January 30, 2003
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When I did yesterday’s drive-by posting of the link to the Belief-O-Matic quiz and my succinct statement of my own take on the current state of belief on this planet, I had no expectations. If I made any assumption at all about the comments I’d be getting it was only that there would probably be some comments.
In that “belief”, I was quite correct. Even the nature of the comments didn’t come as any great surprise; they were diverse, as Xangans are. I refuse to deny myself the pleasure of responding to some of these, beginning with:
“Do you cherish your belief that belief is passe?
(The current time is one for strategies, rather than ideologies.)”
I knew I had left myself open, in my brief statement yesterday, to accusations of “belief”. If the infrequency of comments I’ve gotten from Homer are an indication of how often he reads my blogs, he has probably missed my earlier statements of my philosophy, if “philosophy” is the correct term for a collection of tentative theories, working hypotheses and fluid opinions. I repeat myself more often than I like, as it is. I suppose I’ll be doing more of that.
Homer’s parenthetical statement of the tenor of the times is not one I would try to dispute, although it does seem a particularly masculine view. If he means that humanity would be better served by strategy than by ideology, I’m in agreement with him there.
I wanted to be sure I knew what he was saying, however, before I said I agreed. I went to the dictionary. I selected from its definitions of strategy those that seemed to reflect the meaning I’m supposing that Homer intended.
Strategy: “2 a : a careful plan or method : a clever stratagem”
Strategem: “b : a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end”
Ideology: “1 : visionary theorizing
2 a : a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture
b : a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture
c : the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program”
At a time in history when cultures and ideologies are struggling for survival, trying to endure and not to be engulfed by other cultures and ideologies or to be abandoned in favor of more rational or more attractive, comfortable systems, I think planetary survival would be better served by a good strategy.
My daughter wrote:
“It says I am 100% Christian Science. Unitarian Universalist was third on my list ~ which is interesting because there is a group of people here, trying to start a UU church. They even suggested I become a UU minister. All in all I think it’s a pretty accurate quiz but I still don’t like the idea of labeling my faith. It is, what it is and I don’t feel the need to name it. To me that would be a limitation and nothing more.
“
Ooooh, Angie, is it possible you mistook “belief” for “faith”, or were you just being euphemistic? True, they are listed as synonyms for each other, but here is the distinction the dictionary draws between them: “BELIEF may or may not imply certitude in the believer <my belief that I had caught all the errors>. FAITH almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof.”
Our language and paradigm easily accomodate multiple beliefs, but for a single person to have more than one faith… that just doesn’t fit the paradigm or the language. That you resist categorization suggests that you are viewing your beliefs as personal, rather than as placing you in the “right” sociocultural group. In my paradigm, that’s progress, Babe.
I thought the following was worth remarking on because (a) the phrase, “too much for me,” is virtually the same phrase this Xangan has used in the past in reference to the task of wrapping her mind around some concept I’ve presented. In her case, I take it as self-deprecating disingenuousness, because this woman is no dummy. She might, however, be just the slightest bit mentally lazy. (b) If anyone cannot easily answer the simple questions in that quiz–that is, if one does not know what one believes–then I think some introspection is in order.
“Ok… color me stupid, but I went to take that quiz and it was all too much for me!”
Crazymomma
I love the following comment, and I think it reflects the attitude with which I presented the quiz in the first place:
“Man, those choices didn’t even come close to some of the shit I’ve thought about. I got new age, but if anyone asks me I’ll tell them I’m an alchemist and watch them scratch their heads.
“
Uh, Sweetie, is that Orthodox Mediaeval Alchemy, or the New Age psychedelic brand?
“Interesting…and I align myself more with Pagans than anyone although, to me, spirituality is deeply personal and quite unique to everyone.
1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (90%)
3. Neo-Pagan (90%)
4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (88%)
5. Secular Humanism (86%)
6. New Age (74%)….”
Branwyn, I agree with you that everyone’s approach to Spirit is personal and idiosyncratic, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that this quiz is on religion, not on spirituality. I suppose it behooves me, at some later time, to get into the differences between those concepts here. That should be fun. For now, I just want to leave you with my explanation of the “Unitarian Universalist” result I obtained from that quiz.
I took the quiz starting from a personal space of “no-belief”. I could not give honest answers regarding the beliefs I do not hold. The matters on that quiz are issues, for me, either of preference, or of theory, or of mystery. I know or I don’t know and I feel no need to adopt particular beliefs about things beyond my ken. I can wait to find out. When I need a working hypothesis, I postulate one in those terms.
My objective in answering the quiz was to find the system I LIKED best: the one which, if universally believed, would give us the most peaceful, progressive, spiritual culture. I think if all of us were Unitarians (and yes, I realize that if ALL of us were adherents of any one faith, then it would drastically cut down on conflict) then it would be a much more pleasant world, with a much more optimistic prognosis for planetary survival. So, dear readers, for me and for us all, please convert to Universalism, NOW.
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Comments (15)
Oh You are so right… mentally lazy hits the nail on the head… funny, my teachers used to tell me that when I was in school…..
LOL.. I just didnt like the choices. I certainly would not have figured my beliefs to be what they said it was. But then again, I knew nothing about the religion. I chose the answers I liked best too. It was interesting. (I was not interested enough to look up the religion though..lol)
I found this blog extremely interesting (as if ALL of your blogs don’t fit that bill! HAH!
) mainly because of your description of the “non-belief” space that you were in when you approached the quiz. The reason that this struck me was that I had read up quite a bit on the UU principles prior to taking my children and attending a service there and the thing that I liked the most about their statement on the *children’s religious ed program* was that they encouraged all to learn about their own “historical” religion while also encouraging questions and seeking….there is very little dogma and inquiring minds are not just accepted, but encouraged. I really enjoyed the service that I attended at the UU church in Halifax and out of all of the “religions” I researched it seemed to me the most appropriate one to raise my children with as it teaches several different beliefs, while encouraging children to find their own way………sorry this was so long 
OH OH OH OH!!! We have progress here! I found the right sized box, now it’s just packing, wrapping in brown paper and taking it to the PO…..we’re getting there, my friend
Thanks, you made me read and think very carefully today. So few people take the time to reply so thoroughly to others’ comments!
>My objective in answering the quiz was to find the system I LIKED best: the one which, if universally believed, would give us the most peaceful, progressive, spiritual culture.<
ok, then, im gonna go take the quiz Again. cuz my Faith definately guided my answers, and i came up 100% in the religion i fully expected. now im gonna take it as if *I* have the keys to life and death, and i get to make all the rules, bwahahaha ! (and btw, even tho i do have tremendous faith in my chosen beliefs, i Would change many of the ‘rules’ if i were in charge.)
I was definitely being “euphemistic”, although I did have to look up that word before I could be sure.
I hoped I wasn’t being too cryptic in what I said. First I was trying to be funny, and secondly I was trying to point out that if you say ‘beliefs are crap,’ then you can’t know what you believe anymore. People who don’t know what to believe will latch on to the nearest authority figure until they learn better.
Thirdly, I was mincing words.
I was 100% Unitarian. Go fig. I have dug a few Unitarians, and my mother’s memorial service was done by a Unitarian minister, but I have a problem with joining, with ritual, with anything like church.
I’ll just sit here. Don’t worry.
I was mincing words, too, Homer.
*chuckle* I’m a minister ( 14 yrs now) in the Universal Life church….is that good enough?
Love * *HUGS*~Z
I do, actually, know the difference between belief and spirituality. I was trying to say that my connections tend to be more with neo-Native Americans than any others. C’est la vie.
Haven’t taken the test yet. I guess my belief is that “something is out there,” but then again it all could be just in my head. And I accept that either one could be true, or in my case probably both are true. My reality at the moment seems to be for me to further venture into Disney movies and musicals… My current unreality of choice perhaps, after reading all the environmental regulations that have been booted by the administration, then hearing how he’s more compassionate than others in the party???
oooooooooh…all these big words. All these big words. paradigm, socio-cultural, disingenuousness, integrated assertions…
must……..
go…………….
lie………
dowwwwwwwwn…..
lol…..
eh….I don’t see myself fitting in where I came out on the scale but, I’m pretty good with where I personally see myself. I have a thing about labeling…unless it’s on cans in the grocery store. Hate those unknown labeless cans. Mystery preserved veggies.
I know this comment is late. I’m just catching up on my SIR posts.
I took the quiz, & like blankityblank, I came up as 100% UU. I had to look it up, being unfamiliar with their beliefs. Interesting description… some believe in certain things, whereas others do not (believe to not believe?). I’ve always known my beliefs were sorta off-the-wall, being a mix of several differing religions as well as my own theories.
Like you, I agree that were we all one religion, there would be no conflicts. And based upon the UU philosophy, that would be the one to carry that through to total peace. It reminds me of the philosophy behind the hippie communes of the 60s & 70s. Here, there are still some in existence. I imagine that there are some in Alaska as well (possibly Canada too?).
Check out my proposition I posted for us to evoke on this upcoming Presidents’ Day. It just could work!