tend to expect religious types to be older rather than younger (having grown up in a time where religion was much more strongly tied into everyday life than it is now).

I am 22, VERY interested in science and rational thought and VERY religious.

At the end of the day the more you know the more you realize just how ignorant you really are.

Anyway I voted.

[jacktanner]

flying spaghetti monster ftw

[ysss]

when it comes to religion, I personally see two different types of people:

people who are religous, and people are are spiritual.

(I believe) You can have a close relationship to God without having to go to church. I think as long as you try to follow what the good book says, pray routinely (in your car on the way to work every morning), you should be A O K ! Just thank him for what you have (your N900 for example, or your job, or family)

Being religous is just going through the actions, like those catholics who judge everyone, touting how great of a devout catholic they are. People like this are religous people, but they are by no means good people, or very spiritual. They are just as bad (I believe) as people who have no morals at all!

I think these apps are good for people who are spiritual, who just want some wise words every now and again. I would love one that pops one up after every phone call, or only upon phone start. a nugget of wisdom from the good book.

Pot says to kettle, "You're black?"

:D

[roger_27]

Pot says to kettle, "You're black?"

:D

hahaha, I guess I should have say "supposedly devotee religous phsycos" instead of straight out pointed out catholics, you're right. ah well. I admit I am wrong, and ask forgiveness for it!

[amh]

And there was me thinking that off topic wasn't meant for religious or political discussion. I voted anyway.

[col37400]

I am 22, VERY interested in science and rational thought and VERY religious.

At the end of the day the more you know the more you realize just how ignorant you really are.

Anyway I voted.

When you say you are "very religious" what do you mean?

Do you mean you believe the story of creation literally as reported in the Bible (assuming you are Christian)?

Do you pray?

Do you believe prayer to be effective?

What do you consider "God" to be, and what is your relationship with it/him/her?

Do you believe in an afterlife?

[Behemoth]

flying spaghetti monster ftw

same for me

[col37400]

when it comes to religion, I personally see two different types of people:

people who are religous, and people are are spiritual.

(I believe) You can have a close relationship to God without having to go to church. I think as long as you try to follow what the good book says, pray routinely (in your car on the way to work every morning), you should be A O K ! Just thank him for what you have (your N900 for example, or your job, or family)

Being religous is just going through the actions, like those catholics who judge everyone, touting how great of a devout catholic they are. People like this are religous people, but they are by no means good people, or very spiritual. They are just as bad (I believe) as people who have no morals at all!


I understand the distinction you make. I would describe the latter type as socially/culturally religious; ie they follow these customs mainly as a cultural/social thing rather than out of faith or what you call "spiritual" reasons.

Are you in the US?

[Hotshot]

when it comes to religion, I personally see two different types of people:

people who are religous, and people are are spiritual.

(I believe) You can have a close relationship to God without having to go to church. I think as long as you try to follow what the good book says, pray routinely (in your car on the way to work every morning), you should be A O K ! Just thank him for what you have (your N900 for example, or your job, or family)

Being religous is just going through the actions, like those catholics who judge everyone, touting how great of a devout catholic they are. People like this are religous people, but they are by no means good people, or very spiritual. They are just as bad (I believe) as people who have no morals at all!

I think these apps are good for people who are spiritual, who just want some wise words every now and again. I would love one that pops one up after every phone call, or only upon phone start. a nugget of wisdom from the good book.

You beat me to the punch. Hit the nail dead on the head.

[Sopwith]

...
To me, the type of person that is likely to be into computers and geek stuff seems unlikely to be the religious type...

I find the correlation that you seek between "geekiness" and religious beliefs amusing. I have suspected that such correlations exist also with other simple descriptors: IQ, special food preferences, etc. I would really like to be able to read a well conducted social study on these subjects...

[junooni]

LOL! ight fellas here my take on religion.
lm not a fundamenlist,but i follow the fundamentals & those are the same for every religion. The idea is that its not a rocket science as you see on the tv, but if you really read it ur self with an open heart & mind you'll come to know its justa life style. Or I may say a policy of life.
Just like we follow policies at work,i thnk religions are policies for life, teaches us what's bad and what;'s good and form there it's our choice which way to go.:cool:

[mmurfin87]

When you say you are "very religious" what do you mean?

Do you mean you believe the story of creation literally as reported in the Bible (assuming you are Christian)?

Do you pray?

Do you believe prayer to be effective?

What do you consider "God" to be, and what is your relationship with it/him/her?

Do you believe in an afterlife?

I would love to have a discussion on all of these questions on TMO open for everyone to read and comment. That said, this particular thread isn't the best place for that simply because its divergent and will probably get this thread closed. So I will have to PM you the answers to those questions later, or maybe I'll post it on my website.

On topic, though, it looks like you'll have a nice statistical experiment right here. So far your hypothesis is holding up quite nicely with nearly 60% of people who fit your description.

I am from the US though, which you also predicted.

[Ali bhai]

I am twenty something, in the US and am a research microbiologist by trade. I also follow tech blogs and consider myself to be enough of a geek that friends and family ask me for my opinion before buying a high end phone, tv, computer, even microwaves.... and I'm extremely religious/spiritual

[benny1967]

So how do we (t.m.o.) compare to others? When asked "are you religious?" in 2009,
79% answered "yes" in austria (although only 43% of the people under 30),
93% answered "yes" in poland,
39% answered "yes" in sweden,
46% answered "yes" in france,

[roger_27]

Are you in the US?

I am! in California!

why do you ask?

[col37400]

I am twenty something, in the US and am a research microbiologist by trade. I also follow tech blogs and consider myself to be enough of a geek that friends and family ask me for my opinion before buying a high end phone, tv, computer, even microwaves.... and I'm extremely religious/spiritual

I'd be interested in your responses to the same questions I asked mmurfin above.

[col37400]

I am! in California!

why do you ask?

Just curious.

Religion seems to have a greater hold in the States than it does in Europe. Or the UK at least, especially for younger people.

I don't know what age you are, but in the UK, for someone younger than about 40 to say they prayed in their car on the way to work would be kind of... unusual I think.

[roger_27]

I am 25!! and that's because people in the UK are heathens! ;) jk

[Rob1n]

Religion seems to have a greater hold in the States than it does in Europe.

That'll be because the US was initially colonised by people who felt they were being ostracised for their religion. In addition there was the large influx of Irish immigrants, also a strongly religious group.

[cardiff-blues]

I guess my signature gives me away :)

[jaysire]

I am extremely unreligious and from Finland. Most people I know here seem to share my attitude. Out of a hundred people between ages 18-40, that I know, maybe one or two confess to being very religious, so I don't really know a lot of religious people. I don't really care one way or the other - believe in what you want.

[leetut]

for anyone wanting to chat about religon....
go to your doctor, tell him you were walking along and a burning bush suddenly spoke to you saying 'i am god, here are my 10 commandments'

watch how fast the doctor has you committed to your local mental asylum

personally, every particle in my body came from the planet earth and they will all go back there when i run out of juice.
but id still rather a religous man is standing next to me when in 2012 that LHC opens up a black hole and we all start to be swallowed up into oblivion!
(just incase!)

[SavageD]

Christian here, specifically an adventist, it's sometimes amazing how some people jump towards derogatory terms when it comes to religious topics, perhaps its a sense of insecurity?

[mmurfin87]

for anyone wanting to chat about religon....
go to your doctor, tell him you were walking along and a burning bush suddenly spoke to you saying 'i am god, here are my 10 commandments'

watch how fast the doctor has you committed to your local mental asylum

Christian here, specifically an adventist, it's sometimes amazing how some people jump towards derogatory terms when it comes to religious topics, perhaps its a sense of insecurity?

Lets just stop this sort of talk right here. We don't need to be trading smartass remarks. No offense to either of you.

[digittante]

I'm curious about recent posts inquiring about personal (perhaps non-N900 related) information. Does it matter what we drive, which operating system we use, where we work, whom we worship (or don't), or which flavor of ice-cream we like best?

If you've initiated one of these (or plan to), please share your intentions/motivations for doing so. . .

Looking through lists of applications for mobiles (on various programmes) I am often slightly surprised to see a fair number of scripture type apps on offer, and they often seem to be quite popular too.

To me, the type of person that is likely to be into computers and geek stuff seems unlikely to be the religious type. Firstly, you expect geek types (and I don't use the term "geek" pejoratively) to be quite into science and rational thought and all that. Secondly (and maybe I am making too many assumptions here) you expect them to be relatively young (mainly under 40 say) and again, I tend to expect religious types to be older rather than younger (having grown up in a time where religion was much more strongly tied into everyday life than it is now).

So for these reasons I'm always a little surprised, but I have generally assumed it is to be explained by the large number of people in the United States. I'm aware that religiosity remains rather more prevalent there (especially among younger people) than it does in most of Western Europe.

But I do notice some apps in the Maemo repository - for both Christian and Islamic scriptures - that seem to be quite popular. Yet I thought that Nokia and Maemo were virtually unheard of in the States and so I assume most Maemo users are European.

So anyway, I have made this poll out of curiosity.

[cardiff-blues]

for anyone wanting to chat about religon....
go to your doctor, tell him you were walking along and a burning bush suddenly spoke to you saying 'i am god, here are my 10 commandments'

watch how fast the doctor has you committed to your local mental asylum


Why do some people assume that you have to be mental to be a Christian? Some of the greatest minds from science have been religious. Were they all mad?

Speaking from a UK perspective, most of the biggest charities were established by Christians and so if being one makes you a mad person who wants to help others then I am proud to say that I am mad.

[geneven]

I'm curious about recent posts inquiring about personal (perhaps non-N900 related) information. Does it matter what we drive, which operating system we use, where we work, whom we worship (or don't), or which flavor of ice-cream we like best?

If you've initiated one of these (or plan to), please share your intentions/motivations for doing so. . .

I think it's quite natural to wonder about what people you associate with think on these subjects.

[danx]

All religion is good . its that people are bad..

[Flynx]

People are naturally curious about anything they don't understand. How did you learn so much about your N900? You picked at it, piece by piece, until all the parts were laid out and you could make sense of it (metaphorically speaking).

When people meet other people, its much more complicated (as history shows us). The best reaction, though not the most common, would be curiosity.

But these questions like religion, politics, etc, - they never go away. So the question is... why can't people understand other people?

[Sopwith]

Why do some people assume that you have to be mental to be a Christian? Some of the greatest minds from science have been religious. Were they all mad?

Speaking from a UK perspective, most of the biggest charities were established by Christians and so if being one makes you a mad person who wants to help others then I am proud to say that I am mad.

Cardiff-blues, when were the greatest minds that you're talking about born? Don't you think that in the past being a scientist has already drawn unwanted attention from the church, so it has been perhaps safest to declare oneself a devoted believer, even if one doesn't give a rat's @ss about god? Plus, the people with the money that can fund science have historically been religious. I'd sign up for any (moderate) religion in a heartbeat if I knew that would ensure I got to do whatever I am passionate about in peace...

If it helps my point, here's some statistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bsa-religion-question.svg) from the "heathen" UK from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism), notice the trend in the past 30 years...

E pur si muove!

[windows7]

Why do some people assume that you have to be mental to be a Christian? Some of the greatest minds from science have been religious. Were they all mad?

Speaking from a UK perspective, most of the biggest charities were established by Christians and so if being one makes you a mad person who wants to help others then I am proud to say that I am mad.

Completly true.

Our countries fair laws have been build upon relegious christian values.

I have worked in the IT industry myself for more then 12 years and i,m a christian beleiver.

I consider myself as a strong beleiver, from believing in the power of prayer to miracles, but moderate towards others beleives in such a wide crazy spectrum of church splits, all contradicting each other. as such my beleives lie with the apostolic teachings that can be traced to when christ walked amongst us..

Religion and politics are topics that people will never fully agree.

Call me crazy if you wish, but In such a crazy world that we live in, I try to put my trust fully in my Lord who died and washed my and your sins in the cross over 2000 years ago.
some people read horoscopes, some dont walk under laders and some dont even go out on fridays the 13, well i put my trust in my Lord and saviour and i,m no longer supersticious or depressed with the world around me..

I beleive Sin pushes people away from God.

[tekplay]

Time to quote JD Krishnamurthy. :)

""Truth is a pathless land." Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection. Man has built in himself images as a fence of security -- religious, political, personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas, beliefs. The burden of these images dominates man's thinking, his relationships and his daily life. These images are the causes of our problems for they divide man from man. His perception of life is shaped by the concepts already established in his mind. The content of his consciousness is his entire existence. This content is common to all humanity. The individuality is the name, the form and superficial culture he acquires from tradition and environment. The uniqueness of man does not lie in the superficial but in complete freedom from the content of his consciousness, which is common to all mankind. So he is not an individual."

[timwatt]

I am seriously religious about reading this blog. As for a personal God (or gods) there is a "unified existence" in nature call it physics call it natural law, call it creation. So, until we understand who its parents are and weather or not it (he or her) speaks English or Arabic, I will remain agnostic.

As for discussing religion I was a little shocked to read today that the bible "our source of morality" supports the stoning of disablement kids, and the removal of the eyes of the defiant ones.

The whole question posed in this blog is equally distributing to me. Religion tryes to guide spirituality, my exsperiance to date has presented religious people as the ones who got lost in the letter of the law in trying to understand the spitit of teh law.

So to sum up there is Physics the language of God, there is wisdom in religious teachings, but to understand it through the lens of organized religion is to believe you are nothing but worthless dust.

[mothmanex]

I'm a somewhat atheist, I believe that there is at least one god, but that god isn't perfect (If god was "perfect", we would have been "perfect" to).

Right now I believe on team Maemo!

[roger_27]

I'm curious about recent posts inquiring about personal (perhaps non-N900 related) information. Does it matter what we drive, which operating system we use, where we work, whom we worship (or don't), or which flavor of ice-cream we like best?

as much as we love our hpones, eventually we get tired of talking about our phones. so we wanna talk about something else !

[elimoon8]

(If god was "perfect," we would have been "perfect" too).

I find that to be an interesting sentiment. I don't see how you're drawing that conclusion, unless you believe us to be part of god in some way.

I am definitely the geeky and the nerdy type. My friends consult me about technology purchases, and I work in IT (I'm so hesitant to tell people that, because the next phrase I typically hear is: "really? Well, I have this computer...").

Anyway, I consider myself pretty religious (I pray five times a day), and I voted.

[geneven]

I had friends in chemistry class who were comfortable talking about chemical reactions like this: "so element x wants to bond with element y, but ..." They found it easier to put facts that way. Some people talk about the universe in terms of god or gods. The universe has plenty of mystery in it. Thinking about it as if a super-person controls it isn't such a bad way to get a handle on it.

[Sopwith]

Funny how the voting progresses... As the evening proceeds from the East coast through the Midwest, the percentage of religious voters has slightly risen. Then, as Australia awakes, and later after Europe has voted (by the time I am up tomorrow), I expect the percentage of religious voters to drop below 20.

Fascinating... and yet it moves.

[maluka]

I would say I fall in the strongly atheist camp but I do have great respect for good people of different faiths. Over here in Finland a recent study showed that only 2% of people go to church and that faith was mostly a private thing never discussed in the open. I prefer it this way.

[RobbH]

I find it interesting that the question is defined in terms of a dichotomy with "religious" at one end and "atheist" at the other.

I think it's very reasonable to consider atheists to be religious. Like other religious people, they believe (sometimes strongly) in a proposition that cannot be tested, and some are quite willing to proselytize for it.

The opposite of "atheist" is "theist". And while many of the most successful religions are theistic (Christianity, Islam and Judaism, to name a few -- in alphabetical order) others are not. Where do Buddhists fit on this continuum? How about agnostics?

I think the correct opposite of "strongly religious" would have to be "entirely indifferent to religious ideas". Otherwise, the discussion almost invariable turns into an argument between different types of beliefs, rather than a comparison of belief with non-belief.

[andraeseus1]

well lets get this party started right!!!!!

here is my 2 cents..
I think religion is awesome and mine is the best and blah blah and so what im going to mecca and then to temple and then to the strip club and i love to pray but i also like to worship my phone as it does rocketh! maemo.org is some what of a bible and i am not broke and starving just because i paid 700 bucks for my n900 when i knew i couldn't afford it. I am just "fasting" I feel as though God is ______ and our world revolves around the almighty ______ so I love each and every last one of you. but not in that way. in the other way. and if your a hot girl then maybe in that way. especially if your a tech geek. so hard to find hot tech geeky but still hot girls in sunday school but i do look for them faithfully. I pray to the east. and then to the west. and then to the north. and then to the south just in case god decides to move around a bit. So in conclusion my friends here in this thread and col37400(new friend).... i suppose you cant judge a book by its cover. I guess even tech folks like religious apps too?

[xomm]

Not sure if anone's pointed this out... but aren't political and religous discussions "against" the Off-Topic forum rules?

EDIT: Mefails at reading the first page. My bad.

[andraeseus1]

Lolllllllllllllllllllll

[andraeseus1]

I have already been offended 14 different ways by this thread. not the titlle of it. that wasa a interesting observation that made me go Hmmmm, however what came after was well.. i wont say. but i haev been offended

[geneven]

Yes, I am offended by people who are made nervous by free discussions.

[bshaw]

why we are discussing religious on n900 forum ... and they say 'jerry springer' is bad !!! lol

[andraeseus1]

Yes, I am offended by people who are made nervous by free discussions.

see how many peopel this thread offends? me and geneven are offended i know there are others.

[bobaseth]

What is the purpose of this topic? Are you using this topic as a prelude to request a religious incline application or what?

[R-R]

I'm utterly surprised that this thread hasn't yet exploded into massive troll-lava-fireball !

I would like to vote "Strongly Agnostic" but it's not on the list so i still voted what i felt was the closest to this...

I know as many atheist people as i know definitions of atheism vs agnosticism so I'd rather be on the safe side, in the end you're all atheist if you're brain is aware of more than 1 god concept and reject one because they are in conflict.

That being said, I oppose religion when/if it enters the political realm or any form of public discussion having an impact on freedom of choice, etc...
I also do not use God as a reference to nature, the universe or such as the word has a way too many connotations.
I'll also be wary of most relativists or scientists with an agenda...

I found these videos quiet in line with my thoughts on the matter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wV_REEdvxo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlaCq3dKvvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OLPL5p0fMg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9XntsSEro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vss1VKN2rf8

Now you can flame me, hopefully constructively... ;-)

[maysys]

Normally, I'd skip this thread. Tonight, for some reason, I'll answer:

The thing is, people use the word religious wrongly almost all the time.

Yes, I know, language is in a state of flux. Words change their meaning over time. But as usually defined, religion is used to describe certain styles of praxis with regards to faith, rather than to describe any given faith itself.

In short, religion has little to do with what you believe, and it is much more concerned with how you behave about what you believe.

You can be religious about just about anything, actually. And it is the cultural things that people choose to be religious about that are mainly responsible for all the schisms and horrors attributed to differing theologies. The theologies themselves have much less to do with any of that nonsense.

Me, I'd be entirely pleased to be categorized as areligious. I usually think of myself in that way. But there is no way I'd ever categorize myself as atheistic.

Look: Even Occam's Razor, that fundamental tool of reason, becomes, when applied to matters of faith, itself a test of belief. Either you believe it to be more complicated (and thus less likely) that there is a god, or you believe it to be more complicated (and thus less likely) that there isn't. You bring that supposition with you to the analysis. Either way, you are beginning on faith.

What you believe is entirely faith. What you think about that belief is mostly theology (or BS, you decide). And what you do about that belief (and to some degree, what you do about what you think about it) is religion. They are separate things.

Most people don't like to hear that, but it is true.

[Flandry]

I didn't vote but add me to "strongly religious". Also closing the thread on account of it's explicitly forbidden in the forum description, but thank you everyone for keeping it fairly tame.