Is it possible to believe in one more religion
By youless
@youless (112561)
Guangzhou, China
17 responses
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
24 Nov 12
It depends on the religion. Some religions contradict one another so that might not work. I have studied Buddhism, although I do not consider myself a Buddhist. It is possible to incorporate Buddhism into other faiths. It would be difficult to be both Christian and Jewish at the same time. Even if one practiced or tried to practice two religions, they probably will eventually favor one over the other.
2 people like this
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
25 Nov 12
I have studied many religions over the years. I have taken classes. I have attended many different services. I have talked to many people. Religion is one of my big interests and even a hobby. I find it a fascinating subject.
There is a lot online about religion. You can do searches on any religion and get a wealth of information.
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
5 Dec 12
Messianic Jews are Jewish persons who have converted to Christianity. Religion wise, they are Christians but retain some of the Jewish trappings and rituals in their service. Nothing wrong with that but they are Christians. You can not be Jewish and Christian at the same time. When you accept Jesus as divine, you are a Christian. Jews do not accept Jesus as divine.
I have studied at a Buddhist Center near me. It was very interesting and I learned a lot. Most of the members had been raised either Jewish or Christian but now considered themselves to be Buddhists although some did consider themselves to be Jewish Buddhists or Christian Buddhists. Most of their families were Christian or Jewish.
Buddhism is a religion to some but a path to others. Not everyone sees it as a religion. Some Buddhists do not even believe in God. I learned a lot from these people.
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
5 Dec 12
@Gratopetalum. No religions in the world teach bad things to their believers. It is only the devils inside human bodies who distort the good religious teachings to humankinds.
@Graptopetalum (1807)
• Canada
6 Dec 12
zandi, you can argue about what constitutes a "bad thing" but some religions have official teachings that many people have problems with.
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
24 Nov 12
Of course that is possible. I as a hindu also go to churches, mosques (though not that frequently) and even gurudwaras. Believing and following are different things and there is nothing wrong in believing in more than one religion. And if the Orthodox lotters will not kill me for this - I would also say, following two religions too is possible - the only glitch is - you should have a strong belief on what you are doing and if you get that right, you can combine the best of all religions.
The Bahai community is one of this kind though I am not their community member.
What I say in my first paragraph is because my knowledge tells me that all Gods are one and all religions do teach the same things (almost) and it is just the misinterpretaions of many which make things bad for many.
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@Graptopetalum (1807)
• Canada
4 Dec 12
thesids, aren't you worried by the fact that Hiduism believes in many gods and practices idolatry while Islam and Christianity believe in one god and that idolatry is a sin? I don't think you can say that idolatry being a sin is a missinterpretation as the Bible and Koran both say this in no uncertain terms.
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
25 Nov 12
of course it is. though not as we may think.
religion is just a formal manifestation of beliefs. so if you cling to two or more beliefs, then there's a new belief that surfaced. and that can be a new religion altogether.
that is what happened, i think why we have so many religions nowadays. originally, there may only be one. and then some followers had new beliefs but the old old did not allow it. so what did they do? they established a new one that would cater to the new belief, and retain some of the old.
then it happened again. and again. and sgain.
now, hundreds of religions are fighting each other. everyone insisting that theirs is the real one.
2 people like this
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
26 Nov 12
they fight because they insist that they are right and the others are not. some also think that they are appeasing their gods if they literally obliterate the non-believers to their faith.
I always thought “destroying your enemies” meant teaching your religion to non-believers so they might be converted, and not destroying them literally by killing them.
@Mavic123456 (21893)
• Thailand
25 Nov 12
No, the christian bible said "you can not serve two masters, for you will love one more than the other" (something to that effect). However, there is nothing wrong with respecting other religion. I am a Christian but I am now living in a Buddhist country, so will I defy buddhism or christianity? No, I can be Christian attend to Buddhist rites and still be a Christian. As long as they believe in God in whatever form there maybe.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
26 Nov 12
Those who say they believe in two or more religions don't really believe in anything other than supertision.
1 person likes this
@Graptopetalum (1807)
• Canada
5 Dec 12
bellis, this is a very sweeping statement. Does it cover Messianics (kind of a combination of Jewdaism and Christianity), Seikhs (kind of a combination of Islam and Hinduism) etc?
I don't think you should make such general and derogatory statements without some sort of evidence and reasoning.
@joliefille (3690)
• Philippines
24 Nov 12
I am pretty much tolerant about other religions. I was christened a Roman Catholic but I don't religiously go to church but I do meditate a lot. The only real religion for me is love.
2 people like this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
27 Nov 12
While it seems to be the trend these days to say that all religions are just different roads to heaven I cannot subscribe to that idea.
I firmly believe that there is only one true God. There is no reason to believe that he would have many different religions leading to him, especially when they all teach different doctrines.
God is a God of truth. There is only one truth. Our job is to pick out which religion is actually teaching that truth.
1 person likes this
@Graptopetalum (1807)
• Canada
6 Dec 12
I think your personal beliefs in morality and the paranormal are your relgion. It doesn't matter if it's a recognized religion or well developed. A lot of people don't think through their beliefs very well and do believe things that are logically incompatable. I'm not sure if this constitutes belief in two religions.
I'm a Messianic, so I believe in following the Old Testament rules like having a Kosher diet and worshipping on Saturday but I also believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah, incarnation of God and son of God. I also accept the authority of the New Testament. I'm not sure if that constitutes following two religions. In this case it's well thought out and makes logical sense.
Some people believe in Chrislam, which is a combination of Christianity and Islam. I don't know how they reconcyle the Holy Trinity and Jesus being God's son with Allah being indivisible and not having children and a lot of other issues.
Seikhism is rather a hybrid of Islam and Hinduism but I don't know much about it.
I don't know if you could be a Hindu and a Wiccan or a Hindu and Buddhist etc. Mahatma Gandi famously was once asked if he was a Hindu and replied, "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew." This really showed a horrible lack of understanding of Christianity, Islam and Jewdaism which can't possible accept the multiple gods and idolatry of Hinduism and the horrible gobledeegook of Buddhism.
1 person likes this
@captinjack (788)
• China
25 Nov 12
Maybe, I deem it is viable. But i don't wanna talk about it. Your discussion reminds me of an article written by a famous think tank, in which the author exposes that Chinese do not have any faith at all. The article says that Chinese take all religions as superstition and do not give a hoot to any of them. I argue that the conclusion makes sense and our compatriots ought to think deeply about it. What do you say ?
1 person likes this
@Graptopetalum (1807)
• Canada
5 Dec 12
captinjack, I find it hard to believe that there is any belief held by all Chinese people.
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
25 Nov 12
You may or may not believe in religion, you may have belief in more than one religion. But whenever you are asked to state your religion, you will have to point to one religion only.
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@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
26 Nov 12
You may believe in as many religions as you like but when you need to declare your religion in any official document, you have to stick to one. Isn't it?
@BillMTracer (52)
• United States
25 Nov 12
I think that no religion has a monopoly on the truth. Both truth and falsehood is found in all religions, therefore the real trick is to figure out what's good in each, and where each one goes astray, and then amalgamate the good parts and discard the bad parts. So I embrace a from of Universalism, which does just that, filtering out human errors,(we all make them),and finding the proper common ground of truth from all religions.
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@BillMTracer (52)
• United States
25 Nov 12
See, like I said, we all make errors. Sorry about mine, above. That should be, "form", not "from". I thought I'd gotten over that. I used to make that particular typo a lot, then I got better. It's late, and when I'm tried I make errors.
1 person likes this
@spicymary (558)
• Romania
24 Nov 12
You certainly can't do this. A religion offers you a version about the truth, the universal truth, the only one that really matters. If you believe in one, you can't believe also in another one, because they contradict each other. It's logical.
If you believe that all religion talk about the same thing, like being good, or whatever other understandment you give to this matter, you put yourself in the relativistic area, which is kind of a religion itself. But you certainly can not belong to none of those you said you believe in.
2 people like this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
25 Nov 12
I was born and raised in the Presbyterian (a type of Christian Protestant) church, and as yet the church still stands for a lot of what I believe in, so I still attend services on occasion. However, a lot of other religions have practices that make sense to me, even if the whole religion itself does not attract me. In other words, I am a MEMBER of only one faith, but am open to listen to the ideas and teachings of others In conclusion, it's possible to believe in more than one religion, or spiritual system, but if a person's going to pick an organization of which to be a member, they should choose the one that appeals MOST to the beliefs they already hold. If, in time, those believes change, then look for a new religion, and convert.
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@vamsimajeti (934)
• India
27 Nov 12
I don't think it is possible to believe in more than one religion. Because if you are believing in one religion you are sure to not believing in other religion.
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@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
25 Nov 12
Hi friend, it is based on the individual interest, there is nothing wrong in believing more than one religion. Most of the people have faith with other religions, but they are following the own religions strictly and not interested in following or to convert with other religion.
1 person likes this