I have been curious for a while to know what kinds of spiritual or religious backgrounds members of this forum come from. For myself, religious background has always been synonymous with cultural background--i.e, religious rites and rituals gave me a strong sense of cultural heritage, more so than my country of origin. Also, religious or spiritual teachings mold our thinking so much--right down to our concepts of sexuality, gender, love, relationships, etc. I also like how TK wears his faith proudly around his neck.

So, here it is...my own poll question for y'all :lol:

... (....Church of Takeshi, Altar of Kimura, etc.) :laughing1:

That is an interesting choice.... Never heard of them... Hahaha

Okay, I had to click others. I have been brought up in a 'light' Christian way, but I started soon to accept also other parts of other religions as they seem to fit my thinking as well, so I am totally mixed up. :rolleyes:

But I have a question: Can anyone tell me the differences between Buddhism and Taoism??? :dunno:

I was raised in an agnostic family. But then - I was raised in hightly Roman Catholic country, where not going to church is almost a crime and people dispise you if they don't see you in church every Sunday.

I have been mocked for whole my life for not being part of religious culture in my country - even by my own friends.

And that threw me off Catholics - today I use a saying I once saw written with a spray on a door of some building: "Catholics have many counsciences" (no offence meant to anyone!!!). Bec from what I see - in my country at least - it's the truth.

Growing up in "no religion" family let me choose my own way of seeing the world. I have worked out my own set of moral rules, which I follow strictly. I am what I am and I believe what I believe.

And one day I looked around and discovered that this "set of my rules" if very close to Buddhism - in general. I don't follow any specific customs etc., but I feel very strongly connected with this particular religion and point of view on the world. So this was my vote.

Amy was once trying to explain me the difference, and I think I caught it, but don't feel smart enough to try to explain it to someone else.
All I could advice you is: try Wikipedia.

Thanks for the hint. I will do.

Hm, my parents raised us up in an 'open' catholic belief. I mean, we had to go to 'Kommunion' and unfortunately also to 'Firmung' but it was on us to decide what we want to believe.

Hihi, I also found most of my now-adays-thinking in buddhism. Okay, I have to admit, I cannot make it as vegetarian. I would really like it due to the animals, but I cannot. I have vegetarian phases and I work it on that way. Well, that's a think I am absolutely opposite buddhism.... :/

People can be so ignorant if they don't understand a different upcoming, life, circumstances than their own lifes.... Pity, if they would be more open-minded life could be more interesting for them.

christian -- one of the largest religious population in Korea, as somebody said, haha! :lol:

but it's been years since i went to church...when i visit my family in Korea, i go to church with them. when i'm alone in the US, i don't. no particular reason, i'm just lazy. sleep through the day on Sundays...moreover, i have little tolerance when i see people worship priests. they should worship God, Jesus, not human beings. the priests themselves have a lot of weakness just like us. sometimes their messages are full of sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. but people treat them like God. i've been to numerous churches in the US before i quit going. well, i'm resistant to authority type in general, so that's my problem...

so, i'm a christian on my own way, and don't think that i'm a less christan than anyone else.

ah, i'm part of church of Takeshi, too. ;)

Wonder what kind of pray could be said at Church of Takeshi???? :huh:

Oh, Takeshi,

Accept my Takeshian faith
Into your strong arms of beauty

Accept my Takeshian soul
Into your kind heart

To your eyes
To your face
To your smile
To your laughter

I will always stay Takeshian deep in my heart

Take-men

Shoto, ha ha ha :lol: :lol: :lol: I think I am going to convert to Church of Takeshi also.

Take-men

OMG, that was funny. really funny.

Take-men :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Hahaha! You guys are funny! :squint:
I think im getting religious here....
*Bows to Takeshis picture*

Take-men :bow:

Today is the first day of the month of holy Ramadhan.

Happy Fasting to all muslims.

I christian--bad gramatic- :o -but nonmedical instructor, but if completely of the church of Takesi and very medical instructor.... :love1: :love7:

Wow, there are great responses here (note to self: work less, spend more time on the forum reading threads other than TK-related ones). I am a Muslim-born here, but I do not practise the religion. Culturally I identify with the Islamic culture (whatever tht means, I suppose), but my identification with it is more as a scholar and as an intellectual. Spiritually I feel God's presence in my life, but I do not/cannot stand the concept of religions of any kind (I do respect people of faith, and I like to attend church and temple services--as a way to appreciate ways to connect to God.) As a woman, I am uncomfortable with the strong patriarchal traditions perpetuated by most religions (well, almost all religions). All that said, I am completely comfortable being a DEVOUT member of the Church of Takeshi, even though it revolves around the worshipping of a male-god :lol: . I am a feminist who doesn't believe in feminism when it comes to TK :faint: :love4: :love7:. Give me a belly dancer's outfit and a harem: TK, Oh Magnificent One, I am all yours. Take me to your paradise.

(P.S.: I love all the posts in this thread--responses to religion are always so heartfelt and soul baring... I love it)

totally off the topic, but i just heard from news that Katie Holmes is supposed to deliver her and Tom Cruise's baby in complete silence. :o it's because of Scientology that Tom Cruise is in, and eventually Katie Holmes is in, too. the religion asks moms to deliver babies in complete silence. are you serious? this is the weirdest idea that i've ever heard of. :ph43r:

I already voted, but forgot to respond sorry - I am Wiccan. But....I'm thinking of converting to The Church of Takeshi...is there any type of one-on-one counseling I can get with him??

Now this is interesting!
I've recently read about the Wicca movement/religion.
Incidently, I am from Greece so I believe you have "borrowed" a couple of our 12 Ancient Gods, no?? (Pan, Ekati/Artemis ??) :lol:
I am really glad Greece keeps on insipiring people :rolleyes:

As for the poll, I am a Christian Orthodox (and a strong believer) but I've been investigating occultism as well.

:lol: I wouldn't say we've "borrowed" any Gods or Goddesses, we give reverence to many different cultures - but "we" are from all over, Greece included. I personally have statues of Pan, Shiva, Bast, Anubis & Kwan Yin - just to name a few.

Nice to "meet" you! See ya round the board!

Nice to meet you too!

Yup, it's totally weird and yup, that's the way they do it. They believe that yelling during birth will make the baby's entrance into the world a traumatic event. They urge mothers not to yell, breathe heavily or even *moan*. They don't allow any talking in the room, even the doctor is told to keep his talking and noise to a bare minimum/whisper. The actress Leah Remini talked about having her birth like this (She belongs to $cientology as well) and she said she *did* moan but she couldn't help herself and that next time she has a baby she is going to try harder not to moan because will already know what's in store, whereas with the first birth she wasn't prepared for the pain and thus, was unable to control herself.

I think it's all a crock of &%$#.

Are women allowed any medication during the delivery?? I recon no!
This has got to be the weirdest - to say the least - thing I have ever heard!
I never understood what is the essence of this religion? :dunno:
I don't want to sound desrespectful, but isn't their dogma has something to do with aliens??? :?:

I'm not usually one to bash anyone's religion but since I don't believe $cientology *is* a religion I don't mind doing it. It's NOT a religion. It's a cult made up by a man named L. Ron Hubbard who was a popular....hold on to yourself, okay?....he was a popular *science fiction novelist*. His whole "dianetics" crap is right straight from a sci fi novel. Among other things, $cientologists believe in aliens and they believe that when you advance in your studies you can reach such a level that you can become inhabited with an alien consciouness. Like I said, the loon is a science fiction writer. They have a LOT of weird beliefs. And they do it all just to get money from people. They are a highly organized, incredibly tight/secretive/insular organization that makes TONS of money off this nonsense. They prey on people with low self esteem, people who have a lot of emotional baggage, a lot of problems, people who come from broken families, people who feel unsuccessful and unworthy in the world. That's how they got Tom Cruise. He was short, unsuccessful, dyslexic, came from a home with an absent father, had issues with women, issues with religion, felt stupid and unattractive. He has lots and lots of issues. He has issues with women, that's one thing. Don't let his couch-jumping antics fool you. But he feels $cientology saved him and made him a movie star. But wow, despite the great Church of $cientology Tom is still as screwed up as ever and about to begin his third marriage.

You are right.... sounds more like a cult than a true religion!
And what's trully amazing is that there are actually people who believe this lot of crap...! :unsure:

As for Tom Cruise; I had no idea he has such a problematic being. Shame...
Which brings us to the following true conception: You shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think!

I only hope noone of our adored Asian stars suffer such complex syndroms.... :pray:

I think it's possible some of them might. They just control themselves and their emotions better perhaps. And they have probably conditioned themselves not to express these private things to the public but just to wear a happy face and do good work. For example, Tony Leung suffered a devestating loss when he was 6 and his father walked out the door and never returned, leaving his mother destitute with two children to raise alone. Tony has talked about how this broke him but yet it also fueled his art. I think maybe Takeshi, coming from a home of divorce, maybe has had some emotional damage to the extent that he seems a little frightened at the idea of marrying the wrong person...hence his comments about living with a person before marriage to be sure they are the right person. He doesn't say a lot but when he does the comments seem to be similar, worrying about a marriage ending in divorce, worrying about if his spouse wants to sleep with other people. The fact that he talks about this stuff means they are a concern to him. Then again these things are a concern to most people, I guess. But people who come from divorce have a more difficult time trusting the sanctity of marriage. I definitely think there are some Asian female stars with issue with their bodies. Either it's in their own mind or a reaction to some perceived pressure they feel. Some of them are unnaturally thin and I don't think that's a sign of a healthy body image. Yes, I'm sure Asian stars have as much "emotional baggae" as everyone else on the planet but maybe it's an effect of their culture and conditioning that you don't wallow in it, you just put your best foot forward and move on. Not like in the States where people go on TV shows and spill every day.

I think that every child that had experienced the loss of a parent (for which ever the reason) suffers and his personality is stigmatized for a life time.
And stars are probably no exception.

Remember; it takes many years of self acceptance, development and maturity to actually be able to just live with it. And on top of it all, plenty of love from others.
And in the end you never get over it, you just learn to go by.

As for Asian women figures.... being so thin, I think that is a problem that all women face globally. The anorexic type seems to be in these days, and we are all struggling to achieve it... And funny thing is that talking to male friends, noone of them seem to like, they all prefer the Monica Beluchi type of figure, lucious and with "curves". :anxious2:
I still don't know why the heck, designers still ensist on these type of anorexic models. :dunno:

Having an "anorectic" look doesn't mean one is suddenly beautiful and successfull too. Starting from mentioned men reaction, and ending on comments (even on streets): eat something, don't try to look like supermodels, it's not healthy.

Well, I'm not trying anything. I've been mocked in school for my thin look and half of life tried to get fatter - with no result. I don't know about men - they probably think I'm flat, skinny and not attractive, but for women I have a dream figure; they ask me how I do it, and when I say I don't do anything, they don't believe me or say I'm lucky.

I should be so lucky!