My Spirituality
My Spirituality
Jonathan Mackey
THEO 225 – Comparative Religion/ Philosophy
Feb 22, 2014
Gordon McClellan
Southwestern College Professional Studies
My Spirituality
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My Spirituality
Mapping my family’s religious affiliations, conducting the ARDA survey, and researching my
society and religious practices I have further concreted my belief that I am a skeptic of religion.
If I must classify myself, I would classify me as an agnostic and a skeptic. Although I feel as
though I do not know or understand religion enough to make a definite decision, I feel as though
current organized religions serve the purpose of giving hope that something better exists after
this life and to provide moral guidance to society. I believe that current organized religions are
all manmade and cannot address everything science has proven. I personally believe that some
power exists, I feel as though our universe and world is so miraculous that something god like
must have intervened to mold it into its current state. I also believe that we are not alone in the
universe. I believe that science has a place in religion. My beliefs must be supported by science
and fact.
According to The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy an Agnostic is someone who believes in
something, but the current definitions of God do not fit (Smart, 2013). The Handbook of Today’s
Religions defines Skepticism as when real knowledge is unattainable, then one should suspend
judgment (McDowell & Stewart, 1982)I believe both of these definitions fit my believe system.
If you look at my family tree you will notice that both of my grandparents were moderately
religious. They prayed and attended religious services frequently. However, my parents decided
that religion was not as important to them. My mother and father also grew up with different
religious backgrounds. Religion was not a priority in my home growing up. The only time I was
exposed to religion was when we visited my grandparents or I was at a friend’s house that had
religious parents. Therefore I have had little exposure to organized religion and can only rely on
my experiences and what I have studied.
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I used the ARDA website to compare Agnostics with Catholics. One statistic that jumped out to
me was the education level, 43.1% of agnostics have a 4 year college degree and 25.9% of
Catholics have a 4 year college degree (Association of Religion Data Archives, 2014). This
statistic is actually in line with my family history, all of my catholic family members do not have
any college education at all. My wife and I will eventually be the only people in our family with
a 4 year college degree.
I believe as people become more secure in the world; for example they are economically secure,
without crisis, educated, and live in an area of the world where they have religious freedoms then
religion becomes less of a priority. According to the article, The Religion Paradox, people are
rapidly leaving organized religion in economically developed nations where religious freedom is
high (Diener, Tay, & Myers, 2011). I believe this is what has happened to my family, as we have
become economically secure; our need for religion has become less of a priority. With my
parents having different religious backgrounds it was easier for them to simply not address
religion as my brother and I grew up.
I believe religion gives people who have difficult life conditions something to look forward to, it
allows for hope. However as difficult life conditions are no longer present then there is less of a
need for religion in peoples’ lives. I believe this is what happened to my parents, they lived in an
area of the world that was socio-economically secure, middle class, and had no personal crisis in
their lives therefore religion was not important to them. My parents did not need that hope that
religion provides to make it in daily life.
My wife and I both consider ourselves agnostic and skeptic of organized religion. Since I have
no real organized religion background, it is easy for me to be skeptic of organized religion. I
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have also traveled throughout the world and have me many other people of all different types of
religion. This brings me to question what religion is the right religion. Can more than one
religion be correct? Maybe there is no correct religion? I have seen throughout history where
humans have used religion to mold a society and to form public opinion. Is religion simply a
guide for society and a way to keep order?
Conclusion
I obviously have many questions and doubts about organized religion. History has taught me that
Man can and will use religion as a tool to mold society’s opinion. Sometimes this is for the good
of the society, sometimes it is self serving for the leaders of the society. Also as a war veteran, I
have seen an ugly side of religion, both on the Christian side and on the Islam side where
religion has been used to convince others to do horrible things to each other. This I do believe in
a higher power, I just don’t know what that is yet. What I do know is that of all the religions I
have been exposed to so far do not fit my beliefs 100%.
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Appendix A
Family Tree
Mother’s side
Grandmother- Catholic
Grandfather- Unknown
Uncle- Catholic
Mother- Non-denominational Christian
Father’s side
Grandmother- Lutheran
Grandfather- Lutheran
Uncle- Non-denominational Christian
Father- Non-denominational Christian
My Brother and I
Brother- Non-denominational Christian
Brother’s Wife- Catholic
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Me- Agnostic
My Wife-Agnostic
Appendix B
ARDA Results
Basic
Views
My Answer
Attendance A few times a year
Prayer
Never
Read Bible Once or twice a year or less
The Bible is an ancient book of history and
Bible
legends
Jesus
Jesus probably existed, but he was not special
*
People Like Me All Respondents
w/ Same
w/ Same
Answer*
Answer
13%
87%
33%
16%
13%
25%
86%
25%
23%
3%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
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Religious Identity
Born Again
Bible-Believing
Charismatic
Theologically Conservative
Evangelical
Fundamentalist
Theologically Liberal
Mainline
Pentecostal
Seeker
Religious Right
Moral Majority
*
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
All Respondents
w/ Same Answer
74%
55%
94%
81%
85%
93%
84%
72%
95%
92%
92%
90%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
Religious Beliefs
God
Satan
Heaven
Hell
Purgatory
Angels
Demons
Armageddon
Rapture
Ghosts
*
People Like Me
w/ Same Answer*
100%
87%
93%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
My Answer
My Answer
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
People Like Me
w/ Same Answer*
73%
87%
80%
87%
87%
73%
80%
86%
93%
60%
All Respondents
w/ Same Answer
11%
27%
18%
29%
59%
20%
34%
45%
51%
54%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
Religious Experiences
I witnessed or experienced a miraculous, physical
healing
I witnessed people speaking in tongues at a place
People Like
Me
w/ Same
Answer*
All
Respondents
w/ Same
Answer
No
100%
79%
No
100%
74%
My
Answer
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of worship
I spoke in tongues at a place of worship
I personally had a vision of a religious figure
while awake
I felt called by God to do something
I heard the voice of God speaking to me
I had a dream of religious significance
I changed profoundly as the result of a religious
experience
I had a religious conversion experience
*
93%
94%
No
100%
94%
No
No
No
100%
100%
93%
60%
86%
78%
No
100%
72%
No
100%
74%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
Conception of God
God--A cosmic force in the universe
God--Concerned with the well-being of the
world
God--Concerned with my personal wellbeing
God--Angered by human sins
God--Angered by my sins
God--Directly involved in world affairs
God--Directly involved in my affairs
God--a He
*
No
My Answer
27%
All
Respondents
w/ Same
Answer
15%
40%
8%
53%
9%
33%
13%
40%
15%
53%
15%
53%
14%
27%
17%
People Like Me
w/ Same
Answer*
Undecided
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
The Paranormal
Ancient advanced civilizations, such as Atlantis,
once existed
My Answer
Strongly
Disagree
People Like
All
Me
Respondents
w/ Same
w/ Same
*
Answer
Answer
13%
9%
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It is possible to influence the physical world
through the mind alone
Astrologers, palm-readers, tarot card readers,
fortune tellers, and psychics can foresee the future
Astrology impacts one's life and personality
It is possible to communicate with the dead
Places can be haunted
Dreams sometimes foretell the future or reveal
hidden truths
Some UFOs are probably spaceships from other
worlds
Creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness
Monster will one day be discovered by science
*
Undecided
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Undecided
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
13%
22%
33%
37%
40%
35%
40%
33%
20%
22%
27%
17%
7%
4%
27%
24%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
Moral Views
Abortion--The baby may have a serious
defect
Abortion--The woman's health is in
danger
Abortion--The pregnancy is the result of
rape
Abortion--The family cannot afford the
child
Abortion--The woman does not want the
child
Sex--Before marriage
Sex--Between two adults of the same sex
Sex--With someone other than the
marriage partner
The consumption of alcohol
The viewing of pornography
The use of marijuana
People Like
Me
w/ Same
Answer*
All
Respondents
w/ Same
Answer
not wrong at all
93%
39%
not wrong at all
100%
60%
not wrong at all
100%
57%
not wrong at all
73%
21%
not wrong at all
73%
23%
not wrong at all
not wrong at all
almost always
wrong
not wrong at all
only wrong
sometimes
not wrong at all
67%
71%
36%
31%
40%
20%
53%
42%
33%
26%
53%
15%
My Answer
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Physician-assisted suicide
Embryonic stem cell research
War
*
67%
87%
26%
54%
47%
31%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
Worldview
Actively seek social and economic justice
Take care of the sick and needy
Teach others your morals
Convert others to your religious faith
Serve in the military
Consume or use fewer goods
God favors the United States in worldly
affairs
God favors one political party in the
United States
*
not wrong at all
not wrong at all
almost always
wrong
My Answer
Not at all
important
Somewhat
Important
Not very
important
Not at all
important
Somewhat
Important
Somewhat
Important
All
People Like Me
Respondents
w/ Same
w/ Same
Answer*
Answer
13%
6%
27%
31%
33%
25%
87%
43%
40%
31%
33%
40%
Strongly Disagree
87%
43%
Strongly Disagree
93%
57%
Male, 36-55 years old, some college or technical training, no religion
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References
Association of Religion Data Archives. (2014, Febuary 22). Association of Religion Data
Archives. Retrieved Febuary 23, 2014, from Association of Religion Data Archives:
http://www.thearda.com/learningcenter/compareadult/survey10.asp?gender=0&age=2&educatio
n=3&religion=4&plm=15&cont=Continue+Survey
Diener, E., Tay, L., & Myers, D. (2011). The Religion Paradox. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology , 1278-1290.
McDowell, J., & Stewart, D. (1982). Handbook of Today's Religions. San Bernardino: Here's
Life Publishers.
Smart, J. C. (2013). Atheism and Agnosticism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy .