Not to advocate for the "is it edgy?" angle of the conversation, but I have a problem "believing" (ha!) that most of the religious people today actually believe in a creator (religion != faith). One can be religious insofar as tradition is concerned and ignore the spiritual angle completely. Others can believe in a grand spiritual power and plan behind all things while not having any rituals of their own.
One can be religious insofar as tradition is concerned and ignore the spiritual angle completely
There's a third aspect to it, which is following the spiritual aspect of it while not actually believing in a creator/actual divine entity (see for example Christian atheism^1).
I go regularly (albeit less so in the past few years, since covid made me lose the habit) to church while having developed my belief into only a "metaphorical god" and the idea of Christ. The main thing I get from it is the spiritual aspect of it. It feels nice being into that kind of meditative space, into the idea of unconditional love, endless forgiveness, absolute empathy.
My experience of practicing christians is that they're on a spectrum when it comes to how literally they believe, from not at all, to metaphorical at every level, to people who actually think there's a grey-bearded guy in the clouds. Those last ones are not marginal by any means and constitute the core of the hardcore flock (it's much easier to wake up on a sunday morning (or even in the week) if you think that you punishment for missing mass is hell).
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Not to advocate for the "is it edgy?" angle of the conversation, but I have a problem "believing" (ha!) that most of the religious people today actually believe in a creator (religion != faith). One can be religious insofar as tradition is concerned and ignore the spiritual angle completely. Others can believe in a grand spiritual power and plan behind all things while not having any rituals of their own.
There's a third aspect to it, which is following the spiritual aspect of it while not actually believing in a creator/actual divine entity (see for example Christian atheism^1).
I go regularly (albeit less so in the past few years, since covid made me lose the habit) to church while having developed my belief into only a "metaphorical god" and the idea of Christ. The main thing I get from it is the spiritual aspect of it. It feels nice being into that kind of meditative space, into the idea of unconditional love, endless forgiveness, absolute empathy.
My experience of practicing christians is that they're on a spectrum when it comes to how literally they believe, from not at all, to metaphorical at every level, to people who actually think there's a grey-bearded guy in the clouds. Those last ones are not marginal by any means and constitute the core of the hardcore flock (it's much easier to wake up on a sunday morning (or even in the week) if you think that you punishment for missing mass is hell).
1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism