select smart religion survey

[Eric the Green]

I saw brower's results somewhere but after a diligent search I could not find it. Perhaps he will repost here.

Wondering whether I should stop identifying myself as a "new ager" or "holistic health advocate" I took the selectsmart religion survey today. It's been almost a decade I think, but my results changed, in the wake of my recent switch from a New Thought church back to Unitarian-Universalist, and my rejection of anti-vax and other nefarious beliefs that some of my new age (former?) friends have. You can take the survey here: http://selectsmart.com/religion/
My results: (100% means the nearest match, not 100% agreement) same top 4 as before, but UU is now #1. Roman Catholic is no longer in last place, replaced by Islam.

Your top result is: Unitarian Universalism
SelectSmart.com
My Complete Results:
1.  Unitarian Universalism (100%)      
2.  New Thought (89%)      
3.  New Age (85%)      
4.  Neo-Pagan (84%)      
5.  Liberal Quakers - Religious Society of Friends (82%)      
6.  Taoism (79%)      
7.  Christian Science Church of Christ, Scientist (77%)      
8.  Mahayana Buddhism (71%)      
9.  Scientology (70%)      
10.  Hinduism (62%)      
11.  Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (58%)      
12.  Secular Humanism (50%)      
13.  Reform Judaism (49%)      
14.  Orthodox Quaker - Religious Society of Friends (41%)      
15.  Theravada Buddhism (36%)      
16.  Sikhism (36%)      
17.  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (33%)      
18.  Jehovahs Witness (33%)      
19.  Jainism (33%)      
20.  Bahai (23%)      
21.  Orthodox Judaism (21%)      
22.  Roman Catholic (19%)      
23.  Eastern Orthodox (19%)      
24.  Seventh Day Adventist (17%)      
25.  Non-theist (14%)      
26.  Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (12%)      
27.  Islam (9%)

[pbrower2a]

I couldn't find the post to which you, Eric the Green, allude. We may have all changed some in recent times and under circumstances under which we have lived (such as the Trump Presidency). As I see it, two core Buddhist beliefs (that much pain and suffering results from excessive or pointless craving  and that vile thought (greed, hatred, and violence) can bring only grief come to the fore under you-know-who. Craving, I recognize, can come from excessive self-denial or from being consigned to poverty. Poverty may be no virtue unless in so hideously-corrupt a social order that one can do well in life only as a criminal, perpetrator, or enforcer. It is best that we do what is necessary to reduce poverty until it is a consequence of gross immorality or extreme laziness or other improvidence. Undo poverty or fear of it (the fear of poverty under neoliberal tenets is essential to the order), and most craving ceases.

If Descartes could recognize the reality of a human universe through his famous cogito ergo sum, I find that if the Universe largely makes sense then one must recognize some One Deity behind it. As for eternal judgment... if God is omnipotent then He can decide at the Time of Judgment (human extinction, at the latest) what criteria of judgment will apply. Nazis may have often discovered to their incalculable despair that for them, God is Jewish.

Of course I strongly reject cheap grace.


1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)    
2. Liberal Quakers - Religious Society of Friends (96%)    
3. Orthodox Quaker - Religious Society of Friends (88%)    
4. Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (86%)    
5. Mahayana Buddhism (85%)    
6. Reform Judaism (84%)    
7. Neo-Pagan (77%)    
8. Taoism (73%)    
9. Theravada Buddhism (73%)    
10. New Age (71%)    
11. Secular Humanism (67%)    
12. Scientology (62%)    
13. Seventh Day Adventist (58%)    
14. Sikhism (55%)    
15. Jainism (55%)    
16. New Thought (53%)    
17. Hinduism (51%)    
18. Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (50%)    
19. Roman Catholic (50%)    
20. Eastern Orthodox (50%)    
21. Bahai (44%)    
22. Orthodox Judaism (42%)    
23. Islam (39%)    
24. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (37%)    
25. Christian Science Church of Christ, Scientist (33%)    
26. Jehovahs Witness (25%)    
27. Non-theist (24%)