Am I too religious?

[Anonymous]

Hola!

I'm currently single and never had a relationship before.

I'm not sure if I'm too religious but I have a routine where I pray for 20 minutes every morning and I go to the place of worship every Saturday (spend about 20 - 30 mins).

But I'm afraid most guys (maybe my future boyfriend) might not like people who are too religious and pray everyday. I dun mind waking up earlier than him so that he does not need to see me praying (if he dislike it) and also go to the place of worship early in the morning so that I can be back by late morning and spend the whole day with him.

Will you mind such a guy ( like me ) as a boyfriend?

Just want to know about your opinions..

[East]

It might be an issue for me...it would depend on what you believe and if you could comprehend that your belief is a belief and not "the truth" for anyone but yourself.

Also...would you be able to respect other people's beliefs if they differ from your own..or lack thereof? For instance...if a person was atheist...would you be OK with that? Would you try to change their mind?

I have very strong (PAGAN) spiritual beliefs but unless it comes up for some reason you basically have to pull them out of me and even then I would never suggest anyone else follow my path...because it is MY path...not theirs. I find answers for a lot of things in my spirituality and have faith in what I believe in.

Would you feel a need to convert the person you are with?

[bilkiba]

Well, as long as a religious person doesn't mind that I'm not a believer, then it doesn't bother me that they are religious. I might tease them about it occasionally, and I will be skeptical of the religion, but being religious is not necessarily a quality people are looking to avoid. You can probably also find a boyfriend who is religious. The only reason I am glad (and prefer it this way) that my girlfriend is not religious is because there is no chance of getting into a religious debate that could harm the relationship. Sometimes it is hard for us, as humans, to be respectful of differing beliefs, and that can give rise to all kinds of issues. If you find someone who respects your religiousness (is that a word?) or shares it, then no problem. And honestly, you shouldn't accept anyone who won't accept you for who you are.

[Anonymous]

It might be an issue for me...it would depend on what you believe and if you could comprehend that your belief is a belief and not "the truth" for anyone but yourself.

Also...would you be able to respect other people's beliefs if they differ from your own..or lack thereof? For instance...if a person was atheist...would you be OK with that? Would you try to change their mind?

I have very strong (PAGAN) spiritual beliefs but unless it comes up for some reason you basically have to pull them out of me and even then I would never suggest anyone else follow my path...because it is MY path...not theirs. I find answers for a lot of things in my spirituality and have faith in what I believe in.

Would you feel a need to convert the person you are with?

I would keep my beliefs to myself. I would never debate about it to my guy.
Yup, I would respect their beliefs even if they are atheist. Nope, I will not try to change their mind.
And, nope I won't convert him too. I'm happy for who he is (that future guy ).

I'm just concerned whether he will be annoyed with my religious practice.

[East]

I would keep my beliefs to myself. I would never debate about it to my guy.
Yup, I would respect their beliefs even if they are atheist. Nope, I will not try to change their mind.
And, nope I won't convert him too. I'm happy for who he is (that future guy ).

I'm just concerned whether he will be annoyed with my religious practice.

Well...there are some people who think any kind of spiritual belief is crap and are vocal about it. For me....it wouldn't be an issue if they could accept me as I am...the issue would be mine and I would avoid them.

I wouldn't appreciate someone trying to tell me I am full of shit because they don't understand my faith...and I think they are essentially the same as the people who try to force their belief down your throat...ironic that they hate each other so much that they can't see how much they are alike.

[Anonymous]

I'm posting anonymously but there about a dozen or so GS people who know me well enough to call me out by name for this. Please don't.

I'm more religious than you are.

I get up every morning before dawn because I like having my first coffee before God tells me all the ways he's fucked up and needs my help. I don't pray. I listen. And Whatever he asks me to do, I do. Most the time I don't have a clue about how the hell I'll accomplish whatever I'm asked to do but guess what? There's always a long trail of tools, like hansel and gretels's bread crumbs to accomplish whatever I have to do. I don't look at what I'm asked to do and ever think "I can't do this" --- I ask "where's the toolbox?"

I quit praying when I was 18. My favorite priest doesn't pray anymore and none of my family do either. Instead of sitting on our asses with our heads bowed before a meal we all talk about what we can do to make the world a better place --- one small step at a time... one person at a time.

if you're praying all you're really doing is ...NOTHING. More than likely you already have God's bucket list in your head. Get up off your ass and get busy.

Ever heard of Titus Lucretius Carus? He was this really smart guy who wrote a book about 100 years before the new testament that explained everything from god to evolution. Here's something he wrote put into modern lingo....

[SIZE="4"]"True piety cannot be achieved by being seen often in church nor from approaching every altar nor from a hundred baptisms nor by sprinkling money like birdseed before the eyes of the starving poor who sit watching. True piety is only achieved by being able to look at all things with a mind at peace, a guiltless conscience and a heart filled with honesty and love."
[/SIZE]

Need to understand the entire bible in a sentence? This really smart guy named Hillel was asked to do it in the time a man could stand on one foot...

"That which is hateful to yourself should never be inflicted on other men. That is all of God's law. The rest (of the book) is just commentary (and bullshit)"

.... or if you want that summed up... get off your ass and live it and give God a hand. Get your hands dirty and lead the way even though you have no idea where you're going.... besides the fact you're setting a good example to be followed.

.......and this commercial message is paid for by God.

[Virge]

"everyone follows a clown because they think he knows where the circus is." ----- voltaire.

[LONDONER]

The first thing that springs to my mind is how do you equate your and your future boyfriend's homoxesuality with your religion given that the majority of religions rail against it as a sin?

[Uneunsae]

I think you should find someone with your similar beliefs.

As for myself, I am quite the scholarly Taoist so I would prefer a partner who also shared my principles, daily habits, and paradigm about life. People always told me this wasn't necessary and I listened to them foolishly, had less than satisfactory relationships, then found someone with my same philosophies and daily lifestyle. We had an amazing relationship together that I'll cherish forever.

And that goes for anything that takes a significant portion of your life. For example, if one were a musician, it would be best to find a partner who can appreciate it. And by appreciate, I don't mean "tolerate". Someone who couldn't stand your lifestyle obviously isn't right for you.

Good luck! You'll find someone if you are patient enough. Probably at church?

[TwisttheLeaf]

I agree with Uneunsae that, perhaps, it would make for the smoothest relationship to find someone of the same religous vein as yourself.

That said....

As long as he wasn't proselytizing to myself or others. I don't think I'd have an issue with my partner being religious. I also don't consider you to be overly so.

I was raised in a mixed household of Buddhist and Pagan beliefs. I carry these beliefs on with me in my own life. As long as my partner was accepting if this, I wouldn't have a problem being accepting of him and his beliefs in turn.