Is it easier to live a life with or without religion?

[Void]

Religion means different things to different people. Its always easier to be a sheep than to be a solitary.

 

[cafe]

I don't think I'll ever know. I can't imagine not being religious, even if it was a different religion.

I find comfort in my belief in a benevolent creator and an ultimate purpose.

But I have often felt rejected by the community of those people who share my faith and outraged at the glib distortion of our religion's teachings by many of it's practitioners.

And then I feel humbled because I have a lot of room for improvement myself.

 

[prplchknz]

depends on the person. for me I experience less anxiety without religion.

 

[mmhmm]

at this point in my life... without.

 

[Aleksei]

The question is geared towards you the individual, not a society. State your case.

Without. No conflict of interest about doing whatever the fuck I want. The whole point of religion is to control behavior, which societally speaking is a healthy positive, but personally I'm having none of it.

 

[BlackCat]

It varies from person to person. Too subjective to discuss objectively imo.

 

[cascadeco]

Both and neither.

For myself, I was much less happy and content when I was trying to believe in a higher power (key word is *trying*, because a monotheistic god (at the very least) has never made sense to me on a variety of levels and I'm basically incapable of doing the Faith thing). It was impossible for me to reconcile the actual world and universe around me with religious teachings, and the inconsistencies of so many things drove me batty. None of it made sense and it was starting to eat me alive. So to speak. In essence the 'Worldview'/perception I would have had to have to maintain a belief in god/religion was in total opposition to what I saw/thought/concluded/observed/studied/etc.

Once I went through the process of sorting through my own view of things, which, in essence, is of more of an atheistic bent, I have had much greater happiness and peace than I had EVER had while trying to adhere to and believe in a religion.

But as many others have already said, it greatly depends on the person and his own disposition. It's clear that a great number of people are much happier with their beliefs in a religion/god than they would be without.

Also, the psychological challenges/inconsistencies one with strong faith encounters will be totally different from the challenges one without faith encounters. Both might be equally 'hard' - just by nature different. I also think you'll find profoundly happy people who are at peace while holding to a faith, profoundly happy people who are at peace while being atheistic, profoundly unhappy of both, and everything possible in between and within.

 

[Mole]

The Individual and the Community

It's fascinating that this question is addressed to the individual whereas the very meaning of religion (religio) is to rebind - to rebind individuals into a community.

Most of us lead alienated lives where community is only nostalgia.

And yet perversely we insist that religion is an individual choice.

But the reality is that for most in the world religion is assigned to them at birth, and very few people, mainly Protestants, choose their own individual religion.

Yes, individual choice in religion is perversely Protestant. It is a protest against the community, a protest against social justice, a protest against religion itself. Whereas most Christians regard themselves as part of the Body of Christ, a community that cares for the least of us and the most vulnerable.

They say an American is never more American than when they are alone. And of course America is the home of Protestant freedom, even freedom from religion, but most of all, freedom to be alone.

For the rest of us though, religion is the tie that binds.

 

[Oberon]

And they even made an Australian movie about a pig called, "Babe". And to this day my girlfriend calls me Babe and giggles. But who can understand girlfriends?

Just click on -

YouTube - Babe Movie Trailer

An endearing performance by James Cromwell, to be sure. Still, it just goes to show you... a little pig goes a long way.

 

[Tiltyred]

Church for me was mostly life-enhancing and I was happier when I wasn't so thoroughly doubtful. I never felt controlled or bossed around or diminished in any way by church. I think if you are raised in a particular faith, it determines your actions as a grownup to a bigger degree than you think, because you're either with it or continuously reacting against it. I have a friend who is a staunch wiccan in reaction to her grandfather's being a Church of the Nazarene preacher. When I suggest there are other kinds of Christianity she could partake of, she doesn't recognize them. Which to me means she does believe in her grandfather's church. It's the only one she officially disbelieves in.

 

[Coriolis]

Another take on the OP: I can do quite well without religion, but suffer if I neglect my spiritual side. I make a very clear distinction between the two.

 

[Mole]

The Imprint

Church for me was mostly life-enhancing and I was happier when I wasn't so thoroughly doubtful. I never felt controlled or bossed around or diminished in any way by church. I think if you are raised in a particular faith, it determines your actions as a grownup to a bigger degree than you think, because you're either with it or continuously reacting against it. I have a friend who is a staunch wiccan in reaction to her grandfather's being a Church of the Nazarene preacher. When I suggest there are other kinds of Christianity she could partake of, she doesn't recognize them. Which to me means she does believe in her grandfather's church. It's the only one she officially disbelieves in.

Yes, and just as there is no atheism without theism, there are no disbelievers in MBTI without believers.

There are of course protestant atheists and catholic atheists as there are Nazarene wiccans.

Like ducklings following a duck, we imprint on the first religion we see. And then no matter how intellectual we are, no matter how cool, no matter how rebellious, we always remain a duck, and when we grow up we always fall in love with our imprint - another duck.

Yes, duckie, it's ducks all the way.

 

[nolla]

I guess the question could be rephrased as "Is it easier to persevere through life with faith or without?"

Hmm... with belief it is easiest... then there's at least something in your life you can feel will always be there as an anchor. But this is not faith really, it is a belief. Faith is to not be sure there is anything but sorta trust it anyways. Faith like this is quite close to not having faith, in both cases you don't really have much firm ground under your feet, but if there is faith you don't have to be all freaked out about that.

I guess this makes me part of the faith group... weird.

 

[Orangey]

Religious belief of any kind is and has always been unnatural for me. It's easier for me mentally to not believe.

 

[Beorn]

Hmm... with belief it is easiest... then there's at least something in your life you can feel will always be there as an anchor. But this is not faith really, it is a belief. Faith is to not be sure there is anything but sorta trust it anyways. Faith like this is quite close to not having faith, in both cases you don't really have much firm ground under your feet, but if there is faith you don't have to be all freaked out about that.

I guess this makes me part of the faith group... weird.

I find your distinction between faith and belief quite baffling.

Faith is a type of belief. You cannot have faith and "not be sure" at the same time. Faith is having complete trust. Otherwise you are having a crisis of faith.

 

[nolla]

Faith is a type of belief. You cannot have faith and "not be sure" at the same time.

Yes, you can. The unknown is the only god there is. I guess it is something like being in darkness but trusting it to be safe. If you know something to be god, it is not. God is the "not sure" or not known.

Faith is having complete trust. Otherwise you are having a crisis of faith.

What I was trying to get at is somehow trust, but it doesn't have anything to do with knowing anything. It is kinda the next step after atheism and existential anxiety. It turns the void somehow upside down, so that what you don't know is actually positive.

 

[Beorn]

Yes, you can. The unknown is the only god there is. I guess it is something like being in darkness but trusting it to be safe. If you know something to be god, it is not. God is the "not sure" or not known.

You're making a presumption that a person can only have knowledge of the material world. Interaction with God generally occurs within the metaphysical realm.

 

[nolla]

You're making a presumption that a person can only have knowledge of the material world. Interaction with God generally occurs within the metaphysical realm.

He has kept pretty quiet in my case, so, that kinda shapes the way I see this...

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

I don't think I'll ever know. I can't imagine not being religious, even if it was a different religion.

I find comfort in my belief in a benevolent creator and an ultimate purpose.

But I have often felt rejected by the community of those people who share my faith and outraged at the glib distortion of our religion's teachings by many of it's practitioners.

And then I feel humbled because I have a lot of room for improvement myself.

This. : )

I feel the same way. I feel like it has allowed me to control myself, and given me a foundation.
The best feeling in the world, is knowing no matter how low you feel in life, and how lost, and when you feel that no one is there for you, There is something out there watching out for you, and slowly pushing you back up.

 

[Such Irony]

For me its easier to live without religion. Did you know the majority of the worlds wars are due to religious conflicts?