Which would you consider religious?

[Anonymous]

Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

[Anonymous]

A

[Anonymous]

Neither one imo.
A lot of people say they’re religious but they’re not.
Person A believes and has Faith but that’s where it ends. I don’t know anyone who would call that “ being religious”

Person B doesn’t believe, they’re just going through the motions. The question is why?

[Anonymous]

Neither.

[Anonymous]

I’d say both are involved religiously. They may both be quite religious in their behavior.
One having a deeply held religious belief that hits to their core.
One having an interest in being involved in religious activities.

[Anonymous]

A obviously.

[Anonymous]

They both follow their own spiritual values, OP, so I'd say there were both religious.

I can't believe people are choosing one person over another. That's wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

I am person b, with the exception of reading the Bible with children nightly. We do say a grace before dinner ( Want what you have, Do what you can, Be who you are). I taught RE for 15 years. Our children attended RE classes from preschool through high school. I don’t think of myself as an atheist, as I do believe in the interdependent web of life. We are Unitarian Universalist. I consider myself religious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

I was person A for many years. I believed, but did not practice. Then I thought about it, looked into it, and stopped believing.

Person B is a sham. Is anyone really like that? I hope not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

I am person b, with the exception of reading the Bible with children nightly. We do say a grace before dinner ( Want what you have, Do what you can, Be who you are). I taught RE for 15 years. Our children attended RE classes from preschool through high school. I don’t think of myself as an atheist, as I do believe in the interdependent web of life. We are Unitarian Universalist. I consider myself religious.

UU's are different. You can be an atheist and be UU. But don't kid yourself -- religious people believe in God.

[Anonymous]

A obviously.

B is a heretic.

[Anonymous]

An athiest’s perspective: person A is a believer (in a higher power) but isn’t religious (following a religion).

Person B is a secular religious person, who invests in religious practices for practical purposes (like to build community, use religious infrastructure as an instrument to do good, and to pass on Cultural or identity-related traditions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

Neither.

[Anonymous]

Neither, but more so person B as to be religious means to follow the law rather than to be truly spiritual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thought experiment! (But based on real people). Which of the following people would you consider more religious?

Person A: Says they genuinely believe and that their faith is important to them but never attends services (or even streams them) at their house of worship, donates or volunteers with faith orgs or causes, and generally does not devote any significant portion of their time to their religion in any observable manner.

Person B: Says they believe religion "evolved" to fill vital social, emotional, and ethical functions and if pressed quietly admits to atheism or that they only think religion holds a sort of metaphorical moral truth, not actual truth. Goes to church every Sunday, frequently attends church events, tithes, sends children to a religious school, reads the Bible with children nightly, and objectively devotes an enormous portion of their life in terms of time, energy, and money to their religion that they value but do not actually believe in.

Who is more religious, A or B?

Neither.

If the question were changed to "who is the better person?" the easy answer would be B.