Your Ethnicity and Beliefs

[Xenolar]

We already have a thread regarding the location and age of forum members. I have decided to start something of a similar variation.

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?

I suppose I shall start this off with my answers:

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2.) Political = extremely liberal. I do not wish to associate myself with any specific political group, though. Religious/spiritual = highly complicated. In short, my religious views tend to float around (1) pantheism, (2) mild agnosticism, (3) Reform Judaism. My interpretation of a higher power is very mystical in nature, and thus I do not enjoy it when people depict a higher being with an image or personification.

Note to administrator: I request that this thread be stickied.

[desg90]

1)Born and raised in Mexico.
Descending from Spanish settlers and indigenous habitants. A mutt.
I think I have recessive genes, so I got a partially Spanish look which isn't very common in my family.
Rest assured, I have the same nose as everyone in my father's side (including my grandma), so I'm not adopted.
Though, I must add that traveling to the U.S. when I was 40... days old did significantly affect me in many (positive) ways.

2) I think politics should be redone from scratch.
Current political leaders and groups are filled with flaws. :rolleyes:

I reject the idea of having a higher being/power in/directly governing our actions.
I believe in human development for the mere sake of it.
After a few thoughts, I found out human development as pointless as religion (on the long run).
Which initially depressed and scared me. :scared:
But, I'm a living human being. Developing is the relatively best thing I could do. :undecided:

I'm an existentialist atheist.
I respect other people's beliefs.
But I still roll my eyes in private. :p

[ssfanatic]

1. Im American, from the southeast.
2. Politics are too corrupt for me. (glad to agree with desg90 on something :))My views are to stand by those who have opinions that relate to mine.
I am Christian. Though my beliefs have not been spoon fed to me. I conform only to my own logical progression, and it has lead me to Christ. I rustle the feathers of the traditional Christians.

[Xenolar]

1. Im American, from the southeast.


Er...you're a Native American?

[ssfanatic]

Er...you're a Native American?
Ha ha, no, Im Caucasian raised and born in Georgia. Sorry, im used to being asked my nationality, not ethnicity. Ha, how stupid of me. im sorry.

[Xenolar]

Ha ha, no, Im Caucasian raised and born in Georgia. Sorry, im used to being asked my nationality, not ethnicity. Ha, how stupid of me. im sorry.

"Caucasian" is an adjective referring to a race. I ask of ethnicity, as in the cultural group(s) from which you descend from. I apologize if I am not clear in what I ask.

[ssfanatic]

"Caucasian" is an adjective referring to a race. I ask of ethnicity, as in the cultural group(s) from which you descend from. I apologize if I am not clear in what I ask.
I was just being more thorough. No, you were clear.

[Xenolar]

I was just being more thorough. No, you were clear.

So, in conclusion, what is your heritage?

[ssfanatic]

So, in conclusion, what is your heritage?
im North American, my ancestors were from Ireland, i have a grandmother that was Cherokee.

[Paul V]

1) Argentinian, with Italian, Spanish, German and possibly Ucranian blood in me.

2) Agnostic, I believe in karma as the balancing force of the universe, but I believe that it's something that can be measured and proven, when science has found the right tools and methods. I don't believe in reincarnation, I believe in perfect happiness when I die if I've earned it, or simply nothingness if I haven't.

[Blendy]

1) Half White (American) and half Japanese. Born in Japan, raised in the US.

2) I was raised Buddhist, but now consider myself an atheist with a strong appreciation for Buddhist philosophy. Politically I am very liberal.

[xhaan]

I'm born in the USA, Native American descent (I have enough native 'blood' to qualify for certain additional rights if I chose, but never really looked into it thoroughly)

I guess I could be considered Liberterian, with some Socialist leanings. Was raised as a Christian, gave it up for a while (waffled back and forth between atheism and agnosticism), kind of went back to it again with different, philisophical views.

[Capt57]

Born in USA. English, Polish, Ukrainian, Italian

Political: Hmm...tend to vote Democrat esp. in upcoming election.

[Vortex]

1) USA, Scottish, Irish, German, and some Polish

2) Agnostic and Libertarian.

[Nightelf]

1) Live in Hungary: Austrian-German some Polish-Jewish.
2) Libertarian; I belive in God, but ditrust organised religion (R.C. is the most spread denomination).

[OneBadMother]

1.) American, Northeast US, Korean and Japanese.
2.) Socially quite liberal, financially liberal-ish. Soft atheist.

[Antares]

We already have a thread regarding the location and age of forum members. I have decided to start something of a similar variation.

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?

1. I'm of Chinese ethnicity and from Hong Kong. My parents are quite traditional and they value the Confucian beliefs.
2. I'm more of a Centrist but with Liberal leanings, and I belong in the centrist diamond of the political spectrum. My religious belief is atheism and secular humanism. I don't really identify with any particular philosophies because I don't agree with every aspect of any, but I take the ideas that I do agree with from many philosophies. I don't believe in life after death or a deity. I was raised a Christian and my family are largely Buddhists except for my father, so I perform Buddhist rituals such as burning incense when I'm asked to.

[Tsuru]

1) I know there's Irish and German in me. Scottish too I think. I've never really looked into it - it was probably something like great-grandparents or great-great grandparents that did the move to the US.
2) I'm an atheist and a pretty strong libertarian, maybe more interested with the free-market economics side of it than most.

[Sylvanus]

1:My last name is English, and that's the side I most relate to. However I have a small amount of Irish/German in me.
2:I am a Christian conservative. I am a strong believer in Individualism and share some Libertarian beliefs, but I am a member of the Republican party, and I plan to eventually run for office.

[Bossy Mom]

1. Born in the U.S. with ancestors from Scotland, England, Wales, and Germany (German farmers who came to America U.S. 300 years ago).

2. Classic liberal (NOT modern-day liberal) with Protestant background.

[fawkes]

1. Anglo-Canadian My dad was born in England but emigrated very young, my mom is of Swiss-Scots heritage.

2. I consider my self to be a Libertarian and I have total faith in the free market though I do believe in the necessity of a social safety net (health care, education). Religiously, in spite of or perhaps because of my evangelical/pentecostal upbringing I am a firm athiest.

[quentin]

1. Mid-South U.S. (Mississippi river region), British Isles/Cajun/Dutch/smattering of Native American blood, but since my white ancestors have been in the Americas since the mid-1700s I consider myself American with no hyphens.

2. My religious views can be summed up in my favorite Confucius quote: "You don't even know life; how can you know death?" In other words, more or less agnostic.

3. I don't subscribe to any organized political philosophy - I find that limiting. I try to take things issue by issue. So I wind up politically eclectic. I also have the tendency to try and look at all sides of an issue instead of just jerking my knee like most people do when it comes to politics. I'm not wishy-washy, it's just that politics can be complex and call for more than simplistic soundbites and easy slogans.

[Pkz]

1. Scandinavian, white male, more specifically Norway. Which is the old viking culture. (I have genes from Harald Hardråde, my grandpa took a gene test)

2. Socialist, more specifially a Libertian Socialist. "Religiously" I am an atheist.

[INTJoe]

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?


American, of primarily-Irish (~75%) descent, with a chunk of German and a dash of French.
Conservative, Catholic.

[Antisosiaalinen]

1.) I'm from Finland - but i have some swede and russian in me, but i don't look like a scandinavian at all. I'm constantly being asked if i am from france/spain etc.
2.) Very liberal, altho i have to admit oldschool "nobles and the rest"-society is close to my heart, BUT only in my own head i would die to abolish dictatorship.
...and i'm strong atheist go science,facts and evidences.

[yondyr]

Born in England, moved to Australia at aged 13, thence to North America at aged 20, now back in Australia - after many years absorbing the refreshing logic of US style of government. It aint all bad, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, so many other societies are based on a hodgepodge, i.e. English common law.
No religion and not reacting to any religious upbringing. It's just irrelevant in my life.
No political party would/could represent me - its tenets would be considered too callous. A large segment of society would off itself given the freedoms I would envisage, mainly from risk taking activities and lack of care for those who care less about their own lives.

[Sylvanus]

No political party would/could represent me - its tenets would be considered too callous. A large segment of society would off itself given the freedoms I would envisage, mainly from risk taking activities and lack of care for those who care less about their own lives.

Are you saying you would cut the apron strings and let the poor/lazy/stupid/invalid fend for themselves? I'd join that party.

[yondyr]

LOL yeah, that makes a political party of........two.

[Antares]

Born in England, moved to Australia at aged 13, thence to North America at aged 20, now back in Australia - after many years absorbing the refreshing logic of US style of government. It aint all bad, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, so many other societies are based on a hodgepodge, i.e. English common law.
No religion and not reacting to any religious upbringing. It's just irrelevant in my life.
No political party would/could represent me - its tenets would be considered too callous. A large segment of society would off itself given the freedoms I would envisage, mainly from risk taking activities and lack of care for those who care less about their own lives.

I represent the Centrist party... If that exists at all. I avoid drifting to either end, because there are always something that I disagree with. Why bother with parties at all? I'm quite comfortable where I am.

[Sylvanus]

LOL yeah, that makes a political party of........two.

Well INTJ's don't like big parties, so at least we'll be comfortable, even if we don't have many members.

[yondyr]

It was his idea, <points downwards>

[Kfbr]

1) I am white, there's really no diversity at all to me. There's some Irish, English, Welsh, Native American, German, Czech and all kinds of other crap inside me. Don't really have a 'culture'. I was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Maryland in some average white suburb.

2) I am an extreme moderate. Haha, but seriously you can describe almost anything I believe with a simple phrase, 'Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.' I'm a registered Democrat mostly because my parents were, but care little for either party. I should be a Republican by my own standards, but the Republicans spew just as much bullshit as the Democrats do, so I mostly stick to Democrat because they are the biggest underdogs where I currently live (Utah)

[AgentofGaming]

I think family always has an influence in things so I'll explain it from that context.

1) Cantonese (perhaps 1/8th Mongolian if I trace mother->father->father).
My paternal grandparents come from Guangzhou from wealthy families (until the Communists supposedly took everything from them)
My maternal grandparents migrated to Hong Kong and are citizens of the British Commonwealth. So my mom is a Hong Kong born citizen.
I myself am Canadian born, coming from the prairie provinces. However I moved to Toronto when I was 5, so I'm pretty urban and scorn rural lifestyles.

2) Politically I seem to have be centrist/moderate, however I also seem to agree with social liberal ideas. I'm more in line with policies of interventionist capitalism (anti-monopolistic), public education, environmentalist and secularism. I'm also more of a lawful type believing in rules and self-restraint so I can somewhat be socially conservative in a way.

As for religion my family is pretty devoid of any religion or care for it. However they are Confucian so there is the ancestral worship. I would suppose my maternal grandparent have some religion as they have Guan Yin, Buddha and Guan Yu statues (Neo-Confucian?). My paternal grandparents seem more conservative, void of religion, and anti free-speech (I guess it's because they support the CCP).
My parents themselves don't even consider religion, they only use references to anything religious in a social context. My aunt was Christian and she took my mom and me to a church once when I was in Gr. 1, it felt like solitary confinement with boredom (guess it left a bad impression). I also like history and my study of it led me to somewhat despise some religions for being tools of control. I reject conventional religion and believe in people more than the supernatural so I guess that makes me Atheist or Secular Humanist.

[justmeiguess]

1) I'm White, British. Born and raised in Yorkshire in the North of England. My whole family, as far back as I'm aware, are from the same area.

2) Atheist (My Mum's the only one in my immediate family to have been Christened and that was only because it was the done thing at the time.)

3) Liberal

[Verde]

1) I was born in the US. However my father and three of my grandparents were born in Italy. One of my grandmothers was born in Puerto Rico with grandparents coming from Spain.
As far as I know I am Italian and Puerto Rican (with ties to Spain). However with my family in Italy living so closely to other countries I doubt that I am just two things.
2) If I had to choose, I would consider myself liberal. As for religion I was raised catholic but the religion I would say I most identify with is Buddhism. I believe somewhat in karma even though things aren’t always as balanced as I would hope-but maybe that balance comes after this world.
Mostly, I believe in myself and my own abilities-I try to live my life in the way I believe is right and fair and with the hope that when I am close to leaving this world I can look back knowing I did all I could to find harmony and peace within myself and if I didn’t find that peace in my life, hopefully if I deserve it, it will come afterwards.

[Merle]

I'm White, English... although all my family are Irish and Scottish... I was born in England.

Brought up Catholic, I don't go to church and don't believe in god, but actually I kind of enjoy the ritualistic aspects of religion and for some reason seem to do a lot of work on religious symbolism in literature.

Politically... I would describe myself as a social democrat i.e. socialist without the need for revolution lol... I don't think any political party in the U.K.represents what I believe in politically, so I vote for whoever comes closest at the time...

[Uytuun]

I'm white, Belgian, with many generations of Belgian ancestors but our family has its roots in Spain (like late Middle Ages or something)...somehow, this seems to translate into our looks...

Baptised Catholic, but I consider myself an agnost.

Politically: tests put me in the left-wing liberal camp...I vote inconsistently.

[jnpl0011]

White, German. Baptised as a Lutheran (though my family was never serious about it) but I do not agree with any one denomination any more. I am somewhere between Lutheran and Catholic although I went through a long period of agnosticism a few years back. Apparently INTJs are big on apostasy.

In the U.S., I am considered more libertarian than anything else. Socially liberal, economically liberal. (By the way, economically liberal means "free market" everywhere except the U.S.. Just pointing that out).

[quentin]

I find it mildly amusing that the ethnic Europeans in this thread have redundantly add "white". I mean, you can't be ethnically Belgian, German, Celtic, or Anglo-Saxon without being white, can you? And yes, I am aware of all of the non-white immigrants from South Asia and Africa and the West Indies that have poured into Europe since de-colonization in the past generation or so. But there's a difference between being politically and even culturally a citizen of the U.K. or France and ethnically of British or French heritage.

[Merle]

Well, I would say I'm ethnically Irish... which does have a different box on the census form...however I was born in England and consider myself English...

[jnpl0011]

Quentin--

I was referring to my ethnicity and my nationality respectively. There was no redundancy.

Besides, there are Jews in Germany who would call themselves German first and foremost but say they have semitic blood. And when do you really get the priviledge of saying that you have a certain heritage when so many different groups have been all over europe since the middle ages (jews, moors, etc.)? How far back in history do you have to go before you are "really" German or Spanish or whatever else?

[polysylvester]

I'm American of Danish/English/Swedish/American Indian descent - in decreasing order. I was raised in a 99% Mormon community in Utah, but I'm agnostic. If I was going to practice something, it would be some form of Zen. The only thing I know for certain is that I don't know anything for certain.
My politics are Republican because the only real elections in Utah are the Republican primaries. I'll still vote for any good Democrat on the ballot. Bush has been doing a good job of alienating me from the Republicans.
My Mormon cousins have all the geneology figured out back through the Lords of the Castle Dudley in England to the medieval kings of Europe, if you believe anyone has accurate records that far back!

[BlueTopaz]

My family were pioneers in Colorado (American west), and were of Irish, German and Native American descent. I was raised by the Irish half, as a strict Roman Catholic.

I am a liberal environmentalist. I mention that because it plays greatly in all my political decisions.

I'm quite fluid in my spiritual beliefs; I believe in a higher power, but I think of it more as a sentient universal energy. I resonate with many Buddhist and Gnostic beliefs.

translation--- I'm a damn hippie.

[androzani]

1.)

I am American. Mother is Black with a dash of cherokee from her grandfather. Father is a mix of canadian scottish, native, and black.

2.) Raised episcopal but generally agnostic. Politics tend to lean right on a variety of issues but liberal on others. Don't fit any real political mold which usually infuriates people who like to categorize.

[WavesSootheMe]

1) Dutch/German/Scottish/Irish (my grandparents moved to the USA when they were young)

2) I'm fairly liberal when it comes to politics, frustratingly idealistic and I refuse to box myself into any one party. I was brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family, but now I do not adhere to any religious or spiritual beliefs.

[Ytterbium]

My mother is from northern Lapland in Finland. My father is from southern Sweden. I was born outside Stockholm, Sweden. I'm white, caucasian etc. Measuring and a couple of beers laters a calculator said I have an Irano-Nordoid head shape.

Baptized and confirmation in the Swedish Lutheran church. Although I never believed in god or any other higher power. I'm an Atheist.
In politics I'm social democrat.

[Bojangles]

1) I am 50% Lebanese and about 40% Irish (really Scottish but they lived in Ireland for awhile), and 10% French Canadian.

2) Baptized Catholic. I still go to church when I feel I need it in my life but I'm still deciding on my faith. I think political parties are a sick religious movement.

[med2006]

1) I'm African-American with perhaps a little Irish a few generations ago. Family lore indicates that my great-great grandmother's ethnicity was listed as "octoroon" which only indicates that one of her grandparents was of African ancestry and nothing else. However her maiden name is Scotts-Irish so I assume that I have some Irish ancestry. Genealogical research for African-Americans is a bit complicated considering the “one drop rule.” Thankfully times have changed but DNA tests are the most efficient way to know for sure what my family's ethnic make-up is.
2) Politically, I tend to be a bit left of center on most issues. I am a registered Democrat but only because Independents cannot vote in the primary in DC. I think that a two party system is a bit limiting but I don’t see the situations changing any time soon so I went with the party that has candidates with whom I tend to agree with more often.
3) Spiritually, I was raised Catholic but not surprisingly I had too many questions that could not be answered to my satisfaction as a child. Luckily my mother became disillusioned by the church and did not give me a hard time about it. Ethically, the idea of organized religion does not appeal to me because so many wars have been waged because of them and most people do not adhere to the tenets of the religions they profess to follow. I’ve offended and alienated quite a few people in the past when discussing the subject so I try to stay away from the topic in social settings. I vacillate between Agnosticism and Deism

[DeadSpace]

1) English about 20%, scot 15%, irish 25%, cherokee/nez perce the rest

2)Religion, none. Belief in god(s)~> zero, Moral standard is basic, 'do no harm' 3 small words, huge range.
Politically, whatever works/makes sense...so no party. Both sides of the political coin can be idiots...or have good ideas.

[BlueTopaz]

1) I'm African-American with perhaps a little Irish a few generations ago. Family lore indicates that my great-great grandmother's ethnicity was listed as "octoroon" which only indicates that one of her grandparents was of African ancestry and nothing else. However her maiden name is Scotts-Irish so I assume that I have some Irish ancestry. Genealogical research for African-Americans is a bit complicated considering the “one drop rule.” Thankfully times have changed but DNA tests are the most efficient way to know for sure what my family's ethnic make-up is.
2) Politically, I tend to be a bit left of center on most issues. I am a registered Democrat but only because Independents cannot vote in the primary in DC. I think that a two party system is a bit limiting but I don’t see the situations changing any time soon so I went with the party that has candidates with whom I tend to agree with more often.
3) Spiritually, I was raised Catholic but not surprisingly I had too many questions that could not be answered to my satisfaction as a child. Luckily my mother became disillusioned by the church and did not give me a hard time about it. Ethically, the idea of organized religion does not appeal to me because so many wars have been waged because of them and most people do not adhere to the tenets of the religions they profess to follow. I’ve offended and alienated quite a few people in the past when discussing the subject so I try to stay away from the topic in social settings. I vacillate between Agnosticism and Deism

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is "the one drop rule"?

[quentin]

The one drop rule is a relic from the Jim Crow era American South. Any nominally "white" person would be considered "black" if they were found to have one drop of African blood in their family history. A silly rule for a number of reasons - firstly, since we are all descended from inhabitants of Africa, going back a few millenia. Going by that rule even Laplanders have "one drop" of black blood in them. Secondly, it's an open secret that nearly all African-Americans in the U.S. are partially white, and many old white Southern families have a few black ancestors that they keep carefully hidden in the closet. Slave owners integrated with slaves quite a bit - Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson, anyone? And not just them, either - a runaway slave married one of my white frontier ancestors a couple of hundred years ago; I'm sure there were plenty of such cases.

However her maiden name is Scotts-Irish so I assume that I have some Irish ancestry.

I'm not sure why you would reach that conclusion. Wouldn't it be just as likely that her slave owner was Scots-Irish, and that's where she got the name? Most African-Americans have British family names but that's only because most of the white people in America at the time had British surnames and they were trying to assimilate.

[med2006]

I'm not sure why you would reach that conclusion. Wouldn't it be just as likely that her slave owner was Scots-Irish, and that's where she got the name? Most African-Americans have British family names but that's only because most of the white people in America at the time had British surnames and they were trying to assimilate.
It is my understanding that many of the slave owners and or the overseers hired by the wealthier slave owners would have relations with the female slaves. These pairing often produced children who were given the surname of their “sire.” It is also my understanding that the early slaves were stripped of the names given to them in Africa and given “more acceptable” names usually the same surname as slave owners. U.S. born slaves were likewise given the surname of the slave owner rather “electing” to take the surnames in order to assimilate.

To answer your question, my assumptions about my ancestry are based on three things: her maiden name, her physical features as seen in family photographs, and some of the physical traits passed on to one of her daughters who has very fair skin, bright red hair, and freckles like many people of Irish ancestry.

For quite some time we assumed that my great-great-grandmother was Native-American and African-American because she was very fair and appears, in informal photos, to have Native-American features However, in a formal portrait I saw of her she appeared to be white with no “negroid” or Native-American features.

When I interviewed the same daughter (mentioned earlier in this post) I learned that she had auburn hair and was listed as an “octoroon” on her birth certificate. As I explained in my previous post (# 48), an octoroon was defined as someone that had one black grandparent. This is where it gets complicated, according to some articles I have read, at some point in Virginia’s history (where she was born) Native-Americans were required to be listed as “negro.” So she may, in fact, have been Native-American and Scots-Irish with no African blood.

I know this is confusing but the confusion speaks to why so few African-Americans really know what our genetic make-up consists of. Many of us assume that we have Native-American blood with no real evidence. I have been guilty of this also. I don’t discount the possibility that I may also have Native American ancestry. But I have more “evidence” of the Scots-Irish ancestry than I do of any Native-American ancestry until I have both the maternal and paternal DNA tests.

As an interesting side note, my sister-in-law’s mother (who is a few shades darker that I am) had her DNA tested and found that she is 60% Caucasian, 30% North African and 10% “other.” She could not recall but it was not Native-American as she had always assumed.

[quentin]

For a long time people in my family assumed that the bit of African-American ancestry that we had was actually Native-American - that the runaway slave great-great-great-great-grandmother of mine was an Indian princess, instead of what she actually was. An awful lot of old Southern families are that way in terms of denial. For whatever reason, it's somehow more acceptable in the South to have Native American blood than African-American blood in your genetic heritage. It's a weird thing in the South - everyone who isn't "black" is an honorary white.

My favorite author William Faulkner (my avatar is a pic of him) wrote his best novel about this subject, Light in August. This was of course Mississippi in the 1930s.

Like any of this really matters. On an individual level, person to person, this really doesn't matter. But we are all shaped by our environment. So it matters that way. Like it or not, we are all victims of our upbringing. So our ethnicity matters in so far as our cultural upbringing matters. Obviously my guilt as a member of my generation and my place in time as a relatively liberal Southerner in the post-Civil Rights era of the South makes me extremely sensitive - for a white guy - towards this issue.

[Volition]

Hmm.

1) Well, most recently I am descended from Punjabi culture. For those who don't know, Punjab a state right up in the north of India between highlands, by the Himalayas. Its geographical position means many of us have varied ethnic routes. I have Mongolian, Persian and Greek ancestors. Potentially I have further European routes as far as Denmark and England itself. Being resident in England, I like the idea that things may have come full circle but unfortunately that may be a step too far.

I generally don't hark on about my cultural heritage because I am inherently British, through and through. Many aspects of Punjabi culture remain alien to me.

2) Like the OP, I wouldn't associate myself with a particular political group. I am quite liberal. As for religious beliefs, I am heavily biased toward Sikhism, as to my knowledge it has escaped most of the trapfalls of organised religion. I also don't mind the idea of God. My God would be nothing like humans though. God would not have a defined form or emotions and is not some master manipulator. 'My God' permeates everything, merely being if that makes any sense. An abstract God.

[quentin]

I'm sorry if we got off the deep end, but you'd be hard pressed to find an area in the world more obsessed with race/ethnicity than the American South. So African-Americans and white Southerners are particularly obsessed with this subject.

[med2006]

For a long time people in my family assumed that the bit of African-American ancestry that we had was actually Native-American - that the runaway slave great-great-great-great-grandmother of mine was an Indian princess, instead of what she actually was. An awful lot of old Southern families are that way in terms of denial. For whatever reason, it's somehow more acceptable in the South to have Native American blood than African-American blood in your genetic heritage. It's a weird thing in the South - everyone who isn't "black" is an honorary white.

My favorite author William Faulkner (my avatar is a pic of him) wrote his best novel about this subject, Light in August. This was of course Mississippi in the 1930s.

Like any of this really matters. On an individual level, person to person, this really doesn't matter. But we are all shaped by our environment. So it matters that way. Like it or not, we are all victims of our upbringing. So our ethnicity matters in so far as our cultural upbringing matters. Obviously my guilt as a member of my generation and my place in time as a relatively liberal Southerner in the post-Civil Rights era of the South makes me extremely sensitive - for a white guy - towards this issue.

This may not be the thread or forum for this type of discussion. But it is my hope that as we learn more about our ethnic heritage, particularly through the Human Genome Project we (humans) will begin to realize that the concepts of race and ethnicity are largely social constructs. Constructs, I might add, that have historically been and are used to justify many of the atrocities that humans have committed against each other, for example, Apartheid in South Africa, the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda and the Sudan, slavery in the Americas to name a few. I find it interesting that Thomas Jefferson (considering his long affair with Sally Hemmings) wrote extensively about his belief in the inherent inferiority of Negroes in an essay on equality published in 1784.

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Jefferson also wrote of the inferiority of blacks in a publication titled NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
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I can only conclude that as one of the framer of the U.S. Constitution the only way that he could reconcile the enslavement of blacks was to come up with some sort of “scientific” justification (nature v. nurture). Unfortunately, people have used not only faulty science but religion (heathen, heretic, non-believer, etc.) to justify their actions against others.

[quentin]

Thomas Jefferson was a man of his time. The sad fact is that he was the most liberal of the Founding Fathers towards racial tolerance.....well, that speaks volumes about the attitudes of your average person, even the most intellectual of persons, in the 18th century. Can we really judge a person 200 years ago by the standards of today? My grandfather was a bigot by today's standards - everybody was a couple of generations ago. This is a very difficult question.

[ElstonGunn]

Ethnically, I'm half German, a quarter Polish, an eighth Scottish, 1/16th Irish, and 1/16th French. My surname comes from Scotland, and I've been told that I look more German than anything else.

Politically, my stance is "Who cares? There's really only one political party in this country (The US), so it doesn't matter anyways." But ideologically, I lean toward Socialism.

Religiously, I'm a Calvinist. I only attend church on Christmas and Easter, mostly out of a sense familial obligation. Nevertheless, I am pretty staunch about my core beliefs. It's the details that I'm flexible on, such as going to a specific building every Sunday morning, or believing that the Old Testament is literal history.

[pavman]

1. 1/2 Italian, 1/2 Bohemian (Czech for you uninformed, possibly 1/4 German)
2. Conservative, in the classic liberal sense (possibly libertarian then)
Very much a moderate. Fiscally conservative, socially conservative, but I tend to not want to impose too much on others as long as they do the same. Very much an Anti-Federalist.
3. Roman Catholic. Worked it out for the most part (experience + reason)

The people that truly scare me: those that hate religion and can't see the great beauty and wisdom religion, in particular Christianity, has provided to the world.

Catholics gave us the Big Bang theory, Dom Pérignon, and a number of other really great things.

Unfortunately there's a trend that seems to indicate rejection of the Catholic faith by baptized Catholics creates monsters (Hitler, Stalin, among others). Go figure. I could be wrong, but I've read, from more than one source, that both were baptized Catholics who, after the age of reason, rejected their faith.

[Ace1337]

1. Bosnian. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an underdeveloped country in south eastern Europe. It was a part of Yugoslavia before the war.
2. I believe everyone has the right to do whatever he wants untill he's not hurting somebody elses rights, not feelings, but basic human rights.
3. I come from a muslim family, but I'm somewhere between atheist and believing there is a God who created the universe and left it. You could say I'm an agnostic because I don't know if God exists or doesn't exist.

[AliciaS2R]

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?

I am a mutt...
Mother's side: Tuscarora Indian, French Canadian, Spanish and ?
Father's side: Portuguese, Colombian, and ?

2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?

Political beliefs depend on the issue, generally liberal

Spiritual beliefs, I lean towards Deism. I do not believe in organized religion, though I was raised Protestant

[MixISTJandINTJ]

I was born in the in a very Asian part of the nation to an immigrant parent. I descend from American and Asian cultural thought.

My politics are left wing, seemingly socialist. My religious views are atheist.

[Antares]

The people that truly scare me: those that hate religion and can't see the great beauty and wisdom religion, in particular Christianity, has provided to the world.

Catholics gave us the Big Bang theory, Dom Pérignon, and a number of other really great things.

Unfortunately there's a trend that seems to indicate rejection of the Catholic faith by baptized Catholics creates monsters (Hitler, Stalin, among others). Go figure. I could be wrong, but I've read, from more than one source, that both were baptized Catholics who, after the age of reason, rejected their faith.

Most atheists I know don't hate religion (I can't speak for the militant atheists), but I'd say every religion has brought beauty and wisdom into this world (architecture, art etc), but then again, so did many philosophers (yes, even atheist philosophers).

Catholics gave us the Big Bang theory, Dom Pérignon, and a number of other really great things.

On the other hand, atheist scientists such as Albert Einstein contributed General and Special Relativity, which seems to work just as well as the Big Bang Theory.

Rejecting faith doesn't create monsters, and I think I can vouch for myself that I'm not a monster, nor are most atheists. In our world today, there are theist and atheist monsters alike, and simply being non-religious cannot be responsible for being corrupted and moraless.

As for Hitler, debate is still raging about his beliefs, and I'd say both sides have good points, so we shouldn't shove him into the atheist end of the religious spectrum (yesyes. I know there isn't one) because we are not sure.

Adolf Hitler was baptized in a Catholic Church in 1889 and was never be excommunicated or in any other way officially censured by the Catholic Church. Hitler frequently referred to God and Christianity in his various speeches and writings.

So what if he was an atheist? Can he represent all of us? Was what he did any worse than witch burning? Millions died, and that is more justified than the Holocaust? Was the Malleus Maleficarum's attitude anymore benign than Hitler's? If one sees it that way, where Hitler and Stalin stands belief-wise is really not that important, and their actions don't represent the atheist habits.

Forgive me. I have been preached to all day today and I'm quite put out by the fact that a several people condemned atheists being without morals.

[Sylvanus]

Re: Camelopardis

Just How Honest Was Hitler Anyway?
It is important to be able to identify the difference between Hitler's public speeches and writing and what he really thought. A devious politician leading a nominally Christian country like 1930s Germany will say lots of Christian-sounding stuff to maintain popularity. Mein Kampf illustrates Hitler's views on propaganda:

"To whom should propaganda be addressed? … It must be addressed always and exclusively to the masses… The function of propaganda does not lie in the scientific training of the individual, but in calling the masses' attention to certain facts, processes, necessities, etc., whose significance is thus for the first time placed within their field of vision. The whole art consists in doing this so skilfully that everyone will be convinced that the fact is real, the process necessary, the necessity correct, etc. But since propaganda is not and cannot be the necessity in itself … its effect for the most part must be aimed at the emotions and only to a very limited degree at the so-called intellect… it's soundness is to be measured exclusively by its effective result". (Main Kampf, Vol 1, Ch 6 and Ch 12)

Some Quotes Used to Establish Hitler's Christianity
The Internet is awash with many quotes from Hitler that could be used in support of the idea that he considered himself Christian, or thought he was acting in accord with God's will, or something like that. I have collected a number of such citations myself. But bear in mind that these are mostly public sayings, so you have to be careful about how much you trust them. A good one is this from Mein Kampf:

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

Another popular one is this, from a speech in 1922:


"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter."
Quotes Establishing Hitler's Non-Christianity
Hitler may in public have claimed to be doing the will of God, but records of his private conversations show otherwise. Many of these were recorded by his secretary and published in a book called Hitler's Table Talk (Adolf Hitler, London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1953). I have lifted the text of these from the soc.religion.christian newsgroup's Hitler FAQ.
Night of 11th-12th July, 1941

"National Socialism and religion cannot exist together....
"The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. Bolshevism is Christianity's illegitimate child. Both are inventions of the Jew. The deliberate lie in the matter of religion was introduced into the world by Christianity....
"Let it not be said that Christianity brought man the life of the soul, for that evolution was in the natural order of things." (p 6 & 7)

10th October, 1941, midday

"Christianity is a rebellion against natural law, a protest against nature. Taken to its logical extreme, Christianity would mean the systematic cultivation of the human failure." (p 43)

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[Thistle]

But it is my hope that as we learn more about our ethnic heritage, particularly through the Human Genome Project we (humans) will begin to realize that the concepts of race and ethnicity are largely social constructs.

This is the really important point and one through which any discussion on race or culture should be addressed.

Ethnically, I'm a Scot although I choose British as my nationality. Culturally, Scotland is quite different from our larger cousin, England. If someone were to describe me as being a 'Celt' I wouldn't argue - I feel that Scots have much in common culturally with the Irish, Welsh or Cornish.

Politics? Family are conservatives and this has been instilled in me. Although there is a socialist streak running through me. Not a member of any party and have a tendency to vote strategically.

Religion? Pass. Some ancestors were 'wee frees' (Free Church of Scotland). Some of my relatives who live in the Western Isles are chastised by the community if they so much as put their washing out on a Sunday.

It's interesting to see how many have Scottish & Irish ancestry.... I presume this is linked to the famine and clearances which didn't affect England to any significant extent.... if at all

[ElstonGunn]

1. 1/2 Italian, 1/2 Bohemian (Czech for you uninformed, possibly 1/4 German)


So do you Czech yo'self before you wreck yo'self? (Ah, I bet that never gets old.)



Mother's side: Tuscarora Indian, French Canadian, Spanish and ?


Tuscarora? Before or after they moved up to New York and joined the Iroquois?


It's interesting to see how many have Scottish & Irish ancestry.... I presume this is linked to the famine and clearances which didn't affect England to any significant extent.... if at all

I read somewhere that most of the frontiersmen, cowboys, and badasses in American history were Scotch-Irish.

[Sojourner]

Taiwanese-American (child of immigrants) - born in US, early childhood in Taiwan, school-age and up back in the US (east coast).

My beliefs in general are best covered by the general umbrella of "Christian existentialism", and various sources inform me that my political beliefs are moderate on the liberal-conservative scale for both economic and personal freedoms.

[ssfanatic]

It's interesting to see how many have Scottish & Irish ancestry.... I presume this is linked to the famine and clearances which didn't affect England to any significant extent.... if at all

Ye, the potato famine forced, im not exact, around 4 million Irish to immigrate.

[coffeeloverfreak]

Good thread.

1) I'm your typical North American Jewish Ashkenazi mutt. My great-grandparents came from various places in Eastern Europe, some of which were really the same place but being called different countries at different times. I'm fourth-generation Canadian, though, and consider myself as much.

2) I hate political labels and divisive politics. Mostly, I hate how limiting it is to have to associate yourself with the entire range of beliefs or policies of a given party. And I agree with most of you that politicians are all corrupt anyway. I guess being Canadian automatically makes me more socially liberal than all of you (for starters, I don't understand why so many Americans view "liberal" as a dirty word) but I consider myself independent; I like to pick a little from column A, a little from column B. In general I tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative, but those are broad terms and don't account for most of the important issues or "exceptions".

3) I dislike labels but I guess I'm closest to atheist. I don't logically believe in the concept of god or a higher power, but I don't really quibble with anyone's right to believe it, so long as they don't interfere with my right not to. That said, I have a strong cultural Jewish identity, and am perfectly comfortable with the seeming contradiction; I know it's not necessarily related.

[karen]

1. I'm a mutt (8 nationalities) but mostly white.
2. No religion... a complete lack of spirituality, and as long as people leave me alone, and act fairly decently towards each other, I don't care what they do... so I'd categorize myself as liberal.

[AliciaS2R]

So do you Czech yo'self before you wreck yo'self? (Ah, I bet that never gets old.)




Tuscarora? Before or after they moved up to New York and joined the Iroquois?




I read somewhere that most of the frontiersmen, cowboys, and badasses in American history were Scotch-Irish.


That would be after they moved from the NC area and joined the 5 Nations. My Great Grandfather moved from the Jamestown area of NY.

[pavman]

So do you Czech yo'self before you wreck yo'self? (Ah, I bet that never gets old.)

Actually, I've never heard that joke before in my life....

And as for the side thread, my apologies. I was just lamenting over the blatant anti-Christian and anti-Catholic attitudes in the US.

I mean, certain institutions begot other institutions by which our whole modern society achieves enlightenment...and the irony is that these institutions were formed during the darkest part of our history (according to scholars at least)...not going to get into details, not really in the mood to convince. Truly seek and you will find truly. :o)

[JTG]

1. I guess my culture is suburban white boy. That's pretty much the environment i grew up in, although little of it seems to have rubbed off on me. People comment on my lack of an accent, even though i grew up in the deep south. My personality and mannerisms are my own, mostly.

2. I'm a loosely practicing christian. I've thankfully found a fantastic church that doesn't dictate morality like some other places i've seen. The guy just reads through the bible, as simplistic as that sounds. He picks up where he left off the previous week. He covers each passage deeply, with much explanation of how the times were when it was written, and what possible motivations/messages could be extrapolated from the writer's words.

The attitudes toward faith in the US largely depend on where you are. I've lived in the southeast US all my life, and i tend to be one of the more religion-antagonistic people i know. I'm a christian, i just have a distrust of organized religion because of how many idiots walk around blindly spouting whatever they've been told to believe... not to mention how many atrocities have been committed by the church and its followers in the name of God. I'm a huge believer. I just wish the tards weren't the most outspoken members (representatives, in the eyes of outsiders) of the church, as it seems they are sometimes.

[spiritdetectivegirl]

1.) Directly biracial: african-american mother, irish decent father.
2.) I'm not sure on my political status, I think I'm republican, but religiously I'm christian.

Ta-dah.

[Sylvanus]

1.) Directly biracial: african-american mother, irish decent father.
2.) I'm not sure on my political status, I think I'm republican, but religiously I'm christian.

Ta-dah.

Unless you're Baptist, then you would be a democrat...[/sterotypes]

[JTG]

I don't understand how that works. Baptists are some of the most conservative people i know, haha

[Sylvanus]

I don't understand how that works. Baptists are some of the most conservative people i know, haha

I was playing off the stereotype that because she's part black, and that they tend to be baptists and democrats. (went over like a lead zeppelin)

[spiritdetectivegirl]

I was playing off the stereotype that because she's part black, and that they tend to be baptists and democrats. (went over like a lead zeppelin)


Good one, I thought it was humorous, I would of probly done the same thing if somebody else posted. Haha. Xo

:thumbsup:

[Lucid]

I'm half Scottish, a quarter English and a quarter Danish.

I think my politics coincide pretty closely with the party xhaan mentioned in the socialized health care thread, the name of which is currently eluding me. And I'm agnostic. :)

[brainiac]

Racially I'm Native American and Spanish. Ethnically I'm "Hispanic, or Latino" and 100% American. Baptized Catholic, but agnostic till I have all the info to make a conclusive decision.

[American Quest 1983]

1. USA born and raised. My ethnicity is African American
2. My political preference is Civic Nationalist or Libertarian by modern standards. My religious view is a modified individualist version of Christianity. I have a major distrust of organized government and religion.

[Kotetsu]

- White Scot
- Agnostic
- Liberal

[Nyiah]

1. Chinese-Indonesian, born in Indonesia. Moved to the States when I was 5.
2. Democrat and Atheist (Although my parents are Catholic and my grandparents Buddhist.)

[lancelot]

I was born and raised in LA.
British, Russian ancestory,
I know some spanish and some chinese, and ASL.

[Bear Warp]

1. American, of Irish, Czech, Hungarian, and Italian descent (that's what they tell me)

2. Agnostic and "Politically Eclectic" (thanks quentin :thumbsup:). If I was forced to pick a side (something I hate to do. what ever happened to individuality?), I would go Atheist and Libertarian.

[safetypin00]

I was born in the Ukraine, but I'm Jewish, not Ukranian.. Currently living in Canada for more than 1/2 of my life though..

Was always and still am an atheist, and actually well, antitheist as well. In terms of political philosophy, I don't really know, I vote liberal though.

[Quite Robert]

1) American, ancestors came from Holland in 1600s.

2) Political - The last moderate, good policy comes from heavy debate, not idealism.
Religious - Nothing specific. Had a bad falling out with the baptist church. Now I steal a little from: buddhism, christianity, taoism, and lol Jedi-ism.

[schmidt]

1)
White, German/Swedish/Scottish (a bit unsure about scottish but I'd like it so I keep it).
Born and raised in Sweden but I have a German citizenship. I don't really identify with either swedish nor german cultures completely.

2)
Athesit/Agnostic/Pastafari it goes back and forth, Pastafari mainly because I like that kind of humor. I have som leanings towards a gaia mother earh kind of idea aswell.

I'm leaning towards liberal socialism, believing that personal freedom and integrity are of utter importance combined with good safety net for people who walk astray in society.

[SeaCzar]

1) American, half Anglo and half Saxon.

2) Raised Episcopal, now Deist.

3) Goldwater Republican (left leaning)

[Femme de Homme INTJ]

"Caucasian" is an adjective referring to a race. I ask of ethnicity, as in the cultural group(s) from which you descend from. I apologize if I am not clear in what I ask.

I think that you should not press the issue for Caucasion-Americans. Think about it. Most white people only know that they are white. They say something like "Uh... German, Native American, and... Uh, Heinz 57." If noone has passed on the specifics of their heritage, than saying "Caucasian-American" is more than sufficient. Causcasian-American IS a cultural group.





Femme de Homme INTJ added to this post, 7 minutes and 45 seconds later...

1. Culturally, I am Caucasian-American.

Ethnically, I am debatable. From my maternal side, I am Hungarian, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian (although my grandpa swears my grandma just threw the Italian in there to be impressive). My paternal side brings more German, more English, Scottish, Welsh, Native-American and Irish (although my grandma swears that my grandpa threw the Irish in there for a good measure).

2. My mother and grandmother, with whom I was raised, are Christians. My mom became a Christian a year or so before I was born. I also follow Christ.

I said "I follow Christ." I did not say I follow religion. I pursue truth, and I believed Jesus when He said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Pursuing truth is a life-long adventure that shows me constantly how little I know.

Jesus said true religion is caring for widows and orphans. So, that is the only thing I try to do "religiously".

[Antares]

I was born in the Ukraine, but I'm Jewish, not Ukranian.. Currently living in Canada for more than 1/2 of my life though..


Jewish as in Hebrew?

[rcarter]

1. Louisiana French Creole (French, Spanish, Native American, West African), but society just calls me Black or African-American so....yeah, I'll just go with that.

2. I like to consider myself politically independent, although the Democratic party has particularly benefited me more. I was raised Roman Catholic, but I no longer declare any religious denomination. I'm more spiritual than religious.

[Darkmist]

Ramen Schmidt. I too love the humor of the Pastafarian religion.

1. Norwegian, Ukrainian born and raised in rural Canada and now an American citizen. My father is a die hard everything descended from Norwegians. I believe that given all the Viking travels and the slaves they took, who knows where I really am descended from?

2. Agnostic with a leaning away from the god theory. Politically, I believe the two party system to be stifling and that the USA isn't actually a democracy because it is controlled by a few. No matter who we vote for, the voice of the people gets swallowed into the wants of the upper tier. (I include big business in that). So the system is corrupt and in need of complete change, but it won't happen because most people are afraid of change. And the health care and insurance industry upper tier sucks big time. I also don't believe in being individually forced to pay those industries for care. In many areas of Europe, the Socialist system seems to work. (I don't include Canada as there, that system is breaking down) Based on that, I'd say Libertarian with a Socialist bent.

[safetypin00]

Jewish as in Hebrew?

As in Ashkenazi Jew.

[mabts]

Wow -- the diversity of cultures/religions all falling under the INTJ-type is quite interesting. As for me...

1. German/Irish/Scottish/Scandinavian/Native American

2. Agnostic? I guess. I find myself arguing with religious theists constantly.

As for politics, somewhere between Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism and classical liberalism. Austrian economics is my main obsession.

Quite surprised to see so many INTJ "socialists." I would think more interest in economic philosophy might change many people's views.

[Mandrake]

1. Central American Hispanic
2. My political leanings is towards old school republican.

[Xenolar]

Jewish as in Hebrew?

That is completely nonsensical. A person can be Jewish or Israeli, but not "Hebrew." Hebrew is a noun referring to traditional language of Israel and Judaism. Therefore, your question makes absolutely no sense.

[integratedvelocity]

I am almost everything Western European with a healthy dose of the "Minnesota nice" culture thrown in. I can even claim to have eaten lutefisk.

I am a Christian, though I have disagreements with the structure of churches and denominations. As far as politics, until very recently I had considered myself Republican. Now, I am considering telling everyone that I am a classical liberal. Free trade and globalization make me happy. Agricultural subsidies do not.

[Zirka]

I am Ukrainian, although I was born and raised in Canada. However, my first language was Ukrainian.

I was baptized into the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, but recently I have been becoming less of a believer.... I'm currently borderline agnostic.

Politics wise, I'm undecided, but I tend to lean somewhere between NDP and Liberal.

[PRBori]

1. I'm Puerto Rican with Arab Blood. My decendants are from Spain, known as the "MOORS". My mom's family comes from a royal family in Spain, so I have blue blood.. hehehe... funny

2. I'm a Liberal Muslim, so liberal that muslims will say I'm not a muslim. But I don't care what others think, I care about who I am, what I believe, and what GOD knows.

I do not like to get involved in Political issues, rather stay away from such. I just emphasized my time learning new things and keep to myself a lot, not many friends, except for co-workers. Extremely private all the way and picky towards who I let in my life. They must have a positive influence, otherwise I kick them out, specially if our values differ.

Values are not related to religion, but related to how we see things in life, for example if you like to judge people because of religion, I will not stay around, if you say that people should be kill because to you they are unbelievers, then I will not stay around, If you have an awkward view of how others should live under a religion, then I will not stay around...

If you don't care about my religion and don't judge me but share common values on how people should be treated, then you can count on me to stay around. I'm not here to judge, nor do I want others to judge me for my beliefs... simple as that. We all have freedom to choose what we want, and we all have to respect each others belief and know that there is only one judge, GOD. Nobody else has the right to judge others.

That's my view, if you're happy, I'm happy.... that's all that matters to me.

And if you wondering whether or not I agree with what Muslims are doing, I'll tell you straight, they DO NOT REPRESENT MY RELIGION... for killing innocent people is against GOD laws, and they shall abide in HELL...

[Sylvanus]

That is completely nonsensical. A person can be Jewish or Israeli, but not "Hebrew." Hebrew is a noun referring to traditional language of Israel and Judaism. Therefore, your question makes absolutely no sense.

Hebrew is a language and also refers to people who descend from Jacob (who also speak the language). Since these people practice Judaism (historically), the two terms are often associated with the same people. What the question is really asking is if the person calls themself Jewish because of their bloodline or the religion they practice (or both). The question makes complete sense.

[Femme de Homme INTJ]

Speaking of the word "Hebrew," I wonder about the word's origin. Did it originally mean "person from Hebron"?

Hmm... I looked it up in Wiki, and found this: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I had never heard that before.

[integratedvelocity]

I suppose I could just summarize myself as a WASP, at least for my mother's side.

1. everything in the British Isles, German, Norwegian, Swiss
2. Protestant, somewhere between nondenom and Lutheran, classical liberal

[Opivy1980]

I live in US in the Midwest: Irish, Scottish, English, and German heritage.

I was brought up in a working class Catholic Democrat home.

I am a libertarian with leanings more to the left than right since the neocons hijacked the Republican party.

My religious beliefs are focused around the idea of quantum physics, which can adequately explain "miracles" and "faith" better than any actual organized religion.

[sriv]

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?


1) I am from India, but born in America. I never had a major American Desi problem.
2) My parents and I are socially conservative, but I am politically liberal and they are moderate towards conservative. They conform to superstitions and respect their religious and cultural traditions. I hate superstitions and nonsense traditions. I am nonreligious. I am talking about my parents beliefs because they are the only link I have to my Indian ancestry. I do tend to find the eastern religions much more plausible than the western religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

[ceg6]

1) Born in the US Midwest. Scottish and Turkish ethnicity.
2) Libertarian leaning a bit to the right. I was raised Catholic by lukewarm parents but I'd consider myself agnostic.

[Richard0612]

Born and living in London, England
Atheist, always have been, always will be [probably]
Weakly conservative

[Tual]

I was born in the Netherlands.
I'm an agnostic atheist (yay science!).
Politically I'm a Libertarian or Classic Liberal (or whatever you call it in the states) (yay freedom!).

[MissDistant]

1. Scottish/German

2. Libertarian

3. Atheist. So much for all the years in a private catholic school. I love to study various religions and listen to the extremists, but my own beliefs (or lack there of) do not waver.

[lowtech redneck]

I'm a white Southerner, with an ethnic ancestry consisting of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English, German, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Cherokee, and God only knows what else...basically the typical American mutt.

Politically, I'm a liberal-conservative, basically an amalgamation of Hayek, Madison, Mill, and Burke. I usually vote Republican, especially for positions relating to Supreme Court nominations.

Religiously, I'm an agnostic who wishes he had the faith to be a deist, and is glad he lacks the faith to be an atheist.

[acyckowski]

European mutt, but my family's been in the U.S. for at least four generations on my Dad's side, pre-Revolution on my Mom's side. So I'm pretty much just plain American.

I'm libertarian in philosophy but Republican in practice because
1) the Libertarians are just a little bit too goofy to get anything done in the real world, and
2) the foremost duty of the federal government is to provide for the common defense.

The Libertarian Party can't wrap its head around the value of a good offense (must be smoking too much mind-altering personal liberty), and the Democrats don't truly believe in the need for a defense. (People willing to wrap themselves in C4 and blow up a market aren't going to change their ways if we'd just sit down and "dialogue" with them. Sorry.)

After a little falling-out period in my teenage years, I'm back to Roman Catholicism. I took a look at the eastern religions, atheism, Science-ism (?), etc., but I never could get past the circular reasoning and/or the unanswered questions. There's more and better historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth than there is for Alexander the Great, but I totally get why people would resent the notion that matters of right and wrong are bigger than their own little perspective. The phrase is "unbridled ego," and it doesn't usually turn out too well.

I understand where a lot of you guys are coming from in asserting independence from labels and/or parties, but let's be honest: the problem with any human organization is all the damn humans mucking it up. For any political party or church that has done something wrong, there have always been people behind the problem: in other words, the Inquisition was not God's idea, it was corrupt and contemptible individuals within the Church who came up with it all on their own. I could say the same for the Nazis, the Stalinists, the Maoists, and countless others through history that worshiped their own egos.

The thing that frightens me most about atheism and secular humanism is that the same morons f@#$ing things up by the numbers now would be put in charge of writing the new rules, too. Oh, boy, sounds great!

The beauty of Democracy is that it's so hard for government to get in the way of the people. The beauty of Catholicism, and Christianity in general, is it tells you straight up that you're just as much a f@#$-up as everybody else, so go ahead and fix yourself first.

In the meantime, just give me a system that protects me from the good intentions and best efforts of my fellow man, and let me take care of the rest. I'll succeed or fail, in this world or the next, on my own.

[malefide]

1.) My heritage is English, German, and Irish. I was born in the US.
2.) I don't adhere to any specific political ideology or party. I look at each issue individually. I tend to be more socially liberal and fiscally moderate. I'm agnostic.

[Serket]

1) Australian. Irish/Scottish/English/Swedish
2) Democrat (which is not the same here as in the USA. Its a middle of the road party that about 3 people vote for). Raised Catholic, still hang out at church, but more because I know a lot of people there and it provides my limited social contact. Really more Platonist/Pythagorean in my beliefs.

[kovsky]

1) A US born Javanese(an ethnic group concentrated on the Island of Java, Indonesia) and I may be a descended from an arab since many people always say that I look like one.

2) I do not understand politics well,which concludes that I have no political affiliations. I'm a muslim,

Values are not related to religion, but related to how we see things in life, for example if you like to judge people because of religion, I will not stay around, if you say that people should be kill because to you they are unbelievers, then I will not stay around, If you have an awkward view of how others should live under a religion, then I will not stay around...

If you don't care about my religion and don't judge me but share common values on how people should be treated, then you can count on me to stay around. I'm not here to judge, nor do I want others to judge me for my beliefs... simple as that. We all have freedom to choose what we want, and we all have to respect each others belief and know that there is only one judge, GOD. Nobody else has the right to judge others.

That's my view, if you're happy, I'm happy.... that's all that matters to me.

And if you wondering whether or not I agree with what Muslims are doing, I'll tell you straight, they DO NOT REPRESENT MY RELIGION... for killing innocent people is against GOD laws, and they shall abide in HELL...

and I completely agree with the statements above.

[Trym]

Norwegian descend, atleast 400 years back.
I consider myself conservative on some subjects, and liberal on others.
I'm an atheist.

[enfpchick]

Canatian (Haitian Canadian)

I am neutral on politics and I'm a JW

[Motor Jax]

Irish, Scot, Black Dutch, German, and Cherokee

Southern Bapti-costal

and pretty liberal

[ChfMojoRising]

1) African American, some mix of white-peoples on my dads side~ Irish I know of. Born and bred New Yorker! The number one state! (don't worry, I'll admit that California is #2 and Chicago makes the second best pizza ;p)

2) Epicurean with a Nietzsche-twist and 0 belief in the super-natural.

I lean Libertarian.

[Jakalwarrior]

Atheist WASP.
Small government Advocate. Government is supposed to be a watchdog and keep things in check, not be a large portion of our lives and eat up 25% of our income.

[spittingvenom]

1. US Born, Mexican and Italian descent (with a few other anglo ethnicities mixed in). Identify most with Mexican-American side.

2. Politically left....far left/socialist.

3. Religiously agnostic....learning to practice Zen

Question: Is anyone else surprised by the amount of people that claim Native American Ancestry. I am thinking (but not totally convinced) that this is a romantic notion that is popular in the sociological (American) imagination but that upon scrutiny (DNA evidence) many people would find that this ancestry in their families does not actually exist.

I recently saw the documentary "African American Lives" in which 8 prominent African Americans had their personal geneology traced and analyzed. Every one of them claimed to have Native American Ancestry but only 1 (one...Chris Tucker) was actually found to have it. My guess is that this would be true in American Anglo populations as well. Any comments?

[EsoteriEccentri]

White, English. Though my Great Grandma came from Scotland.

Politically right. Though I can't say that I know much about politics, but based on values I'd say I'm more right.

Religiously? Hmm. I'm still not sure. I like the idea of existentialism, but I know nothing more about it than Wikipedia can tell me. So, until I'm more sure about this I'm not going to go into a long ramble about what I think religiously...

[Beery Swine]

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
Iuhuh? White? Mish-mash of most of Europe. German, Irish, Spanish, Danish, English, Jewish, French.

2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?
First part: Liberal. Not, strictly, mind you, but that best decribes my politics. I also have some libertarian leanings like the state doesn't grant your rights, it takes them away.
Second part: Atheist, freethinker, skeptic, bright, rationalist, any other nifty sounding labels for someone who demands evidence in order to believe a proposition, with the amount of evidence required to believe scaling proportionally with the proposition's outlandish nature, and even then, only believe until contradictory or supplementary evidence comes to light.

[TheBlindSage]

We already have a thread regarding the location and age of forum members. I have decided to start something of a similar variation.

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?
2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?


1. Chinese
2. Moderate-Conservative
Atheist/Agnostic

And, I suppose, I'm existentialist/nihilistic.

[Beery Swine]

Thomas Jefferson was a man of his time. The sad fact is that he was the most liberal of the Founding Fathers towards racial tolerance.....well, that speaks volumes about the attitudes of your average person, even the most intellectual of persons, in the 18th century. Can we really judge a person 200 years ago by the standards of today? My grandfather was a bigot by today's standards - everybody was a couple of generations ago. This is a very difficult question.

Something else we must consider is what are we modern liberals doing now that everyone two or three generations from now will look back on and say "barbarians"? Anyone's guess is as good as any others' guess, I guess. :laugh:





Beery Swine added to this post, 13 minutes and 50 seconds later...

3) I dislike labels but I guess I'm closest to atheist. I don't logically believe in the concept of god or a higher power, but I don't really quibble with anyone's right to believe it, so long as they don't interfere with my right not to. That said, I have a strong cultural Jewish identity, and am perfectly comfortable with the seeming contradiction; I know it's not necessarily related.

There's nothing wrong with being a Jewish Atheist. You can call me a Christian Atheist, I guess. :p

[OneHertz]

1) Brought up and lived in Russia/Ukraine (basically same thing) for the first 13 years of my life.

2) No political views whatsoever, everyone of them is the same. I have never voted and I don't think I ever will.

3) Atheist. I can not get along with anyone who is not atheist. I end up getting extremely mad at them and never talking to them again at some point.

[Beery Swine]

Religiously, I'm an agnostic who wishes he had the faith to be a deist, and is glad he lacks the faith to be an atheist.

I held my fingers on a few posts, but when you actively say something like that about Atheists you shall suffer the wrath of my words. BEWARE! :angry:

How much faith does it take to say there ain't no Santa Claus or Luke Skywalker or whatever? What exactly about saying there are no Gods takes more faith than saying there is no Amen-Ra, or Captain James T. Kirk?

[demaugustus]

1.) From which culture(s) do you descend?

Greek (I have proof that I carry Spartan blood), Italian, some other European stuff, Cherokee Indian, and some African American.

2.) What are your political and religious/spiritual beliefs?

Political: I would say I'm socially conservative, but liberal when it comes to diplomacy with foreign countries.

Religious/spiritual beliefs: We're all going to die, how are you handling it?