#Some are Jewish some are Muslim some are Pagan

[emberkyrlee]

I voted

[v-tired-queer]

*Veiling = covering your head/hair, usually in an act of devotion to a higher power, but not always. Some people veil every day, some only veil every once in a while, and some only veil on specific days/occasions. Some people veil for religious reasons, some for spiritual reasons, and some for cultural reasons. No matter your reason for doing so, if you're sapphic and also veil, please feel free to answer!

For me, I'm usually not thinking much about it. I happen to be a sapphic, and I also happen to veil for religious and spiritual reasons. But sometimes there's this very rude little voice in the back of my head that tells me I can't possibly be both a lesbian and someone who veils, and that I have to either stop veiling all together or marry a man one day and keep veiling. It's a struggle between feeling like I'm either betraying my God by being a lesbian (I'm not), or I'm betraying my sapphic community by being religious and actually acting on it (again, I'm not). 97% of the time, I don't even question myself, comfortable and confident as the demiflux lesbian God made me to be, but that 3% of the time that I'm struggling with it, I've noticed that having my veil on, though usually a comfort for me, a constant reminder that God's love surrounds me wherever I go, can trigger some guilty feelings. Hence the poll.

So, what about y'all?

[hahahax30]

(some) moroccans stop romanticising Al-Andalus and being modern-day colonialism apologists challenge

[floatingaimlessly333]

I have a question, does the Proce family follow any religious denomination because I HC ghost is Jewish and Nik is Orthodox and Farah is Muslim, so does the Price family recognize any of theee??

I never really thought about the Price family and religion. I definitely don’t think they follow one denomination.

Honestly, I think your headcanons are spot on. I think they have kind of an open attitude about religion where everywhere is free to express their beliefs and practices, and everyone is free to participate in those practices if they want.

The whole family has taken to celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas. There have been a couple years where everyone observed Ramadan together, but it’s usually just Alex who joins Farah.

Alex had still been so angry when he’d been adopted, and experiencing Ramadan for the first time had made him feel truly centered and calm for the first time in a while. So he kept up with the practice throughout the years.

Once Simon and Johnny start dating, they start to incorporate some of Johnny’s Catholic traditions into what they’ve got going on.

Mary and Tommy had always lived in Jewish neighborhoods, so they had no idea how to navigate the melting pot that is the Price family. Same with the Mactavish clan. But everyone becomes quickly at ease with the whole situation as the Price members gladly explain their own bits of religion and culture.

They may be a mess of beliefs from Pagan to Buddhist to who knows what else, but they make it work. And they’re happy, so that’s really all they care about.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Phyllis Chesler

Can anyone really evaluate Oct. 7—the genocidal pogrom that took place barely a year ago and is not yet over?

After all, scholars are still analyzing pogroms that took place thousands of years ago all over the pagan, Christian and Muslim worlds. Only recently has the scholar Irina Astashkevich documented, in her 2018 work Gendered Violence: Jewish Women in Pogroms: 1917-1921, the terrifying but typical details of the rape and femicide of Jewish women during pogroms that took place more than a century ago.

More than 1,000 pogroms took place in 500 locales. Lives, as well as minds, were lost. Entire communities were erased. In the aftermath, some women attempted suicide, others succeeded, some women stopped menstruating and others had to be psychiatrically hospitalized, most were afraid to go outside forever afterward.

In Astashkevich’s words: “The carnival of violence, complete with scenes of torture, rape and murder, played out on the second day of the pogrom as ‘celebratory street theater.’ Pogrom perpetrators purposefully drove Jews into the streets and hunted down their victims … acts of torture took place in front of an audience of pogrom perpetrators, the local population and frightened Jews. The ritualized violence reiterated the previous pogroms, but often in a more grotesque and horrifying form … . Pogromschiki bayoneted their victims, careful not to kill them, but to leave the wounded to suffer and bleed to death in agony that sometimes lasted for several days … . Pogromschiki made sure that all the apothecaries were wrecked, and there was no medical assistance.”

Even now, decades later, original and important analyses are still emerging about the Holocaust. Just this year, my friend and colleague, Shulamit Reinharz, published an extraordinary book, Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir, which breaks new ground about how some Jews may have survived the Nazis by hiding and by being hidden. Reinharz’s work, which relied upon her father’s ��hidden” memoirs letters and conversations, required her considerable academic skills and access to a vast and still-growing literature on the Holocaust and the perspective that more than 80 years in the future can provide. I immediately knew that Oct. 7 was a pogrom, yet my understanding of what was unique about this particular Iranian-funded crime against the Jewish people and humanity overall has evolved in the months since the initial attack. As we approach the first anniversary of that horrific event, a number of items stand out.

First: Hamas terrorists recorded live video footage of their atrocities and released it on social media. They even sent it to the families of those who were tortured, raped, murdered or kidnapped.

Second: The attacks unleashed an ugly and increasingly ominous global firestorm that has cheered on Hamas’s sadism as “resistance” and condemned all Israeli civilians—be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze or Buddhist. It has also led to a seemingly unstoppable, propaganda-driven, worldwide siege against the Jews.

Third: The alleged “progressives” in the West, including the feminists who have, at the very least, paid lip service in vocalizing their opposition to the torture, gang rapes and murders of women, children and dissidents in countries like Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan, have remained silent. They refuse to condemn Hamas’s brutality against women on Oct. 7 despite myriad video evidence of the atrocities.

Fourth: Many governments and international organizations keep demanding more and more proof of Hamas’s actions and continue to deny the Oct. 7 atrocities. Yet these same actors have not denied any other 21st-century genocides.

Fifth: More people now know that the raging, masked, keffiyeh-wearing demonstrators who have been flooding American and European cities and campuses since Oct. 7 have been bought and paid for by Russia, Iran, Arab oil money, and woke American philanthropists and foundations. It is also now clear that these same groups have been preparing for this moment for 60 years.

Sixth: As some have suggested, Hamas’s behavior on Oct. 7 seems to have been influenced by the most sadistic pornography, as well as by mood-altering drugs. This sadism rivals and may even exceed the horror of other pogroms or war zones.

Seventh: Many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of so-called civilians in Gaza joined in this “carnival of violence.” They surged into Israel right along with the armed paragliders and fiends on motorbikes. Just as some Palestinian Arabs celebrated Sept. 11 by cheering and handing out candies, so, too, did Gazan civilians happily, perhaps even joyfully, sit down, eat, drink and loot Israeli homes, even as Israelis were being tortured, raped and murdered in the next room or very nearby.

This suggests that there are no or very few “innocent” Gazans. These heavily indoctrinated Arabs are barbarians, and the Westerners who support them are not merely bystanders but collaborators.

I am now and forever an Oct. 8 Jew and an Oct. 8 American.

[kemetic-dreams]

All Abrahamic religions claim to be monotheistic, worshiping an exclusive God, although one who is known by different names. Each of these religions preaches that God creates, is one, rules, reveals, loves, judges, punishes, and forgives. 

However, although Christianity does not profess to believe in three gods—but rather in three persons, or hypostases, united in one essence—the Trinitarian doctrine, a fundamental of faith for the vast majority of Christian denominations, conflicts with Jewish and Muslim concepts of monotheism.

Since the conception of a divine Trinity is not amenable to tawhid, the Islamic doctrine of monotheism, Islam regards Christianity as variously polytheistic.

Judaism and Islam have strict dietary laws, with permitted food known as kosher in Judaism, and halal in Islam. These two religions prohibit the consumption of pork; Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages of any kind. Halal restrictions can be seen as a modification of the kashrut dietary laws, so many kosher foods are considered halal; especially in the case of meat, which Islam prescribes must be slaughtered in the name of God. Hence, in many places, Muslims used to consume kosher food. However, some foods not considered kosher are considered halal in Islam.

With rare exceptions, Christians do not consider the Old Testament's strict food laws as relevant for today's church; see also Biblical law in Christianity. Most Protestants have no set food laws, but there are minority exceptions

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) embraces numerous Old Testament rules and regulations such as tithing, Sabbath observance, and Jewish food laws. Therefore, they do not eat pork, shellfish, or other foods considered unclean under the Old Covenant. The "Fundamental Beliefs" of the SDA state that their members "are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures".

Proselytism

Judaism accepts converts, but has had no explicit missionaries since the end of the Second Temple era.

Judaism states that non-Jews can achieve righteousness by following Noahide Laws, a set of moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God[k] as a binding set of laws for the "children of Noah"—that is, all of humanity. It is believed that as much as ten percent of the Roman Empire followed Judaism either as fully ritually obligated Jews or the simpler rituals required of non-Jewish members of that faith.

Christianity encourages evangelism. Many Christian organizations, especially Protestant churches, send missionaries to non-Christian communities throughout the world. See also Great Commission. Forced conversions to Catholicism have been alleged at various points throughout history. The most prominently cited allegations are the conversions of the pagans after Constantine; of Muslims, Jews and Eastern Orthodox during the Crusades; of Jews and Muslims during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, where they were offered the choice of exile, conversion or death; and of the Aztecs by Hernán Cortés. Forced conversions to Protestantism may have occurred as well, notably during the Reformation, especially in England and Ireland

[samspicturesandwords]

For the record, yes, Palestine/Israel is where the Jewish culture and religion arose. I have never denied that. It's understandable that some Jewish people feel a connection to their ancestral homeland - there is nothing wrong with that! But let's remember that the land now known as both Israel and Palestine was never an ethnostate of JUST Jewish people. The Jewish culture grew out of Canaanite culture, as one group became henotheistic and then monotheistic. So early Jews lived in Palestine alongside Canaanite and Philistine Pagans. Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, and others came to the land - empires invaded, and individuals came as immigrants. The first Christians were Palestinians, and there has been a Muslim community there for centuries. And like the Jewish people, Christian and Muslim Palestinians also have ancestry stretching back thousands of years in Palestine. Modern Palestinians often have a blend of Canaanite (ancient Palestinian native) and Arab ancestry. In other words, their ancestry in the region is JUST as old as that of Jewish people. Now, this is all beside the point - even if non-Jewish Palestinians had a less ancient tie to the land than Jewish people, it would STILL be wrong for the Israeli state to steal their land, bulldoze their homes, and shoot their kids in the head with sniper rifles. That would still be ethnic cleansing and murder. But the fact is that Jewish people and non-Jewish Palestinians have EQUALLY long history and family trees in the land. If we are using family lineages throughout history to decide who has a right to live in the region, it turns out that both groups have a claim! So both should be able to live together peacefully! There is nothing at all wrong with Jewish people moving into Palestine, but some Zionists want to kill and/or drive away Palestinians and steal their land to make an explicitly Jewish state. THAT is the problem! When we say "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", we are asserting that one day, Palestine will be a land where ALL are free and equal - a land where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and others can live side by side in peace and equality. Not a Jewish state, not a Muslim or Arab state, but a state for all Palestinians. Remember that before the nation of Israel was founded, THERE WERE ALREADY Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities in Palestine!

[taylovelinus]

every single time i see some goober on instagram (or here on tumblr for that matter) demonizing jews and israel, all I want to ask is:

1) what is your opinion on indigenous rights?

2) are jews white?

3) have you read hamas’ founding document (their 1988 charter)?

because these really get to the root of their hypocrisy. these so-called leftists always claim to support indigenous rights and land back movements until it comes to jewish people, because they have a fundamental lack of understanding of jewish history, jewish ethnic and racial ancestry and identity, and the relationship between jews and that land. (also it shows how American-centric their worldview is that they see this conflict almost exclusively through an overly-simplistic lens of color, wherein they see jews as white/white europeans and palestinians as a generalized, vague group of people of color who are only ever victims instead of as a complex group of people with their own history, culture, and identity). and you KNOW they haven’t read the charter because they sincerely believe this is all solely about “liberation from oppression” and have no idea about the very real and very violent direct, explicit antisemitism that is the very basis for Hamas’ ideology. their original charter completely denies that jewish people originate from the very same land they claim to originate from; they say that they only way for the three abrahamic faiths to coexist peacefully is under islamic rule and regulation (which if you know literally anything about how jews and christians were treated under dhimmi status you’d know that they were treated as second class citizens at best); They directly cite this verse from the quran as justification for a holy war against the jews — "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.” (and don’t even get me started that the charter also explicitly states that women are valuable to the movement... but only “because they are makers of men” and because they stay home and rear the children.) I’ll concede that their 2017 revised charter states that they have “no problem with the Jews”, however this is moot when you can easily find video after video of young children saying explicitly that they want to kill Jews (yahood) and eradicate them from the land. these kids aren’t being taught to separate Jews and Israel/Zionism like Hamas leads people to believe (like they have convinced you westerners to believe); make no mistake, it’s not about cleansing the land of only "zionists", it is about eliminating all jewish people, denying their equal claim to the land, and denying their autonomy and right to self-determination.

i strongly, STRONGLY disagree with israel’s policies towards palestinians. i fucking hate Netanyahu, i hate his cronies, i hate that they court the far right in israel, i hate everything regarding how they have handled and continue to handle this entire conflict. and EVERY single other jew i know feels the same way. but jews have been stepped on and abused and slaughtered by their muslim/christian/pagan neighbors for literally thousands of years at this point. they were murdered en masse within living memory (and updated estimates put the death toll of the Holocaust at somewhere between 10-12 million, by the way. we are still finding mass graves in eastern europe all the time). jews deserve to govern themselves and live in their historical ancestral homeland. palestinians also deserve to live in peace and security, and israel has a responsibility to ensure that. but i will never ever support the complete erasure of the state of israel because i fundamentally believe in jewish sovereignty and indigenous rights, regardless of how much time they’ve been away, especially considering they were forced out and into a diaspora -- their leaving the land was not their choice. if the notion of jews standing up and making a space for themselves and ensuring their security upsets you, then perhaps the world should have actually treated them as human beings instead of slaughtering them. if we say that antisemitism is part of this conversation, and that the antisemitism should be condemned, and your first instinct is to either deny or deflect, you really need to examine your own antisemitism and how you have been thinking about this.

[you-need-not-apply]

No no I’ll say it: calling someone “culturally Christian” to invalidate their argument is disgusting.

If you don’t know what that is it’s where someone holds morals and beliefs similar to Christians but is not Christian.

Basically “how dare you care about this issue, I’m not Christian and I don’t care about it therefore you must be Christian and if you aren’t then well you still are”

I have been called culturally Christian for saying that rich people should feel guilty about being able to afford greener solutions but not using them. I have also been called culturally Christian for supporting Palestine. (Seperate occasions)

For some reason, this term has really blown up and I despise it. I am not, nor will ever be, Christian. I don’t believe in any similar gods either or Jesus (to me, he was probably just some guy asking everyone to stop stabbing each other) I’m a pagan focusing worship on the Greek pantheon.

If I started calling every homophobe “culturally muslim” that would not be acceptable. If I started calling everyone who supported Israel “culturally Jewish” that wouldn’t be acceptable.

So FFS stop using “culturally Christian” to ignore arguments. Stop using that term all together. Caring about people isn’t “culturally anything”. It’s basic human decency.

[spot-the-antisemitism]

why do you hate whereserpentswalk? She doesn't like Christianity yea but she seems to have valid criticisms of it, and is going after legit bad people. Idk I don't know much about all this social just stuff. Like part of why she doesn't like Christianity is what it says about jews. Like her religion is a little weird but she seems to just want to worship her gods in peace. Not sure about this gender stuff but that s just something I don't understand. So what's wrong with her

Dear transphobe,

serpents is trans and uses he/him and they/them. Serpents does not want to be seen as a woman you sound like a transphobe who thinks they are some hysterical woman (and an anti thiest)

Gender stuff is that some people don't like the gender they were raised as and now live as another. Please stop acting like them being bad doesn't make them any less non-binary which means they are not either gender

Serpents thinks Jewish culture is theirs to take and that since they can pick and choose what gods they worship and what values to take and appopriate so do we and big mad that we don't accept their goddess Hela as real or believe we have religious ties to Israel because SERPENTS shed those gross ugly zionist parts of the religioun and made uwu woke and so should we

Serpents DENIES and justifies Muslim antisemitism and Pagan antisemitism because they think those are good uwu woke religions that can do no wrong and all abuse under thoser regimes is christofascist islamophobic and paganphobic propaganda

Serpents DOES NOT want to worship Hela in peace he sends christians asks about he will forcefully convert them to paganism to free them from the oppression of Jesus and make them happier. "[he's] going after bad people" NO He is not he harrasses random christians on tumblr and also Jews if they're zionist. Serpents sent the same threats of conversion to a JEW for having bad takes, sounds like culturally christian behavior to threaten to convert a Jew for not agreeing with you

Serpents is the THE VERY thing they claim to fight against and I hate them for their hypocrisy and claiming they're converting Jews "to free us"

did you get an alt to harass me Serpents? "but but but I only attack bad people and have good and valid points about the Jews, let me back in" no you'll try to convert me the moment i unblock you.

back in your serpent hole you go,

Cecil

[tfaoptimusstan]

Sorry if I'm being annoying here but I wondered, what are your opinions as a Muslim for the hijab imp? Viv said her Hell is supposed to contained elements from different religions and cultures but that's clearly not true because of how obviously Christian based is it.

I think it's bad idea because here's the thing. In our belief hell is the place where you go after the apocalypse or judgement day depend on you're action. So in hell anyone get tortured even the djinn and demon so hijabi imp yeah no. It doesn't matter if the hellborn demon or sinner who wear hijab it won't work

If vivziepop go with djinn who wear hijab who live in different realm sure but in hell not a good choice. I think it's better she stick to christianity instead of involving other religion. Christianity & islam believe in hell and heaven judaism no. Demonology is something i interested, jewish demon like lilith she won't be in hell. She have her own realm. Jewish people tell neo pagan witch community to not work with lilith she's closed entity from closed religion

I really don't want any islam character representation from helluva boss or hazbin hotel they would absolutely awful representation. Hell so why does religion exist ? Should'n be that religion doesn't exist, religion after all made by human not demon.

If she incoporated other religion they have to reconsider. Hell in different religion have different purposes, different guardian, different rule or king in some religion, system etc

[hestiashearthfire]

Can you tell me more about veiling? Or link any other places to learn? :)

Khaire, @siriuscitrus! Thanks for your ask; I've been putting off answering because this is such a big question. I've divided my answer into three parts. Keep in mind this is based on my personal experience, so other people may have different opinions.

What is Veiling?

Veiling, generally speaking, is the practice of covering one's head, and depending on tradition, one's hair, shoulders or face. (See a definition here.) Veiling can be practiced for many reasons; oftentimes this reason is religious, but veiling is also practiced culturally as a form of dress. In addition to whatever spiritual purpose a veil might have, a veil is also just a convenient way for many people to protect their hair, shield themselves from the sun, or express themselves aesthetically.

Men and women wear veils, and veiling has been a part of many cultures throughout history. Different cultures have different traditions, terms, and styles of veiling. While many cultures are open to sharing their veiling traditions, some styles of veiling are closed practices with immense cultural meaning, and it's important to be respectful when studying veiling as a practice. Though veiling is ubiquitous throughout places and times, not every style of veiling is appropriate for everyone.

Although veiling typically involves cloth of some kind, such as a scarf or shawl, veils do not have to fully cover the hair, or the neck and shoulders, and veiling can be practiced using accessories such as hats, headbands, bandannas, or clips. The style of veiling chosen by the wearer is a matter of personal comfort, social expectations, or religious norms, and varies widely from place to place.

Why Do People Veil?

As stated above, veiling can be practiced for many reasons, including religious, cultural, personal, practical or aesthetic reasons. For example, in Islam, veiling (termed hijab) is practiced as a form of religious modesty. Other religions, such as Christianity and Judaism, may also have religious reasons for veiling.

Still more people veil as an expression of culture, or simply as a personal preference. Since my reasons for veiling are primarily religious, I can't speak to cultural reasons, but suffice to say that wearing a veil, while certainly an indicator of faith in many cases, is not always a religious matter. Many pagans who practice magic, for example, view veiling as a practical method of protecting one's energy, rather than a religious expression. Sometimes, veiling can be both religious and practical; it is up to the wearer to determine their reasons for veiling.

I veil out of devotion to Hestia, Hera, and Aphrodite. On a less religious note, I simply like the way my hair looks covered, and I enjoy styling my scarves to match my outfits. Veiling makes me feel beautiful and confident, and serves as a physical reminder of the Gods' presence in my life.

How Do People Veil?

Veiling styles are as varied as the cultures from which they originate. For example, I learned to veil from a Jewish community, and so my veils often look like this. In other religions and cultures, more full-coverage styles like this or this, or even full-body veiling might be the style.

It is my understanding that Jewish veiling styles are not closed, and are open for everyone to wear respectfully. More full-coverage styles are also open when worn respectfully; however, one who is not Muslim should not call this practice hijab. Just as it is up to the wearer to determine their reasons for veiling, it is up to the wearer to determine what style of veiling suits them based on their preferences. Although one's religion can impose certain standards, where one lives, works, or worships will ultimately determine what a veil looks like to them.

As an attorney, for example, I have to ensure my veils look professional and are suitable for a conservative environment. Personally, I prefer more turban-like styles, although I am experimenting with more full-coverage styles currently. Veils are incredibly personal to the wearer, and a knit hat may be as precious to one person as a scarf is to another.

Rules surrounding veiling will vary based on religion and culture. As a Hellenic Polytheist, I am not required to veil at all, but as a practice, this was something I carried over from Catholicism. I choose to veil around all but close family and friends. However, in other cultures, one may be required to veil after certain milestones like puberty or marriage, or around certain people, or at times of worship. It is an unfortunate reality in many places that veiling is either enforced or forbidden, and I try to be mindful of that in my practice.

For practical how-to on veiling, the internet is your friend. Sites like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram all have visual examples and tutorials for you to follow. Wrapunzel is one such site with many tutorials. The Haute Take, Haute Hijab's blog, also has great style advice for full-coverage styles. (I'm not getting paid if you click on these links. I am just a happy customer recommending both.)

Please understand that I am not an expert; I have tried to keep this post general to avoid misinformation, but I welcome any corrections or additional information for clarification! I hope this post was helpful to you, and I wish you the best in your veiling journey.

Gods bless you always!

[hihiitscai]

Okay I need to yell about antitheism because it’s so painfully rampant in leftist spaces, and there seems to be an emphasis on being antitheist specifically towards the Christian God and the countless denominations that believe in Him. Things like “well if he’s so loving then why xyz thing that’s bad in the world,” or “there cannot be a god that is both all knowing and all loving because xyz thing” or, as I encountered literally today, “you don’t actually love your faith or your god because you misunderstand your religious texts” and proceeding to say that there are no verses about God loving everyone, or “Catholicisms only value is in its aesthetic,” which I also saw today.

Leftist and otherwise progressive spaces seem to be suddenly okay with antitheism when it’s towards Christians because it’s, I don’t know, punching up? People have been hurt by it and the vast majority of oppression in the world is perpetrated in the name of Christianity, and therefore it’s okay to be blatantly disrespectful of something that is important to literally billions of people and brings joy to their lives? My faith brings me joy and hope and love and fulfillment. I am Catholic not for the church, but for the God that I love and who I know loves me. The church is the vessel through which I feel most connected to Him. And yet I am told that I misunderstand my own religious texts (that I have studied, by the way), that I am somehow unintelligent for believing in a higher power. Antitheism of this nature is in largely online spaces, I’ll admit, like in multiple different discord servers that I have been a part of that had “religion” on their blacklist, but really only meant Christianity. Pagans, Muslims, Jewish folks, all were allowed to talk about their faith and their holidays and their beliefs and practices, but as soon as I mention my excitement for Easter, or my preparation for Lent, I’m in violation of the blacklist and get a warning or a kick or whatever the case may be. And why? For those hurt by the church? It seems to be difficult for some to view the situation with any nuance and understand that healing from religious trauma can include deconstructing and reconnecting to your religion.

Also, please don’t hear me say that this is equivalent to the systemic oppression of religious minorities or that it is appropriation. It absolutely isn’t. But there’s an important point here to be made about systemic oppression (which this isn’t) and interpersonal prejudice/discrimination (which this is). You can experience discrimination on an interpersonal level and that is what a lot of antitheism is. Devaluing my beliefs and my intelligence on the basis of my being Catholic is interpersonal discrimination. And the fact that it is permissible because it relates to Christianity is as well.

[my-secret-shame]

Just been talking with some friends and we ended by chatting about this, and I just wanted to gather more data (not gonna share our thoughts until the poll is over so as to not mess with it.)

*celebrate is defined as 'do you exchange gifts & hang out with loved ones' NOT do you go to church/believe in Jesus/practise Christianity

** also I this poll is bias towards countries that have 25th Dec as a bank holiday

(There were gonne be more options, and 11 was split into 2 but I ran out of answer space)

If you would be okay with sharing more info, I would love to know in the tags: your answer & what country you are from (and anything else you'd like to add)

[tamamita]

Can you explain the meaning of Quran 98:6? I feel that there might be a bit of a mistranslation, or that I simply don’t get what it’s trying to say exactly.

https://quran.com/en/al-bayyinah/6

“Indeed, those who disbelieve from the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the Fire of Hell, to stay there forever. They are the worst of ˹all˺ beings.”

So is it saying that nonbelievers of the Abrahamic religions as well as the polytheists will burn in hell? Is it saying that the polytheists will burn in hell while the people of the book will go onto heaven? Or is it saying that the other people of the book are nonbelievers in Islam and will be sent to hell alongside the polytheists? I’m a little confused.

The entire Surah is talking about how proof came to those among the Pagan quraishi tribe and some of the Jewish and Christian tribes. Despite there being clear proof, they denied it.

Keep in mind that disbelief is a result of stubborness in the face of truth and not just the state of every non-muslim lest they show ardent opposition to Islam, as was the case with some tribes of the People of the Book and the Pagan tribe of Quraish, hence why the nascent Muslim population were exiled from Mecca. When a person is personally convinced about the truth about Islam, but rejects its message regardless, that's when you enter the state of disbelief, the verse in question appears pretty hostile for that reason.

This is why the Imams (a) of the Ahlul Bayt (a) said that there's a distinction between a culpable believer and a nonculpable disbeliever in regards to their fate in the afterlife.

[justalittlesolarpunk]

You mentioned that you are pagan? Or interested in that side of things? How so, if I may? :)

I'm pagan (non denominational goddess worship) and I'm growing more interested in ecology and everything encompassed in solar punk, so I'm interested to hear how your interest coincides with being/interest in paganism

Hi! Yes. I’m still very much just dipping my toe into paganism, so I use the term loosely as I don’t feel informed enough yet to be more specific. I’m interested by neo-Druidry and drawn to Celtic Polytheism, but mainly because it’s most compatible with my heritage, not because it seems more right or true than any other pagan belief system I’ve come across.

I call myself a pagan because I believe that the matter of the earth itself is what is sacred, that the world is full of gods older than any of the names we have given them, inhabiting the water and the rocks, the trees and the soil, the animals and the herbs. I guess you could say ecology is my religion in some senses - the way everything fits together in harmony, from the Wood Wide Web to the salmon run, never fails to make me feel close to the divine.

For me personally, my paganism is very close to solarpunk. I’m a solarpunk because I think living in harmony with the earth is sacred. I’m a pagan because I think saving the planet requires all aspects of our lives and selves. And vice versa, if that makes sense. Now of course, I’m sure there are many deeply committed, principled and hardworking solarpunks who are atheists, agnostic, humanists, Christians, Jewish, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Baha’is and Zoroastrians, or who follow indigenous spiritualities, and I think all these belief systems are compatible in their own way with solarpunk (which actually has a lot in common with an apocatastatic religion but don’t get my theology nerd brain started on that). But for me, I couldn’t conceive of being a pagan and not a solarpunk too, or a solarpunk and not some sort of nature worshipper. But religion is very personal.

Hope this explains ok - my feelings around faith are very blobby and hard to verbalise 😅😆