Are religions in the 21st century more about cultural identity than a fundamental belief in supernatural beings and divine intervention?

[mids2019]

85% of people in the world believe in a religion. but in the western world at least there are few in my opinion that would attest to an understanding of a supernatural God or ihave an absolute belief in the possibility of miracles which defy well known physical.laws.

Is modern religion more a mean a of expressing cultural identity and a way of establishing common rules for living based on a religious moral code. Religion seems to be used as means of establishing a tribe with due regard to ancestry of that religious tribe that sets out an identity and a persons place in the world.

For instance I was talking to a Muslim woman and though she was devout in the sense of wearing hijab and following an Islamic code of conduct she gave little thought to nature of Allah/God, the existence of supernatural brings such as angels or the possibility of miracles. The woman thought such existential thoughts were not necessary in her day to day life and she has an absolute understanding of natural science (being in a medical field)

Are the major religions now more about tribal identity than a full belief in something greater than the physical world?

Hallelujah!💛

the implication that anyone who isn't a professing Christian is considered beyond God's grace.

You have completely missed my point @AderynBach because that is not what I meant to imply at all!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
John 3 vs 16-18

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church

This is talking about anyone who has not had a chance to hear the good news - it does not apply to everyone @AderynBach

I'm thinking about the good works/faith issue. Isn't there a passage in the NT about sheep and goats on judgement day? It seems to talk about good actions as being relevant to where you end up.

@Tomorrowisyesterday

https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-sheep-goats.html

There’s a concept in Islam of Muslim vs Mu’min. A Muslim is someone who states they believe in God and that the Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger. It’s a bare minimum identifier. A Mu’min(literally a believer) means to be a real believer and to truly believe int he existence of God and live your life accordingly. I feel that there aren’t that many true Mu’mins and that’s what many Muslims who care about striving with their faith aim to be. Many probably do it by rote or maybe don’t think too deeply about philosophical questions but do believe in God but maybe haven’t fully interrogated their belief system. Many Islamic philosophers and theologians would argue that faith isn’t truly attained until you interrogate your beliefs and why you believe what you do.

Yes, there's a little more to it, essentially to do with the 'disposition' of one's soul. Ultimately it's not up to us to judge, we can only try to be loving and truthful with others, and of course pray :)
Anyway I'm glad I was misunderstanding you before. I didn't want to let it go bc I've seen this kind of attitude of essentially 'you're in or you're out, your life is worthless without Jesus' (paraphrasing obviously) be very destructive, and you never know who is reading.

Thanks, I appreciate that x

No problem, apologies if I offended.

💛

What I can't get my head around is that if there is a God and we are supposed to follow Jesus, why are there so many innocent children dying in Gaza? When I have been in my local church, and they talk about the children of Israel etc, I just think about what Netanyahu is doing to all the innocent people of Gaza. I have yet to hear a good reason from any priest as to how God allows this.

Jesus says with 500km of underground tunnels he thought Hamas would keep all the children in Gaza safe there.
Jews have been asking this question for 2000 years and counting. I blame Christian and Muslim hatred of Jews for our persecution, not their deities.

Yep

The world is full of pain, suffering, hypocrisy etc
We can blame God or we can say that it is God who makes us question the evil and suffering .
God as omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent is only possible if we accept that he has somehow allowed us to make our own mistakes and find our own way.
If God didn’t allow that then we would be his slaves .

Without doubt the Jews have been extensively persecuted for the past 2,000 years and for millennia before that as well.

I shudder at the atrocities that have been committed against Jews in the name of my Lord, Himself a Jew.

From my personal perspective I feel a great deal of gratitude to Jewish people.

Human beings are expert at inflicting suffering and pain on other humans. We live in a fallen world where people choose to act in horrific ways.

But there is a day coming when it will all end.

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”
Isaiah 65

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Revelation 21

Don’t the mental gymnastics of Christian apologetics ever just strike you as fundamentally ridiculous? Like someone desperately trying to disprove the laws of gravity while falling out of a plane?

No - not really. But I find so much about life is strange and ridiculous .

I think being “culturally Christian /Jewish/Muslim“ implies a nostalgic attachment and affection for the music and rituals ( but maybe not the moral imperatives) without a faith or belief in a God.
I think a lot of people in the “West” fall into this category.I think it’s a “first world “ thing. I think it’s a form of pride and arrogance but I appreciate that the atheists among you will think your atheism is a sign of your superior intellect.