posted
Here's a new graph. This time I plotted the second and third strongest dimensions (rather than first and second).
In this case the X-axis corresponds (roughly) to what I've variously tried calling conservative/liberal, structured/unstructured, traditional/non-traditional, but nothing suits it quite right.
The Y-axis, on the other hand, has a fairly unique interpretation. It follows the number of Gods believed in, with zero at the bottom and many at the top. <edit>I should specify that it's not necessarily linear. Thus the bottom third are people who (speaking fuzzily) believe in 0 to 1 God. The middle third (again, speaking fuzzily) are people who believe in 1-3 Gods, and the top third are people who believe in more than 3 Gods. Again, this is generally speaking, not specifically. </edit>
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Now THAT graph is really interesting - reflecting perhaps what KarlEd has been saying, that non-theists have much more widely disparate beliefs than theists! I'm not surprised.
Posts: 142 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Karl, Strider, the reason for what you're describing is that I answered "not applicable" in all of the cases that asked me to answer according to how my faith defines things. That meant I had to refrain from answering questions about which I do have a personal opinion -- that is, abortion, homosexuality, et cetera. When I took the tests previously, I answered all of those questions with my opinions even though I'm a nontheist, and wound up with results much like yours.
According to the way the questions are structured, I actually don't think that atheists or agnostics should answer the "faith-based" questions, even the ones about which they might have an opinion.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
That's true twinky. I answered all of those questions with my personal opinion. I suppose that my "faith" doesn't hold the same opinions, because it doesn't have any at all.
Posts: 2596 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Respond to the following (Questions 8-12) based on how you believe a person attains salvation, exaltation, eternal reward, spiritual liberation/enlightenment, spiritual harmony, merger with God, etc.
Questions 11 and 12, for example, could easily be answered by a nontheist if they were simply about how a person should live rather than how a person attains salvation.
quote:11. Doing good works (deeds) and acting compassionately is:
Necessary. Not necessary. Not Applicable.
For instance, I chose N/A for this question, because since I don't believe in "salvation," I also I don't believe that doing good works and acting compassionately are necessary for salvation. That in no way implies that I don't think people should do good works or act compassionately, but such an answer doesn't fit in the framework of the question.
quote:Respond to the following moral statements (Questions 13-20) based on how you would want your religion or faith category to address them.
I had strong opinions about many questions in this group, but put N/A for most or all of them. The ones I felt particularly strongly about (e.g. prescribed geneder roles) I gave "high importance" even though my actual answer was N/A.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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