Religions Quizzes

1. On the Spiritual Type Quiz I scored a 46, so I am an "Active Spiritual Seeker" which means that I am spiritual but turned off by organized religion

2. Here are my top 10 religions according to the Belief-O-Matic Quiz.

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (96%)
3. Liberal Quakers (86%)
4. New Age (83%)
5. Secular Humanism (83%)
6. Mahayana Buddhism (75%)
7.Theravada Buddhism (68%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (68%)
9. Taoism (64%)
10. Reform Judaism (61%)

Part 3. On the Spiritual Type Quiz I scored a 46, so I am an "Active Spiritual Seeker" which means that I am spiritual but turned off by organized religion. This is pretty accurate. I don't think much about religion, and when I do, it is more in a very general sense than about the particulars. I don't like being told what to think about something, especially something that no one really knows the answer to. After the discussion in class today, I think that I am a person who wants to find the answers I believe in for myself, instead of being pigeon-holed into a set of rigid "truths". That being said, I do believe that there is some kind of force larger than life. I don't think this force ever intervenes in our lives, it is just there. I would maybe describe it as the essence of life - it exists in everything and encompasses everything. I don't have a very clear and defined idea of what I believe, but I do have a very strong feeling of right and wrong, of what I think is moral behavior.


The results I got for the Belief-O-Matic quiz actually seem pretty accurate. There were many questions that I struggled to answer because I rarely ever think about them. Religion is not a big part of my life, and so it took me a while to think about them. I am actually glad that the quiz made me really think, because otherwise I wouldn’t even consider some of the things I have been thinking about lately. It’s interesting. I have heard of some, but not all of the religions that came up in my list. I am not really surprised with any of them. That’s not to mean I was expecting what I got, but after looking into each of them, they do fit me, each in a slightly different way.

This is the description of Mahayana Buddhism given by the survey:

Mahayana Buddhism includes diverse beliefs, various sects, schools, and trends. The main Mahayana sects include Pure Land, Zen, and Vajrayana (or Tantric) Buddhism. We focus here on some of the traditional elements of Mahayana Buddhism.

Belief in Deity
Mahayana Buddhism (like Theravada Buddhism) posits no Creator or ruler God. However, deity belief is present in the Mahayana doctrine of The Three Bodies (forms) of Buddha: (1) Body of Essence--the indescribable, impersonal Absolute Reality, or Ultimate Truth that is Nirvana (Infinite Bliss); (2) Body of Bliss or Enjoyment--Buddha as divine, deity, formless, celestial spirit with saving power of grace, omnipotence, omniscience; and (3) Body of Transformation or Emanation--an illusion or emanation in human form provided by the divine Buddha to guide humans to Enlightenment. Any person can potentially achieve Buddhahood, transcending personality and becoming one with the impersonal Ultimate Reality, which is Infinite Bliss (Nirvana). There are countless Buddhas presiding over countless universes. Bodhisattvas--humans and celestial spirits who sacrifice their imminent liberation (Buddhahood) to help all others to become liberated--are revered or worshipped as gods or saints by some.

• Incarnations
The historic Buddha, the person Siddhartha Gautama, is considered by many as an emanation or illusion of the highest power (which is also called Buddha). Many believe there have been countless Buddhas on earth.

• Origin of Universe and Life
No Creator God. All matter is illusion or manifestation of the Ultimate Reality. Generally, Mahayana Buddhist beliefs don't find modern scientific discoveries contradictory to Buddhist thought.

• After Death
There is no transmigration of individual souls, but through the law of karma, one's wholesome or unwholesome intentions become imprinted in the mind. Negative mental states persist through continual rebirth until one's intentions become wholesome. Once fully enlightened, one is liberated from rebirths, reaching a state of absolute selflessness resulting in ultimate bliss called Nirvana--the "Deathless State." One becomes Buddha (or one with Buddha). Some Buddhists, especially modern Western, don't emphasize or believe in literal rebirth.

• Why Evil?
People have free will to commit wrongs. Evil results as cravings, attachments, and ignorance accumulate through perpetual rebirths, thus perpetuating greed, hatred, and violence. 

• Salvation
The goal is enlightenment, leading to Nirvana--liberation from cycles of rebirth and suffering--which is life. All are already endowed with Buddha-nature but need to come to realize fully that only the Ultimate Reality (the great "void" or "emptiness") is real (or nonconditional) and permanent. The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path show the way, along with worship of the essential Buddha. One must work to extinguish self: All worldly cravings, desires, and attachments, through loving-kindness, compassion, charity, moral conduct, wisdom, and meditation. Renouncing worldly possessions and goals is not necessary for the laity, if balanced. Buddha taught the middle path, moderation. Human and spirit world Bodhisattvas are sought for help in gaining enlightenment. Pure Land Mahayana Buddhists aim to find a place of eternal Nirvana in a paradisiacal Pure Land, attainable by calling out the name of the Buddha ruler of the Pure Land.

• Undeserved Suffering
Life is suffering. Suffering results from this and past life greed, hatred, and ignorance, which, unless mitigated, returns as suffering (karma). Intense suffering may be viewed as the release of karma, hastening one's liberation. Suffering is illusion or ignorance of one's true nature as Buddha.

• Contemporary Issues
Abortion is considered murder, and all violent acts cause horrific karmic consequence. Homosexuality in itself is not specifically condemned by scripture, but opinions vary, especially among various Buddhist cultures--e.g., American Buddhists are generally very accepting, while Asian Buddhists are generally strongly opposed to homosexuality. It is believed that divorce wouldn't occur if one follows Buddhist precepts, but a couple is not condemned if they separate due to vast personal differences. Gender roles are generally traditional (e.g. women are child caretakers and men are providers), but are growing less rigid as society inflicts more and more contemporary demands (e.g. women working in increasing numbers).

Part 4.

Mahayana Buddhists believe that enlightenment can be reached within a single lifetime, and that people from every walk of life can achieve this. In contrast with Theraveda Buddhism, the goal of Mahayana is the enlightenment of all beings. The best thing one can do is to become a Boddhisattva, someone who puts off reaching nirvana in order to help others find enlightenment. Also, Mahayana Buddhists hope to enable all beings to reach enlightenment together. Striving only for personal enlightenment is selfish. The thinking is that if one is truly selfless, you would not be able to bear the thought of only yourself reaching enlightenment – you would want every other being to reach enlightenment too, so that I what each person should strive for.
Like all other forms of Buddhism, life is regarded as suffering.


There are four main characterizations of Mahayana Buddhism.
a) Universalism – everyone will reach total enlightenment eventually. Everyone will become a Buddha
b) Boddhicitta – striving for personal enlightenment is too narrow a goal. One should instead strive to liberate all beings as well as oneself. There are six virtues of the Boddhisattva: generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation and wisdom.
c) Compassion – This is the concept that merit that is acquired can be transmitted to others.
d) Transcendental Immanence – the immortal Buddha-Nature is present in every being.

There are three forms of the Bhudda
1) The Dharma-Body - The Inner Nature of the Buddha. This is the absolute reality, the basic consciousness of existence.
2) Body of Bliss – The Bhuddha that can only be experienced spiritually. It has no tangible presence, but is the manifestation of the absolute reality.
3) Physical Body – The physical manifestations of Buddha, such as Guatama Buddha. The purpose of these is to spread Dharma (ultimate truth) into the world.

This religion fits my worldview less than I expected before doing research. Although there are several parts I like, or agree with, there are some I do not like.

I like the ideal that each person should strive for not only their own enlightenment but the enlightenment of all beings. It fits with what I guess would be called my universalistic beliefs. Along with that goes the belief that in the end, everyone will achieve enlightenment. I think each person has a different path, and no two paths are the same, nor is one path (in the end) better than another. It is not for me to decide how others should live.

I also agree with the concept of Transcendental Immanence – that the Buddha-Nature is present in and encompasses all beings. Compassion is crucial to Mahayana Buddhism, and I believe that compassion is one of the most important traits a person can have.

On the other hand, I disagree with the mentality that all life is suffering. It is too pessimistic a worldview for me, and it doesn’t fit with my experiences. I try to find the joy in life, because I have a life to live, and I refuse to spend that time fighting against “illusions” and “suffering”. Suffering is real, yes, and caused by humans (as is evil) but there is far more to life than misery in my opinion. I believe more can be achieved if we see our lives as a way to spread happiness than as suffering that has to be escaped. I do not believe in literal rebirths. My idea of the afterlife is actually that after death, the soul becomes a part of everything, that every piece, every atom of consciousness is spread through the world and lives in everything. Now that I’ve written this, it actually parallels to the Buddha-nature being part of everything. So you could say that I believe that once one reaches enlightenment, the soul become one with Buddha. I have veered slightly off topic, but I find these trains of thought extremely interesting.

All in all these surveys were a very enlightening experience, and they really made me think a lot.