u/Calanais-guy

I'd like to get an idea of the range of beliefs people have about Deity on here, though it won't be a scientific survey. Soft and hard polytheism, pantheism, animism, agnosticism/atheism, deism, monotheism, or other?
How many of these fit within Paganism?

I've long leaned toward some form of polytheism and pantheism, but lately also feel inclined to think that there may have been a first or ultimate cause for even a cyclic Universe. I don't interpret that Source as a personal god, so it's more like deism. This would help me to explain an origin for Awen, Nwyfre, souls, consciousness, and the Otherworld.

I know there is much variation even within each large religion, so I'll take that into account. But how do most mainstream and conservative Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs (and Jews) think about this in religious terms?

How common is it for them to view non-believers as spiritually "less than" themselves and destined for a worse afterlife than in-group members of their religions?

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of visiting a small local Zen Buddhist temple, and I think it was my first visit to a fully Zen Sangha--not a subgroup of a UU church or any other org. The session consisted mostly of sitting meditation, kinhin (walking meditation), and chanting certain gathas and sutras. (I wasn't sure if some of these were prayers, but they invoked Buddhas and ancestral teachers). Bowing was very common for etiquette.

I would have been thrilled to visit such a place decades ago when I was more actively interested in Buddhism, but still appreciated visiting even in 2026. The long-time members were friendly and welcoming, and there was even time to share personal thoughts. There was some time for one-on-one learning from the Sensei.

Overall, I felt that it involved too much meditation at one time for me, and the service was too formal and rigid compared to Buddhist Churches of America and other religions. But I appreciated their contemplative, sometimes solemn, sometimes humorous approach and think positively of Zen Dharma.

It's funny how the term "Zen" has become a pop culture term in American English, but it rarely refers to actual Buddhism.

I just noticed that a rule #13 was created for the sub that I didn't see before. I think it's good to limit apologetics and polemical debate since they lead to the most conflict and breaking of other rules on the sub 👍🏽

Are there certain religions, philosophies, or spiritual approaches (including "spiritual not religious", agnosticism, deism, etc.) that you would not respect for some reason?

I actually thought of Jediism when I made this post. There's a good documentary about real-life religious Jedi called American Jedi (2017) that I enjoyed watching years ago. Most people around the world, I suspect, would treat Jediism as a joke and not want to take it seriously, yet it can serve as religious guidance for its adherents. The same probably applies to Dudeism.

If people decide to just not respect a relatively new religion like Jediism that seems mostly harmless--not a cult or violent--would that make that attitude a form of bigotry?

Are there any discussions, exchanges, or debates between (for example) converts to __ religion and ex-members of that religion? Such as between Christian converts and ex-Christians.

I also wonder how the perspective of an ex-Christian --> Muslim convert would differ from an ex-Muslim --> Christian, or other combination of religions, like ex-Muslim --> Hindu, or ex-Hindu--> Christian.

I suspect that these are opposite perspectives, so they would not get along easily, perhaps seeing each other as misguided?

For those Druids who belong to local groups or orders, what is your experience with theology? Are most members of the group polytheists, just animists without deities, pantheists, panentheists, monotheists, agnostics, or something else?

I associate my path in Druidry with polytheism and pantheism (or perhaps panentheism) together, but also take much from an animist worldview.