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Posted by: AyeVickaye Jul 8 2009, 11:47 PM

I have 2 friends that claim they're more than one religion. One claims that she is Catholic and atheist (being that her dad is Catholic and the mom is atheist). My other friend claims she is Catholic and Buddhist (being that her dad is Catholic and the mom buddhist)...When they asked them about it...I was like 'what? you cant be two different religions...Its either or but not both..' Can you be two different religions??

Posted by: hi-C Jul 8 2009, 11:57 PM

I don't see why not. I think it's definitely possible to combine religious tenants in the self-governing of one's life. In regards to atheists, it's possible to not believe in God, but believe in the basic, non-religious morals and ethics a certain religion implies; i.e. atheists don't go around killing people just because they're atheist.

Posted by: jcp Jul 9 2009, 12:29 AM

No.

Posted by: Gigi Jul 9 2009, 12:38 AM

I don't think so, but only if you take each religion in their respective, strictest meanings. You can't be fully Catholic or fully Atheist; they just completely contradict each other (Atheism isn't a religion anyway, it's a LACK of belief in God or some kind of higher being, but that's just a technicality, really).

Then again, I've always been a person that thought taking one religious completely seriously was a ridiculous idea. It's one thing to read and interpret religious materials as metaphors and use the teachings as a moral compass to guide the decisions you make in life, but another thing to worship the writings of any particular religion literally (this is why I'll always laugh at Creationists). So if you're going by the former, it's completely reasonable to adhere to two religions by combining ideas and beliefs, like Carrie said.

Posted by: Tramatize Jul 9 2009, 12:58 AM

Just because one of your parents are a certain religion doesn't mean you have to be or are that religion, that is of course unless one of those parents forced you to believe in that religion since you were a kid.
You can't believe in God and Jesus, but believe there is no such thing as God.

Posted by: AyeVickaye Jul 9 2009, 01:06 AM

My friend says shes catholic and buddhist but she doesn't attend church or really practice the other religion...She said that jst because her dad is Catholic then she's Catholic as well.. and her mom is Buddhist so she says that she's buddhist as well...I know right...jst because your parent is a certain religion doesn't mean that you are that religion as well...gosh

Posted by: kryogenix Jul 9 2009, 02:41 AM

Your friend is either ignorant, or being intellectually dishonest. The answer is no. Religions contain several mutually exclusive ideas. Mutually exclusive ideas cannot be true simultaneously.

Using the example that you've given, Roman Catholicism requires the belief in a triune God. Atheism is the lack of belief in any God. How can you believe both these things at the same time? It's a similar case for Buddhism and Catholicism. You cannot be a Catholic and something else at the same time.

There is absolutely zero leeway given regarding Catholic dogma. To reject a single aspect of Catholic dogma is to declare yourself anathema from the Catholic Church.

What you're referring to is syncretism in the first part of your post.

The second part of your post is simply overlapping beliefs. I believe in the God of Abraham. So do Jews and Muslims. But I call myself neither Jew nor Muslim.

Posted by: Uronacid Jul 9 2009, 09:26 AM

Your friend is an idiot. See Kyro's post (the one above mine). He's a walking contradiction.

Posted by: -DressYourEyelids- Jul 9 2009, 09:50 AM

your friend seems to be confusing religion with nationality...

Posted by: medic Jul 11 2009, 10:52 AM

I don't really know how other religions feel about it, but I was brought up Jewish, and from what my parents and others have told me, you can be Jewish without actually being Jewish. I don't really know how, but that's what I was told.

I think that being Jewish can mean many things. It can be a cultural affiliation, an attachment to tradition, feeling part of community or even just a like of cream cheese bagels.

Posted by: paozuu Jul 11 2009, 06:55 PM

you can't be in both, that's just believing in things when you don't want to or when you need to. plus just because your parents are two different religions doesn't mean that you're automatically the two.. it just contradicts one another, which is unreasonable.

Posted by: dosomethin888 Jul 11 2009, 07:10 PM

No

Posted by: emberfly Jul 11 2009, 07:10 PM

Posted by: brooklyneast05 Jul 11 2009, 07:18 PM

approves this

Posted by: angelsdiss Jul 21 2009, 12:09 PM

I would say that it isn't really possible to be more than one religion. Although some of them may have similar beliefs and values they will contradict at some point. You might agree with some of the morals of several religions, but that doesn't make you all of them. And I agree with several posts before, that just because your parent is one religion doesn't make you that religion. In short, no, it isn't.

Posted by: AutumnSunsets Jul 21 2009, 12:17 PM

^ LOL which is totally gay, what are they, 4 years old?!

well NO duh, that's why there's so many dang religions in the world, one for everything you are looking for, like a certain computer, there's one for everyone.

but WHAT YOUR PARENTS ARE DOENS'T HAVE TO APPLY TO YOU
just because one of my Catholic and the others Buddhist, doesn't mean i'm BOTH,
i can choose to be Catholic OR Buddhist OR SOMETHING ELSE.

so your friends are uh not so very darn bright i'm sorry to say.

Posted by: nxcxlx Aug 14 2009, 01:30 AM

First off, I don't think your friends are that serious about their religions in the first place. If they are simply basing their beliefs on their parents, but are ignorant to the actual practices of the religion, then what's the point?
However, even if they were knowledgeable, I don't think it is possible to belong to 2 religious parties due to the fact that you must have 100% pure loyalty and faith to one. But if you have several beliefs in a numerous amount of religions, then it is no true religion but a personal belief system you have invented for yourself.

Posted by: penpen15 Aug 25 2009, 04:45 AM

Man, people need to learn how to read and do more research before they speak.

Posted by: hypnotique Sep 5 2009, 12:15 PM

I can understand someone being catholic but not really trusting or believing in the human ran aspect of church and all that silliness but I really don't think you can both believe in god and then not believe in god at the sometime..

Posted by: KaraYankit Sep 8 2009, 06:21 PM

that doesn't make any sense.
it's not like being African or Canadian or something, it's religion.
You can only choose one because more than likely..one of the religions that you claim to be doesn't agree with the other. Atheism cancels out catholic because atheism means you do not believe in a god. Also, Many Christians and such believe that ANY other religion is considered "satanism".

Posted by: serotonin Sep 11 2009, 05:02 PM

You're ignorant.

Posted by: Beenly Sep 11 2009, 05:12 PM

You can be two religions, but depending on their practices, it will be hard keeping both religions from interfering with one another. ( Example: Christianity and Satanism . )

Posted by: NoSex Sep 11 2009, 06:51 PM

you can be an atheist & a buddhist, for example.
but, that doesn't really have any serious consequence in this discussion because atheism, like theism, isn't a religion.

Posted by: Beenly Sep 11 2009, 07:21 PM

From the way I see it, I don't really care what they believe in. Every religion has some type of omnipotence being that people look up to. My look on life is this, if you were born, then you obviously have a reason why to life. We all can't live forever, so we die. No one really knows if you're going to Heaven, Hell, Mars, or what the heck, maybe even Tung's ass.

From my understanding, I have friends who have parents that practice two different religions. Sounds ignorant right? No. Love to them means a lot, so that's there thing. If you want religion to be a major part of your life then go for it, no one is going to stop you. What pisses me off is that some religions say all this cruel stuff about other religions.

Posted by: austinseals Oct 10 2009, 04:57 AM

I'm sure we'd all love to sin and be forgiven no matter what,
Have a shitload of money and power in every major trade,
Get 72 virgins when we die,
And then be reincarnated as anything we want
...

All of that at once would be hellatight.

But no, sorry.
Pick one or don't pick anything.

Posted by: coconutter Nov 10 2009, 09:43 PM

Just because you pick the things you like out of other religions doesn't mean you're a follower of those religions. Really, you can be two religions. Separate religions exist for a reason, and it's not so people can get the most out of all of them.

Posted by: Reidar Nov 11 2009, 05:22 PM

If they're merely metaphorical then they should not be taught as truth. It was only a few years ago that the Pope ended Limbo. Pastor Wilson is right when he says it would be a very immoral thing to teach with this much severity if it was no more than a bunch of metaphors.

And that is a valid comparison because the origin of religion has no bearing on whether it's true or not.

Posted by: Kontroll Dec 10 2009, 09:17 AM

Seeing as how they are basing their faith off their parents views, it would seem that they are neither, but in fact retarded.

You cannot label yourself something simply by another persons views. Tell them they are idiots for me.

And no, you can't, by the by. It would just be something entirely different. They are their own religion for a reason. Segregated views imply they they are "all or none" and there is no copy and paste, or what have you.

Posted by: SoleShine Jun 15 2010, 07:05 PM

no. i dont see how you can be. you believe one way or the other. just because that what their parents are doesnt mean thats what they have to be.

Posted by: ButtsexV2 Jun 16 2010, 12:34 AM

In a way, you can be. There are Discordian Neo-pagans for example, or Atheistic Taoists.

But you can't be like a buddhist jew, that's just weird.