How much do you know about religions other than your own?

Exactly! It's great to talk to people who understand that, the wanting to learn without wanting to convert. So many people assume that when you start studying other beliefs you are unhappy with your own, but really we just love to learn. =)

It does sound like you have a very diverse background when it comes to such things. That's great! =) *nods* I know some people who are really elitist about the whole issue, and look down on eclectics. But honestly I think it's more important to find the path that works for you than to please others. The only thing I think I really get annoyed about is people that thing Pagan=Wiccan or worse, Celtic=Wiccan. I've been accused of being Wiccan more times than I can count, and it's not that I have something against Wiccans, but I simply don't follow their beliefs. I get tired of the "You don't follow the Rede? All Pagans follow the Rede?" thing too... and I'll be like, um, that's not part of my religion, that's part of yours. =P

*nods* Yup everyone has some common ground if you just look for it. I have yet to find anyone of any religion that I couldn't find common ground with, except for those unwilling to look for or acknowledge it. =) I would think that almost everyone knows more about their own religion that anyone else's religion. I would say in fact that if you're starting to feel you know more about someone else's religion than your own, perhaps it's time to do some study on your own religion. Knowing your own path is an important thing too! "I think it's important not to go through life ignorant to so many things, if I agree or do not agree with them." I like the way you said that. There are many things in other religions that I don't agree with, and I think that's natural. In fact, if you did agree with everything in another religion, likely you would choose that religion rather than your own. =P

*nods* It's very interesting especially around holidays, it's a great chance of learning about what people believe. I always ask questions when my friends mention they have a religious holiday coming up as well. This past couple of years I had Jewish coworker, and I learned a lot about their traditions from her. =) Learning about most of the Christian denominations was easy for me when I was young because I was surrounded by them, but I also learned about Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and other types of paganism than my own from friends I had when I was younger. That's an interesting thing about being Pagan too, because the general pagan community always consists of people who actually have very different beliefs depending on where their roots are, or what Gods have called them. So I've learned a lot about Norse (Asatru), Greek (Hellenic), Roman, Eyptian, and newer things like Wicca as well. I also had a chance to learn a lot of Native American lore from my great-grandfather (so I have sort of a dual heritage there, though by far the Celtic has become the more influential in my life). You make some very good points about the generations. My grandmother grew up to be Chrstian because it was so dominant in the area where we lived, and my father also (he was even a minister at one point, though he sort of had faith issues and quit because he is gay). For me it was only natural to learn from my great-grandmother instead, both because I had dreamed about a Goddess whom I felt was reaching out to me, and because my great-grandmother was kind to me when many people weren't.

Yup, my Native American great-grandfather married my pagan great-grandmother. And yes, they were quite a pair. They were kinder to me than anyone I can remember when I was young, and I loved them so much. There were always stories to hear in that house! At one point they tried to get custody of me actually, but the courts wouldn't go for it because of their age. =( Thankfully, my father has seemed to found something that makes him happy, though I'm not sure if he actually has a spiritual path. It's not something he would talk about if he did. He's a much better person now than when I was young, because he coming out gave him the strength to stop drinking, or perhaps the other way around, I'm not sure which. Anyhow, he's an okay guy now, and I'm really fond of him, though he's not exactly a father figure in my eyes just as my other isn't really a mother figure, because they weren't when I was young. Still, he's a good guy, and I'm happy when I hear that he is happy. =)

Wow. Did your Native American Great-grandfather marry your Pagan Great-grandmother? What a pair.And what great strong spiritual roots.I am sorry your dad had to leave his post.I hope he has found a path that he likes ans it doesn't make any difference if he is gay.

You didn't answer my question though... do you learn about other people's religions? Just because you believe firmly in your own (as I stated I believe firmly in my own) doesn't mean that you can't learn or study anything else in order to understand other people or be more tolerant, does it?

"That tells me to be tolerant of everyone who has different beliefs" BRAVO TO YOU! thats so nice to hear especially since you admit that at one point you werent inclined to be openminded and tolerant...

Yes, I do know some about other religions. I know that they do not believe everything the Bible teaches. I study what I know to be true...the Word of God. I want to grow spiritually and have a closer walk with the Lord.

Thanks for sharing with me! I would definitely agree that religion and medicine are connected. My great-grandmother had a great many herbal treatments, and they were always accompanied by spiritual healing as well. =) I think one of the best stories I have about religion and medicine is about a doctor I had when I was younger. He said he always made such to find out about the patient's beliefs and how they would affect what treatments they would accept if he could, and helped to find ways to make Western medicine more palatable to some people. Some of the other doctors and nurses I had balked when my great-grandmother wanted to do a healing ritual at the hospital for me before a major treatment or something, and this doctor always made sure we got our way. =)

One doctor I saw not too long ago, when I went to see him for excruciating back pain to ask him about starting physical therapy, didn't even bother to ask me about my religion and the other beliefs that I have incorporated into them, like the part about my ingesting as few toxins as possible and being environmental, all to bring me closer to G-d through honoring His creation. He actually insulted me by insisting that I start drinking diet soda. I very rarely drink soda at all, even organic soda, but I do not drink diet soda at all because of artificial sweeteners and other chemical garbage in there. If he would have asked me, I would have told him that I have just converted to Messianic Jewish and am an environmentalist who eats almost entirely certified organic vegetarian food. But, again, he didn't even bother to ask. And, when I told him that I eat almost entirely certified organic and am very strict about this, he didn't listen to a single word I said. He also kept strongly insisting that I have acupuncture done even though I told him that I can't afford it, my insurance won't cover any of it, and it would mean a one-year deferral at Biolife plasma donation center if I dared to have it done (and thus a loss of a potential over $2,000). Arrogant jerk wouldn't listen to a single word I said! Needless to say, as soon as possible I called the clinic and had him put on my list of doctors I am to never see again because of the insult and him refusing to listen to me. So, it really helps to know about other religions and the person's living situation, ask certain questions politely and respectfully, and get to know a patient's belief system. Otherwise, the patient might lose all trust and respect for you and find someone else.

I am very glad that a doctor actually listed to you and let the healing ritual be done and all that. I have found only one doctor who has respected my beliefs and practices much at all, and he is gone out of the country for a year. I am left, until he returns next July, with a woman who is very blunt, direct, and to-the-point, and who I don't really like all that much.

There are always people in every religion who don't even seem to study their own religion. I've known people like that, and it's frustrating trying to deal with them. =P You have a good point about the example of Jesus. I know many Christians who seem not to follow that example when it comes to tolerance, but it is there for those who look.

That's for sharing, beyonce03. =) There are many religions that I studied mostly because I had friends of those religions, and I had heard bad things about those religions but knew my friend to be good, so I had to revise my opinions. It's interesting how meeting a single person who is kind can change your opinion on their religion. Of course there will always be differences in our beliefs, and not arguing is the hard part, but it's also rewarding. =)

You're very sweet to say such lovely things to me. Thank you. I love being on this site because of the wonderful opportunities to meet incredible folk and to learn and grow from them.

Yeah, I know a lot of people who have been taught to dislike and distrust "others" because of religious differenes. You're not alone. And really it's hard to shake that kind of teaching, so I think it shows a lot of strength and goodness in you that you have learned better. =) MsTickle, it doesn't matter how old you are when you become aware, but only that you do become aware. It's perfectly okay to not know something, and to admit that, and to ask. In fact, it's beautiful to see someone starting to learn and open up in such a way. =)

Yup, there are times when you're just too busy! I've been there before as well. =p Asking questions of your friends is really a great way to learn, and it helps you get to know your friends better too. =)

*nods* Not everyone is interested in the same things either, so I'm sure not everyone finds learning about the religions of others as fun as I do. =P I'm glad to hear that you don't have anything against people of other religions though. The tolerance part is more important than anything I think.

I have had the great luck to have a few Hindu friends, so I've learned some about your religion. It's very interesting. =) You know, it suddenly occurs to me that I don't honestly know much about Jainism. I don't think it's very common where I live. I'll have to start researching that one!

I can see the point to being familiar with your own town first, but where are those tourists coming from? If no one was a tourist, then you wouldn't have anyone to guide, would you? If we all stopped asking questions, there would be no dialogue at all. I think one should learn about their own religion as much as possible as well, but I don't believe that learning about your own religion and about other people's religions are mutually exclusive. I have spent hour upon hour studying my own religion, and that is a hard thing considering some of the history of the people that religion came from is lost. As a child I asked my great-grandmother questions til both our throats were raw, spent whole days in meditation, scoured history books as well as books on religion... my religion is not an easy one to follow really, because I don't have all the doctrine laid out for me by someone else. So my religion has required much study as well. I simply choose to study the religions of others as well as my own in order to have greater tolerance, and understanding between religions. Back to that "tourist" issue... how can you not learn from this person as well? Will you only speak and never listen?

I suppose for me it was through studying other religions that I decided that they were all teaching good things. Had I not studied them, I would not have believed that, because there was one religion in particular that I knew many bad people who claimed, so only by studying it did I know they were not acting honestly by their own beliefs.

Yup, it must be something about us Virgos. =P Your personal path is a very interesting blend from what I have heard about it! I loved your posts on Vodun and such! =) Hehe, that's a great reference, Johnny 5! =P

"I know that I can only understand other religions to a point as I was not brought up in them and not brought up in their culture." This is an excellent point. There are often things that are very hard to grasp because you don't have that experience. You are essentially always coming at it from the standpoint of a small child, because you have not learned the things that these people learned as children. And yet of course when you ask, people speak to you as they would to another adult, and thus give you information far above your level of understanding. I have had to ask often "I need the basic part first, what was the first thing YOU were taught about your religion?" I am glad that you found a path that works for you. =)

*nods* You are right that it is a very personal matter, which can be hard for people to talk about. That's what's kind of nice for me about talking about it online, because the only people who come into the religion forums will be people who are willing to talk. Before mylot, there was an inter-religious dialogue forum I sometimes frequented, but I really enjoy talking about other topics as well (and getting paid for it) so I like mylot more now. =P I've always heard that learning about other religions can be confusing in relation to your own, but never really experienced it. My personal relationships with my Gods are strong enough that I never felt tempted to change religions, really, except occasionally when I was tired of being persecuted for not being the mainstream religion in my area. Even then, it was a fleeting thought, and not something I could have ever acted on. I plan to teach my child many religions, because I want him to choose what his religion will be, not just take whatever I tell him to and believe it. I hope he doesn't get confused, but I'm pretty sure he won't because I have seen other children who were taught in the same way, who are very stable and well-rounded people. =)

*nods* I have noticed that issue with Christian churches. When I was growing up, I had a hard time talking about religion with Christians, because they would always want to tell me about theirs just never want to listen about mine, because they had been taught that even to hear about other religions could cause them to "stray from the path" or give "the devil something to use to lure you". *sighs* "After all, how strong is one's faith, if they are afraid to learn about another?" I love the way you say this. I think if you are afraid to hear about other people's beliefs you must have some doubts about your own, otherwise why feel threatened? I have studied every religion I have gotten a chance to, and yet my own faith has remained just as strong as ever. =)

That's a very good point! Thanks for adding to the discussion! I think it is very important to investigate other paths to make sure you are on the right path for you. =)