Do you all think that it's alright to not stick to all the beliefs of one religion but pick and choose different beliefs from multiple religions? Like I pick things that make the most sense to me like reincarnation but I don't believe in Nirvana. I also believe in Evolution, not religious but still a belief, which I think mirrors reincarnation. But I still celebrate Christmas, also Easter, even though I'm not Christian. I want to get your thoughts on an atheist that picks some religious beliefs but not others, even if they are a part of the same doctrine.

I mix ideas from Wicca, Druidy, Discordianism, and Buddhism so I know what you mean, and I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

Things like Christmas and Easter, while Christian holidays, have morphed into cultural holidays that are celebrated by several non-Christians... especially Christmas. Both holidays have roots in older celebrations, perhaps that is why.

I celebrate Yule, which is the Winter Solstice... but because my family celebrates Christmas, I combine the two.

Its called FAITH/BELIEF.if you 'believe' differently than what you want to thats not your faith,its someone elses.thats all i have to say really.

I think for me it's less about picking and choosing from all religions and rather realizing that the truth isn't just in one religion but every religion contains pieces of truth. Just because I call myself a Christian doesn't mean I toss every other religion or set of beliefs under the bus for being "heathen" or whatever.

I can say as being a Christian that some ideologies of doctrine from other religions mirror my beliefs, but I only stick to Christianity.

Well anyone is free to choose what they believe. Me personally, I am a christian and I follow the Bible alone. I believe that Bible is all I need.

Hoochman : the Bible is all you need? I think you missed the point of Christianity altogether.

geeogree : I think either you misunderstand me or the Bible, lets find out which.

you said you follow the Bible. Which parts? All of it or just the parts you like?

I mix beliefs from several different spiritual paths, and I do not follow one single organized religion. Shamanism, Pantheism, Witchcraft, Neo-Paganism/Wicca, Buddhism and Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).

geeogree: I follow all of it, though being human I don't always do good job.

Very good opinions everyone, yeah I'm a very fickle person so it's hard for me to stick to one thing and one thing only. I suppose whatever works for you works for you am I right? But I'd have to say my beliefs put me closest to Buddhism than any other religion. AND ALL THESE NAMES DOWN HERE ARE REPLIES NOT QUOTES SORRY IF IT SEEMS LIKE QUOTES IT'S NOT. I WILL ADD @ TO ALL OF THEM TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE SEES ITS A REPLY.

@Elara : Yeah and you get presents for Christmas who can resist XD

@geeogree : I see what you mean everything had to come from somewhere and most of the time there is some truth at the bottom of it all underneath the tangles of human tweaking
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@tRIUNE : Yeah well whatever works for people they should do right? My parents were never strict about church or forcing beliefs on me, they allowed me to find my own path; so I think that's why I like to pick and choose now and not be rigidly set on one religion.

@Hoochman : Well whatever you believe is what you believe and Faith is a good thing to have especially during dark times of your life. Not trying to sound sappy but doing horribly at it.

@Annette : I like the idea of Paganism because it allows more choice and freedom. Also I love nature. And I love mythology and, correct me if I'm wrong, Paganism was abundant when people were writing down these folklore and I'm sure Myths borrowed from Paganism or other religions like it. 

That's all I have to say and thanks for all the feedback!

I'll agree with Hoochman that you're free to believe whatever you want; the humor I find in this though is that I believe there will come a time in the future where there will be a one-world government which includes a one-world religion....

I think pretty much all religions, at least the most widely excepted ones, are already a mixture of beliefs. They all teach pretty much the same thing, be good to others, don't steal, and donate to the "church". The only real difference is how they choose to do these things. Some "religions" are more of a belief system than an organized religion, so it seems they are meant to be mixed w/ other religions/beliefs. Most of the pagan religions, for example, are completely devoid of much structure and organization so it would seem to follow that you can just mix and match pagan beliefs based on what you actually believe to be true.

WooGie502 : Actually, Druidry has a very rigid structural system and hierarchy. Wicca does to a lesser extent, enough that it legally an organized Church (though I prefer the word temple), but the dogma is very open so long as you don't violate the Reed ("Harm none"). It's no different than the variance in Christian dogma between the different denominations, but we are more lax on the rigid divisions... to put it in terms most of you would understand better... when we say mix practice and belief, it's like if a Catholic and a Baptist didn't draw a line between themselves and instead just both went by "Christian"... because they both are, but they have different ideas on how to follow that faith.

For me, it ultimately boils down to that old philosophical bugaboo, Truth.  Religion, while being a matter of personal choice, is also a part - some say the only part - in Man's search for Truth.  All religions claim to have the Truth - Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, what have you.  Now, truth, by it's very nature must be true - what philosophy calls a tautology (ie, a bachelor is an unmarried man, a unicorn has a single horn, etc.).  If this is the case, if Truth be true indeed, then the quest for finding it must take the utmost precedence.


   Here is where it get dicey.  Most religions claim a monopoly on Truth.  And since almost all of these religions disagree with each other on darn near everything, this means they cannot all be right.  If we, as mere, flawed humans, opt for the easy answer and "pick and choose", then we have made ourselves the arbiters of Truth - which means that we have chosen not just for ourselves, but Truth for every human being on the planet.  Think about it.  So we must...we must...choose carefully.

  This is a rather long-winded and poorly-worded apology for my decision for Orthodox Christianity.  This is the choice I've made...and, if the question were to arise, I could be quite comfortable with putting that pesky label of Truth to it.  Although that wouldn't win me too many friends.  Apologies if I have offended. 

Of course you can do whatever you want, but it tends to not work out at times when certain you got to remember that most religions are a worldview, which is they have specific doctrines defining what is Christian, what is Muslim, what is Wicca, etc. They are not just a set of arbitrary beliefs, but the beliefs are united making sense to one another. So when you are to say that you would pick and choose beliefs, chances are that they would not make sense to each other and making your belief system invalid. For example, Christians believe that salvation is obtained through the death of Jesus Christ as the atonement (sacrifice) of the sins of human beings, and if we are to receive Jesus as our personal savior and accept that gift of salvation, we are set free from sin and from punishment of God due to sin, and he gives us a clean slate and through the Holy Spirit, continually clean us from the inside out. Now with a believe like this, I cannot then say, "oh yeah, I also believe that God doesn't care whether you sin or not" This contradicts what I previously stated and making my beliefs nonsense and all in all fail as a belief system. So for Christians, there are key, primary doctrines that every Christian holds to, and holds together as a worldview. These are things that Christians MUST believe in to be considered as a Christian: They are what defines a Christian to be Christian. What Christians are secondary issues that by believing in them does not necessarily make you not a Christian, and that there is a difference in viewpoint or opinion, but they would all still be considered Christian.

Also, truth is not defined by whatever is right for you. Truth is defined by whether something is true or not. So as a human being who is free to do whatever you want, you can believe whatever you want, but it may not be true. Just because you believe in it, and then pick and choose it, doesn't make it right or true.

So overall, agree with Hoochman and tRUINE. And whoever said that all religions basically teach the same thing have no understanding of any of them.

It doesn't make much sense to me to mix aspects from various religions, but as others have said everyone is free to have whatever beliefs they choose. With that being said, I would much rather prefer people choose their beliefs  than just believing what ever they are told or what ever religion is the most popular.

play4fun : All religions teach that you should be a good person and kind to others. Than you shouldn't steal, shouldn't kill, shouldn't commit incest, etc. That is what is meant when it is said they all teach the same thing.

I think the answer really just depends on what you are looking for and where you are journey of discovery.

To nerd out, I think it's a bit like multiclassing in an RPG (in some ways).

Are you looking for community? Being adaptable to many different communities could be interesting and enjoyable, although many (most?) religious communities will feel more comfortable with you if you show deep appreciation for their most basic beliefs [this refers to when you are in the context of that community, like at a place of worship, not at a movie or sporting event]. However, many of these communities can also have a lot of people who themselves hold a variety of beliefs, so I don't mean to paint the same picture of all of them.

Are you looking for a cultural identity that fits you, or for different ways of experiencing the world than what you have had so far? Mixing could give you some interesting insight there. But just as in multi-classing, this may limit the depth of your experience within any single religion. That may or may not be a concern for you--it's your call.

Are you trying to learn about yourself? This could be a way to do that, though I think one can do that within the context of one religion (or without any) just as well.

Are you trying to find common ground with other people to understand them better? This might be an effective way to do that, though one can do that without actually mixing beliefs.

The part where you run into the biggest trouble, in my opinion, is if you are trying to figure out the way the world actually is. To do that, I would recommend studying different views and giving them the most respect you can (including whatever were raised with, even if it seems boring...). Thankfully many religions agree on being nice to people and that being good is better than being bad. However, they all differ on what it means to be human, why we are here, what heaven/afterlife is, how one gets there, what is the purpose of living, etc. To me, these are important questions, but some (or many, now that I think about it) people seem pretty happy to just devise their own answers; for them, the act of making their own answers is a very important process. I'm more scientifically-minded, so that's not for me (I think the answers are out there to be discovered with logical analysis and evidence), but it seems to be for other people.

In the end, I think you have to decide what criterion you are going to use to determine "good" or "okay", and then go from there.