How to discern belief systems?

[Gaura Priya]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

 

[Tarheeler]

What I looked for most was the overall philosophy of the religion and the way I felt connected to God through it's rituals.

I often have problems believing in a God that is always watching out for us on an individual level; I tend to see God more as a well of something that humans can tap into in order to get our "fix" of the Divine. And I think that we all find access in different ways: some people find it in meditation, some through nature, some through ritual and prayer.

I'm firmly in the last group. I get a tremendous amount of comfort and peace from the rituals of Judaism. That, coupled with Jewish philosophy and the idea that our actions towards each other and humanity at large is paramount, is what cemented Judaism as the religion where I belong.

 

[Secret Chief]

I suppose it is how well it accords, or not, with one's understanding of reality.

 

[LuisDantas]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

The compatibility of its moral directives with my own;

the degree of consideration for the complex links of mutual responsibility that IMO everyone inherits and shares;

the effectiveness and quality of its tools for self-correction when interpretations lose their way and become counter-productive;

how gracefully it deals with questioning and controversy;

and how ethical it is overall.



Edited to add: an important secondary consideration is how inspired and inspiring the works of art associated with it are. There is an uncanny and very useful correlation between that quality and the quality of the religious path itself.

 

[Jainarayan]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

For me, primarily the philosophy of it. By philosophy I don't mean only the ontology or soteriology, though they are part of it. I mean how one conducts oneself in this world, in relation to other beings and to God. The soteriology follows on that. Ritual is not high on my list, though some are nice, and can make one feel more connected. I believe ritual is more for man's benefit than for God.

 

[Vinayaka]

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

It has to make sense to me. That's about it. It does not have to make sense to anyone else.

 

[Sha'irullah]

I am against the authoritative withholding of rituals as necessity of faith or testament towards god. Rituals are to be created from the forbearing thought of a person's emotional output not a dogmatic emphasis on proper implementation of the ritual itself.
Prayer is something personal just like ritual. I for example perform wudu and perform a similar version of Salat. The act of worship is personalized to my preference of course. Most theists who prescribe to a religion are taught that god answers prayers. As a deist I only believe in divine inspiration and thankful acts of worship. So supplication is to a greater extent non existence for me. All I could ever give god is thanks.
The belief must be progressive and fully capable of change due to cultural, scientific and societal progress. This is not found within normal religion but primarily in theology. So religion or faith is quite and understatement for me and my person attitude towards the existence and nature of a god.

 

[Secret Chief]

It has to make sense to me. That's about it. It does not have to make sense to anyone else.

The same as music.

 

[Windwalker]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

That it resonates with spirit.

 

[Gaura Priya]

I often have problems believing in a God that is always watching out for us on an individual level; I tend to see God more as a well of something that humans can tap into in order to get our "fix" of the Divine. And I think that we all find access in different ways: some people find it in meditation, some through nature, some through ritual and prayer.

I'm firmly in the last group. I get a tremendous amount of comfort and peace from the rituals of Judaism. That, coupled with Jewish philosophy and the idea that our actions towards each other and humanity at large is paramount, is what cemented Judaism as the religion where I belong.

I absolutely agree! I think one thing I have with me is that I seek aesthetics. I love the utilising of the senses in worship, and I see God as both impersonal (force, universal sentiment of higher purpose), and yet available as personal.

 

[Gaura Priya]

The compatibility of its moral directives with my own;

the degree of consideration for the complex links of mutual responsibility that IMO everyone inherits and shares;

the effectiveness and quality of its tools for self-correction when interpretations lose their way and become counter-productive;

how gracefully it deals with questioning and controversy;

and how ethical it is overall.

Edited to add: an important secondary consideration is how inspired and inspiring the works of art associated with it are. There is an uncanny and very useful correlation between that quality and the quality of the religious path itself.

I like this post! I will definitely chew on what you have given! I have never thought about it, but you are right when it comes to if said religion deals with questioning and controversy, its sense of ethics, and its way of evolving itself outside outdated ideas and concepts.

 

[InChrist]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

I seek truth according to God's perspective, not mine.

 

[Onkara]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

For me it is theology or philosophy that discerns the systems most. Prayer, rituals etc follow from that.

The most important thing is a coherent philosophy that is both empirically true and testable. Logic for me is foremost.

 

[LuisDantas]

I seek truth according to God's perspective, not mine.

How can you understand God's perspective, though?

 

[LuisDantas]

I like this post! I will definitely chew on what you have given! I have never thought about it, but you are right when it comes to if said religion deals with questioning and controversy, its sense of ethics, and its way of evolving itself outside outdated ideas and concepts.

Thanks.

Just let me point out that the passage of time is not the only reason why interpretations may become destructive. There is also an unavoidable divergence of interpretation, that in fact may be a blessing in disguise.

All the same, there is such a thing as destructive or at least frankly misguided interpretation, and a religion has a duty to seek to detect and correct them.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Mostly, the philosophy has to make sense to me, and I have to agree with how it views reality. Ethics are important. An attempt, at least, to try to be logical in how it derives it's ideas.

 

[Iti oj]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

by the heart of its followers

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

I'd say to the degree a religion encourages unity rather then disunity effects my feelings about it. Also, the willingness of (most) of it's adherents to be okay with 'not knowing' certain things, still seeking answers but not becoming defensive when questions are raised.

Part of my attraction to Hinduism after so many years of Christianity and then Agnosticism was I had always felt deep inside that we are all one. I couldn't explain how or where this conviction came from, but I let it persist. And then Devi found me at last and there's a sense of "This is it. This is home"

It's intuitive. Sometimes intuition is wrong, which is why it needs to be backed up with more experience, but so far, intuition has served me well.

Shanti

 

[Breathe]

For me, primarily the philosophy of it. By philosophy I don't mean only the ontology or soteriology, though they are part of it. I mean how one conducts oneself in this world, in relation to other beings and to God. The soteriology follows on that. Ritual is not high on my list, though some are nice, and can make one feel more connected. I believe ritual is more for man's benefit than for God.

This.

Svāhā. :3

The philosophy matters to me. If it agrees with my experiences and makes sense to me, this is the most important part.

 

[Penumbra]

So... what things help you discern a belief system? The rituals? Prayers? Beliefs themselves?

what do you find most important that you seek in a religion or spiritual tradition?

As I examine different worldviews, philosophies, and belief systems from around the world, my primary focus is on the architecture of the whole metaphysical/philosophical framework, and then I work down from there.

In other words, I first examine the main questions and answers of the framework:
-What is the overall structure of existence, how did it come about, where is it going, and why is it like this?
-What is the ultimate aim of a person? What is the primary thing to realize, or the primary experience to achieve?
-What is the belief system's view of the Problem of Evil, or more generally, why do there exist undesirable subjective experiences and how are people expected to respond to them?

So it's a focus on the core structure (god or no god, oneness or separateness, linear or cyclical, etc), the primary aim (heavens, Nirvana, oneness, Moksha, etc), and the "why"? I'm essentially a systems engineer by profession so the overall architecture of a framework tends to interest me the most- is it elegant or clunky, flexible or absolute, etc).

From there, everything else seems to follow. Ethics are important but they're secondary to understanding the framework as a whole (as seemingly unethical things can be ethical with more information, and the other way around). Cultural practices, rituals, evidences, are all viewed as the framework itself trickles down into its practical aspects.