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I think I touched on my own beliefs in the Atheism thread, but I will be more than happy to put them down here for any who's interested.
First of all, I believe that I know very little. This is my starting point. For all the 24 year's worth of knowledge I've accumulated, there are thousands of years worth of teachings out there that I will never get around to in my lifetime and there are millions of years worth of phenomena and principles and mechanics within this mortal coil of ours that I will never be able to study and comprehend.
From this I draw the conclusion that for me to assume that I can guess the answer to the biggest question we as a species are faced with (the origin of the Universe) is simply misinformed and more than a little conceited. I don't have enough information to draw a conclusion from and anything I attempt to give as an answer is wild speculation. There's no basis for it.
But then, I don't know everything, as has already been established. Therefore it's entirely possible that other individuals might know something I don't. Given that, it would be equally arrogant for me to dismiss their beliefs; I know that they've thought about their own answers, probably at least as much as I've thought about mine. Their answers are clearly valid and meaningful to them, so who am I to say that they're wrong? I don't know that they're wrong anymore than I know that they're right. The only thing I know is that I know very little.
This is why I try to approach all beliefs on equal footing, whether they're Christian or Judaic or atheistic. Each is deserving of respect; I may not share your opinion, but I will certainly respect your right to it and even acknowledge the fact that I cannot say with any certainty that you're wrong.
Interestingly, this means that the only time I will come into conflict with someone's religious beliefs is when that person refuses to show me or another person the same respect. You don't have to believe what someone else believes in order to respect their right to draw their own conclusions. Assuming that you hold all the answers and that other people are too stupid or too badly misinformed to find the 'right' answer on their own is, I think, the absolute pinnacle of arrogance.
And that's what I believe.
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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said
- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
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