How do you decide which Religion to follow/consider joining?

[Infected Mushroom]

How do you personally decide which religions you want to join, which ones you MIGHT consider joining, and which ones are definitely out?

Here is a list of possibilities (there might be more) that someone might use as a criteria:
A. How likely the claims made by the religion are likely to be true
B. The appeal or lack of appeal of the promised rewards of the religion
C. How cool the religion and its icons are
D. your friends and family's religious beliefs

The questions to discuss

1. If you had to choose ONE of the above as the primary metric (a, b, c, or d or something else)... which one are you choosing and why?
2. In your experience, what do MOST people who currently follow a religion base their decisions PRIMARILY on?

My answers:

1.

I am not religious. I am constantly keeping an open mind but some religions sit more favourably with me than others. I primarily use C. I MIGHT consider becoming a Satanist or a Scientologists because aliens and demons are cool. By contrast, religions like Christianity or Buddhism are less appealing to me because the main characters of their religion don't have the same charisma or interest with me. They are also not as cool.

2.

While I think the majority of the people who end up unconditionally rejecting all religions do so on the basis of ''A", I feel like from my personal experience that the vast majority of people ACTUALLY evaluate their decisions regarding religion based on either ''B'' or ''D.'' ''A" tends to be given only token consideration while the focus tends to be on whether the religion promises something that you want (ex eternal salvation) or ''D'' (whether you would fit in with your friends and family etc). This would explain why the majority of people end up following their parents' religion and when questioned about why they believe what they believe, they avoid issues relating to ''A'' and instead focus on typical ''B'' type answers (''I like the idea of a God watching over me and loving me''... ''I like to believe my life is part of a greater plan.'').

[Luziyca]

Personally, it'd be if my family believes it, or if it is true. That's why I am now part of Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption: Mega-Reverend Oliver charmed me in.

[King Nephmir II]

You don't become "religious" by deciding which ideology or religion is the coolest. >_>

[New Carloso]

I'm pretty sure most people who follow a religion go by the one they have been brought up with.

[Aelex]

As, even thought my signature say the contrary, a theist; I don't decide at all. At least not yet.
I recognize myself completely into Christianity and feel strong bond of "tradition" with Catholicism but nothing more. At least yet.

[Democratic Socialist States of Africa]

I used to judge it mostly through my family, then I judged it by how likely Christianity was true, and I decided that it wasn't so I become an agnostic atheist.

[Eol Sha]

I'm pretty sure most people who follow a religion go by the one they have been brought up with.

I'm pretty much this. When I was younger my family'd go to church regularly on Sundays. We never adopted a specific Church to go to, but they were all pretty much the same. As time went on, though, we slowly stopped going. As of now, and I hope it remains this way, I am an atheist.

[BK117B2]

Most criteria only apply to those faking it.

For those not faking it, the list is pretty short: do they believe it is true?

Even then, that doesn't mean that the person will follow or participate (believing in a God does not necessitate worshipping it)

[Wallenburg]

Personally, it'd be if my family believes it, or if it is true. That's why I am now part of Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption: Mega-Reverend Oliver charmed me in.

I haven't planted my seed of faith yet, so I have yet to reap any harvest, but I'm considering conversion.

On topic, why would you follow a religion unless you thought it was true?

[MERIZoC]

Darts.

[Luziyca]

Personally, it'd be if my family believes it, or if it is true. That's why I am now part of Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption: Mega-Reverend Oliver charmed me in.

I haven't planted my seed of faith yet, so I have yet to reap any harvest, but I'm considering conversion.

On topic, why would you follow a religion unless you thought it was true?

If my family follows it, may as well follow it for the sake of community.

At least Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption is quite truthful. I kinda want to start a Canadian congregation from my house, to be fucking honest.

[Vashtanaraada]

If I had to subscribe to an actual philosophical opinion, it would be based on whatever made more sense to me and my view of the world around me, or what I may perceive as truth.

Luckily for me, I am relatively uncaring for such matters, and I have therefore been an apatheist for many years now.

[Katyuscha]

I create one and then follow it's doctrines, zealously

[Shamhnan Insir]

I use the following formula:
Number of goats to be sacrificed/the number of hats the religious leader owns. Then I multiply it by three^x (the points of the Illuminati triangle obviously), where X is equal to my current blood alcohol rating.

If this number is greater than 42, then I will consider joining.

[Alliir]

Well, as I'm sure multiple other have mentioned, Ya don't. You can only follow a religion if you have Faith, which sounded a bit more stupid then I thought it would. Basically, if ya believe it then you do, if not then ya don't. For me personally, it's like deciding whether to believe that the earth is flat or not. If ya believe it's one way, there's no way to change that belief unless you're given really good evidence, and that's hard to come up with when it comes to religion. So I usually just don't bring it up.

[Immoren]

Darts

Darts.

Gods damnit!
...
...
Wheel of Fortune.

[Katyuscha]

I use the following formula:
Number of goats to be sacrificed/the number of hats the religious leader owns. Then I multiply it by three^x (the points of the Illuminati triangle obviously), where X is equal to my current blood alcohol rating.

If this number is greater than 42, then I will consider joining.

Sorry, you won a free car instead

[Shamhnan Insir]

Darts

Darts.

Gods damnit!
...
...
Wheel of Fortune.

Is that with or without fancy hats and goats?

[Immoren]

Darts



Gods damnit!
...
...
Wheel of Fortune.

Is that with or without fancy hats and goats?

Optional.

[The Orson Empire]

Well...I never really had a choice. I was raised by my family to be a Southern Baptist. I have since abandoned that fundamentalist nonsense, but I am still a Christian.

[Shamhnan Insir]

I use the following formula:
Number of goats to be sacrificed/the number of hats the religious leader owns. Then I multiply it by three^x (the points of the Illuminati triangle obviously), where X is equal to my current blood alcohol rating.

If this number is greater than 42, then I will consider joining.

Sorry, you won a free car instead

Considering my current blood alcohol that isn't surprising. Oh well, at least this way we save a few goats.

[Katyuscha]

Sorry, you won a free car instead

Considering my current blood alcohol that isn't surprising. Oh well, at least this way we save a few goats.

I just realized that I'd responded to the wrong post. Oh well.

Join my cult and you can slaughter a goat for ever container of alcohol you consume

[Empire of Narnia]

Choose the religion you believe in. Don't pick something just because it seems cool or different or to make a statement. That just makes you a faker.

[Shamhnan Insir]

Considering my current blood alcohol that isn't surprising. Oh well, at least this way we save a few goats.

I just realized that I'd responded to the wrong post. Oh well.

Join my cult and you can slaughter a goat for ever container of alcohol you consume

I like how you used "container of alcohol", this vague measure appeals to me greatly
As for the goats, well we could slaughter one for dinner if you want, and maybe do the whole "biblical shepherds" thing and drunkenly follow bright shiny things in the sky?

[New Werpland]

Whichever one Prussia Steinbach hates most.