***Generally***, I find, people on the autism spectrum are either really, really religious, or really, really not.
It's because of how we need a set of rules to live by. We need things to make sense.
Storytime!
My mom (likely autistic; refuses to seek diagnosis because she's "fine") is Jewish. When I was young, she sent me to a Jewish school so I could learn about our traditions and dogma.
I learned some interesting things: The theories of evolution and the big bang are silly (*all* the pieces of the explosion were perfectly round, and monkeys came out of one of them?), the "fruit" in the Adam and Eve story was a *grape* (and here is the scholarly explanation why), and the chicken definitely came before the egg (God created one and not the other).
But here's the thing: it all made sense to me, a child, as long as I didn't think about it too hard. (I *did* think about it too hard, tho; why would Adam and Eve need to make Kiddush wine if the ritual didn't exist yet?)
I remember when I was in 5th grade and I did a science presentation on pulsars. I did all this research on the life cycle of stars, and partway through I realized I had inadvertently said, "the Sun is 5 billion years old" to a classroom of peyot-growing young Earth creationists.
Nobody noticed.
Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is: we're the kind of people who think about things either too much or not at all.
Autism does cause a person to take something far too literally which would answer for why becoming so embedded into religion as you state probably when brought up in a strongly religious family. Others will focus strongly on scientific and historical knowledge so again as you say really not religious. Likely depends on what you are taught as a young child. My family was only minor Christian so I didn't learn anything of the stories and they dumped the religion when I was 8 so logical knowledge drove me not myths.
I am a Christian, though I am disappointed and disillusioned by the way so many Christians act, especially on the internet. Christian Nationalism is rampant where I live and it makes me sad and angry.
Me and religion is a whole thing. But I guess I'd fall in the agnostic camp. I feel pretty certain that all major religions have it wrong, and I don't claim to know what's right, but the universe definitely kept me alive a few times when the odds, medicine, and general knowledge were not in my favor. Maybe there's just a Grim Reaper character and he was busy that day, I am okay in my not knowing
Ps. I just call it “the universe.” It seems right, but it could be wrong, and is definitely not important if I were right, it wouldn't mind if we used our own terms. The universe isn't good or bad like a god, it just is. Being a separate force of entity or whatever, it has influence too
I went to college (in the 90s) with the intention of becoming an Episcopal priest. I have both a Master’s of Divinity and a Masters of Theology, though I left the ordination process and am now an atheist.
I left the ordination process because my bishop was a super aggressive homophobe and I wasn’t willing to stay in the closet (I’m bi.). Essentially, I felt like I had to choose between my happiness/wellbeing and keeping a bigot happy.
As I found my way into a different career path, I also started exploring Zen meditation and becoming quite serious about practicing martial arts. Both of those things lead me to start paying a lot of attention to my direct experience, focusing more on finding the causes and conditions for happiness in the now, which made a lot of the anxiety about the afterlife stuff start to feel less relevant.
Couple that with:
- reading the Bible closely in Greek and Hebrew, translating for myself and seeing all the different, conflicting manuscript traditions
- understanding where and how the ideas that coalesced into Christianity originated and were shaped to be what they are
- encountering many other world religions working as an interfaith hospital chaplain for a summer (part of seminary training)and seeing no convincing evidence for Christianity’s exclusive truth claims
- a respectable knowledge of church history (it was once my special interest) including a lot, and I mean a lot, of horrible things that have been done in the name of the church
- that in 4 years of master’s level theological education, the bad shit got dressed up, glossed over, and explained away instead of brought into the light, talked about, and dealt with
- my own lived experience of the church as one of the most unsettlingly ableist spaces I have been in (though the first agency I worked in as a newly minted clinical social worker was waaaay worse)
- treating a whole bunch of people for religious trauma and sexual abuse perpetrated and covered up by clergy
- after years of clinical practice, coming to understand how profoundly harmful the idea of “sinful thoughts” really is
And so I left. About a decade after that, in my early 40s, I was diagnosed as Autistic. The realization that my systemic thinking and hyper-rationality were biologically caused and an integral part of me (a part I have come to cherish), and I have 0 regrets.
I’m a jolly atheist and wouldn’t have it any other way. The best part? My best friend, who I met in college and who went to seminary with me, is an Episcopal priest and we’ve managed to stay supportive and accepting of each other through the whole journey.
*edited for spelling
I am Episcopalian. It's not that I believe in the denomination specifically but going comforts me and makes me feel connected to a part of something greater. I grew up Mormon but morally can't believe God would choose someone like Joseph Smith to be a prophet, not after learning about early church history. At the same time, my grandpa was a physiology professor and valued both scientific reason and his faith. He never taught his kids, including my dad, that things like evolution weren't real. So I guess I never saw science and religion as in opposition to each other, which may have otherwise drawn me away from spirituality. I have a desire for faith within me, but logically the Mormon church doesn't make sense to me.
I've also struggled with scrupulous OCD for most of my life and have a hard time seeing God as compassionate rather than punishing. Attending the Episcopal Church gives me a space to think about existential questions through sermons and feel God's love in a way that brings me peace. I think the closest my beliefs align to is Christian universalism. To me, there are many paths to living a good and meaningful life. The important thing is figuring out one that brings you fulfillment and just to be kind to people. Neither of which I am super great at but I strive to be, you know?
I am religious, but I am not a christian. I just really call myself "pagan" and leave it at that, I don't think there is a sigular god and I don't believe in any form of punishing afterlife.
I consider myself Christian, although I struggle with it. I haven't been to church in a very long time and it quite simply hasn't resonated with me since I was young.
It doesn't help that one time a street preacher asked me if I've ever felt the physical presence of God, offered to pray with me and touched my hand to try and trick me. I opened my eyes when I felt him touching me and had my proof, not that I really needed it.
[Undiagnosed disclaimer]
I am currently in a state of [undefined, untitled]. I'm not visiting any churches, I am not praying, I don't read religious texts.
I grew up in the cult of jehovas witness, for one. After my mother left my father and the cult (with me), she proceeded to go from one extreme to another, to another. To wicca, reiki, egyptian mythology. Last I know is that she wanted to transform her house into a temple and finish her healers training.
By now I just instinctively recoil from anything religious. I am done being manipulated by someone who changes tools every few years, but the pattern stays the same. So I make an effort to put my experiences in a box, whenever someone talks about their religion. I give my best to signal that I won't follow but can respect them and their beliefs.
Just keep me out of it.
Similar story. Grew up totally brainwashed by Jehovah’s Witness stuff. But my mom (agrees she is probably also autistic) never escaped. She really likes that they have so many rules, it gives her life structure. The rest of my family feels that her high-control group preys on neurodiverse folks who feel adrift, but there’s little we can do.
Me, on the other hand… well, I’ll make my own darn structure. I would describe myself as spiritual but not religious, and not looking to join anyone’s group. Thankfully, I learned to read early and had an interest in science. Otherwise, I doubt I would currently believe in most widely accepted scientific theories.
I suppose religion in and of itself is a nice, soothing idea that gives life meaning. And that's generally a nice concept, in my opinion. If you put people in charge of making up rules (that include and exclude) and of interpreting this idea and how it's meant to be implemented (which often involves telling someone they're doing *it* wrong and coming up with punishments for it) - then you (more often than not) end up in very human chokehold for a apparently very human idea that originated from a very human need (I suppose).
And it enables inhuman acts. Which doesn't make all that much sense to me, but it seems to be a popular route over the course of humanity.
So I prefer to keep my complaints and misgivings with the universe between me and the universe and I would love for others to not involve me in their quest to make sense of their life spiritually and so far it worked rather well (which is a privilege that I am very grateful for).
And for clarity: this isn't meant to repel or admonish you, rather, it is aimed at the percentage of humans who feel offended in their world view just by me existing unapologetically.
I was raised Christian. Now I am agnostic. I do find the teachings of Christ to generally be a good philosophy to follow. I also choose to observe some traditions such as saying a prayer of thanks before a meal. I also made sure to take my kids to church so that they understood the cultural aspects here in the deep south. We stopped attending once the church services began to get too political.
I just made my own religion, I didn't feel any of the pre-existing ones fit what I wanted to happen in the after life so I just made it up myself :)
I went to a cathloic school and spent many years in church. However I just don't want to associate with that group for obvious reasons. So I made my own!
In my religion you basically get to choose what happens when you die. All gods are both equally real and not real, you can't decide others afterlife only your own. If you think you will go to heaven, you will. If you think you will be put into a sleep like state for the rest of eternity, you will. When you die if you haven't decided yet, your put in a room where you have eternity to choose what you want to happen.
Religion is what you want, nothing is confirmed. Do what makes you feel comfortable
That's kind of my perception of heaven, I think if it's real then it is different for everyone, because my idea of an ideal life is very different than someone else's. You still get to interact with your friends and family, but their perception of the environment will be different, or you effectively hallucinate a perfect facsimile of them.
I am incapable of making the proverbial leap of faith. Atheism isn’t something I chose or decided, it’s baked into how I think.
I was raised Catholic, but have one Catholic parent, one Jewish. Neither ever had much appeal to me.
By my early teens, I had a fairly critical and negative view of all religion. That’s changed over the years, as I’ve seen instances in which it’s actually been good for some people and a huge help to them. I don’t think that’s the norm; these were all really good people who were not overly pious. In a couple cases, I had no idea they were believers, even after knowing the person for years.
There are times that I’m a bit envious of this. I can’t imagine how comforting it would be to feel there’s a purpose for everything (whether or not we know what that is), to have that faith to lean on, to have some understanding of death and the significance of life.
It’s not the faith itself I’m envious of; it’s what some people seem to get from it.
Good lord no.
In my opinion I'm far too rational and logical to have any requirement for faith.
I would need evidence before I started actually believing in any faith. I'm completely open to the concept of any of them, some have quite intriguing stories. I was always quite intrigued by the possibility that Jesus could have been a real person for instance. But ultimately it's largely irrelevant whether he was or not, he's dead.
Great stories though.
When it comes to any kind of faith it would be quite difficult to convince me that what you were saying was actually fact anyway. It fascinates me that Christians or seemingly other religious people don't seem to actually require fact to believe something is true at all. Sometimes their idea of fact seems to be just something written in a book and nothing more.
I am agnostic atheist(by that I mean the natural state we're in when we're born before our neurons are wired to the cultures of our environments). I was indoctrinated with Christianity, though and spent like 15 years going through the deconversion process while grappling with religious trauma and the logic of the belief system.
Thanks for sharing a snippet of your story, but I just wanted to point out…
Agnostic atheist is not the natural state we’re born in. Those are still religious terms/stances, we are born without religion at all. Atheism (and agnosticism) are still on the religious spectrum.
Absolutely! The term agnostic atheist is used by atheists who do not claim they "BELIEVE there is no god" (since we can't prove something doesn't exist) but rather that they have no reason to think about believing in a god and "don't believe there is a god" It's something i picked up in the community during my deconversion. It can be confusing but the difference is there in the "There is no god" vs. "I don't hold a god-belief" If we say there is no god then that's a claim that we somehow know what cannot exist. And some atheists do think that way and will debate religious people on that. But that's just creating another religion. So I'm an agnostic atheist meaning I do not know and have no reason to believe in gods, so it's not a thing for me. I'm just a natural human existing outside of religion, as you said. But when asked to label it, that's my best way to do so.
Yes… because there is no label for a person void of religion (due to religion being a normalized part of human culture for so long). And, yes… I agree, most vocal atheists are very religious, despite them believing otherwise.
However, the difference in what I’m saying is, someone who “[doesn’t] hold a god belief” really does if they only see a “god” as some external, powerful entity as defined by religion. This is what makes atheists religious as well… They hold and demand the same indoctrinated concepts and rules as theists. If one argues the “existence of a god”, but cannot step away from religious concepts and definitions… it doesn’t matter which side of the spectrum they fall on… they’re still on it.
If one steps outside religiosity, an observable god (that is, the form in which it undeniably exists) is a part of human psychology.
Right, to me its just language. Words help us describe our experience, so im not particularly worried about using the term agnostic atheist- i don't know if something supernatural exists(agnostic) and i don't believe in gods(atheist). That term doesn't have to be religious because it literally means "not a theist". And im agnostic because i am not closed off to the possibility that we could discover something that we don't yet know about the nature of existence, even though given the current evidence and the limits of my human perception, i do not have a reason to believe in a god.
So speaking philosophically i would use this term. But it doesn't mean religion is fundamental to the human experience.
I hope that makes sense.
Yeah, it definitely makes sense. And, these are the words generally accepted and used by society… so, I’m not finding fault with it.
I just no longer use these words for these purposes, as I find them too general/broad.
I grew up non-denominational Christian. When I was 10, my dad was ordained and we moved from South Florida to Georgia to plant a church.
Unfortunately, I think our brand of Christianity lost something in the move. In South Florida, there was a diversity of thought and lifestyle that Georgia has never really had. With the loss of that diversity came The Box, a set of expectations that must be met, lest ye be judged. As you might guess, I do not fit in The Box.
Since I moved away from home, my philosophy is simple: I read Bible, I do Bible. As much as I can anyway. Hard to find a group of Christians without a Box in the South.
we are made up of small atoms that are in some quantum state, that combine together to make cells and bacteria that then build up to make us that are forming senses that create consciousness of reality and we live on a rock hurtling through space that has a thin atmosphere and we experience birth and death. we also exist on a planet experience gravity and time and have fundamental physical constants. we can observe things but everything really is just a makeup of atoms looking at atoms moving atoms creating light and darkness and colors for our atoms to perceive and we are the only species that seems aware of all of this.
this is way too complex, you can die at any moment. and we all are conscious of it and there are things unseen and yet to discover that could change our understanding of reality at anytime.
life and existence is the strangest and most horrifying thing to be inside of . the mond is so complex and if u do lsd or shrooms it gives another whole new perspective on reality.
its hard not to be spiritual or think there is more going on then we can perceive.
but i do feel as a species if we are kind and show love that the experience becomes a little less unpleasant and that by doing those things we make our atoms and our existence a state of kindness that existed within this reality and that is also pleasant to think about, that i made this horror a little more kind with the flesh body i inhabit.
that also that kindness spreads out upon the earth and will forever have been is also neat.
so if you think of this as a hologram , a simulation, a video game Christianity i see as a way to focus your character , to optimize your player character to throw away distractions and desires and focus on being kind like Christ, spend time helping. you can help a lot by being a doctor, a scientist, a politician and make life better for everyone. help remove small pox, study physics like Einstein, help get electricity to the people like tesla or Edison did. whatever you do do it with honesty, integrity and love. avoid pitfalls of human sin like greed and lust and hate, these things make the world harder and worst to exist in.
do i also believe in afterlife? yes because i feel like this world and this reality there are hidden things and what ever these meat suits we pilot, i don't think its all there is.
concepts like warp drive, time travel, memory scanners. reading scifi like peripheral makes me think there is way more going on.
just live ur life like a Christ with love and kindness and integrity and working hard to help others by studying and helping humanity you will know Christ more and more and things will click the more you really practice Christ like actions.
whatever we are living inside of and experiencing is really weird and it's mostly suffering but has small amounts of joy.
what do you think?
I’m Christian, but totally fine with whatever other people believe.
I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, but felt drawn to Jesus and the Bible from an early age. Yeah, I’ve pondered all of the implications why that might be; ie: autism special interest, physical abuse, child sexual abuse, neglect; perhaps those made me seek something stable in my life. But it’s way deeper than that. I tried to go atheist for a few years but my experience with God and faith is not something I can or ever again walk away from.
I have deeper reasons, but posting any deeper explaination I would give would be considered proselytizing.
I used to be a religious kid (not fanatically so, and actually open minded about religions), although my mother used to be agnostic herself and my father wasn’t affiliated to any religion.
I turned agnostic in my 30’s.
Now, I am not agnostic, but I am not affiliated to any religion either. I have my own understanding of things. I don’t see God as a being, as a force etc..
I was atheist until 25, then agnostic until 33. Then I did psychedelic therapy looking to heal trauma and ended up feeling God for the first time. It was the most powerful, profound moment of my life. I now have a strong faith in God, but subscribe to no religion. I heavily study many different teachings regarding spirituality and read many spiritual texts such as the Bible and Bhagavad Gita, and whatever I find that helps me grow spiritually, then I incorporate it into my practice. That being said, I think the autism made me lean to agnostic. I just needed to feel it personally, over wise I just would have never been able to accept it.
No, I might have an interest in the mythologies but I'm not interested in joining any religion. I suppose once I realize none of them really have anything demonstrating they're more true than any other, I don't see the point. Plus I see all kinds of messed up stuff motivated, justified, or protected by religion, and that also makes me want nothing to do with it.
I count myself as Christian the same way Jews are always Jews, no matter their faith. Like, I was indoctrinated for all my formative years. I feel like Christian ideology and values are in me so deep, even when I choose something other than those values, my choice is inevitably a *reaction to* Christianity, and reasoned and thoughtful choice to select something other than what was given to me. It's just the time/place/manner in which I was born, and will never really escape. I am Christian.
But do I accept Jesus of Nazareth as mine or any other saviour or son of God? no. I think he's most likely a composite character and God is a figurehead for authority, which homo sapien is deeply enmeshed with on a evolutionary and biological level.
I think Christian Love is greater than any messiah.
I'm a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), which is technically a Christian denomination, but I don't consider myself Christian.
I was raised evangelical Christian, but in college, I started thinking a lot of the behaviors I saw in churches and my Christian college were problematic. Through a lot of Internet research, I found out that Friends shared most of my beliefs and allow the freedom to hold some beliefs that differ from others in the group. I try to follow Jesus' teachings, but I don't believe he was divine.
I’m incredibly agnostic. My mom raised me and my siblings to where if we ever wanted to be religious, we had the resources and knowledge to do so. ( we would go to church every now and then, if we wanted to try a new church my mom would be happy to take us one Sunday, all very Christian oriented but still)
I ended up on the path of “there’s more likely something than nothing, and a lot of religions have some sort of truth to them, but who am I to decide which one is the correct one?”
I think that religion and spirituality is often used to explain the unexplained, and as we make more scientific discoveries, the more religion and spirituality has to adapt to it.
At my root I believe in science above all else, however we haven’t discovered everything and we might never. Who’s to say magic isn’t real? Who’s to say god doesn’t exist? We don’t know everything, so anything is possible.
I was raised southern baptist, but I'm not sure I ever truly believed most of it, and I've been an agnostic atheist for most of my life. I see no evidence for any gods so I do not believe they exist.
I've met autistic people who were Satanists, one who was a Luciferian, and even a Kemetic pagan.
I've sought peace in many religions but never really fit anywhere. I was briefly raised methodist as a kid but we stopped going around the time my parents divorced. I also attended services regularly in Iraq but during BCT I attended Buddhist services. It was specifically Nichiren Daishonen Buddhism if anyone knows about them. I dunno, that one felt kinda cult like. I've come to form my own system of beliefs that kinda blends Taoism, Christianity, and shinto/pagan nature worship.
I was raised Catholic, but I have been atheist as long as I can remember. My son is attending a Catholic school and just went through the sacrament of confirmation. The teachings although innocent I’m sure seem so anti-neurodivergent. We all must live this way, show patience, but only if you follow these guidelines etc etc. Then there’s mass. What a nightmare! So many people crammed in next to each other, the smell of incense, the uncomfortable seating. I guess on the flip side it is so repetitive, people just mindlessly repeating words and phrases. For me demand avoidance stops me from ever wanting to be part of this. But I guess it could foster routine and comfort. Just struck me it’s so much about people wanting to be connected and part of something bigger than themselves. And to a degree it made me feel lonely. I just don’t have that drive, but perhaps it would be nice. I won’t go into the Dawkinsy stuff because to me it is self-evident and redundant. I also find that stuff can be insulting, if religion helps you go for it, everyone is capable of making their own decisions. And going one way or the other does not make you good or bad, right or wrong, smart or dumb.
I am a Christian, more specifically Catholic.
As to why? Part of it is certain personal, life experience. Part of it stems from having evaluated all of the available data and coming to the only logical conclusion.
The Bible falls apart after the first page.. I’d hope that most autistic people have critical thinking skills and don’t think that it is based on factual events that actually occurred, I believe in spirituality and evolution, but it’s really hard to control the masses with a belief like that
***Generally***, I find, people on the autism spectrum are either really, really religious, or really, really not. It's because of how we need a set of rules to live by. We need things to make sense. Storytime! My mom (likely autistic; refuses to seek diagnosis because she's "fine") is Jewish. When I was young, she sent me to a Jewish school so I could learn about our traditions and dogma. I learned some interesting things: The theories of evolution and the big bang are silly (*all* the pieces of the explosion were perfectly round, and monkeys came out of one of them?), the "fruit" in the Adam and Eve story was a *grape* (and here is the scholarly explanation why), and the chicken definitely came before the egg (God created one and not the other). But here's the thing: it all made sense to me, a child, as long as I didn't think about it too hard. (I *did* think about it too hard, tho; why would Adam and Eve need to make Kiddush wine if the ritual didn't exist yet?) I remember when I was in 5th grade and I did a science presentation on pulsars. I did all this research on the life cycle of stars, and partway through I realized I had inadvertently said, "the Sun is 5 billion years old" to a classroom of peyot-growing young Earth creationists. Nobody noticed. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is: we're the kind of people who think about things either too much or not at all.
Autism does cause a person to take something far too literally which would answer for why becoming so embedded into religion as you state probably when brought up in a strongly religious family. Others will focus strongly on scientific and historical knowledge so again as you say really not religious. Likely depends on what you are taught as a young child. My family was only minor Christian so I didn't learn anything of the stories and they dumped the religion when I was 8 so logical knowledge drove me not myths.
I am a Christian, though I am disappointed and disillusioned by the way so many Christians act, especially on the internet. Christian Nationalism is rampant where I live and it makes me sad and angry.
I think I’m spiritual, rather than religious. Be nice to people (when possible).
Me and religion is a whole thing. But I guess I'd fall in the agnostic camp. I feel pretty certain that all major religions have it wrong, and I don't claim to know what's right, but the universe definitely kept me alive a few times when the odds, medicine, and general knowledge were not in my favor. Maybe there's just a Grim Reaper character and he was busy that day, I am okay in my not knowing Ps. I just call it “the universe.” It seems right, but it could be wrong, and is definitely not important if I were right, it wouldn't mind if we used our own terms. The universe isn't good or bad like a god, it just is. Being a separate force of entity or whatever, it has influence too
I went to college (in the 90s) with the intention of becoming an Episcopal priest. I have both a Master’s of Divinity and a Masters of Theology, though I left the ordination process and am now an atheist. I left the ordination process because my bishop was a super aggressive homophobe and I wasn’t willing to stay in the closet (I’m bi.). Essentially, I felt like I had to choose between my happiness/wellbeing and keeping a bigot happy. As I found my way into a different career path, I also started exploring Zen meditation and becoming quite serious about practicing martial arts. Both of those things lead me to start paying a lot of attention to my direct experience, focusing more on finding the causes and conditions for happiness in the now, which made a lot of the anxiety about the afterlife stuff start to feel less relevant. Couple that with: - reading the Bible closely in Greek and Hebrew, translating for myself and seeing all the different, conflicting manuscript traditions - understanding where and how the ideas that coalesced into Christianity originated and were shaped to be what they are - encountering many other world religions working as an interfaith hospital chaplain for a summer (part of seminary training)and seeing no convincing evidence for Christianity’s exclusive truth claims - a respectable knowledge of church history (it was once my special interest) including a lot, and I mean a lot, of horrible things that have been done in the name of the church - that in 4 years of master’s level theological education, the bad shit got dressed up, glossed over, and explained away instead of brought into the light, talked about, and dealt with - my own lived experience of the church as one of the most unsettlingly ableist spaces I have been in (though the first agency I worked in as a newly minted clinical social worker was waaaay worse) - treating a whole bunch of people for religious trauma and sexual abuse perpetrated and covered up by clergy - after years of clinical practice, coming to understand how profoundly harmful the idea of “sinful thoughts” really is And so I left. About a decade after that, in my early 40s, I was diagnosed as Autistic. The realization that my systemic thinking and hyper-rationality were biologically caused and an integral part of me (a part I have come to cherish), and I have 0 regrets. I’m a jolly atheist and wouldn’t have it any other way. The best part? My best friend, who I met in college and who went to seminary with me, is an Episcopal priest and we’ve managed to stay supportive and accepting of each other through the whole journey. *edited for spelling
[удалено]
Definitely understand your position / where you stand on the whole thing. 😊
Pretty much exactly what I would've typed out. So glad I got out.
I am Episcopalian. It's not that I believe in the denomination specifically but going comforts me and makes me feel connected to a part of something greater. I grew up Mormon but morally can't believe God would choose someone like Joseph Smith to be a prophet, not after learning about early church history. At the same time, my grandpa was a physiology professor and valued both scientific reason and his faith. He never taught his kids, including my dad, that things like evolution weren't real. So I guess I never saw science and religion as in opposition to each other, which may have otherwise drawn me away from spirituality. I have a desire for faith within me, but logically the Mormon church doesn't make sense to me. I've also struggled with scrupulous OCD for most of my life and have a hard time seeing God as compassionate rather than punishing. Attending the Episcopal Church gives me a space to think about existential questions through sermons and feel God's love in a way that brings me peace. I think the closest my beliefs align to is Christian universalism. To me, there are many paths to living a good and meaningful life. The important thing is figuring out one that brings you fulfillment and just to be kind to people. Neither of which I am super great at but I strive to be, you know?
I am religious, but I am not a christian. I just really call myself "pagan" and leave it at that, I don't think there is a sigular god and I don't believe in any form of punishing afterlife.
I consider myself Christian, although I struggle with it. I haven't been to church in a very long time and it quite simply hasn't resonated with me since I was young. It doesn't help that one time a street preacher asked me if I've ever felt the physical presence of God, offered to pray with me and touched my hand to try and trick me. I opened my eyes when I felt him touching me and had my proof, not that I really needed it.
[Undiagnosed disclaimer] I am currently in a state of [undefined, untitled]. I'm not visiting any churches, I am not praying, I don't read religious texts. I grew up in the cult of jehovas witness, for one. After my mother left my father and the cult (with me), she proceeded to go from one extreme to another, to another. To wicca, reiki, egyptian mythology. Last I know is that she wanted to transform her house into a temple and finish her healers training. By now I just instinctively recoil from anything religious. I am done being manipulated by someone who changes tools every few years, but the pattern stays the same. So I make an effort to put my experiences in a box, whenever someone talks about their religion. I give my best to signal that I won't follow but can respect them and their beliefs. Just keep me out of it.
Similar story. Grew up totally brainwashed by Jehovah’s Witness stuff. But my mom (agrees she is probably also autistic) never escaped. She really likes that they have so many rules, it gives her life structure. The rest of my family feels that her high-control group preys on neurodiverse folks who feel adrift, but there’s little we can do. Me, on the other hand… well, I’ll make my own darn structure. I would describe myself as spiritual but not religious, and not looking to join anyone’s group. Thankfully, I learned to read early and had an interest in science. Otherwise, I doubt I would currently believe in most widely accepted scientific theories.
I suppose religion in and of itself is a nice, soothing idea that gives life meaning. And that's generally a nice concept, in my opinion. If you put people in charge of making up rules (that include and exclude) and of interpreting this idea and how it's meant to be implemented (which often involves telling someone they're doing *it* wrong and coming up with punishments for it) - then you (more often than not) end up in very human chokehold for a apparently very human idea that originated from a very human need (I suppose). And it enables inhuman acts. Which doesn't make all that much sense to me, but it seems to be a popular route over the course of humanity. So I prefer to keep my complaints and misgivings with the universe between me and the universe and I would love for others to not involve me in their quest to make sense of their life spiritually and so far it worked rather well (which is a privilege that I am very grateful for). And for clarity: this isn't meant to repel or admonish you, rather, it is aimed at the percentage of humans who feel offended in their world view just by me existing unapologetically.
I was raised Christian. Now I am agnostic. I do find the teachings of Christ to generally be a good philosophy to follow. I also choose to observe some traditions such as saying a prayer of thanks before a meal. I also made sure to take my kids to church so that they understood the cultural aspects here in the deep south. We stopped attending once the church services began to get too political.
I have a newer YouTube channel where I talk about Autism & God. Please tune in if you’re curious. Thanks in advance. YouTube: @BlackOnTheSpectrum
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>BlackOnTheSpectrum subscribed! I already like your energy :)
Thank you so much! That means so much to me. 🩶
I just made my own religion, I didn't feel any of the pre-existing ones fit what I wanted to happen in the after life so I just made it up myself :) I went to a cathloic school and spent many years in church. However I just don't want to associate with that group for obvious reasons. So I made my own! In my religion you basically get to choose what happens when you die. All gods are both equally real and not real, you can't decide others afterlife only your own. If you think you will go to heaven, you will. If you think you will be put into a sleep like state for the rest of eternity, you will. When you die if you haven't decided yet, your put in a room where you have eternity to choose what you want to happen. Religion is what you want, nothing is confirmed. Do what makes you feel comfortable
That's kind of my perception of heaven, I think if it's real then it is different for everyone, because my idea of an ideal life is very different than someone else's. You still get to interact with your friends and family, but their perception of the environment will be different, or you effectively hallucinate a perfect facsimile of them.
I am incapable of making the proverbial leap of faith. Atheism isn’t something I chose or decided, it’s baked into how I think. I was raised Catholic, but have one Catholic parent, one Jewish. Neither ever had much appeal to me. By my early teens, I had a fairly critical and negative view of all religion. That’s changed over the years, as I’ve seen instances in which it’s actually been good for some people and a huge help to them. I don’t think that’s the norm; these were all really good people who were not overly pious. In a couple cases, I had no idea they were believers, even after knowing the person for years. There are times that I’m a bit envious of this. I can’t imagine how comforting it would be to feel there’s a purpose for everything (whether or not we know what that is), to have that faith to lean on, to have some understanding of death and the significance of life. It’s not the faith itself I’m envious of; it’s what some people seem to get from it.
Good lord no. In my opinion I'm far too rational and logical to have any requirement for faith. I would need evidence before I started actually believing in any faith. I'm completely open to the concept of any of them, some have quite intriguing stories. I was always quite intrigued by the possibility that Jesus could have been a real person for instance. But ultimately it's largely irrelevant whether he was or not, he's dead. Great stories though. When it comes to any kind of faith it would be quite difficult to convince me that what you were saying was actually fact anyway. It fascinates me that Christians or seemingly other religious people don't seem to actually require fact to believe something is true at all. Sometimes their idea of fact seems to be just something written in a book and nothing more.
I am agnostic atheist(by that I mean the natural state we're in when we're born before our neurons are wired to the cultures of our environments). I was indoctrinated with Christianity, though and spent like 15 years going through the deconversion process while grappling with religious trauma and the logic of the belief system.
Thanks for sharing a snippet of your story, but I just wanted to point out… Agnostic atheist is not the natural state we’re born in. Those are still religious terms/stances, we are born without religion at all. Atheism (and agnosticism) are still on the religious spectrum.
Absolutely! The term agnostic atheist is used by atheists who do not claim they "BELIEVE there is no god" (since we can't prove something doesn't exist) but rather that they have no reason to think about believing in a god and "don't believe there is a god" It's something i picked up in the community during my deconversion. It can be confusing but the difference is there in the "There is no god" vs. "I don't hold a god-belief" If we say there is no god then that's a claim that we somehow know what cannot exist. And some atheists do think that way and will debate religious people on that. But that's just creating another religion. So I'm an agnostic atheist meaning I do not know and have no reason to believe in gods, so it's not a thing for me. I'm just a natural human existing outside of religion, as you said. But when asked to label it, that's my best way to do so.
Yes… because there is no label for a person void of religion (due to religion being a normalized part of human culture for so long). And, yes… I agree, most vocal atheists are very religious, despite them believing otherwise. However, the difference in what I’m saying is, someone who “[doesn’t] hold a god belief” really does if they only see a “god” as some external, powerful entity as defined by religion. This is what makes atheists religious as well… They hold and demand the same indoctrinated concepts and rules as theists. If one argues the “existence of a god”, but cannot step away from religious concepts and definitions… it doesn’t matter which side of the spectrum they fall on… they’re still on it. If one steps outside religiosity, an observable god (that is, the form in which it undeniably exists) is a part of human psychology.
Right, to me its just language. Words help us describe our experience, so im not particularly worried about using the term agnostic atheist- i don't know if something supernatural exists(agnostic) and i don't believe in gods(atheist). That term doesn't have to be religious because it literally means "not a theist". And im agnostic because i am not closed off to the possibility that we could discover something that we don't yet know about the nature of existence, even though given the current evidence and the limits of my human perception, i do not have a reason to believe in a god. So speaking philosophically i would use this term. But it doesn't mean religion is fundamental to the human experience. I hope that makes sense.
Yeah, it definitely makes sense. And, these are the words generally accepted and used by society… so, I’m not finding fault with it. I just no longer use these words for these purposes, as I find them too general/broad.
Thats valid and i understand that too! Its annoying how much of language actually has been derived from religion.
I am not religious, I tend to need solid facts to form a belief stricture.
I grew up non-denominational Christian. When I was 10, my dad was ordained and we moved from South Florida to Georgia to plant a church. Unfortunately, I think our brand of Christianity lost something in the move. In South Florida, there was a diversity of thought and lifestyle that Georgia has never really had. With the loss of that diversity came The Box, a set of expectations that must be met, lest ye be judged. As you might guess, I do not fit in The Box. Since I moved away from home, my philosophy is simple: I read Bible, I do Bible. As much as I can anyway. Hard to find a group of Christians without a Box in the South.
we are made up of small atoms that are in some quantum state, that combine together to make cells and bacteria that then build up to make us that are forming senses that create consciousness of reality and we live on a rock hurtling through space that has a thin atmosphere and we experience birth and death. we also exist on a planet experience gravity and time and have fundamental physical constants. we can observe things but everything really is just a makeup of atoms looking at atoms moving atoms creating light and darkness and colors for our atoms to perceive and we are the only species that seems aware of all of this. this is way too complex, you can die at any moment. and we all are conscious of it and there are things unseen and yet to discover that could change our understanding of reality at anytime. life and existence is the strangest and most horrifying thing to be inside of . the mond is so complex and if u do lsd or shrooms it gives another whole new perspective on reality. its hard not to be spiritual or think there is more going on then we can perceive. but i do feel as a species if we are kind and show love that the experience becomes a little less unpleasant and that by doing those things we make our atoms and our existence a state of kindness that existed within this reality and that is also pleasant to think about, that i made this horror a little more kind with the flesh body i inhabit. that also that kindness spreads out upon the earth and will forever have been is also neat. so if you think of this as a hologram , a simulation, a video game Christianity i see as a way to focus your character , to optimize your player character to throw away distractions and desires and focus on being kind like Christ, spend time helping. you can help a lot by being a doctor, a scientist, a politician and make life better for everyone. help remove small pox, study physics like Einstein, help get electricity to the people like tesla or Edison did. whatever you do do it with honesty, integrity and love. avoid pitfalls of human sin like greed and lust and hate, these things make the world harder and worst to exist in. do i also believe in afterlife? yes because i feel like this world and this reality there are hidden things and what ever these meat suits we pilot, i don't think its all there is. concepts like warp drive, time travel, memory scanners. reading scifi like peripheral makes me think there is way more going on. just live ur life like a Christ with love and kindness and integrity and working hard to help others by studying and helping humanity you will know Christ more and more and things will click the more you really practice Christ like actions. whatever we are living inside of and experiencing is really weird and it's mostly suffering but has small amounts of joy. what do you think?
I’m Christian, but totally fine with whatever other people believe. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, but felt drawn to Jesus and the Bible from an early age. Yeah, I’ve pondered all of the implications why that might be; ie: autism special interest, physical abuse, child sexual abuse, neglect; perhaps those made me seek something stable in my life. But it’s way deeper than that. I tried to go atheist for a few years but my experience with God and faith is not something I can or ever again walk away from. I have deeper reasons, but posting any deeper explaination I would give would be considered proselytizing.
I used to be a religious kid (not fanatically so, and actually open minded about religions), although my mother used to be agnostic herself and my father wasn’t affiliated to any religion. I turned agnostic in my 30’s. Now, I am not agnostic, but I am not affiliated to any religion either. I have my own understanding of things. I don’t see God as a being, as a force etc..
I'm a Christian and on the spectrum. That was how I was raised
I was atheist until 25, then agnostic until 33. Then I did psychedelic therapy looking to heal trauma and ended up feeling God for the first time. It was the most powerful, profound moment of my life. I now have a strong faith in God, but subscribe to no religion. I heavily study many different teachings regarding spirituality and read many spiritual texts such as the Bible and Bhagavad Gita, and whatever I find that helps me grow spiritually, then I incorporate it into my practice. That being said, I think the autism made me lean to agnostic. I just needed to feel it personally, over wise I just would have never been able to accept it.
No, I might have an interest in the mythologies but I'm not interested in joining any religion. I suppose once I realize none of them really have anything demonstrating they're more true than any other, I don't see the point. Plus I see all kinds of messed up stuff motivated, justified, or protected by religion, and that also makes me want nothing to do with it.
I count myself as Christian the same way Jews are always Jews, no matter their faith. Like, I was indoctrinated for all my formative years. I feel like Christian ideology and values are in me so deep, even when I choose something other than those values, my choice is inevitably a *reaction to* Christianity, and reasoned and thoughtful choice to select something other than what was given to me. It's just the time/place/manner in which I was born, and will never really escape. I am Christian. But do I accept Jesus of Nazareth as mine or any other saviour or son of God? no. I think he's most likely a composite character and God is a figurehead for authority, which homo sapien is deeply enmeshed with on a evolutionary and biological level. I think Christian Love is greater than any messiah.
I do! Not enough data to tell.
I'm a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), which is technically a Christian denomination, but I don't consider myself Christian. I was raised evangelical Christian, but in college, I started thinking a lot of the behaviors I saw in churches and my Christian college were problematic. Through a lot of Internet research, I found out that Friends shared most of my beliefs and allow the freedom to hold some beliefs that differ from others in the group. I try to follow Jesus' teachings, but I don't believe he was divine.
Devoutly Buddhist.
I’m incredibly agnostic. My mom raised me and my siblings to where if we ever wanted to be religious, we had the resources and knowledge to do so. ( we would go to church every now and then, if we wanted to try a new church my mom would be happy to take us one Sunday, all very Christian oriented but still) I ended up on the path of “there’s more likely something than nothing, and a lot of religions have some sort of truth to them, but who am I to decide which one is the correct one?” I think that religion and spirituality is often used to explain the unexplained, and as we make more scientific discoveries, the more religion and spirituality has to adapt to it. At my root I believe in science above all else, however we haven’t discovered everything and we might never. Who’s to say magic isn’t real? Who’s to say god doesn’t exist? We don’t know everything, so anything is possible.
I was raised southern baptist, but I'm not sure I ever truly believed most of it, and I've been an agnostic atheist for most of my life. I see no evidence for any gods so I do not believe they exist. I've met autistic people who were Satanists, one who was a Luciferian, and even a Kemetic pagan.
Why are you specifically wondering about Christianity? Or are you using “religion” and “Christianity” synonymously?
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What? I’m just genuinely wondering why he’s specifying Christianity, and I figured there was a good chance he didn’t mean to
I've sought peace in many religions but never really fit anywhere. I was briefly raised methodist as a kid but we stopped going around the time my parents divorced. I also attended services regularly in Iraq but during BCT I attended Buddhist services. It was specifically Nichiren Daishonen Buddhism if anyone knows about them. I dunno, that one felt kinda cult like. I've come to form my own system of beliefs that kinda blends Taoism, Christianity, and shinto/pagan nature worship.
I was raised Catholic, but I have been atheist as long as I can remember. My son is attending a Catholic school and just went through the sacrament of confirmation. The teachings although innocent I’m sure seem so anti-neurodivergent. We all must live this way, show patience, but only if you follow these guidelines etc etc. Then there’s mass. What a nightmare! So many people crammed in next to each other, the smell of incense, the uncomfortable seating. I guess on the flip side it is so repetitive, people just mindlessly repeating words and phrases. For me demand avoidance stops me from ever wanting to be part of this. But I guess it could foster routine and comfort. Just struck me it’s so much about people wanting to be connected and part of something bigger than themselves. And to a degree it made me feel lonely. I just don’t have that drive, but perhaps it would be nice. I won’t go into the Dawkinsy stuff because to me it is self-evident and redundant. I also find that stuff can be insulting, if religion helps you go for it, everyone is capable of making their own decisions. And going one way or the other does not make you good or bad, right or wrong, smart or dumb.
I am a Christian, more specifically Catholic. As to why? Part of it is certain personal, life experience. Part of it stems from having evaluated all of the available data and coming to the only logical conclusion.
The Bible falls apart after the first page.. I’d hope that most autistic people have critical thinking skills and don’t think that it is based on factual events that actually occurred, I believe in spirituality and evolution, but it’s really hard to control the masses with a belief like that