Hedonism

DoomieBey

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
319
Reaction score
17
Question: Would Hedonism be considered a religion?

I've been a self-proclaimed lover of all things healthily [is that a word?] pleasurable since I was in my mid twenties. I certainly don't knock "traditional" religions, but I believe in enjoying life for what it is. Swinger parties would be my "drug" addiction, though I've had to give it up since making a commitment to my fiance of whom I'm about to marry.

I'm very much into multicultural/racially diverse environments, and find beauty in almost all things. My fiance is not a church-going Christian, so there's no real conflict in the house. I suppose this question stems from open conversations with people who see my way of thinking as anti-God and/or perverse. I don't drink or use drugs, but I have no problem with others - as long as it's consentual. I'm vegetarian because I don't believe in killing other life forms for food.

I don't know, I just get stumped when someone ask's me what my religion is. I don't feel as if I'm Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, etc. Are there any other Hedonists out there? Or do you know any??
 

Ruv Draba

Banned
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
5,114
Reaction score
1,322
I don't know that hedonism is a religion, Doomie, but it's certainly a philosophy and possibly a Way.

There have certainly been mystical beliefs associated with hedonism -- including some pagan, neopagan and shamanistic beliefs, as well as nonmystical beliefs, like secular epicureanism. People have explored hedonism as a way of discovering the inner self, as a way of seeking peace, of finding mutual acceptance, and as a way of connecting with cosmic mysteries. If you're interested in the mystical side you might hit up the Pagan forum and ask there -- someone's bound to know something.

Hedonism is also a trait strongly associated with the Artisan temperament according to Keirsey's personality typing. Keirsey types around 30% of the population as being mainly artisan temperaments -- including many composers, performers, crafters, promoters. The sorts of personalities drawn to careers like music, hospitality, sports and sales love hedonism, as you probably know yourself.

You probably also know (or should at least be aware) that there are a lot of people whose temperaments won't allow them to follow where you delight to tread. Some may be skeptical, bordering on hostile. In my view it's simply because they don't have the same mental wiring to see the potentials that a hedonist sees in sensation. Conversely, some of these people may also delight in going places that would bore or appall you.

For myself, I'm a monogamous intellectual and married to a mad-keen foody. While my preferred pleasures relate to devouring abstract thoughts, my preferred intercourse is verbal, and my preferred form of nourishment would be photosynthesis or recharging at a wall socket, to please my wife I've developed something of a palate for fine food and good wine, as well as some gourmet cooking ability, and some ability with massage. So life's not always an either/or thing. :)
 
Last edited:

citymouse

fantasy dweller
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
1,316
Reaction score
140
In my view hedonism isn't a religion where one worships a god as much as it is the philosophy of self worship. It's a view of how to live in a world full of goodies; of how to get stuffed without getting snuffed.

When I was in college I professed the hedonistic belief that what is pleasurable is good and what is painful is bad. This is a rather narrow view I know, but it worked for me. I suppose Thomas Jefferson came closest to the core of hedonism when he wrote that the art of living is the art of avoiding pain. In the context he was writing Jefferson specifically was referring to the heartache of lost love not accidentally burning your hand on the stove.

When people ask what your religion is tell them your a Pisces. It's nobody's business.
C


Question: Would Hedonism be considered a religion?

I've been a self-proclaimed lover of all things healthily [is that a word?] pleasurable since I was in my mid twenties. I certainly don't knock "traditional" religions, but I believe in enjoying life for what it is. Swinger parties would be my "drug" addiction, though I've had to give it up since making a commitment to my fiance of whom I'm about to marry.

I'm very much into multicultural/racially diverse environments, and find beauty in almost all things. My fiance is not a church-going Christian, so there's no real conflict in the house. I suppose this question stems from open conversations with people who see my way of thinking as anti-God and/or perverse. I don't drink or use drugs, but I have no problem with others - as long as it's consentual. I'm vegetarian because I don't believe in killing other life forms for food.

I don't know, I just get stumped when someone ask's me what my religion is. I don't feel as if I'm Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, etc. Are there any other Hedonists out there? Or do you know any??
 

Ruv Draba

Banned
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
5,114
Reaction score
1,322
When I was in college I professed the hedonistic belief that what is pleasurable is good and what is painful is bad. This is a rather narrow view I know, but it worked for me. I suppose Thomas Jefferson came closest to the core of hedonism when he wrote that the art of living is the art of avoiding pain.
This thinking dates back to Epicurus, in fact. He was a materialist who believed that the path to peace was through modest pleasure (modest, to avoid getting hurt or killed by it). Epicureanism fell into disfavour for a long time, but has seen the occasional resurgence of popularity.

Some puritan types think that all materialism is hedonism of one form or another, but it ain't so. There are other branches of materialism too. (And I sometimes wonder whether the folks who make such accusations aren't just scared hedonists themselves. :))

In the same way, not all hedonism is materialism either. Some hedonists are quite mystical about it all.
 

DoomieBey

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
319
Reaction score
17
Thanks to all.

I've enjoyed reading your posts, and hope to see more. I got myself into some hot water with the future Mrs because some friends and family were over, and the subject of addictions came up. When pressured about my addiction [according to the majority of the guests, everyone has an addiction] I responded that if I had to label one, it would be gambling [craps], porn and swingers parties [I'm not gay or bi]; then I looked at the ring leader of the inquisition and said matter-of-factly: "Especially Greek".

Y'all should've seen the looks on their faces. Figuring me to be Christian, the mouthy one challenged me by asking how a Christian could indulge in such a lifestyle; while the others looked at my fiance as if to say, "What have you gotten yourself into, girl?!". I asked the group why they thought I was Christian -

More gasps (lol).

Round and round they went: "Are you Muslim?", "Buddhist?", "Do you even freakin BELIEVE in God!?" That's where I got stuck.
My fiance knew that was once my lifestyle, but was irritated that I didn't [lie] concede for the sake of guests. I feel much better now. Thanks again.
 
Last edited:

Ruv Draba

Banned
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
5,114
Reaction score
1,322
according to the majority of the guests, everyone has an addiction
That sort of thinking gets murky because the terms don't define well. I suspect that what the guests were talking about are behaviours we enjoy that risk doing us harm, but which we do anyway. Perhaps it's alcohol, coffee or cigarettes. Perhaps its sweets. Perhaps it's heli-skiing like this fellow, who went back after being rescued from an avalanche. Perhaps it's exercise or frequent sex with strangers.

So much of that comes down to what we perceive life and risk to be about though. At the moment we have a myth that a long life is a good life. If pressed, we might add that a long healthy, joyful life is a good life -- which would beg the question: which is more important, healthy, joyful or long? Different people have different answers.

There's a sense of the word 'religious' that means 'passionate and devoted'. We'll say 'He exercises religiously' and by that I think we mean 'He exercises as though it were a gateway to a blessed afterlife'. I don't think though that to exercise religiously is necessarily to be religious.

The word religion comes from the latin religionem, meaning "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods". Religion I think hangs on the sacred and I've said elsewhere that what makes something sacred are the taboos we put around it -- taboos that affect how we speak or act about it.

A gym-junkie who hits the gym five times a week wouldn't qualify as religious. But a gym-junkie who must wear particular gym-clothes, go at particular times of the day, do particular exercises in particular quantities in a particular order, and who gets distressed if they don't could well be described as religious.

(He could also be described as having a neurosis, but that's the nature of making things sacred -- we get fearful about how we treat them. Our ceremonies and customs become compulsions.)

From what you've written, Doomie, I don't think I could call your hedonism a religion. You don't seem to have any verbal taboos about it; you seem happy to switch forms of hedonism to accommodate others. What I think you have is just an opportunistic desire for pleasure -- one that makes your life meaningful to you, but which isn't bound by ceremony, custom or taboo.

I'd call it a philosophy, or perhaps a Way.

Round and round they went: "Are you Muslim?", "Buddhist?", "Do you even freakin BELIEVE in God!?"
In a Keirsey model, I've said that I think you'd probably be typed as an Artisan (you can see if I've guessed right and take their test if you like -- my guess is a Promoter personality like Madonna or JFK). Almost opposite to you in personality typing are the Guardian types. They're about 40%+ of the population. It's guardian types who care most about what tribe you belong to, what customs you adhere to, and what The Rules are. They're also the ones who get most shocked by Artisan behaviours -- even to the point of getting punitive about it. Often too, they're the ones who bore Artisan temperaments most quickly. :)

(Many Buddhists, by the way, don't believe in gods. But they are recognisably a Tribe with Belonging and Customs, which means that Guardian personalities instantly recognise them as a religion.)

Some Promoter-type quotes:
"I believe that it's better to be looked over than it is to be overlooked." -- Mae West

"Forgotten is forgiven." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we will never surrender." -- Winston Churchill.

Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. -- PT Barnum