Do you feel as if religion restricts your life in any way?

Question

Do you feel as if religion restricts your life in any way?

Answer 1

This world is a prison for the Faithful, but a Paradise for unbelievers - Muhamamd SAWS

Answer 2

Yes

I am forced to 'respect' superstition and nonsense. If one of my students just announced that they wished to wander out of class and nip down the pub for twenty minutes, I could penalise them. If they tell me they want to go off and pray, I have to accommodate that. There are many other examples of stupid or selfish behaviours that have to be tolerated because they are done in the name of religion.

Answer 3

No, before I was a Christian, I was agnostic. I was a moral person then. It wasn't like I had to give up killing, stealing, and running wild. Religion has given me a joy that I can't describe.

Answer 4

Besides preventing me from buying beer on Sunday? Not really.

I haven't run into that scenario yet on a personal level, but I've been fortunate. I know plenty of people who's lives have been severely restricted by religion, and their emotional and mental well being shattered by oppressive fundamentalism. Makes me glad I grew up in New York, and now live in California. The bible belt creeps me out.

Answer 5

no aint religious

Answer 6

No, it has actually enhanced my life.

Answer 7

No! It saved me! I love the Lord!

Answer 8

Yes, it is restrictive. There is nothing wrong in believing in something, fate is a fate. But when it comes to the church like institution - well, these hypocrites created the lie of the millennium.  Billions were killed in the name of those, who had never taught violence.  

Answer 9

No.  Religion for me has freed me from some problems.

Answer 10

No, but then again I'm an eclectic Pagan, which is one of the least restrictive religions around. Added to which I chose my religion because it fitted my morals, hence no real conflict or restriction that would not have been there if I was not religious.  

Answer 11

What affects my life is the guilt laden pseudo morality preached by those of a religious persuasion.

I cannot hug my father.

Not because he's a distant person, or old fashioned in some way but because the society he grew up in did not allow that kind of expression between males.

It's hard for me to describe, the wound is still raw.

What the h**l was I supposed to do the day my mother died? Shake his hand?

Institutionalised guilt, homophobia to the excessive degree that men cannot express emotion, these are the things that restrict my life.

These are the things that hurt me.

I will take this to my grave, that I could not treat my father as an equal.

I could not embrace my own father, express my grief, and my condolences on the loss of his partner of a lifetime.

I could not treat him as my equal, my "brother", my fellow man because of a restriction, a stupid, hurtful hateful restriction.

I'm sorry. I am speaking from the heart, not in measured tones.

Forgive me.

Answer 12

As a North of Ireland Catholic, I would have to say that religion itself hasn't restricted my life but the things that have been done in the NAME of religion have........We are intimidated here for practising our religion due to bigotry and hatred going back centuries...........The sad thing is that these wars were fought in the name of religion but were actually about power.   Religion has been a great source of comfort to me over the years and I am proud of that fact. x*x

Answer 13

fortunately I have no religion!

Answer 14

No.  It challenges prejudice, encourages brotherhood, and guides the way to build communities based on love and mutual serving.

Answer 15

'Eating, sleeping, fear and s*x are common to man as well as animals. In human beings dharma (i.e. restraint by moral rules) is extra and special. Without dharma men are no better than beasts.'  

Answer 16

Not personally, but it restricts others lives! I don't belong to a certain religion and still see the damage it does to other people and their countries.

Answer 17

nope!