Hellenismos! Reconstructionist, to be precise.
It's the belief in the ancient Greek Gods. Of course, I don't go around butchering cows and things, but I pay my respects to them with libations and candles. My religion encourages free-thinking, curiosity, discovery, and open-mindedness. On that same note, I take the myths to be human interpretations of phenomena instigated by the Gods. In other words, not wholly true and certainly not to be taken literally. I believe in evolution and most scientific explanations for the processes of the world around us, but believe that the Gods are in control of the processes. I believe in reincarnation (like the Orphic tradition, sort of), but I believe souls eventually achieve Elysium. After they're perfected, they go onto a Heaven of sorts. If they're truly terrible, they suffer a few years of punishment in Hades, but are freed from that and allowed a second chance in another life. I also follow the Delphic Maxims, a set of life recommendations suggested by the Seven Sages and inscribed at Delphi, and I believe that they were inspired by the god Apollo(n). My religion also believes in gay rights and similar; that's a hard pill for me to swallow, having been raised in the Bible Belt of the U.S., but I'm trying to at least maintain an open mind. (My male best friend's bisexual, so I'm definitely trying to accept it, for his sake.) I also believe that duty to my family and community surpasses duty to myself. My religion teaches the virtues of self-discipline, charity, kindness, and justice. The Delphic Maxims say that we should intend to be married, but there is nothing against premarital sexual relations, unless you swear an oath to a God or Goddess that you won't sleep with anyone until you're married, which is an entirely different story. There are some holy days that focus on fertility which are enough to make one blush, days of dancing and hunting and running wild through forests, but then there are ceremonial days which are more solemn. We don't believe the Gods are the images they inhabit, or even
like those images, but rather that those images are human interpretations of an idea that is nearly impossible to grasp. I personally believe (and this doesn't mean other Hellenists do) that the Gods are simply the forces behind the processes which keep the universe in order, and which I feel an overwhelming need to worship. I also believe that divine inspiration may come to those who don't believe in the Gods, as well as those who do; I also believe that all other gods are varying interpretations of the Gods, and that because of that, no idea can be called blatantly wrong, though the ideas attached to those other beliefs may sometimes be a bit hard for me to understand.
My religion is a religion of the middle line: We encourage curiosity and scientific reason, like atheists, agnostics, and scientists; but we also encourage faith. We encourage family, community, ceremony, marriage, charity, and self-discipline like good Christians and Catholics; but we also encourage freedom, fertility, the arts, and occasional drinking. We believe in the Gods, but we don't criticize others for their lack of belief, nor do we speak of our religion, unless we are asked to speak of it ("Be religiously silent," as the Delphic Maxims say). My particular strain of Hellenistic Reconstruction believes in numerous reincarnations with eventual Elysium, an idea vaguely similar to Buddhist beliefs. There are Homeric and Orphic hymns to draw from while worshipping.
I love my religion. It took me a long while to realize that, and accept myself for what I believe in. I still struggle with the fact that I live in the Bible Belt, and am the only non-Christian I know of here. Still, I've finally realized that this religion -- and no other -- suits me.