[shortandcute]

It seems ridiculous to not be allowed to have religious talk in this forum!!! What else are we supposed to talk about? Why bother having this forum?????

Originally Posted by shortandcute

It seems ridiculous to not be allowed to have religious talk in this forum!!! What else are we supposed to talk about? Why bother having this forum?????

yeah i agree.. if anywhere, you be allowed to talk about it in this section.

seems logical

I think its mainly because it could inspire a lot of debate which isn't what this forum is about. There are plenty of websites which do allow this discussion though so...its not like people are starved of other options. I think theres a user created group about religion so in that sense it seems strange that it isn't also allowed here but being an atheist, it isn't something ive checked out in detail out so maybe give it a try and see if thats what you're looking for.

[Anika.]

Yes there are user created groups, also if you do not see a group there that is fitting with your religion or spiritual beliefs than you can create a group.

I do think if we were allowed to discuss it here it could get out of hand. It is one of those things that fuels strong emotions and reactions. But we can use this area to discuss a problem we might be having with spirituality, or questions, something inspiring maybe. I realize that can be hard to do and leave the religious aspect out, however spirituality and religion are not always one and the same.

So we can talk about our spiritual growth, what affects our human spirit, ways we can delve deeper, get in tune with our spirit etc. We can do it without talking about the specific religious aspects of the path we use. I know that it is tricky sometimes.

One thing I do like about not discussing religion here, and only spirituality is that it helps erase a line in the sand between us all, after all most of the people seeking out spirituality all do have a common goal. We might just speak another language to get there. We can come together here as one, which is kinda of a beautiful thing. Being able to support each other spiritually despite which religion we do or do not subscribe to. The world could certainly use a little more of that.

Prayer, meditation and the like is not exclusive to specific religions either. So if I come here and I see someone that needs prayer, I will offer my prayers to them, however it isn't necassarily god I am praying to, or a form of prayer that would be commonly recognized, or accepted even, but the intentions remain the same.

I hope that helps make some sense of it.

[fantasea17]

Being of a different faith than most mainstream christians, I have a different take on this issue. I myself, dont agree with seperating religion from mental health.
But seeing that the people that are on this forum are already very fragile, sparking peoples emotions would not do any good in helping them overcome their illness.

alot of problems are rising in the world in this new age, and one of them being mental illnesses. I think it is safe to say that our age that we live in is the highest rate of mental disorders. I have even read a report saying that the #1 killer disease in 2040 will be depression! But with the rise of a coensumeristic lifestyle has brought with it a major silencing of spirituality and religion, which I believe has the cure to all of humanities problems!

But people here are fragile, so attacking them on their religion is not a good way to start.

but I do agree about discussing it, but off the forums, so as to not disturb the people here.

PM me if you would like to talk more about religious issues, I'd love to hear your opinions.

Originally Posted by fantasea17

But with the rise of a coensumeristic lifestyle has brought with it a major silencing of spirituality and religion, which I believe has the cure to all of humanities problems!

I think a lot of people would argue that religion etc is the cause of a lot of these problems - and i think this is a pretty good reason for this sort of discussion not being allowed here. Im still baffled though as to why the guidelines state it can't be discussed here but user created groups can? Kind of defeats the object it seems...

[Anika.]

I think it is because you can be spiritual and not religious. I am very spiritual, however I am not religious by any means, nor do I believe in a god. And this is the case for many, they are two separate things which can intermingle or not. Even an atheist can be spiritual. Spirituality can be somewhat universal, while religion is not.

The case of user created groups is that you have to join the group, they can still have a place to talk about their religion and support each other, but it doesn't have to be here in this forum, so everyone can feel comfortable posting here. If you are not a christian woman than you would not likely join the christian woman's group that someone created. You can just pass it by.

It could also be that it might serve as a trigger and cause further trauma and harm for those at PC who were abused in the name of religion or by religious groups and/or cults ... It's tricky enough navigating all that out in the real world ... It's nice to not have to be overly concerned about it here.

Originally Posted by Anika.

The case of user created groups is that you have to join the group, they can still have a place to talk about their religion and support each other, but it doesn't have to be here in this forum, so everyone can feel comfortable posting here.

Thanks for the clarification.

I am glad that religion is not discussed here, It can cause so much upset and arguments don't we have enough of that in real life as it is? As it has been said maybe create a group? Religion has alot to answer for

[shortandcute]

Originally Posted by Pfrog

It could also be that it might serve as a trigger and cause further trauma and harm for those at PC who were abused in the name of religion or by religious groups and/or cults ... It's tricky enough navigating all that out in the real world ... It's nice to not have to be overly concerned about it here.

i see your point--and i know i did suffer some abuse in the name of religion my self so i should understand. i was raised an atheist, but i moved in with my sis and her husband--and they were both religious--and were pretty abusive to me emotionally and mentally, and verbally, and used God to justify their behavior. Plus my 1st husband used to beat the tar out of me and kept insisting the Bible commanded men to beat their wives!

(((shortandcute))) ...

I'm sorry you've also had these experiences ... Unfortunately it happens a lot ... For the life of me I don't think I'll ever understand how people can justify doing bad things to people in the name of something that's supposed to be good ... !!!

,
Pfrog!

[ryuken]

Posts about religion and politics can raise your blood pressure and also gives you stress. Not everyone is going to agree with each other and tolerance inside the brain is hard. We are in the forum where we are supposed to care about the health of the others rather than increasing stress of everyday life and that too for topics which don't help on reducing stress. There are other forums for in depth discussion on politics and religion. It's good to have section but on forum like this it will only be counter productive.

[edward6]

I see a lot of blaming God or thanking God for the quality of our existence. I feel God isn't an entity, at all, but the spirit of our collective existence, so I would avoid any forum that classifies God as the perp. It's seems to me that belief absolves me of any responsibility, and I do appreciate my response ability; it empowers me.

[sunsetsunrise]

I personally think that just as politics divides, so does religion. Perhaps that's why this rule exists regarding religions posts in this area. I would never ever go to a forum area that is centered around religions doctrine. Although I respect that many enjoy this. Just not my preference. Nor would I like to receive religions answers to a post I make. Because my beliefs are non-denominational.

[sunsetsunrise]

Originally Posted by shortandcute

i see your point--and i know i did suffer some abuse in the name of religion my self so i should understand. i was raised an atheist, but i moved in with my sis and her husband--and they were both religious--and were pretty abusive to me emotionally and mentally, and verbally, and used God to justify their behavior. Plus my 1st husband used to beat the tar out of me and kept insisting the Bible commanded men to beat their wives!

I am sooooooo sorry this all happened to you. Sadly it is not so uncommon, as you know. safe for you

[lynn P.]

You can talk about spirituality but not a specific religion. For those that wish to go into detail, they can join a religious social group and talk in detail there....... so that solves the problem. Think of spirituality a large umbrella and under that all the different religions. Reason for this rule is - it has caused some fights since some claim their religion might be superior or offend another person beliefs.

[sabby]

I am sorry I didn't see this thread 2 months ago when it was originally posted.

DocJohn has posted the following on the main page of this forum which states the reason why religion is not allowed to be spoken about in this forum:

No religious talk on this forum
We're going to move forward with a new plan for this forum, for better or worse, because the current state of affairs is simply untenable. We have lost members over hurt and upset caused by this forum and by some members' focus on specific religious doctrine and dogma over the more general spirituality we've always intended here.

Some members have chosen to use this forum as a place to express their point of view, sometimes trying to drown out others'. Other members see this as a soap box to evangelize.

We need to go back to the original mandate of the forum -- that it is about spirituality and not specific religions. Discussion -- even positive discussion -- of specific religions or religious doctrine will not be allowed going forward. It is the specific religious talk that seems to cause the most trouble.

This means no religious talk is allowed -- no specific religious figures, texts, etc. will be permitted here. Please see the note about Social Groups to find where such religious discussion occurs within this community.

DocJohn

As has been recommended by other responders here, there are a number of social group's and social group forums that have been user created that you can discuss religion.

We do have a Community Guideline for the other forums that state the following:

Limit your direct discussion of politics and religion, as people usually hold pretty strong opinions about these topics.

If anyone has any other questions regarding these guidelines, please feel free to post them in the Community Feedback and Technical forum or pm a mod/admin with your questions.

Thank you for understanding and at this time I will be closing this thread.