Do you attend religious rituals for your family?

[Minimalist]

Well said, C/P!

[littlegrimlin1]

If I am correct, Georgia (USA) is part of the bible belt... (right?)

So 'tis heavily populated with thier god's fan club all over the place, and it gets really annoying... however, most of it is habitual little sayings like "thank god", or "god knows how many ...." are sprinkled throughout each little conversation at home and at schoolio.

Lol, I should get into the habit of saying "Help me Science!", or "FSM knows how many..."

I wonder if that would get on thier nerves.... ?

[Thor]

The only time I involuntarily support religious organizations is when the government takes my tax dollars and uses it to take up the slack that the church leaves with its non-profit status.

This is a great point, and one that needs to be mentioned more often. I've often wondered how much property tax I'm paying in order to make up for the money the government DOESN'T get from churches. In effect, I'm subsidizing a church! Why the hell don't churches pay property tax anyway? And please don't tell me it's because they're "charitable organizations"! If that's true, why does the Vatican have tens of millions in dollars in assets? Shouldn't they sell off these things and use the money to help the poor?

[chatpilot]

Thor in my opinion the church is far from a so called non-profit organization. The don't call their money revenue it's a charitable gift of love from its adherents lol. They make more money than most legit companies out there and the government by allowing them non-profit status is helping them right along.

[Pippy]

I am a little uncomfortable in church, and it's been years and years since I've been. I will of course go to a funeral that I am expected at even if it was in a friggin car wash. Weddings are nice.

Certainly don't do anything you don't want to, but there is a case for being appreciative of people trying to share something important to themselves. It is just that a lot of the time they try to share with rudeness...

I remember being young and not having a choice. One day you will. Then you will get bored on Sunday mornings. I miss the deep south, up here in the north they never have any good fire and brimstone and eternal damnation sermons.

[Welsh cake]

The last time I witnessed delusion was at a funeral. My nan is religious and arranged a priesty to have religious singing involved. I just stood there and made a few funny faces to make my little sis laugh. Took a quick blimps of some kind of book that was filled with shite and dropped it on the floor. I didn't think it was worthy to be anywhere else (apart from the bin).
Just entertaining my self by mocking religion.

I had a similar experience when my aunt passed away from cancer treatment gone horribly wrong, at her funeral around her grave that never should have been dug this prematurely everyone started singing "for god's grace" and I ignored them. I contemplated my aunt's life and how she must have suffered in her final moments something that could have been avoided, while people switched their brains off and sang, I resolved to cherish the good memories of her, pay my final respects, and start an enquiry with the hospital and find out who's negligence was responsible.

Then this crazy old guy, honestly have no idea who he was (he was of no relation) shuffles up to me and continually kept shoving the hymn book into my chest, eventually I took it off him and closed it. Once he started to demand me to sing, that was enough for me.

Religious rituals such as funerals are an insult to the memory of a person as they endlessly seek to 'glorify' a belief in a sky-daddy that hasn't even been proven to exist.

Funeral or memorial services ought to be conducted in the manner of the late-Graham Chapman. That was memorable. If only I could go in that manner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsHk9WC7fnQ

[LEDO]

I was a memeber of my family before I was part of any religion or non-religion. Family comes first over my beleifs. I attend all that stuff, and I used to go to church with them on Sunday, even when I am an atheist. I would RECITE the prayers I had learned from my Catholic indictrination, even though the family knew I didn't believe it. Well, this un-nerved them a bit. Made things a little creepy. So now they realize a person can go to church, mouth praises to Jesus, and still not believe and no evil falls on to them. My one sister has stopped going to church while the other one doesn't ask me to go any more. Go figure. SHOW NO FEAR OF THEIR GOD.

[AtheistPhil]

Funeral or memorial services ought to be conducted in the manner of the late-Graham Chapman. That was memorable. If only I could go in that manner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsHk9WC7fnQ

Epic funeral
If every funeral were like that I wouldn't mind going to it, even the one where the deceased is a complete stranger to me!

[Eilonnwy]

*jumps in late*

I don't go to baptisms or confirmation. I abhor baptism, and there's no point in me attending a religious service I don't believe in.

However, I will go to weddings and funerals. It's a different matter entirely for me since they're not necessarily religious in the first place, and I just sit quietly for the religious parts and then celebrate or mourn with the people at the event.

[Disinter]

If I am correct, Georgia (USA) is part of the bible belt... (right?)

So 'tis heavily populated with thier god's fan club all over the place, and it gets really annoying... however, most of it is habitual little sayings like "thank god", or "god knows how many ...." are sprinkled throughout each little conversation at home and at schoolio.

Lol, I should get into the habit of saying "Help me Science!", or "FSM knows how many..."

I wonder if that would get on thier nerves.... ?

Haha I live in GA as well. Fucking bible belt I'll have to try that help me science thing. I swear so many people hate science where I live, or they like some parts but not others (evolution, things like cloning, etc.). If I just tell someone I'm an atheist they give me the "I'm gonna kill ur ass" face.