In your opinion which is the gentlest religion

[delilabell]

I mean as in kindest / gentlest?
I was looking at janism and the Quakers and thought they both seem so "nice".
So which would you say is the gentlest religion and why?

Talking about Buddhists. Had a family member live in an area with very difficult multi faith relationships and she noted that the Buddhists were particularly violent, which surprised me at the time because I thought it was a very chill religion.

What can Jains eat?

Well said. My ex was an atheist and he was more like you. Very respectful and tolerant. We got along fine despite our different beliefs.

I was talking to a guy once who is agnostic and he is the type to say offensive things for no reason like calling my belief fairytales right off the bat . I immediately cut him off.

Most religions seem to make tribalism worse and more ingrained. It's not necessarily down to the teachings of the religion (though it may be in some cases) - it's more that it ingrains and strengthens the 'us v them' mentality.

I agree with this. The most gentle and lovely people I’ve ever met were Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. But I suspect that comes from a common cultural background rather than the tenants of religion.

I’m a Christian and while I know lots of kind hearted folks in my church, the organised ‘religion’ is hierarchical, patriarchal, snobby and sometimes misogynist with a shameful history of shielding child abusers.

Perhaps you just need to find the right human beings around you, rather than any one religious belief.

You don’t need religion to be a gentle, kind tolerant person.

Given that you want to change the way you live and that you have issues with intrusive thoughts Buddhism might be worth investigating. Meditation is a really good practice for actively distancing yourself from the chatter in your mind and Buddhist philosophy can help one accept suffering as part of living and move away from being overly attached to things and relationships. I am not religious but I do think religious practices such as meditation and prayer answer a human need. You might also consider volunteering with a religious organisation to practice kindness such as feeding the homeless.

Sihk

Is it kind?
Is it gentle?

Or is turning the other cheek a kinder or more gentle idea if you see a thread that causes you to dispute its basic premise?

Have you ever considered a Taize experience or a retreat in a monastery?

Both can show you other aspects of Christianity.

Spiritualism imo. Follows seven principles and welcomes all.

Probably shinto, although it varies massively as it doesn't have a specific dogma to follow. One of the defining things is that it doesn't even forbid you to follow other religions, so it's so gentle it's even gentle in that way.

Are there many people converting to Jainism?

Why don't you just declare yourself a humanist?

Paganism or Hare Krishna

Conversely, Satanism is gentle in terms of not harming creatures, and forgiving oneself as humans make mistakes.

As in so many religions periods and childbirth are considered unclean.

You can't disprove God or a higher power, no one can. So how can you say it's a fact? Just because you think your personal opinion is fact doesn't make it so

I had lunch opposite a very sweet Jain teenager.

She told me that root vegetables can’t be eaten because by harvesting them, you kill the plant. Leaves/stems/berries etc can be picked and the plant survives; not the case with root veg…..

You're saying you want a religion but you want to choose it on what's kindest, so you don't want to follow it only culturally and not spiritually? Because even if you thought your God or higher power wasn't the kindest compared to others it doesn't matter because that's the truth for you.

I'm sorry about your parents! There are bad eggs in every denomination and religion sadly

"Since when did stating facts put you out of the running for being gentle and kind?"

To be fair, that's your opinion, not a fact.

In answer to the OP, I would say that following Jesus is the 'gentlest religion'. He offers a totally different way that challenged the religious rituals and hypocrisy of the day. It still does today.

Devout Jains are frequently criticised for violating children's rights:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-64327940

As a community they really enjoy food, experiment with a lot of different cuisines and get really creative with substitutions (unripe banana for root veg etc). I had my first burrito bowl in a Jain friend's house! South Asian vegetarian food is also extremely diverse - different kinds of rice, millet, chickpea flour, tapioca and fresh veg dishes and fermented foods you don't really get in restaurants in the UK. There is a lot of protein deficiency though

Why is this disrespectful?

"Hinduism is wonderfully kind and peaceful when practised properly"
Hmm. Have you looked into the caste system? As the comedian Ahir Shah says-don't be taken in by the elephants.