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My Relationship with Religion | Hannah Witton
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ธ.ค. 2016
- #Vlognukah Day 2 - let's have a casual chat about religion shall we?
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I live in America and I'm an agnostic atheist myself. I've never met anyone in real life who shares my views. Everyone here is deeply religious and I'm all alone. Thank you Internet.
ChubbyChub I understand what you mean. I live in Bavaria and here everybody is also pretty religious. Of course everybody is 'accepting' my atheism but whenever I say I don't believe in god I get weird look anyways
ChubbyChub lol I just commented the same thing! I know two atheists. I live in Missouri and everyone I know thinks I'm the weird one because I'm an atheist. Atheists are a lot more common in England!
Omg literally my exact situation. I live in very rural Virginia, though not the Bible Belt, just about everyone where I live is Christian. I've met a couple agnostic atheists those of which I'm aware of are just the ones in my friend circle. Other than those one or two people everyone here is catholic christian or baptist.
Emo Trash sucks! Are you open with your atheism at work or school?
Got the same problem here, I'm an atheist from Argentina, everyone here is Catholic or Evangelic.
My humble opinion:
1) Religion is a way to achieve or to give ourselves a social identity
2) Belief is based upon fear of death.
agree, but in a lot of cases religion is used as an excuse or used to manipulate people
Sure, in order to acquire or to keep political and economic power
Absolutely agree. I think too often people are drawn to religion because they fear what life could possibly mean without it.
It is also the way to reassure us about the meaning of life.... What does life mean if there is nothing beyond?
Manon Chappe well thats why existentialism is present in many atheists (including myself) and i believe religion is one way to cope with that (but thats not all religionis obv)
It’s always heartwarming for me to hear of non-judgmental and loving conversations between people of different religions. I live in the US in the “Bible Belt” and I was raised Christian but really identified as an atheist around the age of 13. I had the same thought process as you, Hannah! Now, I am 22, and am a Muslim.. back to my point, it’s so hard to find the loving conversations. ❤️
As a practicing Muslim, I found it really interesting to hear why you don't personally believe in a God. For me, I think people are flawed and that is where problem's arise. I don't think religion is the source of the hatred, I think people's misinterpretation, mistranslation and misunderstanding is. But that's just me and I can totally see why people would be opposed to organised religion :)
well there are certain religions that have text that do say to be violent or say certain people deserve "heaven" and some don't. that can't really be ignored (im not saying to listen to those). although i do agree that misinterpretation leads to a lot of problems. no disrespect tho :)
yes but that doesnt mean you go around saying Muslims are bad or whatever. not all people follow the same thing
Vasilije Injac Vasilije Injac I'm not even going to bother engaging in a conversation with you. Educate yourself, stop cherry picking quotes and taking them out of context. If you actually knew the context behind that quote, you'd know that it doesn't mean go kill every single non-believer. But hey, ignorance is bliss, I guess it's easier to accept what everyone else is saying than to actually do your own research and learn about these things. Commenting on the last bit of what you said is pointless, you're too far gone :)
Alison Dovregubben thank you!!!!
what do you expect your sources , who hate Islam to teach you LOL
As an agnostic/atheist person, hearing your take on your religion is really interesting Hannah! With all the Christmas videos that are packing out my sub feed, it's really refreshing to see a different religion's holidays represented! Thank you Hannah, much love ❤️
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i'm currently looking for converts for my Sony Religion,.is the opposite of the monies..that is the uc,born of opposition to the rev sun young moon as prodigy to that church not in adversity but in reform support..
Atheist communist leaders have killed more people than any religious conflict through all of history.
God is not responsible for the evil that men do, especially those who claim to do it in God's name.
That's like someone who says they are best friends with you to everyone as they do horrible things to other people. Just cuz they say it does make it true
I can really relate to your story Hannah. I grew up in an atheist family that really influenced my beliefs and I was convinced for a very long time that religious people were somehow "brainwashed". Being Italian, I've always been sorrounded by Catholicism and religious people, and when I made the hard choice of going to a Catholic university I had the chance to have an interesting dialogue with catholic people that really changed my perspective. However, I also saw the filthy world of the Catholic Church and everyday I see students belonging to religious groups being helped a lot more by professors and getting a lot more opportunities than we do. There's always a good and a bad side to things,and we have the power to understand and maybe try to change them :)
Speaking as a current "Christian" and as a person raised Christian, I also have a VERY hard time with a lot of the stuff you mentioned. I have seen first hand the kind of back-handedness, nonacceptance, shaming, and all the other things that happen in a church. I've also seen, though, the kind of relationships it builds and the support networks they build. You're right, I don't understand how people who have so many different beliefs can call themselves believers of the same religion. I have a hard time justifying being part of something that tells people they are better or worse than someone else based on who they love, or what gender they identify as to myself, let alone to a bunch of people on the internet. I believe that there is a God and that he sent his son to forgive all of our sins, but i take everything with a grain of salt because i recognize that "religion" has strayed from what i believe to be it's first intended purpose (fellowship, worship, and support for fellow believers).
Brooke Mockett taking everything with a pinch of salt is very wise, I learned the hard way on that one
Brooke Mockett I think reading the bible, King James Version, the closest to the original, unedited in all it's goodness and horror, cover to cover could help you. I mean don't just read some passages, read the whole thing. Be brutally honest with yourself and decide if it's a religion that really preaches what you want to follow. If not it doesn't mean you have to give up all your beliefs, but you don't have to be a theist. A theist has a very particular idea of God, that made the universe, guided it to where it is today, takes an active role in the Earth and human affairs, steps in and changes the path regularly, has a particular interest in the Earth and humans above all else, has already decided what will happen in your life, and is basically a very intricate idea of God. If you read the Bible, which all Christians should, because why would you follow anything if you don't know first hand what it's really about, and you decide you're not about the same thing, you don't have to be a theist, you can just believe that there's, well, something out there
Brooke Mockett also in terms of Christianity, I think like so many other major world religions it in itself does not preach overall a good message. Even if the overall message is love and forgiveness, which arguably it's not, it condones at multiple points, murder, rape, slavery, genocide, and discrimination against those who do not follow what you do, and anything that even implies any of those messages I personally cannot follow. I can give you references if you want, but again from the King James Version, because the Good News Bible edited and sugar coats a lot of the bad stuff. I think in this world there are good Christians and bad Christians, just like there are good Muslims and bad Muslims and good atheists and bad atheists, but you'd be surprised how much of their holy book hateful and bigoted Christians are following, arguably just as much as the kind accepting liberal ones. The reason so different people can follow the same religion and claim to be right is because they both are. The bible, like the Quran is full of contradictions. If you can recognise the good from the bad that's your own morality telling you what is right and wrong, so you don't really need the Bible at all. I have no problem with Christians, some are nice, some are not, just like everyone else, Christianity however, I have a problem with that
Chloe Holmes I agree that by engaging in the Bible it is a great way to see if Christianity a belief in God is what you want to pursue in life I would make some recommendations to take into consideration if you choose to read the Bible. Though the king James version is a great version that was written to be as direct of a translation as possible there are some short comings of it. it was translated in the time of king James so it has a very old English and can be hard for us to read today. as well, it was written for king James so there are some parts that were added that aren't in other translations for king James making it more of a question able source. I recommend NIV or NRSV. I regards to reading the bible it's self, because the bible is a compilation of many books of different genres and from a different time period it is important to understand cultural context and what is taking place historically and literary speaking. possible reading a commentary along side the bible would be a good way to go about it though it is a lot more reading to do.
Chloe Holmes I think that part of the contradictions come into play when considering the old testament and the new testament as the same book. In the new testament, jesus abolishes old teatament laws and encourages his followers to dedicate theor lives to love others (especially people they would consider to be sinners at that time). I basically take the old testament as a back story of christianity. If something in the old teatament supports what jesus taught, then it is relevant. but of it doesn't support what he taught then, again, take it with a grain of salt and basically consider it a history lesson. I think this is where a lot of Christians who spout hate go wrong as well.
Loving vlognukkah Hannah. I don't know anything about Hanukkah or Judaism so hearing your stories and your perspective is really refreshing and informative!
also 9:41 bless you
Love this video and love the evolution of your relationship with/opinion of religion. I was raised Catholic but I don't identify with one anymore, mostly because I have the same problems with organized religion you do. However my opinion on why organized religion have led to such horrid things all the way throughout history and up until now has changed. My current opinion is that the problem with organized religion that causes nightmarish things is not faith, it's human behaviour when in a group (linked with the need of belonging) and human relationship to power. If you look at history or even just at day to day life, humans tend to get stupid and horrible when group behavior is involved (for example bullying is rarely a bully-bullied relationship only, the watching group often plays a big role). It is human nature to want to feel like we "belong". Too often, to do this we need common characteristics to bond over, which implies there are "us" versus "the others". Then comes the "better than" aspect of the thing (and of course it goes both ways, the "others" probably see themselves as the one who are better than the "us") and then conflict ensues because to defend the legitimacy of the group (and of one's individual value linked to the fact of belonging to the group) you create confrontation. In any groups, there are power plays (leader vs member) and when groups become big, the power and therefore the stakes become bigger/higher. In the case of religions (I'm talking here about mostly the big monotheist religion because those are the ones I am most familiar with), I think they first appeared as a way to explain what couldn't be understood (creation myths, weather phenomenons etc,.) but then evolved to give structure to society (loads of the old rules made sense: don't steal, don't kill, don't have sex before marriage or we'll have a girl with no possessions and no income get stuck with a baby and therefore burden her family, be unable to create a family of her own etc., don't eat pork because they're basically giant rats who eat everything and carry diseases,....). But since they got a following, groups were created, leaders rose to the top and those leaders had the power to influence people and tell them how to live. People are never satisfied and always want more (power, money, land, reputation,...) so they'll do stuff to get more including finding reasons to take it from others. I honestly believe that if it hadn't been religion it would have been something else. The people nowadays who kill in the name of gods would be terrible people who do horrible shit even if "religion" never entered their lives.. It may have been on a lesser scale of they weren't part of an organized group but yeah.... Also: becoming fanatic/obsessed is also part of the human psyche: to some people it's only to the level of sleeping outdoors for a concert,, a movie or a new phone abs getting in fights about them, for others it is a positive force (I'm thinking of activism here) and for others it leads to extremism (political, religious, ideological,,,).
So yeah, tl;dr : religion is inherently neither good nor bad, just like any "tool" it all depends on the users..
Now, in case anyone out there is interested about what I believe in: I am not an atheist because I've always felt there's something more so I believe in "something" which I call "God" out of habit but really isn't anything like the God portrayed in any of the big monotheis religion. To me the fact that you and I and everything around us (living beings and objects) is made of the same incredibly small particles, but just because they are aranged differently I can laugh and love and breathe and think but my bed is just a thing I lie on is so incredibly magical in a way.. There is something more: something we don't see or understand (yet), some "energy" that is life and that links all living beings (okay, I'm starting to sound extremely hippie/new agey, it's so tough to put out in writing) so yeah.. I do believe each religion have excellent points to them (mostly about loving others, being respectful, trying to become the best version of you and to do as much good as possible around you...) but each have points I disagree too strongly with for me to say "I am °insert religion here°" even though I do have faith.
Okay, I'm going to stop this comment now.. Sorry about its length! Hope it was somewhat interesting at least? Have a nice day/night everyone! :)
Noannelle Sky You raise some very interesting points about the whole group mentality aspect of religion and I totally agree. It's nice to see what are essentially my same thoughts regarding the subject of organized religion put so eloquently in word-form. Thank you for sharing :)
Noannelle Sky I loved your explanation! I have never thought it through as much as you, now I'll remember this to think about in the future. Here is my example of herd mentality and us versus them: football fans beating (even killing) supporters of the other team. Now imagine them having huge power some religios folks had -insert wars and terrible laws. I kind of wish I believed in God but unfortunately I don't.
I love this! This is exactly the same why i feel about everything. But at the same time I always think to myself "we can know everything". Its all too much of a coincidence in a way that this earth even exists. Even using the big bang as an example- alot of coincidences occurred to make it so that life could actually be possible. Let alone when you start considering the fact that you are even here and the amount of things that had to have taken place for you to even be alive. Or the people youre friends with and your experiences in life. I dont think theres a satisfying scientific explanation for human emotion either. I definitely think we have individual souls and we're not just a combination of our experiences and the way we were nurtured. I dont know, I almost think its too simplistic for me to dismiss something because i cant prove it or see it or physically quantify it. But then I dont think that whatever it is is( I also chose to call it god) necessarily fair or just all the time but i do think it is good. I couldnt say I fit in to a specific religion, even though i feel at home in a catholic church because i was raised that way, because for all i know reincarnation could be real or some form of heaven or nothing at all. But then I personally dont think once our bodies die, our souls do too. But then what happens after, I have no clue. Sorry to ramble haha i just think its such an interesting topic
The whole part about how people don't really need religion to be mean, I don't think anybody else could have put it in better words!
Wow, I think I might just print this out and show it off as a basic representation of my thoughts about religion, along with a few other feelings. Thanks for this awesome comment!
For me as a born again Christian. It's more about having a relationship with God than being apart of an "organized religion".
Jesus Is Lord Do you believe that you need organised religion to connect with your god?
Jesus Is Lord amen sister
Ava Winehouse absolutely not
Hej Hannah, thank you for sharing your relationship with religion. I've been struggling with it myself, too. I was raised church-going christian, but stopped going when I started my studies at university. Today I call myself spiritual but not religious, but I do go to church sometimes and enjoy being there. I don't practice any religion, i.e. praying and stuff.
I get your struggle with organized religion and war 'in the name of'. But I thought maybe I could offer my perspective:
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with religion because of all the wars and violence. Wars and violence will happen, whether it is because of resources like oil or food, because of natural disasters like flooding or because of fundamental differences about how to organize society (capitalism, socialism, etc.) Religion, especially organized religion, is just a good cover to sell such an awful thing as war to your public, and a great banner to rally your people under. (Imagine your government saying 'we could greatly benefit if we invaded this country and stole all their stuff' - most people would think that not very moral. But if you are able to create a deep-seeded fear of the other people because of the radically different way they worship their god, and 'they surely can't be good people and anyone who kills one of them will be rewarded in heaven', then you can sell a war much easier!)
My point is that I'm not very convinced there would have been less war and violence in the last 3000 years if there was no organized religion. There are always many many reasons for violence and taking away one of the contributing factors might not have stopped it, people might just have found another factor to contribute.
And on top of that, there is no way of knowing how many wars and how much violence has been avoided because of religion. Wars don't happen as easily between nations who's citizens have much interaction and things in common. And maybe there were a lot of possibilities for war between nations, but they got averted because of the close ties between those peoples, especially thought their shared, deep-seeded believes. But in determining if religion is a force for good or evil, the amount of violence avoided has to be taken into account, too, does it not?
Thanks again, best regards from the Netherlands,
Micha
Respect to you, excellently Put Together!!!.
My grandparents are believers, my parents not so much and my siblings do believe. Myself, I believe that religion is something created by humans to control humans. But that's just my opinion, pls don't kill meh :(
Richard Weaver i feel the same way!! that's why i can't get my head around faith. but i guess it takes an atheist to realize that religion was made by men. (hence a male god) religious people ,i think, don't see it that way because religion for them was made by prophets that spoke with god or an interpretation of that!
I _kinda_ agree, but I think it's actually something humans created for themselves ... to calm themselves down, to be able to cope with their fears and with life and to fill their life with meaning or with a destination
And when this ... remedy starts to get organised and controlled, you automatically gain some control over humans too
Lena Anna why specify "male god"? lol
goku sa why not? some people dont seem to have recognized the importance of gender
Is it bad that my first thought when you were talking about religious hate was that the problem isn't with religion but with people themselves?
I agree. I think it's good in these conversations to draw a distinction between religion and organized religion. I define religion as a set of interpreted doctrine often based around a higher power in which a person can subscribe to. Organized religion is where people come in and start setting rules and using influence to affect the world through the doctrine. (an over simplification for sure)
i was thinking something similarly. it's not religion that's the issue but how people use religion as justification to do horrible things.
marinashutup I really enjoy your content Marina, and it would be interesting to hear about your thoughts on this as well. If you'd want to make that at some point of course :)
marinashutup I have always felt this way about religion. It wouldn't be as popular as it is worldwide if it were inherently bad, but people just pervert it
marinashutup while it is true that there are hateful people everywhere, the problem hannah is talking about is that *organized* religion gives these people an outlet to put their blame on when they act this way
This was very brave to even touch upon, pleasantly surprised by the comments here. I was surprised at what you said, as I thought you were very different towards religion (not judging - it's just not what I thought).
I experienced the exact same thing once I got to uni! Lived with a Christian in first year and ended up moving in with her and other christians in second year and had the BEST time at CU events and they're my best friends now
I was raised Catholic by my mother and her mother. I quietly became an atheist at age five. At age nineteen I became an agnostic. By twenty-two I was neo-pagan. And I have remained so ever since. I came to realize that my atheism was a reaction to organized religion, not religious faith. I am still powerfully opposed to all forms of organized religion. I am also deeply religious.
what a great video. i love that youre talking about this. religion is hard for me to talk about. I grew up catholic and had some really shitty experiences with the church. and by that i mean my actual physical church that i grew up going to. some things happened between me and my youth group and then me and my priest, and then my whole family and the clergy kinda got into it. it really affected me... and then because of that, my own faith and spirituality have kind of been in flux for the past six years. I have trouble with my church and the way a lot of things are handled. I have trouble with the way kids are thrown into religious/ non-religious lives because thats who their parents are and are not allowed to explore. I have trouble with people who can blindly follow hateful beliefs because their "religion" I hate that for so many people its an excuse to be hateful to certain groups of people.I hate that in my church at least everything is so fake. You have to go to church so other people dont think youre a bad person. You have to do this or do that to keep up a facade of your family and their reputation. idk im just thought vomiting at this point. I'm just so frustrated. I will say, though, I love that for some people it is a source of community and love. being united in some higher purpose. I miss volunteering with my youth group friends. I miss the sense of belonging and purpose that it gave me. idk. tl;dr religion is tricky.
BringOnTheRainxx3 I read your comment, honesty is deeply moving, a lot of deep comments on here in general, but your's you opened your heart more than other, if you're able to show love to others still after difficulties, when anyone can, that is truly moving, and brings floods of rain from my own eyes. Peace.
completely agree. a lot of people love to say that america has religious freedom then are quick to say america was built on christian (no shade to the christian religion, just a lot of... tricky christian people) principles and they should continue being christian. its like a lot of people think everyone should follow their religion and refuse to believe anything else unless it specifically says it in the religious text they follow. children shouldn't be forced to go to church (or be told they cant go). parents have too much control on their kids religious lives
i feel a very similar way. discovering i was bi and learning about hell has made me extremely jaded. i have no problem with people being religious, but i have a problem with them using it to do harm, or thinking their religious freedom is more important than someones rights. im just incredibly salty about still not being able to .. not believe any of it
Hi Purple, I disagree with one phrase, to quote you, you say "i have no problem with people being religious, but i have a problem with them using it to do harm, or thinking their religious freedom is more important than someones rights." for me having a religion IS a fundamental right, I identify as Christian, more than my sexuality, (indeed having a lack of faith is also a right/freedom if one wants it) religion shouldn't be forced, but I think it shouldn't be denied. I have a right to belief what I want. To me I find more expression, fufillment through faith, more uniting and fufilling than anything else I have experienced. Knowing there were people throughout history murdered because of their faith being different, executed at stakes etc makes me think a right to believe what one wants, is more fundamental to who I am than who I find attractive or want to romantically love. This isn't meant as dismissive, sexuality is indeed part of fufillment as a person, but my choice to believe should not be curtailed.
Open Mind
If we're talking about Christianity in the US, then your beliefs are protected by law. Christians are by far the most protected religious group in the USA.
No one can tell you what to believe, but religious groups have no right to use their religion as an excuse to limit the rights of others - the LGBT community, for example. However, the Christian right has a long history of attempting to force their beliefs on others through laws (not allowing LGBT people to marry, for example. States are still fighting the SCOTUS decision, years later). Which is unconstitutional, to say the least.
So, yes. You can believe whatever you want. It's important to you. To *you*. But you cannot decide that for others.
I'd describe myself as an agnostic atheist too, and I really loved the way you explained it with knowledge vs. belief. Very eloquent and respectful video Hannah!
I was raised atheist and shared some of younger-you's thoughts about religion, but I actually became a Christian in middle school. I don't go to church or participate in many organized religion activities, which I honestly think has allowed my faith to evolve and grow, though I would still like to find a church someday. To me religion isn't about proving the existence of God, it's about my own belief and feeling my life become enriched through my faith.
I agree. Personally, I go to church and all that but the most important thing to me is my one-one relationship with God. I think it's nice to know someone's got your back and I hope you find a church community that works with you someday!
I've got a sort of similar sort of different view/experience to you. I was raised to believe in God in a (not very religious) Muslim family so we celebrated Eid etc but didn't go to mosque or pray all the time etc it was mainly the traditions we stuck to. I still do believe in God but I find it difficult to feel that presence in my life a lot of the time which makes me feel insecure about my faith. With organised religion? Like you, I can't bring myself to ignore the horrors it's caused. I cannot understand how the main messages can be ones of love and kindness and charity yet such hatred and violence has come from it. I understand not all people are like that but I personally completely detach myself from religion because of people's actions. Monotheistic religions also stemmed from sexism and a want to create a patriarchy, which, as a feminist, disgusts me. Also, I'm queer and it is extremely difficult for me to identify and accept religion when largely, it has not accepted me. Practically every person who has rejected the LGBT community has done so in the name of religion. Therefore, I find it very difficult to fit my identity as a woman, a feminist and an LGBT individual into religion. Loved your video and hearing your thoughts!!
Rita Leci as a bisexual girl who grew up in a religious(not so much) muslim family it's really really hard to not to hate religion, i know that all people are not the same but still
Thank you so much for sharing your religious views and starting up the conversation about this. The conversations you had are conversations that need to happen more. My dads family is athiest my moms side is christian/ catholic I'm christian but my mom was so adamant on my faith being my own. Thank you for sharing your views. Each of us are on our own spiritual journey and we need to be accepting and tolerant and loving of everyone
I'm so glad to hear about your experience, and how great your experience at uni was. And I love to hear you so respectfully and thoughtfully talking through your thoughts.
I was raised a Catholic. Totally believed everything I was taught. Then when I became a teenager, I started questioning things and realized that there was no actual way I could communicate with God. How could my parents believe in someone that all of our senses fail to sense?? I still don't know but I acknowledge the fact that my parents' steadfast faith is something beautiful and rare. I consider myself to be an agnostic but my parents don't know of my current status. Now and again though, I catch myself silently praying to God when in stressful situations (before exams ;etc).
Angeline Joesph Can i ask what do you mean by not being able to connect with God??
HeyItsPelumi Well can you see God? Smell Him? Touch him? Taste him? When you pray to him, do you ever receive an answer? People claim that he answers eventually and not how we expect it. But to me, it seems like people are just desperate and picking on small details to assure themselves that there is a God. I don't know though. I could be wrong...
So many people need to watch this, it sums up a huge topic so brilliantly. The stuff about organised religion and then the differences between atheism and agnosticism omg it's so perfect
Hi! Protestant Christian here. This video is incredibly interesting; thank you for making it! I'm amazed at how well you articulated your thoughts and views, especially in an unscripted video!
I agree with the last part of your video- I also find it hard to accept that the people behind the Crusades, much of slavery/segregation in the US, and countless other intolerant movements believe in the same God I do.
For me, it ultimately comes down to inherent human character. The Bible says that after Adam and Eve sinned, all humans were born with naturally sinful character. (I personally believe that story is true; if you don't then I respect that.)
But since I believe it, I can understand how every hateful act and war began. Instead of trusting in God and studying the Bible in context, those Christians took Bible verses out of context in order to justify their horrible actions. They allowed the sinful part of their character to dictate their actions instead of recognizing that their hateful beliefs were sinful and repenting/turning back on those beliefs.
I hope this doesn't sound like I'm excusing or justifying the actions of past Christians! People who have killed, tortured, oppressed, (etc) others in the name of Christ will answer for their actions. I'm just hoping that I conveyed my thoughts about the violent and hateful groups of Christians, as well as any other religion. They think they're doing what is right, but they're actually following their hateful beliefs instead of the beliefs of their religion. If any of this was unclear, I'll gladly clarify!
I hope you have a fantastic rest of Hanukkah, Hannah, and a wonderful new year!
I'm am a Protestant Christian too, and I believe that those people that have done all the horrible things we see in history were using their christianity to excuse them for their acts. The bible explicitly says that killing people is wrong. How could someone who says "they're christian" think it was just fine to kill people and even do it in the name of God. Sorry if my English sucks and you can't understand it.
Exactly! They used religion to disguise their hatred.
And your English is excellent! I hope you have a great weekend :)
Vlognukah, The Hormone Diaries, The Banging Book Club -- You're really developing a talent for coming up with compelling series. Way to go.
there are good and bad people in EVERY group, not just religions. (even as a very minor version) think about the youtube community. there have been horrible people in the community who have taken advantage of their fame, manipulated people and even sexually assaulted people. but most youtubers are not like that. most youtubers are just ordinary people who love creating things. it would be unfair to say that the whole platform is evil just because people on it use their popularity to justify their evil.
religion is just the same. people can use the name of god for love or hatred. all you can do is not generalise either way and instead keep faith and morals separate.
i personally am not religious but i have a lot of friends who are christians. i used to find it difficult to understand this like you but since discussing it a lot with my friends, i've learnt a lot and though i can never fully understand belief in god, i can understand the separation between the good religious people and the bad religious people (oversimplifying but still).
oh and i really love this video by the way! it takes a lot of guts to talk about a subject like this that people can get so angry/passionate about but it's also so important
Emma Popcorn but religion is the single biggest block, well surpassed by anything else, which prevents education from being implemented, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Education is the only long term effective solution to poverty. Religion is also the reason for the HIV outbreak in the 80's, the reason for the crusades, the reason for ISIS. If you read the bible or the Quran it says some pretty horrible things. I do not think that there is anything wrong with religious people, and to attack them is completely counter productive, I do however believe that most major world religions, fundamentally have too much bad in them that ultimately outweighs the good. Even if the main message is love and acceptance, which arguably it isn't, any religion that bases itself off a book that at any point condones murder and rape in my opinion is not a good thing overall. I think attacking the ideology is very different from attacking the people, and I think that applies to all scenarios, including politics for example
Religious people did that, not religion. An idea can't do anything. People can have a very different interpretations of one small idea and act on it in very different ways.
but until you talk to them, how do you know which points of the religion they subscribe to? and even if they have beliefs that you don't, what does that matter if they don't act on them?
Alex G okay, let's reach the Goodwin point quite fast but: the simple existence of Hitler and the Holocaust proves your point wrong. Religion is not the sole cause of horrible things. People who don't cultivate the good in them will do terrible things. If they join up with groups, and those groups get organized (especially around an ideological belief of any sort), nightmarish things will be the result. Racism, sexism and the like have resulted in tons of horrible things as well (colonialism, slavery, genocides, segregation, raped, murders, denying of rights,...) . The difference is when there isn't an all out war but rather a much more insidious day to day battle, it is not as obvious and people don't see the links as much.
just getting in here before the comments turn into arguments. this video was great! i grew up similarly and although i identify as being theistic/agnostic i do still have problems and difficulties with my faith. so glad you decided to make this!
I feel it's possible that arguments may happen too, though generally its good (I read a few to many comments) :) it can be difficult knowing we can be wrong about things, Hannah was good to realise her assumptions were wrong, (re: faith people are automatically dumber) but also as theists we should be open too, that there are so many shades of faith, I can't assume my shade of truth is the actual truth.
I was raised in a very Christian household, and when I went to college I completely rejected all organized religion. I had that exact same feeling that I was better and smarter than people who believed. At the same time, I've always been really fascinated with learning about different religious customs, beliefs, etc. Just recently I've been discovering Buddhism, and it really resonates with me. I think, above all, it's important to spread knowledge about all kinds of different belief systems.
i grew up in a really catholic household and went to catholic school my whole life so i had a pretty solid identity as a catholic until around when i started high school. i prayed regularly, i followed and believed in catholic doctrine stringently, the whole nine yards. but as i got older i really started to question my faith and at a point i even considered myself an agnostic atheist as well. but in the past few years i've found that nothing gave me comfort and solace as much as my faith and relationship with God. although my faith is definitely shakier than it used to be and i would now be considered a "cafeteria catholic", i have returned to the church with a new outlook and zest. for me, God and the organized catholic church is a comfort despite the history that you mentioned that can make it hard sometimes. i think religion is a beautiful thing, i mean just think about all the magnificent art and literature and architecture that God has inspired! i want to raise my children in the church and send them to catholic school like i was, but i definitely want to give them more of an outlet to question their faith and ask the kind of questions i was too afraid to ask my parents.
I love this a lot. I have had a really weird journey with religion over the years and I always like hearing other people's experiences.
Cocaine helps.
I'm an orthodox religous Jew. I believe in God, partially because that is what I was always taught as a child by my parents but also partially because I have had various experiences within my life, especially in the last few years, that I can't argue that God has played a part in, if that makes sense? Also, really enjoying vlognukah!!
Hannah Witton Yep, I agree with that completely. Although I will say it may take time to see God there, if they do believe in God. There was one particular incident a few years ago where I didn't see Gods involvement until later on. However, on my trip to Poland, I saw God's presence the whole way through even in the worst places. It really depends on the person and the experience, in my opinion
Jon Last I, personally, don't walk around saying 'I can see God everywhere' because I now find it difficult to see God in the world anymore, for various reasons. I was just stating two examples within my life where I sort of saw the way in which God influenced it. Only a few have happened to me personally, and they really don't occur so often.
I also believe in the logic behind why things happen, but there are times when also I sort of see the way that God may have influenced the events
I'm really enjoying these videos. I don't really know any Jewish people so it's nice to get an insight into other cultural traditions. I'm with you on the organised religion though - I don't care if most people who follow organised religions are peaceful, if the majority of terror acts are under the name of organised religion then there's a problem with organised religion (and the radicalisation and extremism that it allows).
I love how you unapologetically talk about your beliefs-it's quite inspiring.
I really like these videos because it teaches us about a different religion and it's really cool because I'm Christian and I haven't got any information about what you celebrate at "Christmas".
loving vlognukah!
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I love your videos, Hannah. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Your voice is a refreshing contribution to the religious conversation. I'm a Christian, but I think you're absolutely right about organised religion and its history. Of all the reasons to disbelieve in God, the state of those groups who profess such belief is certainly a valid one. I hope one day we can get our act together.
+Hannah Witton I'm Jewish in culture and an agnostic atheist in knowledge and belief as well. My beliefs and experience is similar to yours in a lot of ways. My Jewish heritage is passed through my dad so I'm half Jewish. My mom is Christian and believes in god but doesn't actively go to church. Up until I was about 9 I regularly went to church and was raised to believe in god. But my mom, growing up in a very "Christian bubble" similar to your "atheist bubble" didn't want that for me. We began essentially not having the time to go to church. We observe Hanukkah, Christmas, and Easter traditionally but not religiously. I have never been to a synagogue, and I would like to learn Hebrew at some point but I don't have time right now. The way you described your agnostic atheist beliefs and your connection to your Jewish heritage is basically identical to mine. I want to thank you for making this video. I find it helpful and I'm sure you've gotten crap for it because it's controversial. ❤️
I loved this video. But I guess what you say about there being a group of people that's hateful and a group that's accepting both being part of the same religion counts for atheists too? I mean there's hateful and accepting ones and some seem like they'd fight about that too? idk
I feel like I'm an agnostic atheist too.
4everFinnick.CFBeautiful You are right, but there was never a war started in the name of atheism. I used to think that religion was the cause of so many conflicts, but humans are humans and there would always be violence, religion is just an excuse. For example football fans fight people who support the other team, how stupid is that?
While there are hateful atheists/agnostics and not hateful atheists, I think the difference is that being an atheist/agnostic is not something that you opt into, and not equivalent to a religion in that regard.
Religious people are lumped together based on what they believe in or what religion they belong to, and I don't think not believing works the same way.
People don't believe in a lot of things and we don't make a "group" out of the disbelief, for example we don't "split" people into fairy believers and fairy deniers.
atheism isn't really a group, though. it's not a movement, it's not a culture, it's not anything. it's the lack of all. we don't have meetings or celebrations or any of that. there's nothing that binds us together like there is with organized religion.
i do want to point out that when hannah was speaking of religion, she was speaking about organized religion.
Amy G absolutely agree, since the dichotomy religious not religious is pushed into the conversation, atheisms is mentioned as another religious view, when it's not, it's the lack of one.
6:04 God showed himself by magically turning your light on
Thank you so much for making this video I think it's so cool to hear about others experiences! I am a Christian and just as a little background I believe that the whole Christian bible is Gods word, and that God cannot lie. There is this verse that popped in my head as I was listening to your experience (2 Peter 2:1).
2 peter was actually written by a man named Peter, and in 2 peter 2:1 Peter states that false teachers of Christ were prevalent at that time and would always be among us as Christians. Jesus also warns against false teachers in Matthew 24:11 and Mark 13:22-23.
False teachers might claim to possess secret knowledge about God that gives them authority, and could include people spreading ideas that aren't really of the character of God, such as hate. It is also possible that people being violent in the name of God could be an attempt to cover up their violent actions. Which God warns us not to do in 1 peter 2:16: "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil"
Overall though, from a Christians perspective it is not the will of God for these people to claim to know him and do evil. However, it is Gods will that we all have freewill to choose him or to not choose him. This freewill, I believe, he gave to us out of love. If he made us robots to him, if he made us love him back, we wouldn't have our individuality. And I also believe that God is *so* much more intelligent than me, so there is reasons he gave us freewill and allows evil in the world that I can't understand. The bible does express though that God ***yearns*** that all people come to know him.
this was such an interesting discussion: I totally understand your view on agnostic/atheism in terms of the effect it has on you as a person. I feel similar when discussing my personal faith. I would identify as Christian due to my own cultural experience - I chose to go to Sunday school and church groups when my parents did not. However, up until six form, I attended a CofE school which ultimately resulted in a bubble of culture. Many people shared similar views and when religion was discussed, it was a particular section of Christianity. I feel as though a lot of my views have come from depressive episodes. I love the idea of religion in terms of a community learning together but frequently struggle to accept and believe everything, especially when my mood has dipped. I feel as though so much of our British culture is stooped in Christianity that it is very hard to separate what is and isn't faith, given that it is a very personal thing.
How can you be a Jewish and not believe in God? These are opposites. An atheist who is a Jewish. I loved this video
Hannah Witton Yeah i got that, it's just that it feels weird. Don't you feel God's presence when you participate in this whole chanukah thing? If you don't why do you keep doing it? WE NEED MORE OF THESE VIDEOS ❤️
Chara_ MimL I know a lot of people who identify with Jewish values like community, family, education, tradition, etc. but may not believe in God a motivation for them.
A lot of people who grow up in relegious enviroments or just keep up with their religion's traditions keep doing them as atheists. I am an atheist who grew up in an Orthodox Christian country, I still celebrate Christmas, Easter etc. but I don't do it for relegious reasons like other people.
+Hiraethii I feel the same way. I grew up in a Christian family, and even though I consider myself agnostic and an emphatic secularist, I still celebrate traditional Christian holidays like Easter and I still try to live by some of the positive values Christianity taught me -- kindness, generosity, etc. -- while leaving behind some of the flaws I've encountered in Christian institutions -- judgement, hatred, and a desire to control others.
I suspect that being in a defined racial/cultural group that literally survived an attempted industrial genocide in Western Europe within (just) living memory is a pretty good motivator for retaining cultural identity, even if a lot of the trappings of that religious component of the identity don't resonate...
Thanks for the video, Hannah. As a Christian who is almost exclusively surrounded by non-religious people, I'm often afraid to talk about my religion for fear that my non-religious friends won't respect me anymore. I'm glad to see that that's not always the case. I also have to check myself and not assume that every non-religious person is going to be aggressive and judgmental towards me, so I'm trying to be better too. I don't have all of the answers as I'm still learning and growing, but I'm glad to see I'm not alone in that.
I'd love to hear more about how you relate to the cultural side of Judaism, as that's not something I've ever understood. I don't have articulate questions, just general curiosity. Thanks!
I’m a Christan as well. God bless you ❤️
I'm a musician and a composer, and I consider myself to be somewhere between unsure and atheist, as to me, religion just doesn't really bother me, or have a big effect on my daily life. However, I'm still fascinated by sacred music (mainly classical, traditional hymns, etc.), and the effect that it has on people. My dad is a Church of England vicar, and I was brought up as a Christian in a Christian family, yet when I was old enough to be left at home on my own, I was never forced to go to church. I ended up losing my faith due to various circumstances, and in this process, I often had questions that I would ask my dad. What I liked - and still to this day - was that he was never afraid to say, "I don't know." My family is also very musical, and so I've been involved in a lot of musical events, especially around Christmas. One thing I realised this year was that I seem to find a good carol service to be a somewhat soothing experience. I'm not sure whether it's the familiarity of the music, possibly the spirituality of it, or maybe a mixture of the two.
When it comes down to conflicts - especially internal conflicts between multiple groups of a religion - I think personal interpretation of the material plays a huge part, and whether you can accept that someone may have a different viewpoint to you. I have a lot of close friends who are of various faiths, and I think it's good to have gentle discussions about it, as it breeds tolerance and understanding.
I hope everyone is enjoying themselves at this time of year, whatever your belief/ lack of belief is. :)
Great video, Hannah! Thank you! It's so kind, honest and interesting. How amazing it is even when you don't believe in God you enjoy tradition and culture around the religion! I'm from Poland and believe in Christ and... love your kind and lovely video!
Yes. To all of the above. Happily an agnostic atheist living life how I see fit, not how a books tells me.
i wish i grew up in the same environment as you, my dad doesnt really believe in a god and nor does the rest of his side of the family, however my mum's side has always been very religious (Christian). when I was younger I felt like all though my childhood I was pressured into doing all the christian 'ceremonies' like first holy communion and confirmation (I agreed to do my confirmation bc I didn't want to disappoint people I think and I hadn't really given much thought into whether I actually believed in god as I had gone to a Christian school and it had been drilled into me all my life). however now I am in highschool (I'm 14) I know that I am an agnostic athiest but my mum still forces me to go to church with her and get communion when there, when I ask her why I still have to do this she says "do it for me", she doesn't accept that I don't hold her beliefs and it is so frustrating as this isn't about her anymore, this is about me and how I want to live my life and she can't dictate that as I am allowed to have my own beliefs
I definitely get what you mean when you said you felt pressured to do the ceremonies. I'm 16 and was raised a Catholic. I was 8 when I did my first holy communion, so I didn't really think about it because it was just something I was supposed to do. But over the past year, my mum tried to continually guilt-trip me into doing my confirmation (as she knew that I wasn't really keen on it), until finally I sat down and gave her the watered-down version of how I felt about religion- I said that I wasn't sure whether I actually believed or not and it wouldn't be right to do it if I didn't. Really, I don't believe in God, and I don't think I ever truly have done, it was just something I was 'supposed' to do.
That sucks. I think that this kind of parental behavior should be illegal. I.E. I think that the law should forbid your parents from forcing you to do anything religion-based against your will.
Exactly! The church that my mum goes to is now changing the rules so that in year 6 (so 10/11) you do your confirmation. It is supposed to be a ceremony to 'confirm' your belief in God, when at that age you won't have formed your opinions on religion at all, you'll still be following what your parents want you to do.
To Nancy: My entire family is very religious, especially my mom, who is probably the most religious person I can think of in my extended family. I am in a very similar experience to yours, and I agree so much with your stance. Children should create their own beliefs on religion, no matter what possibly good intentions the parents are trying to impose by forcing them to participate in a religion they (the parent) believes in.To Cerys Jones, this is SO true! How are you supposed to confirm into a religion whose beliefs you haven't even been able to attempt to comprehend and create an opinion for yet (assuming it's been pushed down unto you ever since you were young)? I think everyone should know the entire objective history of a religion, its basic rules and beliefs, its effects on human society, and its practices before choosing to be part of it.
Luli'sFrenzies I 100% agree with you, the application of religion in modern-day life isn't talked about nearly enough, as well as the actual decision to believe, you're just expected to
I loved hearing your experience with religion as my experience has been completely different. There are obviously stark contrasts between where you're from in England to where I am from, and I think that is amazing. I also love that you've made it about something other than Christmas.
I live in Indiana in the US and I didn't meet anyone who didn't identify as Christian until I was probably 16. I didn't even meet anyone Jewish until I went to university. I grew up as a nondenominational protestant which is confusing in and of itself, but we weren't ones that went to church every weekend... or every month for that matter. We believed in reading the Bible first, and practicing second. As I got older, I became way more liberal as my other Christian friends became more conservative in political views as well as how we viewed passages within the Bible. We argued a lot about social justice issues and I had a really hard time subscribing to the belief that God hated ____ group of people for whatever reason. As I developed friendships within the LGBT community, I could never believe that something so beautiful as loving someone could be a sin. Over time I became more and more confused about God and my religion as a whole, and now I would probably identify as agnostic? maybe? Who knows anymore?
I truly appreciate your video. I am a Christian who studied science in a very fundamentalist conservative area of the states. I never had any doubts about God, but I have had massive problems with exactly the same issue you mentioned. To this day, I have an insanely hard time grasping how people can take the same book I have read and believe and use it as a reason to do horrible things, "in the name of God". It took a lot of reading and soul searching to even understand it an iota. The conclusion I came too is that as human beings, we always want a reason for our feelings, especially our fear, and instead of trying to understand it, we just try to justify why we have every "right" to be afraid and eventually hate what we do not understand. I think the reason for everything that has been done in the name of religion, actually has nothing to do with any god. It has to do with people trying to justify their fear and hatred, and sacred texts are more of a common ground to cherry pick what you want from them.
Oh side note, a book that helped me a lot "I'm Fine with God... It's Christians I can't Stand"
I'm not religious, but I think the bit about having hateful and peaceful groups is a bit like feminism. You'll have some who say they hate men and feminists that believe in equal rights for all. I'll still call myself a feminist, even though there are feminists I disagree with.
there are good and bad religious people. a lot of religious texts do have hateful roots, however, most of the bad people use religion as an excuse to get away with doing things. such as some women use the name of feminism to be extremely rude and hateful towards people of other genders. agree, but feminism is in the name of equality and many religious texts claim that some people are lesser than others because of things they cant control (homosexuality, being a woman, etc.)
As far as afterlife goes I find a lot of comfort in death being the end. The idea used to scare me but I made peace with it. I think it gives more meaning to life, and encourages you to appreciate it. It also fits with my ideology that there is nothing only bad or only good. Life isn't horrible, life isn't amazing, it just is. I wouldn't want to live forever because there is too much suffering in life, but I live life for now because great things also exist. If there was experiences after life I wouldn't want to deal with the suffering that comes with happiness, and I don't believe one can exist without the other. So I find an end comforting and important.
I was born and raised a Catholic. So I do (strongly) believe in God. I don't know whether I would still believe in God had I been raised in a different environment, but for now my faith is pretty strong. I'm going to speak about my experience from a Catholic perspective. You said something about people doing bad things in the name of religion and let me tell you, it breaks my heart when I see that too. For example I see fellow Christians kicking their children out for being gay because "it's not Adam and Steve". If they'd actually bother to look it up, there's nothing in the Bible that tells us to hate homosexuals. Jesus told us to love EVERYONE. I think the hateful "religious" people are the uneducated ones - people who are raised to hate and discriminate but are too ignorant to question why and people who close themselves from testimonies of different beliefs because it's "offensive". That's not me. I don't hate anyone because that's not what God wants me to do. I like to listen to different people from different religions to widen my horizons and it's really interesting anyway. It's sad to see that people are doing bad things in the name of religion and giving the religion a bad name, but there is a positive and negative to everything. I believe there are flaws in every faith. I believe in one God, but I believe that people connect with God in a different way; for me it was through Christianity. For others it might be Islam, or Buddhism, or Judaism. I don't hate anyone for not being Christian because that's the pettiest thing I've ever heard of. Besides my best friend since I was born is a Muslim and our relationship has taught us to not define people by their faith, whatever it may be :)
Hannah
Greetings from the states! As a christian priest from the Anglican tradition, I really respect your honesty and truthfulness. It is my belief that you will continue to meet exciting people that will change your entire worldview. You will still be the same person on the inside. Your core belief about the universe will be challenged in a positive way. thank you.
i also identify as jewish-atheist-agnostic ! im glad you made this video :)
I identify as an agnostic absurdist. For ME this means that I think there is something at least partially responsible for the creation of the universe, weither that's God, or a pantheon, or anything else I couldn't tell you. But I also see the likelihood that it is just science and evolution. I couldn't tell you which, and that's where the absurdism comes in. Absurdism (from my understanding) is the belief that life has no inherent meaning, but humans must try to put meaning to their life to be happy. I see religion as one of the many ways to do that, specifically organized religion. I think that for some people believing in a god(s) is a way to meaning to their life. I don't personally find it necessary in my own quest for self generated happiness, but I appreciate the affect it can have on others. Like I said before, I think it is very plausible that some sort of divine force is responsible for human life, as there are a lot of questions science leaves unanswered, but I also think it is completely realistic that it is all down to evolution we just don't have all the pieces yet. I guess the difference is, for me that doesn't matter. I believe that, God or not, our short human life has no inherent meaning. But that it is human nature to try and find meaning in our lives and find happiness through this, and organized religion is one way to do that.
This comment is really long; sorry. I'm really bad at explaining things so it probably doesn't make sense either but oh well, you at least get the gist.
I consider myself what's called SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious). I grew up in the Covenant branch of Christianity, but never had an issue with other religions and was never particularly into the idea that this religion is right, and there's no other way to believe. I was always fascinated with various beliefs, and even the ancient ones like the Greeks and Egyptians. I took a World Religions class in high school (taught at college level), and a Psychology of Religion class in college. Both were incredibly interesting classes. I look at it more as it doesn't really matter what god/s you worship, they're just different faces of the same one/s. I did a paper in my World Religions class about the theme of light and how it appears in different forms in pretty much every religion you can think of. And how it's often portrayed as something positive. It's rare people really talk about religion openly online, so thank you for making this video!
I appreciate this video so much - I love hearing about people from different backgrounds discussing their beliefs with genuine interest rather than in an argument. As a Christian myself I share the same frustrations with organized religion as you do. I guess that's why there are SO MANY different denominations of the Christian church (because people would look at other Christians and think "we don't like that, let's split off" - or something to that effect). It can be frustrating to see some Christians be so kind and others not demonstrate the same gentleness. For one thing, no one can really know another person's heart and understand what saying "I'm a Christian" specifically means to them. For another thing, C.S. Lewis said something along the lines of: having a relationship with God improves someones faults and temperaments, so if someone is naturally gracious and kind without God, then they will be all the more so with God. And if there is a Christian who is unkind, they are still more kind than they were without God.
OK, I hope I haven't rambled or misinformed or anything.
I loved this video! I love open, respectful, graceful discussions about religion. I'm a Christian, but I'm also bisexual. So...that's been kind of hard for me lol. I'm in a very conservative town in Texas where we only have one church that accepts gay people. I'm really thankful for the internet because that's where I've been able to find community with other gay Christians. In fact, I'm about to go to my first Gay Christian Network conference in 10 days! I'm very excited. I'm currently in a state of questioning what I believe and trying to find where I fit out of all the Christian groups out there. One thing that I don't believe will change, though is my personal relationship with God. Ever since I was little, I have felt God's presence. As I live my life, I will be in constant pursuit of understanding this being that is incomprehensible to my human brain. I love God, and he loves me more than I can imagine.
hatessmug wow, calm down she was just sharing her faith
"Secular Jew" or secular version of any other religion is a really interesting concept. I didn't know how to put a name on that, so thanks!
So Judaism isn't classified as just a religion, but an ethno-religion. It means that there's two aspects to Jewishness, one being your DNA, the nation you belong to which is Jewish, and then 2, the "religious" manifestation of that which is the Jewish religion. What Hannah is saying (not to put words in her mouth, but how I understand it) is that she identifies with the ethnic parts of being Jewish, not the religious ones.
As someone who grew up in Catholic Ireland, and went to an all boys Catholic school, I understood the concepts behind it, but didn't know the easy way to name it. Christmas, Easter, New Year (to some extent, given the numerical system in place) are all stuff that I celebrate, but would never pray or consider myself a religious person. It's a part of my culture, but its roots are not something I want to associate myself with for a myriad of reasons. Thanks for wording it nicely, Ayala! :)
It's a pretty common phenomenon. I saw a thing about the First World War of 1914-1918 and how German Jews fought as equal members of the German Imperial Forces. They recounted a joke in the documentary to show how integrated and German these people were. It was about how the only difference between German Jews and Gentiles was that Jewish kids didn't go to synagogue on Saturday and Gentile kids didn't go to church on Sunday.
I myself started off as a Christian due to upbringing but from an early age became a secular Buddhist. Then I underwent an experience that left me at a sort of clean slate position. I will leave talk of that experience for a later date. From there belief for or against sort of disappeared. It was after this experience that I first became aware of what is called the root of all suffering but I had forgotten myself. I tended to agree with anything that espoused love at first so I was of many religions but beholden to none until I was reminded of suffering by another and by this point I had begun to remember myself more clearly but still had a bit to go. At that point I felt duped for having forgotten my buddhist roots and eventually thought of myself as a gnostic atheist my special claim being that I was undertaking a path many had walked before me. Of course the agnostics would have none of that and reminded me that what started my journey to become a Buddhist was that I could never know. So in a way it was a return to the beginning. I had come full circle. Labels tend to divide though and so I picked one that could not be false. I am a man. I make mistakes. I hurt. I love. And belief lies beyond my ability to understand. I see only evidence and experience. And what I have learned is that many would lay claim to special knowledge and I will take no part in such lies. I can speak only of my life.
I'm an agnostic atheist too! I grew up in a Christian/Catholic family so I celebrate all the associated holidays, similar to how you celebrate Jewish holidays. It just so happens that Christmas is my favorite holiday, not for the religious meaning but for the memories and sentimental value from my childhood.
Atheism is kind of difficult for me to understand. I myself can't comprehend how I suddenly puffed into concioussness when not existing before, because of a union between two gametes. I could comprehend a universe existence of molecular robots, but self awareness, my own self-awareness, I don't understand, so for me, that opens the idea of a God. The fact that I percieve the universe internally, and that I live in my own universe, and I am the only one who exists in this universe simulated from electro-chemical signals, through nerves, etc, to me is evidence there is something about life, that science, and doesn't express.
I was brought up Christian by my mother, and a father who rarely spoke regarding religious topics. I wasn't born into my faith, I got to choose it, it wasn't an arranged religion, akin to an arranged marriage. I had total choice. I don't hold any religious citizenship because of ancestry, yet but I choose to have faith in Jesus Christ, son of God, and his Father, I also have his Spirit dwelling in me.
I guess Hannah, that you feel a deep connection to your ancestors in being Jewish, and the connection with those who suffered in the 1930s and 1940s really shaped and shapes your outlook. I also feel a deep spiritual connection with those who shared the same faith as me, who have suffered since Christ himself was killed for faith in God.
The fact that Jesus was happy to deal with disabled, the poor, when the organised religion wasn't, was willing to break the Sabbath when local law was against, helping those in need and not withhold good from a person when you have the ability and power to help, I think is inspiring. And most of all Jesus taught, "Love the Lord your God, with all you heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself" As I believe in a God of love this is easy, but in a message Jesus preached in his day, he said "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you", this is hard, but I will pray for those who hate me, because God could punish every evil act right now, but he is merciful and is willing to give us a chance, and if he gives me a chance I will take the chance on believing in him.
Hey Open Mind, i have a question regarding your perspective - and i really mean no disrespect to you or your faith. As i understand you struggle with the idea that there was nothing before and 'puff" then there was something (universe, planets, life, consciousness), right? And because of that you feel that this question opens up space for a God.
So my question would be, if nothing can come into existence just like that, how did God come into existence?
Thanks Sympath I wasn't able to give all my thoughts about that, so what I said wasn't completely clear, thank you for the follow up question although it's not what I meant. I think to explain, first I find that non-theism as a concept is usually backed up by contemporary science, or by circular reasoning, but I sadly find a lot of science lacking in respect to explanations, for my own individual universe and experience. As everything I see is based in my own mind, a re-creation of my brain's outside world generated somewhere in me. I can't see a conciousness, life-less universe giving birth to conciousness, the closest concept in the science I know of is cell theory, that cells come from pre-existing cells, but I am open to any thoughts on it. I can imagine that a spirit can organise matter, but I can't imagine, matter making a spirit, as Jesus says in the Lost Gospels, "Jesus said: If the flesh came into existence because of the spirit, it is a marvel. But if the spirit (came into existence) because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I wonder at this, how this great wealth made its home in this poverty." (Genuine translation of an early Gospel, though not a gospel that not every Christian accepts). I hope you understand me more.
Also I wanted to include that Biology as a science describes life, but it doesn't define it. For example at GCSE level in the UK we learned that Life can reproduce etc And that life is not a stone, yes, but I want to know 'what is life'. And science doesn't offer an explanation for that for me. (And I anticipate a possible 42 answer out there)
Open Mind what do you think of self-aware animals like great apes, elephants or dolphins? You say that you don't understand your self-awareness so how exactly that ignorance leads to god?
Thanks Jyrki P I can't agree and call my own knowledge ignorance, because that to me is a contradiction. A lot of life appears to be self-aware, but personally and truthfully I know only that 'I am who I am' in that I exist. Of course I don't know if the world's a hallucination, but I assume it's not. Descartes I believe had a similar concept. But I can't see from the brain of an ape, or a dolphin. My own experience is I experience, not in just that I am a carbon based robot. And I can't concieve of non-life arising to life in that sense. (Evolution I can appreciate as a possibilty).
I don't think I can describe it accurately after three chances of a comment on this video so I'll leave it with this... your eyes see, but where is the screen?
(How that leads to God, is basically I think only a conciousness can lead to a God, only a spirit can make a spirit but that is my faith and for me it is valid, I am not trying to convince you or Hannah.)
The difference between nice and nasty people when it comes to religion is the cherry picking of the respective texts, and what they are told by others about which part of the texts is more important than others - and the context of who wrote what is often lost. As a Christian, I see the Bible as a bit like the pirates' code in as far as the text are more like guidelines than rules. Jesus taught love - as far as I can see that was all he said to do every time someone asked him questions about how to deal with other people.
For example, at no point did Jesus denonce homosexuality, indeed he actually said (according to Matthew) that it was a gift from God ... problem is most people would have decided stopped reading after the bit where he talk about men and women marrying and that nobody should seperate them! Ho, hum!
also many books of the bible were cast out (or edited) to fit the standards of the people and the higher up people of the time. nothing can be completely trusted especially when made by people.
this is the first video i've watched of yours and i just subscribed! i related a lot to this as my religious beliefs did change slightly when i moved to uni in september. surrounding yourself with people from all walks of life really opens up your eyes and has 1000% allowed me to be more open and understanding of different religions and cultures! theres nothing i enjoy more than chatting to someone who has different religious beliefs to me and learning about their background and family traditions. i find it so so interesting and loved listening to you chat about it!
have a lovely day x
I feel very similarly to you. I went to Catholic school for 12 years and it honestly burnt me out. I feel like I have no patience for organized religion but at the same time it was such a huge part of my life for so long I feel like I can't just let it go.
Im kind of the same an atheist and agnostic
Love your thoughts on this matter! Completely agree with you on the whole religion on a personal basis vs religion as a whole and the issues it has caused and continues to cause ❤
I grew up Mormon. I graduated from BYU. I stopped attending church about three years ago and actually submitted to have my name removed from the Mormon church records the day this video was posted. I stopped attending church because I am gay and the Mormon doctrine, specifically regarding homosexuality, does not align with my own. It was very very difficult for me to lose church because it had been such a huge part of my life and had at one point been a big source of help/strength to me, plus my family are all Mormon and all of my friends from college are Mormon. But leaving church was the right choice for me and I am at peace with it. I support my family and friends who attend church and I recognize that it is a positive and good thing in their life. It just wasn't the right place for me. Currently I very much identify as you do in regards to religion in that I would also identify myself as an agnostic atheist. Thank you for giving words to my feelings. That was super helpful.
Loved this, and I think it's nice that you chose to share the context of your religious identity so that we can better understand your perspective on your families' traditions. Personally, I was raised Catholic, and I still would consider myself as such. In my late teens I started to really feel myself pulling away from what I grew up with. I didn't want to go to mass every week, I didn't like the attitude of a lot of the people I knew there, I was just generally turned off. This was also when I started exploring other religious traditions more. I was generally pretty familiar with Judaism from both my upbringing in a judeo-christian faith and some family friends who are Jewish, but in my religion classes at school we started learning about Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Islam. Some of my classmates were Muslim or Jewish and one girl was Hindu, the remainder were various denominations of Christian. The conversations we had in those classes really shaped my perspective. I learned that basically every religion has things to take with you and things to leave behind. As a 20-something, I've found myself gravitating back towards my Catholic identity, not because I'm strictly adherent to exclusively the teachings of the Catholic Church, but because I find meaning in Jesus' teachings. There's a quote that sums it up pretty well for me: "We aren't called to be like other Christians; we are called to be like Christ."
we have the same problem with religion I've had a few experiences where people use religion to be hateful and it makes me uncomfortable but I know not all religious people are like that so I'm conflicted
Aidan Wiseman I don't believe that religion is bad really it's the people in it that can make it bad. I see nothing wrong with people believing in whatever God they want it's just the hateful people that complicate it because religion, usually not always, is about spreading love and kindness at least that's what I was grown up to believe however now I see people twist that so I myself am not religious. am I making sense idk oops
Aidan Wiseman that's why it makes me uncomfortable because of the things that have been okayed because it's in the name of god
newchapternow see that scares me. things like that are not okay at all religion shouldn't be used as an excuse to mistreat people I am queer and I have a friend that's very religious she says she can't support lgbtq because it's against her religion however her beliefs on lgbtq seem to be different than what she let's on and I see it kind of holding her back in a way because she clearly has no problem with it and she's supportive of me but she won't admit that because it's a "sin"
newchapternow also our society is completely ridiculous because everyone sins even the most holy person sins yet we judge the people that sin differently
An acquaintance of mine once told me out of the blue that killing me wouldn't matter because I (as a non-believer) am gonna end up in hell either way.... so yeah .... I get what you mean
Yeah, the problem comes from when religions are forcefully imposed on society. People often do not recognize the difference between Islam and Islamism and by not identifying t the concentric circles of different groups inside even one culture, it's easy to make assumptions about Muslims and Islam as a whole being fundamentally bad. It's more complex than that. I recently read Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue, and it fundamentally showed me how complex and wonderful Islam is and how it's image is abused by terrorist groups from a grassroots level. Holy war is not a new idea and small groups in history on both sides have attempted to impose religions as if anything different is a fundamental threat to all life. I am for secularism and I believe in a higher power and energy, which seems mostly spiritual. I am for the teachings in Taoism.
aww Hannah. I don't watch a ton of youtube videos but I've stumbled across a few of yours and I wish we could be real life friends and have long conversations over coffee and chocolate and such, and I could tell you everything I think and listen to everything you think. Thank you for your honesty here, it was so good and interesting to listen to.
I grew up going to church in a small town in Canada. To me, church always meant community (fundraising, cute babies, sweet old people, community dinners etc) As a teenager, I never understood how people could be against organized religion. When I went to university, I realized that I am not really a spiritual person. To me, religion meant community and that was the part of it I really liked. This was also the part that you lose when you take away the organization. I can definitely understand being opposed to 'large scale' organized religion but my little pocket in this small town is why I can't completely be against it.
Thanks for the great video and amazing conversation starter ❤
Really appreciated this
Oy Vey!
I too was raised Jewish, however I have grown up agnostic. I am currently 17, so I know I have a lot to learn. I find it very very hard to believe in a God. There has never been a time in my life where God has shown himself to be real. There were times, when I was younger, where I was in extremely shitty situation. Every night, I would pray to any and every God to save me, help me, but I had to get myself out of the mess. I also find it hard to believe in a God when so much terrible shit happens in the world. If there is a God that created murder and rape and racism and sexism and terrorists and shootings, then I don't want to put any faith in him anyways. I understand why people do believe. I think that God was created to give people hope and an explanation to how and why things happen. I am glad that some people have a religion to turn to. However, we have to admit that religion has caused millions of deaths. The Holocaust was because of religion. ISIS was created over religious beliefs. People don't understand how I am comfortable not knowing, but I like where I am on the spectrum of faith.
I really appreciate your willingness to admit your prejudice against religious people because I definitely share the same inclinations. I was raised in a secular household, so I assumed everyone else was like me. I cried when one of my (Catholic-raised) neighbors asked me if I believed in God when I was 7 or 8 and I wanted to say no but I didn't want to hurt her feelings and so I just said "I don't know!" I realized that in my neighborhood, I functioned assuming everyone was agnostic/atheist/secular, whereas most of my peers assumed everyone was Christian, especially if you were white. I don't know how I got in my mind that believing in God was dumb, but once I started realizing how many people in my high school were quietly Christian to me, I had to reevaluate how my mind thought of intelligence and religion and how they are not mutually exclusive. My uni is very liberal, sometimes to the point of demonizing Christians in a really unhealthy way, but the intelligent people I knew in high school that were religious and those that are mostly not in college has really expanded my brain about how being raised with religious beliefs does not mean you're a fool who has been duped. Some of the other things that helped to expand my mind has been dating someone who is Catholic and talking to them about their beliefs and also studying abroad in Rome for a semester and being so surrounded by something I really have never understood or learned about. I still struggle a lot to understand religious faith and how that can affect decisions, but I'm working on being more open.
I completely understand how you feel about religion. I have grown up in a very religious household and went to church until the age of 13. I identify as an agnostic and can't completely see the meaning behind wars and conflicts that have been started in the name of religion.
i'm also rather apatheistic in that i don't care if there is a god or not.
I'm an agnostic theist. I identify as christian, but I don't go to church (mostly because I haven't found one I'm 100% comfortable at, and I couldn't always be bothered to go at my college where I was comfortable) I respect everyone's beliefs because I honestly don't know for sure. I just try to live my life by the simple principle of kindness.
Oh gosh I relate a lot.
What's an agnostic theist? I thought it meant that you believe in the existance of god but don't identify with any particular religion. And then you say you identify as christian. Not trying to hate, just curious and confused 😆
Same
journeytopeace i think it means you think a god exists but youre not sure and youre willing to accept he doesnt exist
I love hearing about religion. I was raised in an atheist household and am not christened, but went to a Church of England school. That's where the majority of my knowledge comes from regarding religion. There was no one of any different faith where I come from, although I do remember vaguely a visit to a synagogue.
I used to hold the same beliefs that you did, Hannah. That people who believed in God we're not as intelligent as me. However since being diagnosed with depression, and subsequently going to university where I met people of many different faiths including Mormonism, my views have changed. People find great comfort in their religion and having experienced depression there is no way that I could take that away from someone. If they feel like they can talk to God then why should I tell them that they can't?
I refer to myself as agnostic as I do not believe in a god but cannot finitely say that one does not exist. I sometimes call it 'hedging my bets'!
Hannah, I love you! I was not brought up in any faith, but I spend a lot of time with the Seventh Day Adventists as a child with my Nan. Other than that, your current thoughts on religion are identical to mine! Thank you for making an awesome video, yet again 😄
Awesome, a person who knows difference between atheist and agnostic :)
I was brought up in Finland which is mostly a Lutheran country. As a kid having studied religion in school I felt like religion was really cool and helpful to people.
But when I started growing up I was faced with the fact that a lot of bad things are caused by religion. And then realising that I'm part of the LGBT+ community I felt hated an less than. And politics are so strongly influenced by religion I find that fucked up. I think religion is a beautiful this as long as it's personal, but when it affects the lives of others I don't think that's right. So when I turn 18 I'm not going to be part of the church and I don't want to have anything to do with that. At least before I've figured out what I actually think (and when people don't want to kill me because I'm trans lol).
These reasons are why I chose to study Philosophy at A-Level to educate myself on these topics further xx
I struggle with the historical aspect too! I'm studying English lit and the way I've chosen my modules means I'm studying stuff from 500AD all the way through to now, which means I have to keep track of all the religious doctrines and beliefs (almost exclusively Christianity). Seeing how the organised religion fluctuates constantly, arbitrary changes according to politics and trends... it makes me think yeah sure, believe whatever you want, but don't get so frazzled about how those beliefs are expressed because in 100 years the practices and doctrines will probably change again.
If it makes you feel any better, we religious people feel the same way about people who claim that they practice the same religion but act so hatefully and even violently toward others, all the while using the religion in question as an excuse. Like as a Christian, I am just heartbroken and confused when I see people use Christianity as an excuse to be terrible to others, because that is not the teaching that I see when I study the gospels. So yeah, it's just really upsetting, and I think a lot of it just comes down to people wanting to be hateful and twisting their religion into an excuse to act on their hate.
So relatable :)
Great video, Hannah! It's so nice to see you publicly discuss your atheism. It makes your fellow atheists proud!
I'm interested in hearing more about secular Judaism from you because there is no parallel version of it (at least, that I'm aware of) in Christianity; most other religions seem to regard theistic belief as a prerequisite to calling oneself a member of that religion. The closest thing I can think of are what are called "Christmas and Easter Catholics" - but that's generally a derogatory way of describing Catholics who don't go to church every Sunday. My impression is that in Judaism, there is a greater degree of tolerance toward non-theistic members than in most other religions. Has that been your experience?
As a person who errs on the cynical side, I was expecting the comments section to be a complete disaster but it's very nice to be proven wrong. It's a testament to the community that Hannah's helped create! I would describe myself as atheist but completely respect any other person's right to worship whatever God(s) they choose. It's good to be able to openly discuss the topic of religion and just learn from each other.
So with those definitions, could i identify as an agnostic Christian if i wanted to? kinda sounds off/dumb but idk
I think many people do, at least I think I heard it before. So you believe in God, but you're not really sure if he exists?
It's actually the proper use of the term agnostic- purely an acknowledgement of the necessary imperfection of human understanding.
It's kind of hard to claim a lack of knowledge and a presence of faith (as in Agnostic Christian), rather than a lack of knowledge and a lack of faith(as in Agnostic Atheist), but spend any time at all with Christian clergy of most denominations and they are the most agnostic of any theists I've ever met and have a very complex relationship with their God.
Jason John well I think per definition this could work if you say that you can't really know whether there is a god but that if there is, you believe him to be the christian one with Jesus and the holy spirit?
Jason John I feel like I'm a Christian at heart because I was raised in church and even when I step back and analyse what I believe in I can dismiss what the Bible tells me. However, I will always be agnostic because there is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God, and my belief is ultimately a belief.
But then, my understanding of Christianity is that I need to fully commit to it and fully believe it or else I'm not taking it seriously, so I don't yet know how to criticise and rethink my religion without doubting and losing my faith
X
I don't think it sounds dumb, I actually thinks it makes you very smart
Because everyone who's a Christian and _wouldn't_ call themselves 'agnostic' basically says that they have some superior knowledge of the certain existence of god
Now the only question you gotta ask yourself is whether something you can't know exists is really worth spending time on/making decisions by/living your life by/believing in/...
As a Muslim, I can see where you're coming from in regards to the whole violence in the name of God thing. But I think it's great that you can still respect people of all beliefs regardless :)
Late to the party here, but I just have to say that while there are many things that I like about you and your videos, I think it's your introspective nature that I admire the most. This video really showcases that so well. It's refreshing to find someone with a similar wavelength. I'm really glad I found your channel and I can't wait to continue watching you learn and grow. I have learned a few things from you and I hope to learn more. Take care.
i think you put it into words so well! its like i have such a hard time w/ religion bc of all the hate and violence that seems to come out of it in the name of something thats not even real
The reason some men do acts of evil in the name of God is b/c they are using God for their own personal gain; read the words of Jesus in the Bible and you'll see Jesus never led any of those acts. Evil men may call themselves Christians, but they are not; they use Christianity as a platform to accomplish their own wants and desires. Unfortunately, God, Jesus, Christians and Christianity as a whole catches a bad rap for the acts of these people.
GALATIANS 5:22&23 - God's spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
So, if you see people claiming to be Christians, but yet committing acts of evil, then you know they are not of the Holy Spirit. The bible says we can tell a tree by the fruit that it bears.
Gary 828 couldn't have said it better myself. Great explanation!
But there are lots of people that commit evil acts because their religion teaches them to do so
Gary 828 i think you should know that your comment is a perfect example of a no true Scotsman fallacy. people who justify hatred towards atheists or gay people are no less Christians than any of you just because of what they're using their religion to justify. in fact, some might say that because they do the mental gymnastics to internalise all of the bible instead of ignoring the bad bits and the contradictions, that they are "more of a christian" than other people. now this all depends on if taking the bible more literally makes your more of a christian or a better christian which i guess is up to personal opinion but the point is it's a perfectly valid argument if you accept that premise
mrsuperguy2073 exactly thank you
Mi Namo Jeff no problem! i didn't want to be to confrontational or hostile but it needed to be said
After seeing the video and reading most of the comments I'm really interested to know: How many religious Jewish individuals watch Hannah? It seems like most are atheists and/or Christians...
cenedra20 I'm a religious Jew and I started watching Hannah a few months ago. I found her through MissFenderr. But I don't think either of their audiences are primarily religious or Jewish.
VivaFariy_ _7427 That seems about right...
cenedra20 I'm Jewish but watched Hannah before I knew she was 😊
I'm a religious jew, but I think we're definitely in the minority
I'm a religious Jew but I watched Hannah way before I knew she was Jewish
You're spot on with your definitions, Hannah. No need to run and hide. The words "atheist" and "agnostic" answer different questions, just as you stated.
I appreciate that when you were talking about no longer judging people who believe in God but you still have to check yourself. people can change but it is gradually.
Yeah, the history of religion can get...odd. There's also the idea that "religion caused this". Most of it is actually the inherent tribalism. You thought religious people were dumb. Those religious folk thought the same about the people of different religious beliefs.
Do not generalize about religion. It's *really* dangerous to your ability to understand what's going on. Because once you get a bunch of people together, tribal forces come into play, and sometimes they overtake religion, and religion gets used to justify things. (I'll also point out that most people are really good at justifying their own bullshit, which does not require religion.)