I AM GOD A so called God does not necessarily need to exist, because I am God when I call myself God. I do not care about religion, since everyone is free
to name their own gods. Then I would be God myself. I know that human beings are divided into 2 obvious kinds. While some times
Picture from the website of Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement (Coventry) “Members of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement believe that human sexuality in all its richness is a gift of God gladly to be accepted, enjoyed and honoured, as a way of both expressing and growing in love, in accordance with the life and teaching of Jesus Christ; therefore it is their conviction that it is entirely compatible with the Christian faith not only to love another person of the same sex but also to express that love fully in a personal, sexual relationship.�
they are not as obvious as such, even we cannot tell which side we
are in. how much do we really know ourselves how much do we deny our nature can we hear our true selves is
there
a
true
self
We believe in explanations of the world. Daily life is full of assumptions. Everyone’s knowledge is limited, no one has ever lived through the entire history of the human race. I am certainly not the one. Since I am taught with history that I wasn’t even there.
limitation of our abilities ► lack of information lack of information ► belief one fact
different information ► different interpretation different interpretation ► different believers
I believe that some great people did exist. I believe that Chairman Mao did exist although I did not see him for real. But there are so many proofs aren’t there? Although I do not need them to believe that Chairman Mao did exist. I just have to make up my mind to believe it is true.
i cannot go to the past ► i just have his photos photos ► i believe that he was there photos of him smiling ► he was kind to people Chairman Mao was kind ► I love him
But everything I know or recognize would just be part of the whole picture. Because my eyes cannot see 360째. I might never know the truth. But why should I know it ?
We’re told that the creation of the world was a big bang. It seems to be an end of the story. But what came before the big bang? The world came from a big bang.
great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great
great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great I great great great am great great great here. great great great
Worshipping is our nature. We worship someone. We worship something. We worship some ideas. The thing(s) we worship are our god(s).
So what is religion anyway? Do we need those do’s and don’ts to have faith in what we believe in? Is there a truth? Can we prove anything?
religion = faith? who need religion?
I have been truthf
ul all along the w ay. The truth is m or
e interesting, and
if you tell the trut
h you never have to co ver your tracks. RealLivePreache r.c om W eb lo g, January 04, 20 The truth is always a compound of 04 two half– truths, and you never rea ch it, because there is always som ething more to say. The public will believ Tom Stoppard (1937–) e anything , so long a s it is not founded o n tr s. . Edith Sitw ell (1887– liueth e96 r1 o a 18842)) s t u The t; b 1803– b t u r uth i Turns s mo out do rson p( erception. out if ritehim om eand you n Franl, w edompEorryta xiana, 2004 m ever n k a u ntO uifm Lalolydruth in lie, le tahuh ll, T Wrig than the etrel’pBshisW f fallib e o s e s t n b a h fa t( s ToRm a always serv th i some 1869–1 cts. es them k u a S r m c T o it 95 tt We o ars; sterfe ne mad a 9) atives li r r a n e t you l d, Ex of thAlolstruths are easy to un . s t r r o a h t s u , derstand once they 2007 he a t e k ar e a di scovered; the poin t is to discover them es not m This do . Galileo er . 16 . ar Gal ilet ito(1he no 56 ef 4– pr en 42 m ) ich g the truth wh aradin s rbert Ag e is for the most part He fre en u m es ak s m at r th no The truth y pe ntinia b e ch tea us Val t o n rs oes ), Adve The history of our race, and each individual’s experience, are sown thick d t with evidence, bthat u a Atruth D is not hard to kill and g 0 n kill 3 i h 2 ard tortal. t himmo well o is ac AD– that a lietrtold n is e h t t a u y Mark60Twaince ortal. msYouth that –1910 ),wAdvice hoetsh. ll oisnim to (h1 eviden (1835 e es b uw s it ld d s o t g it in a u k a lie putt dvice to Yuote rswun tuhlic lian ailnedththeatrt uth is A0), (attrib d) repeso ), a 0 h , w 1 t e 9 d c 1 rl 1 r n 9 h o – 1 ie w 5835– 83(1 d the exper rut y iauro s Tuen ain wrkain Tw(1 Love kMTa dividual’asn travel haTlfwtaim areti I gu in M es s h so m c a m es e you havetrto uthlie , and A lie c find Sep , ato f our race s o nd p the truth. y r u o t Sc t ott is We V ste n rfe ld, o i The h rdos, 2007 ltaire Exatra Qu (169 n error. 4–17 Men 78) truth.’ a d n u fo occa ve a h ther, ‘I ra t sion u b ,’ ) 1 th 3 u 9 tr al found the 883–1 Kahlil Gibran (1 Say not, ‘I havely stumb tever remains, however le otha you have eliminated the impossible, wha n whe t you to said I e v hav n ofte e How r the improbable, must be the truth? truth , b t (1859–1930), (Sherlock Holmes) The Sign of Four, 1890 mos Truth is truth Sir Arthur Conan Doyule t of t hem To the end of reckoning. pick t William Shakespeare (1564–161 6),h“Measure for Measure”, Act 5 scene 1 ems elves up a nd h urry Sir W off a s insto ever if nothin n Ch urch g h ill (1 appene 874– d. 1965 ) . isn’t h t u r 10) s. T ilitie 835–19 b i s s 1 to po Twain ( k c i t k s Mar ed to g i l b o on is i t c i F Real Live Preache r,
A lie Tru told L t Ma h eisnin (1 often e n m 8 rk Tw ore 70–19 ough be 24) ain of com es th (18 a st e tru 35 ran th. –1 ge 91 r th 0) an fict ion .
bra m A ro o n t ets f . w d h o an e dem 1865 nt d prop h t f o e ess gs,’ n s o the in exc : His Sayin e n e e e t sb gs h b iven alway Josh Billin t s a h a y g h ppl from ch was ed. the su Affurisms i , s i h h n ), ‘ trut t w hich esig ce as 818–1885 a r a r c h s w t (1 e As nd that re w illings B a h s , Jo a s nd r. o u s, a God t hono f n su to o y h w ort o Je d t d d to : an m is w e h n t m se n er in hatev en ses a f the w r o e on b o ther h regard th o Mo any a e r b t a t u o tfree yourself, even Chase after truth like hell andh you’ll though h s, b you never touch its coat–tails. ay n other c iven ween e, it m r i e u t t a a h n c Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) e an t w en g beot not depr m hum o a r f s n e t h d r b sectitos, epa d t of r inc men. Truth sits upon theanlips thhedying truth d s t a a o d t e y h , ecrh rd Matthew Arnold ‘Sohrab and Rustum,’ otdd(1822–1888), dis is rega t1853 a h w DoinnGo wshmic no f I ure. i an nat veButdhdaht ake m as Abraham, as u e h i Buddha. Let us know Thee as , iva el nd e m epart from Sh as , na sh Kri b as , own to the world. e ... a o. eWs not d ee in all Thy holy names and forms: as Rama and form, known and unkn s Th d e me d niz na og er rec oth r h to ny t ma owaus in m u d AllW an r o Jesus, as Mohammed, h. huisstr s, asand h TAll trat Mobyseand rutruth a, as pure ir, Laas s tZa scripture inspired God, profitable The rarely never simple. for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may Solomthon eed m s i m n a i c fu Wilde be complete, equipped fro everThe good work. (1854–1900), Importance of Being Earnest, 1895, Act I SufismIC sloa nOscar Christianity Truth is generally the best vindication against slander. The pro opp Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, July 18, 1864 o Nie found site Believe those w of ls B t ho are seeking ohr ruth. a cor the truth. Doub A ndre Gide (186 t those who find r (18 9–1951) ect it. 85 s taha ed rib sc – de ve t s e ge 1 sa me In varying ways th9e62 ntniat li truths; se ) es d an g in ry s The same unva falall. een thaem tw be t ic nfl co al re t se There is no sta tem hinduism ent Ye s hall .B ut k Bibl the e, Jo now th e tru hn 8 opp th, a :32 osi nd t te o he t fa ruth pro shas all m There are few nudities so objectionable the naked truth. fou ake nd Agnes Repplier (1855–1950) you tru free th . ma yw ell be a oth All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it isnaccepted as being self–evident. er Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)
God is in the rain. V for Vendetta As water quenches the thirst of the good and the bad alike, and cleanses them of the duct and impurity, so also shall you treat your friend and your foe alike with loving kindness. Buddhism He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Christianity More important is a day of rain then the Resurrection of the Dead, since the Resurrection is for righteous and not the wicked, whereas rain is for both the righteous and the wicked. Judaism The earth holds the honest and the wicked. The sun warms the honest and the wicked. The wind blows equally for them. Water cleanses them equally. Hinduism The highest goodness is like water. Water is beneficent to all things. Taoism The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Hopi Native american My religion is like clouds dropping much rain…some falls in the hollows from which mankind are benefited, some falls on high lands from which benefits is not derived. Islam
Woman was God’s second mistake. Friedrich Nietzsche
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion. Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), (attributed) Everyone ought to worshipGod according to his own inclinations, and not to be constrained by force.Flavius Josephus (37 AD–100 AD), Life A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes. James Feibleman The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible. Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself. Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890) Whatever God’s dream about man may be, it seems certain it cannot come true unless man cooperates. Stella Terrill Mann My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof. Ashley Montague In science, ‘fact’ can only mean ‘confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.’ I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms. Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea first occurs. Sir Francis Darwin (1848–1925), Eugenics Review, April 1914 Science is one thing, wisdom is another. Science is an edged tool, with which men play like children, and cut their own fingers. Sir Arthur Eddington (1882–1944), Attributed in Robert L. Weber The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959) With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799) The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Men willingly believe what they wish. Julius Caesar (100 BC–44 BC), De Bello Gallico I always admired atheists. I think it takes a lot of faith. Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Seoul Mates, 1991 We think having faith means being convinced God exists in the same way we are convinced a chair exists. People who cannot be completely convinced of God’s existence think faith is impossible for them. Not so. People who doubt can have great faith because faith is something you do, not something you think. In fact, the greater your doubt the more heroic your faith. Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, December 26,
2002 Faith is, at one and the same time, absolutely necessary and altogether impossible. Stanislaw Lem (1921–2006) Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. Saint Thomas Aquinas Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. Saint Augustine To me faith means not worrying. John Dewey Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. Kahlil Gibran Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr. I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness. Mother Teresa The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Elie Wiesel God is not dead but alive and well and working on a much less ambitious project. Anonymous, Graffito I could prove God statistically. George Gallup (1901–1984) God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest. J. G. Holland EVERY path may lead you to God, even the weird ones. Most of us are on a journey. We’re looking for something, though we’re not always sure what that is. The way is foggy much of the time. I suggest you slow down and follow some of the side roads that appear suddenly in the mist. Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, February 13, 2003 If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank Woody Allen (1935–) We must accept that this creative pulse within us is God’s creative pulse itself. Joseph Chilton Pearce To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others. Anne–Sophie Swetchine Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be. Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) Love is not enough. It must be the foundation, the cornerstone–but not the complete structure. It is much too pliable, too yielding. Bette Davis (1908–1989) Gravity. It keeps you rooted to the ground. In space, there’s not any gravity. You just kind of leave your feet and go floating around. Is that what being in love is like? Josh Brand and John Falsey, Northern Exposure, The Pilot, 1990 To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don’t want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt. Madonna (1958–), O Magazine, January 2004 Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a
tender look which becomes a habit. Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) I believe love is primarily a choice and only sometimes a feeling. If you want to feel love, choose to love and be patient. Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, December 16, 2002 I don’t think anyone can DO anything that would make him worthy of love. Love is a gift and cannot be earned. It can only be given. Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, January 20, 2003 The important thing was to love rather than to be loved. W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965), ‘Of Human Bondage’, 1915 The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. Ben Stein I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice. George Eliot (1819–1880) It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, 1999 The self is not something ready–made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action. John Dewey (1859–1952) If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. Robert Fritz Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. Galileo Galilei The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. Emile Zola (1840–1902) There are no facts, only interpretations. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad. Salvador Dali (1904–1989) Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain. Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805) God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Voltaire (1694–1778) I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. Ian L. Fleming (1908–1964) I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931) Maybe this world is another planet’s Hell. Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. Revelation 6:8 Men are not disturbed by things, but the view they take of things. Epictetus (55–135 A.D.) Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from two, it’s research. Wilson Mizner (1876–1933) Woman was God’s second mistake. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to. Mark Twain (1835–1910), Following the Equator (1897) Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle. Phillips Brooks (1835–1893) If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is thank you, that would suffice. Meister Eckhart
The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action. John Dewey (1859–1952)
call your god
wait for the feedback
The God The All Beneficent The Most Merciful The King, The Sovereign The Most Holy Peace and Blessing The Guarantor The Guardian, the Preserver The Almighty, the Self Sufficient The Powerful, the Irresistible The Tremendous The Creator The Maker The Fashioner of Forms The Ever Forgiving The All Compelling Subduer The Bestower The Ever Providing The Opener, the Victory Giver The All Knowing, the Omniscient The Restrainer, the Straightener The Expander, the Munificent
Concept of Islam, defining God to 99 names or qualities. Of the 99, 85 are presented in the Koran. Many of these names are used as adjectives, but in Arabic that is no hindrance from using them as proper names. Several adjectives used for God in the Koran are not among the 99, and some scholars have identified up to a total of 200 names. The concept of the 99 names is defined by one hadith passage, which is believed to be confirmed by the Koran verses below. The hadith passage of Bukhari below is also found in Muslim’s collections (Book 35, Number 6475): Koran 20 7 God, there is no god but He!
Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahīm al-Malik al-Quddūs as-Salām
His are the excellent names.
al-Mu’min
Koran 7 179 But God’s are the good names; call on Him then thereby
al-Muhaymin
Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 50 894 Narrated Abu Huraira: God’s apostle said, “God has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise”. The names may be understood as an attempt to make humans understand the greatness of God, although the comprehension of these names will not measure up to the true and complete nature of God. Also, according to the above mentioned hadith passage, the knowledge or utterance of the 99 names will provide for a place in Paradise. Note that Koran 7:179 refers to the names as “good names”, while some of the names on the 99-list are gruesome like “The Bringer of Death, the Destroyer” (no. 62) and “The Avenger” (no. 81), and perhaps even “The Giver of Dishonor” (no. 26). One of the names, no. 91, ‘ad-Darr, “The Distressor, the Harmer”, has the hadiths as its only source, and is also a name used for Satan. God’s 99 names are popular with creating personal names, but then Abd, “servant”, is put in front. Naming directly from God’s names is not permitted.
al-’Azīz al-Jabbār al-Mutakabbir al-Khāliq al-Barī’ al-Musawwir al-Ghaffār al-Qahhār al-Wahhāb
For Sufism, the idea of a 100th name has great religious value. By their rituals, Sufis may reach the understanding of the 100th name, thereby full and complete understanding of God, or even to merge the consciousness with God’s.
al-Razzāq
Muslim tradition involves the expectation that Mahdi upon his arrival will reveal the 100th name of God to the world.
al-Alīm
Baha’is claim the knowledge of the 100th name, which came with Baha’ullah: al-Baha’, “Glory, brilliance”. By this claim, they established a new religion, and departed from Islam.
al-Fattāh
al-Qābid al-Bāsit
The Abaser
al-Khāfid
The Exalter
ar-Rāfic
The Giver of Honor
al-Mucizz
The Giver of Dishonor
al-Mudhill
The All Hearing
as-Samīc
The All Seeing The Judge, the Arbitrator
al-Basīr al-Hakam
The Utterly Just
al-cadl
The Subtly Kind
al-Latīf
The All Aware
al-Khabīr
The Forbearing, the Indulgent
al-Halīm
The Magnificent, the Infinite
al-cazīm
The All Forgiving The Grateful The Sublimely Exalted The Greatest
al-Ghafūr ash-Shakūr al-calī al-Kabīr
The Wise
al-Hakīm
The Lord of Majesty and Generosity
The Loving, the Kind One
al-Wadūd
The Equitable, the Requiter
The All Glorious The Raiser of the Dead The Witness
al-Majīd
al-Jāmic
al-Bācith
The All Rich, the Independent
al-Ghanī
ash-Shahīd
The Enricher, the Emancipator
al-Mughnī
al-Haqq
The Withholder, the Shielder, the Defender
The Trustee, the Dependable
al-Wakil
The Distressor, the Harmer
The Firm, the Steadfast The Protecting Friend, Patron, and Helper
al-Qawiyy al-Matīn al-Walī
The All Praiseworthy
al-Hamīd
The Accounter, the Numberer of All
al-Muhsī
The Producer, Originator, and Initiator of all
al-Mubdi’
The Reinstater Who Brings Back All
al-Mu’id
The Giver of Life
al-Muhyi
The Bringer of Death, the Destroyer
al-Mumīt
The Ever Living The Self Subsisting Sustainer of All
al-Hayy al-Qayyūm
The Perceiver, the Finder, the Unfailing
al-Wājid
The Illustrious, the Magnificent
al-Mājid
The One, the All Inclusive, the Indivisible
al-Wāhid
The Self Sufficient, the Impregnable, the Eternally Besought of All, the Everlasting The All Able
as-Samad
The All Determiner, the Dominant
al-Qādir al-Muqtadir
The Expediter, He who brings forward
al-Muqaddim
The Delayer, He who puts far away
al-Mu’akhkhir
The First
al-Awwal
The Last
al-Akhir
The Manifest; the All
az-Zāhir
The Hidden; the All Encompassing The Patron
al-Bātin al-Wālī
The Self Exalted The Most Kind and Righteous The Ever Returning, Ever Relenting The Avenger
al-Mutcālī al-Barr at-Tawwāb al-Muntaqim
The Pardoner, the Effacer of Sins
al-cafuw
The Compassionate, the All Pitying
ar-Ra’ūf
The Owner of All Sovereignty
al-Muqsit
The Gatherer, the Unifier
The Truth, the Real
The Strong
Dhu l-Jalāl wa l-Ikrām
Mālik al-Mulk
al-Mānic ad-Dārr
The Propitious, the Benefactor The Light
an-Nāfic an-Nūr
The Guide
al-Hādī’
Incomparable, the Originator
al-Badīc
The Ever Enduring and Immutable
al-Bāqīc
The Heir, the Inheritor of All
al-Wārith
The Guide, Infallible Teacher, and Knower
ar-Rashīd
The Patient, the Timeless
as-Sabūr
Maybe this world is another planet’s Hell. Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain. Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805)
Hinduism People who practise the Hindu religion don’t eat meat from animals. They also avoid foods that may have caused pain to animals during manufacture. ‘Karma’ is believed to be the spiritual load we accumulate or relieve ourselves of during our lifetime. Animals are believed to have spiritual awareness. If a Hindu consumes animal flesh, they accumulate the Karma of that act, which will need to be balanced through good actions and learning in this life or the next. Depending on the level of adherence to this belief, in many cases beef is forbidden, while pork is sometimes restricted or avoided. Selected facts include: ‘Food is God (Brahman)’ is a common Hindu saying. Food is thought to be an actual part of Brahman, rather than simply a Brahman symbol. Foods contain energies such as sound waves that can be absorbed by the person who eats them—the Hindu religion takes literally the maxim ‘You are what you eat’. According to the Hindu religion, violence or pain inflicted on another living thing rebounds on you (Karma). In keeping with the aim to avoid violence or pain to any living thing, vegetarianism is advocated, but not compulsory. Prohibited animal—products tend to vary from one country or region to the next; for example, duck and crab may be forbidden in one geographical location, but not in another. Foodstuffs such as alcohol, onions and garlic are thought to inhibit the Hindu’s quest for spiritual enlightenment by exciting the body and leading to acts which may have Karmic impact, and are therefore avoided or restricted. While beef is forbidden, dairy products including milk, butter and yoghurt are considered to enhance spiritual purity. Fasting depends on the person’s caste (or social standing) and the occasion; for example, rules regarding fasting depend on whether the day has religious or personal significance. Buddhism The dietary rules of Buddhism, which is more of a life philosophy than a religious doctrine, depend on which branch of Buddhism is practised and in what country. Selected facts include: In his lives on Earth, Buddha cycled through various animal forms before he took on the form of a human being—this is why most Buddhists are vegetarian. Similar to the Hindu concept of Karma, Buddhism proposes that violence or pain inflicted on others will rebound on you, further strengthening the need for a vegetarian lifestyle. Some Buddhists believe that the cause of human aggression is violence against animals. Some Buddhists avoid meat and dairy products, while others only shun beef. Religious dates vary from one region to the next. Mahayana Buddhism, for example, celebrates three festivals for the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, while Theravada Buddhists observe all three events on a single day. Buddhist monks tend to fast in the afternoon. Buddhist monks and nuns aren’t allowed to cultivate, store or cook their own food; instead, they must rely on ‘alms’, which are donations from believers. This sometimes includes meats, as monks and nuns aren’t allowed to ask for specific foods. Traditionally, meat from bears, dogs, elephants, horses, hyenas, lions, panthers, snakes and tigers are strictly prohibited to Buddhist monks and nuns.
Religion and food
Christanity The ritual of the transubstantiation (changing) of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ is believed to occur at communion. Roman Catholics fast for at least one hour prior to communion. Fasting is sometimes considered to be ‘praying with the body’. It is believed to improve spiritual discipline—by overcoming the sensations of the physical world and focusing on prayer and spiritual growth. It may serve as a way to respect those people around the world who regularly face starvation or malnutrition. Self—denial (of food) can help Christians to remember that having what you want is not always the path to happiness. Variations of fasting or abstinence are observed by some Roman Catholics on such occasions as Lent or Good Friday; for example, some may strictly avoid meat at this time. Most Protestants observe only Easter and Christmas as feast days, and don’t follow ritualized fasting. Mormons avoid caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. The majority of Seventh Day Adventists doesn’t eat meat or dairy products, and are likely to avoid many condiments including mustard. Those that do eat meat don’t eat pork. Judaism Judaism can be Liberal or Orthodox, based on the degree of adherence to the Jewish laws. ‘Kashrut’ refers to the laws pertaining to food in the Jewish religion. ‘Kosher’ means that a food is permitted or ‘clean’, while anything ‘unclean’ (such as pork and shellfish) is strictly forbidden. The Jewish ‘food laws’ originated more than 2,000 years ago and contribute to a formal code of behaviour that reinforces the identity of a Jewish community. Food forms an integral part of religion in life for a practising Jew. Other selected facts include: Foods must be prepared in the right way in order to be kosher; for example, animals that provide meat must be slaughtered correctly. The consumption of certain foods, including dairy products and fish, is subject to restrictions; for example, there are rules forbidding the mixing and consumption of dairy products with meats. Ritualised fasting is also included in Judaism. Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—for example, is a Jewish fast that lasts from, approximately, dusk till dusk. Jewish feast days include Rosh Hashanah and Passover. The Passover commemorates the birth of the Jewish nation. The food eaten helps to tell the story of the Exodus; for example, bitter herbs recall the suffering of the Israelites under Egyptian rule. Islam In Islam the concept of ‘Halal’, meaning ‘lawful or permitted’, is applied to all areas of a person’s life including regulations surrounding food. Prohibited foods are called ‘Haram’. It is thought that the Creator turns a deaf ear to a Muslim who eats Haram foods. Other selected facts include: The list of Haram foods includes pork, alcohol, foods that contain emulsifiers made from animal fats, frozen vegetables with sauce, particular margarines, and bread or bread products that contain dried yeast. Gelatine can be made from pig and, since pork is Haram, products containing gelatine are forbidden. Caffeinated drinks such as coffee are sometimes considered Haram. Certain religious dates demand fasting from dawn till dusk. Some Muslims choose to fast on Mondays or Thursdays or both. The month of Ramadan requires mandatory fasting during sunlight hours, as do particular dates of religious significance, such as the ninth day of Zul Hijjah.
These considerations led me in the winter of 1919–20 to conclusions which I may now reformulate as follows. It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly every theory–if we look for confirmations. Confirmations should count only if they are the result of risky predictions; that is to say, if, unenlightened by the theory in question, we should have expected an event which was incompatible with the theory—an event which would have refuted the theory. Every “good” scientific theory is a prohibition: it forbids certain things to happen. The more a theory forbids, the better it is. A theory which is not refutable by any conceivable event is non-scientific. Irrefutability is not a virtue of a theory (as people often think) but a vice. Every genuine test of a theory is an attempt to falsify it, or to refute it. Testability is falsifiability; but there are degrees of testability: some theories are more testable, more exposed to refutation, than others; they take, as it were, greater risks. Confirming evidence should not count except when it is the result of a genuine test of the theory; and this means that it can be presented as a serious but unsuccessful attempt to falsify the theory. (I now speak in such cases of “corroborating evidence.”) Some genuinely testable theories, when found to be false, are still upheld by their admirers —for example by introducing ad hoc some auxiliary assumption, or by reinterpreting the theory ad hoc in such a way that it escapes refutation. Such a procedure is always possible, but it rescues the theory from refutation only at the price of destroying, or at least lowering, its scientific status. (I later described such a rescuing operation as a “conventionalist twist” or a “conventionalist stratagem.”) One can sum up all this by saying that the criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability. Karl R. Popper “Science as Falsification” The excerpt was originally published in Conjectures and Refutations (1963)
In science there is no absolute truth which can be tested. Adding up a million of observations, cannot prove a scientific conclusion as true; while a single observation can prove a scientific conclusion as false. When there is new evidence, new thoughts, new interpretations, and when the old falsified hypotheses are kicked out, the truth is still somewhere out there, waiting for human beings to find it. Science has its followers who worship it and its logic, without knowing what happens behind. It just takes one word: BELIEVE
People say that I am the arrogant If you think you have truth when in Ithis sayworld. that I Itam God.necessarily I guess there is would lead nothing more arrogant than judging to humbleness. others when one knowsto it find all. Just Since you areno just blessed it admit thatwere we are first. You justall thearrogant. same as others who you think that they are not If you also yeti am, as “great” or are. “saintly” as you.
Picture in article “Rogue U.S. Troops Knowingly Bombed British In Iraq” from www.prisonplanet.com 31st January 2007 in the picture: injured Iraq people
If God is not like us…how can we possibly know how God is?
Where is God?
What would be more interesting, discovery of a medicine that would save people from being a killer, or a medicine that cure AIDS?
While we do not know it all, we often/always make different interpretations to the world. How would “not knowing it all� lead to our arrogance, as if we know it all?
The real world is real because it is simplified in other interpretations. The truth lies within us.
The fact won’t change, just a matter of how you interpret it.
half empty
P–R Pana Wave (BBC) (The Straits Times) (Reuters) (Sydney Morning Herald) Papua New Guinea human sacrifice cult (The Telegraph) Pentecostal Church of Besançon Peoples Temple (Enc) (Wpost) (SF Chronicle) (OCRT) Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (BBC) Providence (Asahi Shimbun) (Japan Times) (Yomiuri Shimbun) Quillabamba Pentecostal (BBC) Rae Chorze-Fwaz aka Rama computer cult (Wired 2.01) (Wired 7.09) International Raelian Movement (Salon) (Guardian) Rastafari movement Revelation of Ares Roch Thériault (Salon) S–U Sahaja Yoga (The Sun (London) Sathya Sai Baba (Salon), Seas of David (The Times) Sky Kingdom (Malaysian teapot cult) (BBC) Soka-Gakkai (San Francisco Chronicle) Soldiers of Heaven (ABC News) (Associated Press) (The Independent) Sukyo Mahikari (Sunday Times) (ABCNews.com) (New York Press) (The Australia/Israel Review) Suma Ching Hai (MSNBC) Symbionese Liberation Army (WP) (Guardian) (SF Chronicle) Synanon (Salon) (Point Reyes Light) Thuggee (Time) Tradition, Family and Property (Le Parisien) (Journal Chrétien) (L’Humanité) (Libération) Transcendental Meditation (Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer) (FR) (WP) Trinity Foundation (Dallas Observer) True Buddha Lineage (Komo4 News) True Russian Orthodox Church (CNN) Unification Church (Salon) (WP, 1978) (Guardian) (SF Chronicle) (FR) United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors/Malachi York (AP) V–Z The Way International (WP) (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) Werner Erhard and Associates (Newsweek)(NYT) Westboro Baptist Church of Fred Phelps (Salon) Wikipedia (Guardian) William Kamm (Sydney Morning Herald) (ABC.Net) Word of Life, also known as “Livets Ord” World Mission Society Church of God Youth with a Mission (Miami Herald) (Wellington Star-Times)
A-C Acceptance and Commitment Therapy / Relational Frame Theory (Time, 2006) Aesthetic Realism (Jewish Times, 2003) Adidam (San Francisco Examiner) Tony Alamo (a.k.a. Alamo Ministries, Alamo Christian Foundation, Holy Alamo Christian Church, Gloryland Church) (Religion News) (The Watchman Expositor) (Skepticfiles) (Texarkana Gazette) Al-Qaeda (AsianWeek, 2001) (USA Today) (Le Monde Diplomatique) (Le Nouvel Observateur) Antoinism Aquarian Concepts Community (San Diego Union Tribune) Aum Shinrikyo (WP) (Enc) (Insight) (OCRT) (BBC) tBahá’í Faith (Al Ahram) Beasts of Satan (BBC) (Guardian) Black Axe Confraternity, and other Nigerian gangs including the Klansmen, the Icelanders, the Outlaws and the Niger Delta Vigilante. Blackburn Cult The Body of Christ (a.k.a. Attleboro Cult) (Boston Herald) (Boston Herald/Associated Press) Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BBC) Branch Davidians (WP) (Salon) (Enc) (SF Chronicle) (Insight) (OCRT) Branhamism Chado, the cult of the Japanese tea ceremony (NY Times) Chen Tao (BBC) (ABCnews) Children of God (a.k.a. “The Family”) (60 Minutes) (ABC) (BBC) (CNN) (Enc) (Guardian) (LA Times) (London Times) (NY Times) (SF Chronicle) (WP, 1993) Church of Bible Understanding (COBU) (formerly “Forever Family”) (The Times-Tribune) Church of God with Signs Following -One of the larger Snake handling groups. (George Dearborn Spindler) Church of Scientology/Church of Spiritual Technology (Salon) (WP) (Tiime) (Buffalo News) (Boston Herald) (Boston Herald) (60 Minutes) (Skeptictank) Church Universal and Triumphant (BBC) (RM) Colonia Dignidad or Villa Baviera of Paul Schäfer (NY Times) (BBC) (TVNZ) Community of the Lady of All Nations Concerned Christians (BBC) (WP) (OCRT) (NY Post) (AP) Contemporary architecture (INTBAU) Creativity Movement (Guardian) (OCRT)
Groups referred to as cults
D-F Deer Tribe Metis (Phoenix New Times) Dera Sacha Sauda (The Independent) Eastern Lightning (BBC) Elan Vital (Australian Associated Press) Environmentalism (Guardian) Erhard Seminars Training (“est”) (Forbes) (WP) (NYT) Exclusive Brethren (“Taylorite”) (The Age) Falun Gong (Guardian) (Massey News) The Fellowship (The Age) Fellowship of Friends (The Sacramento Bee) Fiat Lux, led by Uriella, (London Times) Freudianism (Time) Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (Guardian) Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (ITN) (BBC) G–I Great Commission International (today known as Great Commission Association of Churches) Green Dragon Temple (TVNZ) for Hare Krishna, see ISKCON in this list Heaven’s Gate (WP) (Enc) (Time) (Insight) (OCRT) (Patrick J Carnes) Hells Angels Hillsong Ho No Hana (BBC), (Salon) (CESNUR) House of Yahweh Iglesia ni Cristo (Chicago Tribune) ISKCON (a.k.a. Hare Krishna) (Asia Times Online) (WP) (Salon) Isis Holistic Centre (Heide Fittkau-Garthe) (BBC) J–L Jeffrey Lundgren (AP) (OCRT) Jesus Army (Northampton Citizen) (Chronicle and Echo) Jesus Morning Star (Fox News) Jehovah’s Witnesses (Guardian), (BBC) John Frum Movement (BBC) Jung Cult (Jungian psychology) (American Historical Review) Kenja Communication; Kenneth Dyers (deceased;suicide re sexual allegations); Jan Hamilton (Legislative Council, Britain) (The Monthly, Australia) Lifespring (WP) Lord Our Righteousness (Channel 4) (National Geographic Channel) Lu Sheng-yen (Komo4 News)
(decision) (background+decision)
“you are not where you are from, but where you are going.” “you are where you were from and also where you are going.”
I am my own god because I paved my own path with the power of decision. We can do anything, but not everything is good to us; good to one of us, to all of us.
everyone has his/her own belief, religions are something we create as a system to gain power. What would be when they focus on dos and don’ts while they claim that love is their main concern?
We will all die. No matter even if we don’t want it, death comes.
I cannot rule out the possibility that someone will not die. Maybe it will be/was you or me.
There’s a place you’re always welcome That’s as nice as it can be Everyone can get in ‘Cause it’s absolutely free! That’s death No need to take a breath Just lie around all day With not a single bill to pay Hooray! That’s death No more sicknesses or flu If you’ve lived beyond your means You can die beyond them to Boo hoo! Well the greatest and the finest Have already died Why not simply join them On the other side? That’s death Say farewell to all your bills Rip up all your wills And pop your final pills Amen! That’s death It’s a date with fate If you’re not feeling great Then it’s the best way to lose weight, mate Nothing here to hurt you No one’s here to nag Come die with me If your life’s a drag! That’s death The wealthy and well-bred All of them are here And they’re all completely dead That’s death No more headaches, no more pain Of the millions who’ve died No one came back to complain! You can’t take it with you You can’t keep what you’ve got So why not just lie back And simply rot? Just simply rot It’s so cool it’s hot That’s death! Song sourced from www.youtube.com
Think Happy Think popcorn, Think picnics, Think songs you like to sing, Think happy, Think happy and life’s a happy thing. Think hopscotch, Think chipmunks, Think puppets on a string, Think happy, Think happy and life’s a happy thing. A smile looks good on you, So try one on for size, Think apple pie, Or better yet try, TWO APPLE PIES. Think fireworks, Think hotdogs, Think daffodils, think spring, Think happy, Think happy and life’s a happy thing. The best thing for a frown, Are things that make you laugh, Think of a clown, If he lets you down, Try a giraffe. Think birthdays, Think French fries, Think swinging on a swing, Think things that are happy, And watch yourselves take wing. Think happy, Think happy and life is a happy thing. Song sourced from www.freeplaymusic.com
“Religion: A general term used... to designate all concepts concerning the belief in god(s) and goddess(es) as well as other spiritual beings or transcendental ultimate concerns.” Penguin Dictionary of Religions (1997). “Religion: Relation of human beings to God or the gods or to whatever they consider sacred or, in some cases, merely supernatural.” Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (online, 2006) “Religion: Human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine.” Encyclopædia Britannica (online, 2006) “Religion: (2) a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; (4) a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (online, 2006) “The religious response is a response to experience and is coloured by the wish to provide a wider context for a fragile, short and turbulent life.” Philip Rousseau, The Early Christian Centuries (2002), p. 4. “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opiate of the people.” Karl Marx “Religion is the human attitude towards a sacred order that includes within it all being—human or otherwise—i.e., belief in a cosmos, the meaning of which both includes and transcends man.” Peter Berger “Viewed systematically, religion can be differentiated from other culturally constituted institutions by virtue only of its reference to superhuman beings.” Melford Spiro “Religion is what the individual does with his own solitariness.” A.N. Whitehead “...for limited purposes only, let me define religion as a set of symbolic forms and acts which relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence.” R.N. Bellah “Religion is the daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.” Ambrose Bierce “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.” Emile Durkheim “One’s religion is whatever he is most interested in.” J.M. Barrie, The Twelve-Pound Look (1910) “Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of.” Mark Twain “Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.” Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.” Napoleon Bonaparte “We go into religion in order to feel warmer in our hearts, more connected to others, more connected to something greater and to have a sense of peace.” Goldie Hawn, Beliefnet interview “Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence; it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.” Bertrand Russell “Religions are the great fairy tales of conscience.” George Santayana “Religion is all bunk.” Thomas Edison “To be religious is to have one’s attention fixed on God and on one’s neighbour in relation to God.” C.S. Lewis, “Lilies that Fester” in The Twentieth Century (April 1955). “Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27, New Testament “Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “Religion itself is nothing else but Love to God and Man. He that lives in Love lives in God, says the Beloved Disciple: And to be sure a Man can live no where better.” William Penn “Religion, whatever it is, is a man’s total reaction upon life.” William Jamesß “Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; Unbelief, in denying them.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Religions around the world
A Afghanistan Islam (Sunni 84%, Shi’ite 15%, other 1%) Albania Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% Algeria 99% Islam (Sunni) Andorra Roman Catholic Angola Roman Catholic 47%, Protestant 38%,Indigenous 15% Antigua and Barbuda Anglican and Roman Catholic Argentina Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% Armenia Armenian Orthodox 94% Australia Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian 24.3% Austria Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9% Azerbaijan Muslim 87%, Russian Orthodox 5.6%, Armenian Orthodox 2%
B Bahamas Baptist 29%, Anglican 23%, Roman Catholic 22%, others Bahrain Islam Bangladesh Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, other Barbados Anglican 40%, Methodist 7%, Pentecostal 8%, Roman Catholic 4% Belarus Orthodoxy is predominant Belgium Roman Catholic 75% Belize Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% Benin indigenous 70%, Christian 15%, Islam 15% Bhutan Buddhist 75%, Hindu 25% Bolivia Roman Catholic 85% Bosnia and Herzegovina Slavic Muslim 44%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 6% Botswana indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% Brazil Roman Catholic 90% (nominal) Brunei Darussalam Islam (official religion) 67%, Buddhist 12%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs and other 12% Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5% Burkina Faso Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%, indigenous beliefs 40% Burundi Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%, indigenous 32% C Cambodia Theravada Buddhist 95%, others 5% Cameroon 51% indigenous beliefs, 33% Christian, 16% Muslim Canada Roman Catholic 46%, United Church 16%, Anglican 10% Cape Verde Roman Catholic fused with indigenous beliefs Central African Republic indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant and Roman Catholic with animist influence 50%, Muslim 15%, other 11% Chad Islam 44%, Christian 33%, traditional 23% Chile Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, small Jewish and Muslim populations China Officially atheist but traditional religion contains elements of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism Colombia Roman Catholic 95% Comoros Sunni Muslim 86%, Roman Catholic 14% Congo Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% Congo, Democratic Republic of the Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Islam 10%; syncretic and traditional, 10% Costa Rica Roman Catholic 95% Côte d’Ivoire Indigenous 60%, Islam 23%, Christian 17% Croatia Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others 10.8% Cuba at least 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed power Cyprus Greek Orthodox 78%, Sunni Muslim 18%, Maronite, Armenian, Apostolic, Latin, and others 4% Czech Republic atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% D Denmark Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%, other 7% Djibouti Muslim 94%, Christian 6% Dominica Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% Dominican Republic Roman Catholic 90% E Ecuador Roman Catholic 95% Egypt Islam 94%, Christian (mostly Coptic) 6% El Salvador Roman Catholic Equatorial Guinea Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Eritrea Islam and Eritrean Orthodox Christianity Estonia Lutheran 78%, Orthodox 19% Ethiopia Ethiopian Orthodox 35%–40%, Islam 40%–45%, animist 15%–20%, other 5% F Fiji Christian 52%, Hindu 38%, Islam 8%, other 2% Finland Evangelical Lutheran 90%, Greek Orthodox 1.2%, none 9%, other 1% France Roman Catholic 81%, Protestant 1.7%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 1.3% G Gabon Catholic 75%, Protestant 20%, Animist 4% Gambia The Islam 90%, Christian 9%, traditional 1% Georgia Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Orthodox 8%, Muslim 11% Germany Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, Unaffiliated or other 26.3%
Ghana indigenous beliefs 38%, Islam 30%, Christian 24% Greece Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% Grenada Roman Catholic 64%, Anglican 21% Guatemala Roman Catholic, Protestant, Mayan Guinea Islam 85%, indigenous 7%, Christian 8% Guinea-Bissau Traditional 65%, Islam 30%, Christian 5% Guyana Hindu 34%, Protestant 18%, Islam 9%, Roman Catholic 18%, Anglican 16% H Haiti Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16%, Vaudou 95% Honduras Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant minority Hungary Roman Catholic 67.5%, Protestant 25%, atheist and others 7.5%I I Iceland Church of Iceland (Evangelical Lutheran) 96%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, none 1% India Hindu 82.6%, Islam 11.3%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhists 0.71%, Jains 0.48% Indonesia Islam 87%, Christian 9%, Hindu 2%, other 2% Iran Shi’ite Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4% Iraq Muslim 97% (Shi’ite60%–65%, Sunni 32%–37%), Christian or other 3% Ireland Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% Israel Judaism 82%, Islam 14%, Christian 2%, others 2% Italy Roman Catholic 98%, other 2% J Jamaica Protestant 55.9%, Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1% Japan Shintoist, Buddhist, Christian Jordan Islam 92%, Christian 6%, other 2% K Kazakhstan Muslim, 47%; Russian Orthodox, 44%; Protestant, 2%; other, 7% Kenya Protestant, 40%; Roman Catholic, 36%; traditional, 6%; Islam, 16%; others, 2% Kiribati Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant 40.9% Korea, North Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities almost nonexistent Korea, South Christian, 48.2%; Buddhist, 48.8%; Confucianist, 0.8%; Chondogyo (religion of the Heavenly Way), 0.2%; other, 2% Kuwait Islam, 85% (Shi’ite 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%); Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other, 15% Kyrgyzstan Muslim, 75%; Russian Orthodox, 20%; other, 5% L Laos Buddhist 85%, animist and other 15% Latvia Lutheran, Catholic, and Baptist Lebanon Islam, 60%; Christian, 40% (17 recognized sects); Judaism, negl. (1 sect) Lesotho Christian, 80%; indigenous beliefs, Muslim, and Bahai Liberia traditional 70%, Christian 10%, Islam 20% Libya Islam Liechtenstein Roman Catholic, 80%; Protestant, 6.9%; unknown, 5.6%; other, 7.5% Lithuania Catholic 85%, others include Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, evangelical Christian Baptist, Islam, Judaism Luxembourg Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3% M Macedonia Eastern Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30% Madagascar Traditional 52%, Christian 41%, Islam 7% Malawi Christian 75%, Islam 20% Malaysia Malays (all Muslims), Chinese (predominantly Buddhists), Indians (predominantly Hindus) Maldives Islam (Sunni Muslim) Mali Islam 90%, traditional 9%, Christian 1% Malta Roman Catholic 98% Marshall Islands predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant Mauritania Islam Mauritius Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3%, Islam 16.6%, other 3.1% Mexico nominally Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% Moldova Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) Monaco Roman Catholic 95% Mongolia predominantly Tibetan Buddhist; Islam about 4% Morocco Islam 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2% Mozambique traditional 60%, Christian 30%, Islam 10% Myanmar Buddhist 89.5%, Christian 4.9%, Muslim 3.8%, Hindu 0.05%, Animist 1.3% N Namibia Predominantly Christian Nauru Protestant 58%, Roman Catholic 24%, Confucian and Taoist 8% Nepal Hindu 90%, Buddhist 5%, Islam 3% The Netherlands Roman Catholic 34%, Protestant 25%, Muslim 3%, other 2%, unaffiliated 36% New Zealand Christian 81%, none or unspecified 18%, Hindu, Confucian, and other 1% Nicaragua Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5% Niger Islam 80%, Animist and Christian 20% Nigeria Islam 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous 10% Norway Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% O Oman Islam 95% P Pakistan Islam 97%, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi Palau Christian. About one-third of the islanders observe Modekngei religion, indigenous to Palau
Palestinian State (proposed) West Bank: Muslim 75%, Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%; Gaza Strip: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6% Panama Roman Catholic over 93%, Protestant 6% Papua New Guinea over half are Christian, remainder indigenous Paraguay Roman Catholic 90% Peru Roman Catholic The Philippines Roman Catholic 84%, Protestant 10%, Islam 5%, Buddhist and other 3% Poland Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5% Portugal Roman Catholic 97%, 1% Protestant, 2% other Q Qatar Islam 95% R Romania Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6% (of which 3% are Uniate), Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18% Russia Russian Orthodox, Muslim, others Rwanda Roman Catholic 56%, Protestant 18%, Islam 1%, Animist 25% S St. Lucia Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3% St. Vincent and The Grenadines Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13% Samoa Christian 99.7% San Marino Roman Catholic São Tomé and Príncipe Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist Saudi Arabia Islam 100% Senegal Islam 92%, indigenous 6%, Christian 2% Seychelles Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8% Sierra Leone Islam 40%, Christian 35%, Indigenous 20% Singapore Islam, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist Slovakia Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%,Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% Slovenia Roman Catholic 70.8% (including 2% Uniate), Lutheran 1%, Muslim 1%, other 27.2% Solomon Islands Anglican, Roman Catholic, South Seas Evangelical, Seventh-Day Adventist, United (Methodist) Church, other Protestant Somalia Islam (Sunni) South Africa Christian; Hindu; Islam Spain Roman Catholic 99% Sri Lanka Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Islam 8%, Christian 8% Sudan Islam (Sunni) 70%, indigenous 20%, Christian 5% Suriname Protestant 25.2%, Roman Catholic 22.8%, Hindu 27.4%, Islam 19.6%, indigenous about 5% Swaziland Christian 60%, indigenous 40% Sweden Evangelical Lutheran 94%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Pentecostal 1%, other 3.5% Switzerland Roman Catholic 49%, Protestant 40%, other 5%, no religion 8.3% Syria Islam 90%, Christian 10% T Taiwan Buddhist 4.86 million, Taoist 3.3 million, Protestant 422,000, Catholic 304,000 Tajikistan Sunni Muslim 80% Tanzania Christian 40%, Muslim 33% Thailand Buddhist 94.4%, Islam 4%, Hindu 1.1%, Christian 0.5% Togo Indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Islam 10% Tonga Christian; Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents Trinidad and Tobago Roman Catholic 33%, Hindu 25%, Anglican 15%, other Christian 14%, Muslim 6% Tunisia Islam (Sunni) 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish, less than 1% Turkey Islam (mostly Sunni) 98% Turkmenistan Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% Tuvalu Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97% U Uganda Christian 66%, Islam 16% Ukraine Orthodox 76%, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate) 13.5%, Jewish 2.3%, Baptist, Mennonite, Protestant, and Muslim 8.2% United Arab Emirates Islam (Sunni 80%, Shi’ite 16%), others 4% United Kingdom Church of England (established church), Church of Wales (disestablished), Church of Scotland (established church— Presbyterian), Church of Ireland (disestablished), Roman Catholic, Methodist, Congregational, Baptist, Jewish United States Protestant, 61%; Roman Catholic, 25%; Jewish, 2%; other, 5%; none, 7% Uruguay Roman Catholic 66%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2% Uzbekistan Muslim (mostly Sunnis) 88%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% V Vanuatu Presbyterian 36.7%, Roman Catholic 15%, Anglican 15%, other Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, other 15.7% Vatican City (Holy See) Roman Catholic. Venezuela Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2% Vietnam Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Islam, Taoist, Confucian, Animist W Western Sahara Muslim Y Yemen Islam (Sunni and Shi’ite) Yugoslavia Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% Z Zambia Christian 50%–75%, Islam and Hindu 24$–49%, remainder indigenous beliefs Zimbabwe Christian 25%, Animist 24%, Syncretic 50%
YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU BELIEVE
YOU ARE YOUR CHOICES
booth display 2008 Annual Show School of Design