should I be an atheist or religious?

[hkkb]

say I believe the following: there are no beings responsible for creation, there are no omnipotent or omniscient beings, there are no supernatural powers or forces of any kind, there are no such thing as souls, and there is no afterlife.
but say I also: think that religious communities are in general a positive thing, pray daily, place God as the most important thing in my life, think that religious belief is most likely a positive thing, and think the stories I've read from the
Christian OT/Jewish Tanakh are true.
Do I have to be an atheist?
I think that it's a more "correct" lifestyle to be part of a religious community than to not; even if every member of the community doesn't agree on every single thing, I think it's beneficial for any people living together in one area to have a roughly shared set of values.
However, I'm not exactly going to just fake having religious belief and pick a religion to convert to, and I think perhaps a religious community wouldn't be the right fit for me anyway, as obviously I look at things considerably differently than (I assume) believers do.
What is the best solution? I'm trying to find the best path forward on what I guess you could refer to as my "spiritual journey" and I appreciate any input!

 

[sun rise]

No one can truly decide that for you. There are atheist "churches" and Unitarian Universalist groups. Some UU types have a great sense of humor if that's something you might enjoy. But seriously, make up your own mind. Here's two images from a Facebook UU humor group:

UUHystericalSocietyCoffeeHour is the group

 

[Trailblazer]

Do I have to be an atheist?

Off the top of my head I would say that you are an atheist unless you believe in a God or gods.
It is not about what you have to be, it is about what you are....

I have the opposite problem you have. I believe in God, a soul and an afterlife, but I am not comfortable in religious groups. Nevertheless, I think that religious groups are a good thing for people to belong to and they are not only a social outlet but they give people a sense of belonging and community.

 

[Rival]

There are good non-religious communities. You shouldn't force yourself into a box.

 

[Nakosis]

say I believe the following: there are no beings responsible for creation, there are no omnipotent or omniscient beings, there are no supernatural powers or forces of any kind, there are no such thing as souls, and there is no afterlife.
but say I also: think that religious communities are in general a positive thing, pray daily, place God as the most important thing in my life, think that religious belief is most likely a positive thing, and think the stories I've read from the
Christian OT/Jewish Tanakh are true.
Do I have to be an atheist?
I think that it's a more "correct" lifestyle to be part of a religious community than to not; even if every member of the community doesn't agree on every single thing, I think it's beneficial for any people living together in one area to have a roughly shared set of values.
However, I'm not exactly going to just fake having religious belief and pick a religion to convert to, and I think perhaps a religious community wouldn't be the right fit for me anyway, as obviously I look at things considerably differently than (I assume) believers do.
What is the best solution? I'm trying to find the best path forward on what I guess you could refer to as my "spiritual journey" and I appreciate any input!

Well, there is no community belief support fo atheism. There is no shared belief, only a lack of belief.
You'd need to meet your community needs in a non-religious way.

For myself, I have my family and am not much of a social person. So can't really help with suggestions for a non-religious community. Except maybe Buddism. There exists a Buddist community with no need for a belief in God.

I don't know if one can really consciously make the decision whether to believe in God or not. Trying to be a part of a community who's belief you don't actually share I suspect will strain the relationship. You'd basically have to be at some points dishonest.

I'd have trouble with that but maybe you can make it work.

 

[sun rise]

Well, there is no community belief support fo atheism. There is no shared belief, only a lack of belief.
You'd need to meet your community needs in a non-religious way.

For myself, I have my family and am not much of a social person. So can't really help with suggestions for a non-religious community. Except maybe Buddism. There exists a Buddist community with no need for a belief in God.

I don't know if one can really consciously make the decision whether to believe in God or not. Trying to be a part of a community who's belief you don't actually share I suspect will strain the relationship. You'd basically have to be at some points dishonest.

I'd have trouble with that but maybe you can make it work.

There are secular humanist organizations with a shared ethical standard. https://aeu.org/who-we-are/ethical-humanism/

 

[hkkb]

No one can truly decide that for you. There are atheist "churches" and Unitarian Universalist groups. Some UU types have a great sense of humor if that's something you might enjoy. But seriously, make up your own mind. Here's two images from a Facebook UU humor group:

UUHystericalSocietyCoffeeHour is the group

Thanks for your help! I will look into Unitarian Universalists some more, I had heard of them but generally I'm a bit less inclined toward religions without a sort of unified practice or which focus more on a personal relationship with spirituality, although that certainly helps with being able to openly practice and discuss my beliefs which would be wonderful! I'd also heard Unitarian Universalism described as a very liberal religion, and while I don't know what being liberal in a theological sense entails, I tend to be dispositionally quite conservative, so I'll have to do some research and see if I can learn more from UU members! There are few things more enticing than a good sense of humour, after all.

 

[Terry Sampson]

Here's two images from a Facebook UU humor group:

I may be wrong, but I think Pakalu Papito's tweet may be false. Check with the Jews and the Jehovah's Witnesses; I don't think either of those groups believe in hell.

Correction: I stand corrected. Some Jews do believe in hell. Do Jews Believe in Hell? - What Is the Jewish Belief on Hell?

• "We do believe in a type of Hell, but not the one found in cartoons and joke books. Hell is not a punishment in the conventional sense; it is, in fact, the expression of a great kindness.
  
  The Jewish mystics described a spiritual place called “Gehinnom.” This is usually translated as “Hell,” but a better translation would be “the Supernal Washing Machine.” Because that’s exactly how it works. The way our soul is cleansed in Gehinnom is similar to the way our clothes are cleansed in a washing machine."
  

 

[hkkb]

There are good non-religious communities. You shouldn't force yourself into a box.

I do believe that being part of non-religious communities is also essential, however I don't find they can replace religious communities as far as utility. Do you know of any non-religious communities that may work for me? I feel I need a community which is unified by adherence to an ideal set by a higher power, as well as communities to fit my spiritual and social needs, any recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[Rival]

I may be wrong, but I think Pakalu Papito's tweet may be false. Check with the Jews and the Jehovah's Witnesses; I don't think either of those groups believe in hell.

Jews believe in Hell. It's generally impermanent.

 

[Rival]

I do believe that being part of non-religious communities is also essential, however I don't find they can replace religious communities as far as utility. Do you know of any non-religious communities that may work for me? I feel I need a community which is unified by adherence to an ideal set by a higher power, as well as communities to fit my spiritual and social needs, any recommendations would be appreciated!

Unfortunately not. I wish you well on your path though.

 

[hkkb]

Well, there is no community belief support fo atheism. There is no shared belief, only a lack of belief.
You'd need to meet your community needs in a non-religious way.

For myself, I have my family and am not much of a social person. So can't really help with suggestions for a non-religious community. Except maybe Buddism. There exists a Buddist community with no need for a belief in God.

I don't know if one can really consciously make the decision whether to believe in God or not. Trying to be a part of a community who's belief you don't actually share I suspect will strain the relationship. You'd basically have to be at some points dishonest.

I'd have trouble with that but maybe you can make it work.

Thank you so much for your input, I definitely came to the same conclusion that having to mislead my community would defeat the purpose of membership. I describe trying to "believe" in God as like trying to unlearn that Santa doesn't exist, unfortunately. I really appreciate the comment!

 

[Terry Sampson]

It' generally impermanent.

An impermanent hell?? That's purgatory, with variable sentence durations.

 

[hkkb]

There are secular humanist organizations with a shared ethical standard. https://aeu.org/who-we-are/ethical-humanism/

Thank you for your info! Unfortunately, secular humanism is not for me. "Secular" in general is not for me, haha

 

[hkkb]

Off the top of my head I would say that you are an atheist unless you believe in a God or gods.
It is not about what you have to be, it is about what you are....

I have the opposite problem you have. I believe in God, a soul and an afterlife, but I am not comfortable in religious groups. Nevertheless, I think that religious groups are a good thing for people to belong to and they are not only a social outlet but they give people a sense of belonging and community.

May I ask what it is about religious groups that makes you uncomfortable? I'm curious what the pros and cons of organised religion are, since I have very little experience with any. I guess I am an atheist, but I'd prefer not to be! Practicing religion is important to me and it's harder to do as an atheist

 

[Rival]

An impermanent hell?? That's purgatory, with variable sentence durations.

It tends to be called hell. For certain souls it may well be permanent but this is rare.

 

[Terry Sampson]

It tends to be called hell.

What's it called in Hebrew?

 

[Rival]

What's it called in Hebrew?

Gehinnom.

 

[Trailblazer]

May I ask what it is about religious groups that makes you uncomfortable? I'm curious what the pros and cons of organised religion are, since I have very little experience with any. I guess I am an atheist, but I'd prefer not to be! Practicing religion is important to me and it's harder to do as an atheist.

It is only because I am not very sociable that they are uncomfortable. I am more comfortable in a small group than in a larger group and I like being alone because I am an introvert. But I am very glad to be a member of my religion because I am always welcome any time I showed up for a meeting. Right now all meetings are on Zoom, but I'd rather see people in person.

If you would prefer not to be an atheist I suggest you check out some religions and their beliefs and find out if any religion might be something you can believe. I joined my religion because if its social and spiritual teachings, before I ever had any conception if God or any belief in God and only later did I start thinking about God and how that is an integral part of the religion. You sound like you would enjoy being part of a religious group if only you could believe in God. Please let me know if I can be of any help. I am pretty familiar with atheism and most of the major religions.

 

[GameChanger]

Religion and spirituality are intensely personal and individual endeavours.

You might as well be asking whether you should be homosexual or not.

Ultimately, it comes down to you. I'll presume this thread will be littered with people formulating arguments for both regardless of this obvious fact.