A Religious Quiz

Philosophy Forums Religion and Spirituality
61

Effort posting here.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts, please present them.

So? Is geography destiny?

You are including a lot of internet joke religions which is fine but what do they actually mean?

Good for you, why are you making this quiz pseudo-comprehensive then?

Totally shallow separation but:

Answer key (not comprehensive and open to interpretation):

T=Theravada
M=Mahayana
V=Vajrayana

  1. Is there only one Buddha (T) or do many exist (M, V)?

1a) How many Buddhas are present in the world right now? T=0. M=many V=1-3+ depending on how you view the legitimacy of Lama succession. Dalai and Panchen Lama + various pretenders to various thrones.

  1. Do Bodhisattvas willingly remain in the cycle of death and rebirth? (No=T, V yes = M)

  2. Devas – what the fuck are they? (T, not M and lesser extent no V)

  3. Is Enlightenment dependent on G Buddha or or not? (T = yes, V/M = N)

  4. Is G Buddha’s message understood by a select few (T and V) or is it for everyone (M)?

That should help.

Ugh.

You seem OK breaking down weird other shit “ugh” is weak sauce.

I already have many new religions, including Raelism. Why should I merge all of them into one religion? There’s a huge difference between, say, Unitarian Universalism, Raelism, and Scientology.

– Is there?

It is. I might not use the vernacular of that religion to describe it, but it’s there.

– You are weak and I resent spending as much time as I already have.

I have no clue what you are talking about.

– At least try to understand what you are talking about.

Ah yes, the antitheism. I will probably add that soon, thanks for reminding me of that.
[/quote]
–You don’t need another new element, you need to resolve and refine what you have.

62

Well, for one, Confucianism is obsessed with rituals, whereas Taoism focuses more on ethics. Confucianism is an atheistic religion, where as most Taoists believe in some sort of deities.

Oh come on! Tenrikyo and Cao Dai are very different! Tenrikyo is influenced by Shinto and Buddhism, as well as Shamanism. Cao Dai is a syncretic religion that resembles an eastern version of Catholicism. Totally different.

I took the “joke” religions like Jediism, Kopimism, and Pastafarianism and I took them at face-value. Simple as that.

(I mean, as far as the prophet question is concerned I don’t actually think many people think George Lucas is one. It was a gag, like Jediism itself is.)

There’s a LOT more I need to know besides that.

I would have to write Christian-only questions to resolve the conflicts of inner-Protestant sects. I do NOT want to do that. Many of the questions had Mormonism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity be the same if not similar answers. I was considering added in Restorationism to that list, but then I read somewhere that Mormonism is part of that and I didn’t want the conflict.

Yes, there is. You are fucking ignorant if you think Raelism, Unitarian Universalism, and the Baha’i Faith are in any way, shape, or form the same. Raelism advocates for cloning and sexual freedom, UUism is a creed without one, and the Baha’i Faith is Islam’s answer to Christianity (or Christianity’s answer to Islam?).

I could say the same about you.

Maybe I have the balls to say that I don’t know everything about religion, and I really don’t have the time to research every religion like you do. Wait a minute … didn’t I just have to explain how NRMs are not all alike?

Secular Humanism, Atheism+, Agnosticism, and Pastafarianism is not explicitly anti-religion. Pastafarianism makes fun of religion, agnostics don’t know where they stand, and secular humanism and atheism+ are more to deal with secular ideas and thoughts. While all four and anti-theism are very similar, they are indeed, different.

63

Yeah . . . I was going to effort post but your post makes my point better than I possibly could.

64

I would agree that the questions need refining, so as to enable one’s reply to be more definite, so perhaps saying “what is your concept of God” rather than “how many gods do you believe in”, so making the question more succinct.

Where each question says to choose all that apply, is that a default text that appears? or are we really supposed to choose all that apply?

65

You’re really rude, you know that?

I already refined the God question to say exactly what you stated, and instead of the quiz saying, “What religion are you?” It says, “What religion may fit you best?”

All the questions are a “choose all that apply” EXCEPT for the last question, which you have to choose which religion you want the outcome to be. I didn’t want that question to hold too much weight so I limited that down to one answer.

66

May I suggest that you go through all the questions and refine them in a similar vein, then they will be easier to answer due to being more precise from the off.

67

I’ll start effort posting once you’ve shown me I should effort post.

Let’s start with a softball.

How are Daoism and Confucianism distinct?

68

Xunzian … can I answer? please … please … please :laughing:

I’m so grateful that you are helping these readers grasp … however slightly … Daoism and Confuciamism

69

Good quiz. Trouble is, I can believe [or not] in God, no God/god, and many G/gods. I don’t get what the confusion is.
Take one thing which may become anything but itself is none of them [as they all come from it [even God]]. End.

70

Which is why ALL of the questions have the option to choose multiple answers, save for the last question which you choose which faith you want as your result.

You are very wise.

EDIT: What was your result? Did you agree with it?

71

Seems like the dude is whiffing on it. So go for it. Hopefully we’ll learn something together :slight_smile:

72

First some context:

  1. Some argue the first step in healing/reconciliation … whether it be between two individuals or two peoples … is an understanding of the “other”.

  2. My grasp of Daoism and Confucianism is ‘crazy shallow’. My DNA doesn’t have security clearance for Chinese history and there is pitifully little high quality literature on the subject in the English language.

  3. China/Cathay has always been an enigma to the Western mindset. eg Western thinkers are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how the current modernization/advancement of China happened so fast … referred to by some as the Chinese Miracle. 18th century European intellectuals wondered how such a sophisticated civilization as China could emerge without an organized religion. Yet in the 16th-17th century an Italian scholar put forward the argument that the ancient Chinese people knew the Western God … perhaps even before the West adopted the notion of a monolithic God.

  4. Daoism and Confucianism are the two most significant pillars underpinning Chinese thought, culture and history … peppered with some Buddhist thought.

  5. I will use the Deng Xiaopeng approach … crossing the river by feeling the stones.

Here’s the first stone … one statement on each.

i) Confucius persistently refused to speak to his followers about “metaphysical” topics. He insisted on figuring out a way to improve life in the “here and now.” Confucius was pragmatic.

ii) Lao Tzu had no followers to speak of during his lifetime. Lao Tzu couched some of his thinking in political/economic thought … yet most of his thinking/writing is absolutely abstract. Subsequent generations of Daoist thinkers attempted to bring Lao Tzu’s thoughts “down to earth”.

73

Omnism, of course.

Too many questions, concise version would I feel in my bones achieve the same thing. You know how when one gets to the thing whatever that may be, it is always simple. Otherwise one hasn’t got to the thing has one lol. Pretty sure I could have got my result from one question for example.

Repetition is moronic, you only need to tell people ‘select all which apply’ once.

Thanx btw.