“Happiness is the reason I seek God - it feels good, so I keep doing it.
It’s not really about ‘believing’ in God. I have first hand experience with the effects of this power in my life; faith is based on first hand experience. There are things in my life that were impossible to do that […]

projectExist has recived 100 submissions since August 7.
46 submitters identify as Christian (7 of those identify as Catholic)
5 Buddhist
3 Jewish
2 Hindu
72 believe in God
17 in no God
58 in Heaven
33 in reincarnation
49 that God has a plan

“God is within us all; He made us in his image. This does not mean we look like him, this means we are Him. Who is to say He did not create all the myths? Who is to say His name can’t all the names? Who is to say He can only be from […]

“Most people think I am Christian. But I actually don’t believe the bible is correct. I follow Jesus’s teachings with a twist, because they are basically true, but I think the Nicene Council screwed us out of the facts. There are many ancient societies with tablets recording history that is contrary and also […]

Journaist and Professor Richard Rodriguez is “a noted prose stylist” and “controversial writer”, “who is primarily known for his 1982 book, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez“. In this clip from the PBS seires “Bill Moyers: On Faith & Reason”, Rodriguez talks about the dichotomy of being a gay Catholic.

As baby, her parents used marijuana to sedate her. Her father was shot during a drug deal. Her mother abandoned her and her sister. As an adult, her infant son endured heart surgery. It would be understandable if LaDonna were upset with God. “But God is good”, asserts the 24-year-old Texan. This is her extraordinary journey, guided by tragedy and faith.

“Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man — living in the sky — who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has […]

I have had a happy life and never had any experience that turned me into a religious believer or doubter – it is just who I am. I have not had the belief of God since my early teens. I am now 50 and have never thought otherwise. I am sure in my feelings […]

“I came from a physically and mentally abusive background. I spent the majority of my life in some form of addiction - drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, stealing, lying, cheating - if it was wrong, it had my name all over it. Deep seeded depression was a way of life for me.
Every relationship I was in […]

“I see the reason behind all those ‘why me?’ questions. We are here to learn; sometimes the lessons are harsh, and sometimes they are kind.
I have always wanted to ‘know’. I love science, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of everything and have always asked questions. My mom used to tell people my first […]

“There is a situation in my life that I have yet to mention to my closest family members. I’m afraid of their reaction; I fear that it’ll crush their dreams and expectation of me.  I ask God to forgive me for not being true with my close ones
I came to Florida in 2003; I was […]

Havard Professor “Dr. Armand Nicholi leads a panel of seven thoughtful men and women in a wide-ranging discussion of some of the fundamental questions. What influences us to embrace or reject religious belief? Is the scientific method, as [Sigmund] Freud wrote, the only path to the truth? Does the human longing for God, as [C.S.] […]

“I grew up in a Christian family and at 12, my parents divorce crushed me. I began a journey on a downward spiral and wishy-washy relationship with God culminated in an unplanned pregnancy - I was 23, and not married.
I hit a bottom emotionally and spiritually. After all of my sin and mistakes […]

“There have been major ups and downs in my life, and the only time I’ve been ‘up’ is when my relationship with God was strong. He has always picked me up when I’ve fallen; and when I was down for a long time, He allowed me to recover and come back stronger. I am where […]

“God exist because he communicates with me daily; he heals me , meets my needs, and brings me peace, love and joy.  I have had numerous healings medically documented.  As a young adult, I made several very bad life choices, but I always knew that God’s hand was upon me.   In 1984, I came […]

I was so upset. I knew what was coming so I ran from the house fighting the emotion welling up in my chest and throat. I jumped into the car with one of my aunts and said, “Please take me with you. I can’t stay”

“Most people don’t know Taoism, and I assume you’re like them. ‘God’ exists as a human construct to explain the energy force that binds the universe. Because it’s too much for minds to comprehend, it had to have a man made structure that was simpler to understand.”
Patricia, 50+/F, Central Florida, Taoist

PROFILE:
I strongly believe in my […]

I do believe that gods or higher beings exist. I believe in Odin and all of the Norse deities. It is hard for those around me to accept the fact that I am a pagan. I was raised Catholic and most Catholics are against polytheistic religions. I bet people around me would think that I […]

My mother was breastfeeding me, and she was often high or drunk. She didn’t realize until it was almost too late that I had lost a lot of weight and was very ill.

My parents would want to party or do something. And if I started crying and became a nuisance, they would inhale Marijuana and cup their hands around my face and exhale the smoke until I breathed in enough to pass out. You do that long enough to a baby, instead of feeding it, and you will kill it. Not to mention, the brain damage that could cause.

2. The Catechism
Q. and A. come back. They ‘formed my mind’.
‘Who is my neighbour?’ ‘My neighbour is all mankind’.
Excerpted from Seamus Heaney’s “Ten Glosses“.

“No one would think I had a belief set just by observing me. I was raised Christian, and say that I am one, but I really don’t think I am at all. I’m not agnostic and I never do organized prayer. Don’t get me wrong - there is a higher being. I […]

“It’s ok with me if God exists.
I was an ordained Protestant minister. After leaving a position, I attended and was active in a church for a year. Then, for a couple of years, I went only to Christmas Eve services, but no longer.”
Experience that defined your beliefs? “Seeing several ministers rejected by congregations […]

“I was an addict living on the streets in San Diego. I was pregnant, homeless and strung out. When I overdosed and didn’t die, I felt sure that something greater exists. I prayed that somehow God would help me change my life and that this baby would not die - even if she wasn’t healthy. I begged ‘please give me a chance to love and raise her […]”

“Now I am single, raising one of my four grandchildren, the child of our teenaged son….The divorce was devastating for our son and me. I barely survived - and only by the grace of God. Our son, unfortunately, turned his loneliness onto girls, and now we are all paying […]”

“I know God is there for me. Every time I think something is as bad as it can be, He gets me through it. When I’ve no idea where I’ll get the money for, let’s say, my house payment, He always provides it somehow. (I’m not homeless yet)! When my 16-year-old daughter’s car […]

“I know God is real. He is intimately aware of us, our trials, our thoughts, and our innermost fears and needs. I know this because He alone saved my life when I tried to commit suicide. He saved my son from being shot.
When I was 21, I had a two-year-old son who loved to go […]

“I am going to be a Rabbi, and I don’t believe in G-d. I believe in Judaism, in our shared history, culture, and experience, but I don’t believe in a creator, in sins and repercussions. I believe that G-d is what binds people together, positive energy, inner morality and goodness. I want to be a Rabbi to connect the community together in a positive way, but I feel like a hypocrite[…]”

“I am a Hindu, though when I was younger, I really had no religion. I just knew that there was someone, something protecting me. I also found that when bad things happened in life, there ended up being a good reason down the road.
In the turbulent teen years, I was convinced that God was […]

“I know God exists because: my husband has the strength to go on after losing his 4-year-old daughter to cancer; I have the strength to go on after being beaten and abused in a previous relationship; and we both have the courage to not be afraid to trust after all of our hardships. Religion is […]

“My daughter was taken from me. The despair I found in my daily existence was enough to make me want to leave the planet. Even so, there was something that kept me here. As long as I could open my eyes and see the beauty around me, I was willing to stay.
I just can’t imagine, […]

“I was not raised to believe in God; there was no mention of deities in my house. But I spoke/prayed even when very little (I had no idea of WHO in my head) and in middle school, was strongly drawn to explore religion. I felt strongly that Jesus was a psychopath, not God and Son […]

“We were raised Catholic, but I was never sure how we could belong to something that did nothing to provide for us. Through years of soul-searching, I found that God was everywhere. God was NOT about a church or a sanction; God was about trying to be a good person everyday.
I grew up in a […]

“I pastor; I fellowship with brothers and sisters at least four to six times a week.
I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has one son, Jesus. I believe in a biblical Heaven and Hell, no to reincarnation, yet I do believe in Biblical resurrection. I acknowledge God’s existence because of his […]

“My stepmother used to beat my sister and me and starve us. She called me stupid constantly and always made sure I knew I was worthless. She stuck my sister and me in the basement for days on end while her own kids were well fed […]”

“I think that I just have faith.”
Tien, 21/F, Boston, Pentecostal
PROFILE:
I am a devout follower of my religion
Services: at least twice a week
Congregation: yes
Heaven/Hell/Reincarnation: yes/yes/yes
Pray: every day, sometimes twice a day
One true belief: ?
Plan: yes

Is your religion the one true belief? “I would say yes, but when you classify it as a religion, then I would say no.”
“Many people know about a Jesus, but surely not the Jesus revealed through the apostles & the bible.”
“Prayer is many things, but it is mainly just conversation with Jesus about what he […]

I experienced a spritual awakening about six years ago. It transformed my life and how I see the world. It filled me with a joy that nothing could diminish.
I know that god exists because I know what I am. Once you know that “the father and we are one” you know that the […]

“I know God exists because, in my view, it would be impossible for any being to spontaneously originate from nothing. There was definitely a creator or creators.
I appreciate all faiths. When I found the one that does not require giving up what I already believed but enhanced everything I knew to be true, […]

“The depth of my commitment would amaze/amuse my colleagues.”
mitch, 51/M, Washington State, Protestant Non-denominational

I am a devout follower of my religion
Services: 2-3 times a month
Congregation: yes
Heaven/Hell/Reincarnation: yes/yes/no
Pray: daily as I go through my day
One true belief: pretty much
Plan: yes

Spiritual Surprise? “Occasionally I know things that others don’t.”
“I was raised Catholic, lapsed in my teens and early twenties, then came back to the Church because I read that many Catholics didn’t believe in the Real Presence. I didn’t understand what that meant, so I set out to find out. I’ve been told ‘never […]

What makes you sure God does not exist? “Things that can’t be blamed on humans - for instance, a child dying of painful, incurable cancer.  I am bothered by the infinity of religion’s paradoxes.  And I don’t understand people’s confidence in prayer - God will answer a prayer to for a job promotion, but doesn’t […]

“I was never tormented in the way those early rock and rollers were between gospel and the blues. I always saw them as parts of each other. I like the anger of the blues–I think being angry with God is at least a dialogue. You know, [Robert Johnson’s] “Hell Hound on My Trail”–the blues is […]

I know Hashem exists because I survived toxic goiter that was supposed to kill me. Doctors did nothing; I had to beat it out.
I was Xian, and knew it was all wrong. When I converted to Judaism, it felt right. It’s ironic that I conceived my son only days after conversion.
JAC, 33/F, Chicago, Jewish

PROFILE:
I […]

“I know God exists. It’s not a feeling, it’s a knowledge. He instantly healed my body more than once. He healed my son’s heart condition; the doctors were amazed. So I know God.
As a child, I believed in God at the time He healed me of a horrible disease, but I didn’t know God. […]

Spiritual surprise? “Most people see me as a tough, hard-nosed person, but they don’t know how often I am enraptured by God.”
“I am a parishioner and church staff person. I believe in the Triune God. I believe in Heaven and Hell, but not in the clouds or brimstone versions. I pray nearly every hour, […]

“At 16, I had the choice to work or go to church.  I chose work because it seemed that, in my church, no one understood what they were saying or believing in.  That turned me off from organized religion.
I lean towards atheism, yet I tend to think about Karma and reincarnation.  I believe science has […]

“Everything has to have a start; if not a start, a reason or source to exist. Something cannot come out of nothing.”
bullcallspread, 22/M, Saint Paul, apathetic

PROFILE:
I have mixed feelings on my religion/spiritual path; there is much I have yet to reconcile.
Services: Easter, Christmas, weddings
Congregation: yes
Heaven/Hell/Reincarnation: Yes
Pray: often
One true belief: no
Plan: yes

“God relieves me of alcoholism and helps me with character defects daily. Living life the way I believe He would have me live life is 1000 times better than living it on my own.”
SRS, 37/M, Minneapolis, Episcopal, but not devout

PROFILE:
Services: weekly
Congregation: yes
Heaven/Hell/Reincarnation: no
Pray: twice a day
One true belief: no
Plan: yes

Is there a surprising aspect to your spirituality? “No, but there are some things that are personal and we are taught not to share since it is unique to us.”
“I know God exists because I know that there is a living Prophet today. I know that He loves and cares for us. I know that […]

“I was supposedly barren, but had a baby at age 38. She was the last thing I ever wanted and the best thing that ever happened to me. She shouldn’t be…so I feel like she has to be here for a reason. Therefore, I must be here for a reason […]”