I'm wondering about your specific reasons for studying these areas.

Personally, I'm more interested in the philosophies espoused than in the actual practices. I've gained much insight into why people behave the way they do and how society developed into what it is now.

While I'm willing to accept that the spiritual side of the universe is a complete fantasy, I think an all-encompassing study of it leads to a more enhanced openness to possibilities. The fact that people can rarely agree uniformly on spiritual issues seems to suggest the unlimited potential for expanding the imagination.

Another reason is to better understand the music I listen to. I'm sure it doesn't strengthen my enjoyment of the music while hearing it, but it sometimes improves my understanding of the musicians' intent.

I like to study religion because it lets me see the insanity of it. All the rules religious people invented because some sort of "god" wouldn't like it, it is really pathetic.

I used to read about theology and such because I was searching for the truth--whatever that was. I'm still interested in the psychological aspect of why people believe what they believe, but I've had about all I can take of religion itself.

Funny how man is so creative he created all these institutions that now enslave him (ie. Marriage, Religion, government)

The more you really learn about stuff, the angrier you get. Best thing to do is stop philosophising and live. I've learned my lesson to stop looking for Absolute Truth and accept what is currently at hand and deal with it. You'll be much happier and healthier.

I read (or tried to) most of the holy books - the bible, koran, etc. Better to know your enemy. I added in some history relatng to it (mainly the religion's atrocities) and you actually have some good reading.

I think it's fine for one to practice whatever religion he pleases. I realize the hypocrisy a lot of "satanists" seem to display so willingly. I've always decounced religious persecution towards the minorities, however. Christians have a lot of power, and they abuse it. It is for this reason that I support church burnings, shootings, and whatnot.

Personally I'm into the occult. I think that closing our minds to the possibility of an existence of a spiritual world is ignorant in its own respect.

I think there is no reason to believe in anything supernatural. The Occult is as baseless as Christianity.

Of course, by a technicality, I cannot assert 100% that nothing supernatural exists (it's impossible to prove something doesn't exist), but I can argue that a sheer lack of evidence is itself evident of there being no god/supernatural.

I find religion to be intriguing, and in particular the texts that many religions follow, such as the bible and so on. I think that they give us an important window into the world and life of those who wrote those books, and the parallels that one can make with the happenings within their lifetimes (and even far further back) and the imagery in the books are invaluable if one wants to gain a perspective on how civilization evolved.

I find the studying of religion to be a very important part of understanding human behavior as it has such a large effect on a great percentage of people and how they conduct themselves (both in past and in contemporary societies). I also think that religious texts are generally of a rather high standard and have been influencing and inspiring artists for centuries, we still see a lot of religious symbolism and juxtaposition of religious stories in contemporary art ie the story of the Garden of Eden.

Even if you don't believe in said religions you can not deny their prominence and the effect they have had on history.

One of my main reasons for taking any religious studies course is that I love the mythology behind most religions. It's like reading a novel. You get all the back stories on just about every character, you learn about their conflicts and you get to read about their exploits in the form of legends.

And also, as an atheist, I like to be well informed on certain religions so that I can actually defend myself intelligently whenever I'm confronted about my beliefs.

Expanding on that, I think some metalheads have a curious opinion on God. A close reading of the Old Testmant (or at least the English translations which have a number of problems) depicts Jehovah as a petty, insecure, murderous, sadistic tyrant who tortures innocent people, wipes entire peoples from existence, drowns the world and condemns the immortal souls of people he deems evil to eternal pain and torment. Although there are lots of philosophical responses like not judging an omnipotent deity on the same terms as a mere human and the like, I just think an angry violent bastard is a pretty metal deity. Heck, most gods seem to be irritable petty buggers who toy with mortals like a man does with ants. So from a "metalhead" point of view, God was as much a badass as any war god until he mellowed out about Jesus' time.



I just wish pious folks would research their own damned religions when defending them. Its embarrassing to everyone involved when people don't even know what the hell they're defending.