Voices

People answering the Times Orange County Poll and others interviewed for this series were asked to elaborate on their feelings about God, worship and spirituality.

Jefferson Sickles, 23, is a Navy corpsman based in El Toro.

He attended Presbyterian churches intermittently as a child but considers himself an agnostic.

“I think religious worship is a personal thing. Religion is created by man and does not substantiate (whether) there is a God. You can find as many similarities as differences, so which one is right? Why should I commit to following one when there’s so many different religions out there?. . . .

“I won’t deny that (God) does exist, but I won’t argue for it either. Maybe God is up there. I don’t really know, but I won’t say He isn’t. . . .

“I wonder if there is a heaven or hell, especially after people I have met have had . . . afterlife experiences that lead me to believe there (may be) something out there after death. But you can’t tell for sure. . . .

“I follow many of these things the Bible says we should be doing . . . despite the fact that I’m not a religious person and don’t go to church on a regular basis to worship God. . . . If there is a God, I don’t think He put us here to worship Him. . . . He would have wanted me to do something with my life and make changes. . . .

“If there is a God, we are not the sole creation. . . . And I don’t believe we were created in the image of God because everything would look the same as us out there.”

Shais Khan, 20, of Villa Park is a business major at USC.

A Muslim, he regularly attends the Islamic Center of Orange County mosque in Garden Grove.

“Islam is a very practical religion. It’s a way of life, actually. It has greatly shaped the way I act with people. . . . It is a really down-to-earth religion. It sticks to hard-core values, like brotherhood.

“In Islam, we all think of each other as brothers and sisters. . . . When one Muslim is hurting in another part of the world, another Muslim can feel that pain. . . .

“When we pray, we thank God for what He’s giving us. We ask God to help us to become better Muslims so we can live better with other citizens. . . .

“My faith in my religion means a lot to me. . . . I try to be an example on my campus. I live by the principles of my religion. . . . Islam is a very ethical religion--you don’t tell lies, you don’t cheat. You should always be humble and be nice to everybody. I think it’s very important to be on your best behavior. To be a good example.

“Sometimes, I’ll be in class and I will ask if I can leave a few minutes early because I have to go perform my prayers. Some people are curious about that and it is a chance for me to tell them about my religion. . . .

“I think my parents have raised me well and taught me hard-core values. . . . We love God so much, we fear that if we don’t obey what He has told us, then we will pay the consequences, in this life or the next.”

Lisa Ann Fenton, 27, is a single mother of two living in Cypress.

She was raised as a Baptist but no longer attends church.

“The church doesn’t play an important role in my religious beliefs. I think the most important point is that I know God loves me whether I go to church or not. . . . In my heart, I believe in God. Sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn’t. . . .

“My family life was abusive, and believing in God has helped me work through that pain. . . . (But) last month, I found out that I have cancer, so I’m praying and hope God will hear me.

“I’m teaching my children about God, because I feel like my days are numbered. I want my two little girls to know God and to believe in something. I pray to God to watch over my children.”

Fenton was raised by her grandparents in the Baptist faith and the father of her children is a Baptist. Yet she said: “Being a Baptist doesn’t really play any role in my life. . . . It’s a religious choice I never thought to question or change. . . .

“I wouldn’t say I worship at home; I ask questions. If you keep praying for answers, sometime God has to respond. There has to be a reason for my suffering. I ask God why I should keep paying for my parents’ sins? I wonder why all the pain and suffering fell on me.”