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Judaism

0 (0%)

Christianity

17 (23.3%)

Islam

1 (1.4%)

Hinduism

0 (0%)

Taoism

0 (0%)

Buddhism

0 (0%)

Scientology

2 (2.7%)

Other (please tell)

7 (9.6%)

Athiest

35 (47.9%)

Undecided

1 (1.4%)

Agnostic

10 (13.7%)

Total Members Voted: 70

[Billy]

Taxes

[Reelya]

it's not really so much a religion as a cult.

Poor you, the body thetans are clouding your judgement.

[Egan_BW]

But they're so snuggly!

[Frumple]

Stupid Question:

Reincarnation is basically the recycling of souls.  If the total population of stuff-with-souls grows, where do the 'new' souls come from?

Depends on the specific metaphysics. Sometimes there's mechanism for new souls to show up one way or another (more created, old ones fragmenting, etc.), sometimes there's not and there's always been a (massive) number waiting for something to get stuck in, sometimes there's not and some things just end up soulless p-zombie equivalents. Sometimes the question isn't really addressed and maybe you get whacked with something for asking questions the person you're asking don't want to answer.

So yeah. It depends on who you're asking and the metaphysical assumptions they're operating under. Not really a single catch-all explanation.

[Egan_BW]

underlying latticework of soul juice which extrudes new souls when more people are being born than are dying, and that crushes souls into dust when more are dying than being born. very effective system.

[Billy]

You're all wrong.
Theres only one soul and its mine. All mine
Now heres the deal plebs. I'm going to fragment it into pieces so you husks can fight over it.

[Egan_BW]

Nah, there's just one soul but it goes forwards and backwards in time to let us share it.

[Billy]

I did hear from some toothless guy that theres a reason for psychopaths and sociopaths. That they are just bodies the result of breeding when theres no new souls to inhabit.

[McTraveller]

Somewhat tangentially related to the creation of souls question. I recently heard some religious scholars talking about various types of power as relates to deities.  One of the powers discussed was the power to create.  So in some religions, e.g., at least Judaism and Christianity, God creates the new souls ex nihilo.  It's an interesting philosophical though actually - basically "only God can create from nothing."

It's also interesting because it starts laying the foundation of a discussion on the differences between creative power and coercive power.

I will be honest though, I hadn't heard the idea about new souls being created by fragmentation - I guess that has a sort of biological symmetry, since you might argue that humans are actually just "fragments" of some very small number (maybe even down to one) original individual.  I mean, yeah, sexual reproduction is more complex than asexual budding, but it is just a form of "a small fragment of an original growing up into a new entity."

[Frumple]

The biological symmetry is probably closer to plant cuttings and whatnot, if you're going that route with fragmentation, or some variation of lower level asexual reproduction.

There's apparently more or less explicitly parallel with sexual reproduction formulations, as well -- male and female soulstuff combining to make soulspawn.

[Descan]

This is my favourite story that answers the whole "where do we get new souls" thing from.

I'll plug it as often as I get the opportunity to, I love it. :>

If I were religious, I'd be that religion. Uh. Eggism. Sure.

[askovdk]

I just saw the top poll, is there really a Scientologist here? Also, it's not really so much a religion as a cult.

What’s the difference?

I read in a short-story once, that the difference is that a cult has rules for who gets to copulate who.

[KittyTac]

Oh, and you misspelled "atheist" in the poll.

[Starver]

Oh, and you misspelled "atheist" in the poll.

Oh, I thought that was supposed to be "most like a place in Kenya"... 

[KittyTac]

Or https://goo.gl/maps/VK2CFH4xy2J2