i'd say hes agnostic or atheist.

He has met god before

@supermanfan1234: @ComicKID777:

Superman, as far as I know is a moderate christian that believes that christian = good and likely never cracked the bible, but believes everything in it type. The average person type. So while he is likely a Christian in the sense that most people are familiar with, according to strict definition he'd be, like most people a theist who believes things that about the label of Christianity that are not true.

He is, in some canon, a world traveler and looked into philosophers and religion which generally denotes atheistic leanings, but is just as likely to fall on deaf ears or new age ears. Especially Superman, The fact that he grew up in Kansas (the bible belt) and is largely a faith based type person I'd say that he is more likely what i described above than a new ager or an atheist.

On a side note to that... Agnostic is not a label. It is a modifier. You can't be "an agnostic." People who use that term are using it wrong in most cases and are more over using it out of fear of derision from theist or are ignorant in general. Further more it is somewhat of a dumb modifier to use in the modern day because the modern outlook is that of Agnosticism, which is that that there is nothing one can know absolutely. Gnosticism on the other hand is that one can know things absolutely and anyone that claims anything with the gnostic modifier is generally an idiot, especially in the areas where people tend to like to use it, in theology.

Now... as to "He has met god." That isn't really anything meaningful philosophically for all sorts of reasons, but more over one could say that if he were to accept that being as his god, which it isn't, in universe he would be the same as anyone else who had "an experience" and it could very easily be written off since we and he have no idea what exactly could have caused him to see what happened and there is no evidence nor way to repeat so to him it could have all been in his head as far as everyone, including him is concerned... or it could have been just another alien/entity...which it is since the god he met wasn't his creator ^.^

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html

Pre-flashpoint Superman was a Methodist.

@ssejllenrad said:

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html

Pre-flashpoint Superman was a Methodist.

That site is garbage. Sorry, it is. They make tons of statements about what people who have worked on the book says and general histories and even point to some imagery that points one way or another, but they generally don't take into account what the character itself says from what I've read of it...

For example, Batman's entry is so stone-cold wrong it is baffling. Bruce Wayne flat out states he doesn't believe in anything supernatural and they still think he's not an Atheist because the tombstones of his parents are a given shape.

Another example... Tim Drake is firmly established to be an atheist and yet they mark him as jewish catholic.

From what that site posts what Superman says, not what others say Superman is, he is what i said he likely would be... Moderate Christian that heavily leans to the skeptical

Great Rao!
BB

superman was probably worshiping the sun.

It's humorous that anyone can be an atheist in a continuity where the Spectre exists.

He grew up in a small town and most likely went to church every weekend. Most likely he is Lutheran/Protestant/Methodist (MAYBE Baptist)

Since all the stuff supes has experienced throughout his lifetime i think he definitely believes in a higher power,God....but not a particular religion. Superman:Redemption shed some light on this.

Atheist - how could he not be? every "god" he has meet turns out to be an alien from another planet or an other dimension. Even the norse and greek gods are just physical beings that superman can beat up. Plus with his super powers and knowledge he knows and can observe the workings of the universe.

I think it's been implied in Action Comics (as of the New 52) that Jonathan and Martha Kent were Baptist, so it's not unreasonable to think Clark might be as well.

It's humorous that anyone can be an atheist in a continuity where the Spectre exists.

That site is garbage. Sorry, it is. They make tons of statements about what people who have worked on the book says and general histories and even point to some imagery that points one way or another, but they generally don't take into account what the character itself says from what I've read of it...

For example, Batman's entry is so stone-cold wrong it is baffling. Bruce Wayne flat out states he doesn't believe in anything supernatural and they still think he's not an Atheist because the tombstones of his parents are a given shape.

Christian. A small town farm boy raised with Conservative morals and ideals? What else would he be?

@Crash_Recovery:

I agree... somewhat. The problem is the word "God." Depending on what people mean I flip back and forth with how certain I am that this or that definition is or isn't possible/extant. Some people simply define god really stupidly to mean things like love or energy. Obviosly those things exist and so in that term ok sure, theist. Some define it as a cosmic sentience that "is" the universe... maybe. Some define god as a being with great powers that are far above ours... Well by that definition we are gods to our ancestors so ok. And some say creator! and I say ok possible with infinite numbers of universes and us knowing how to theoretically make a universe I'm sure somewhere it is possible that a universe has a creator. I on the other hand like to use the definition which is more in line with what someone means when they say god which is something along the lines of "A sentient being that is worthy of being worshiped that is also the source, or one of the sources, of all things" and to that I say... nope, not possible on several levels, and even if possible, unprovable. Because that last one, and some of the others that makes me an atheist and is how someone could meet a "god" and still be an atheist. It's funny really ^.^

You come up with a definition and I'll tell you if that makes me atheist or theist... and likely whether the definition is dumb or not, but because of this problem is why it's "reasonable" to be an atheist in a world where you've literally met gods. Of course...theoretically, when Batman and Red robin say they are atheists they are sorta saying they don't believe in us and I definitely exist so i think they're wrong!

@Izaiah: While it doesn't claim he couldn't be, it is pretty flat out stated that those two, Tim and Bruce, are atheists. Tim in the Azrael arc pre-flashpoint and Bruce just about every time magic or super natural comes up. One notable time, which I find hilarious, he tells Deadman that he doesn't believe in ghosts or the supernatural and all that. Deadman asks how do you explain me, and Bruce brings up the hologram theory. Just that exchange is funny to think about. But in those two cases it flat out states they are atheists more or less. Maybe the people who write that site don't know that word or maybe they just don't like it. I don't know, but to me, that type of leaving out and wording wreaks of dishonesty.

I'd say agnostic/humanist. There's an interesting 2 part story in Action Comics #848 and Action Comics #849 about this issue.

@buttersdaman000 said:

@Crash_Recovery said:

It's humorous that anyone can be an atheist in a continuity where the Spectre exists.

Exactly lol!

Or Zeus or Rao or Ra or Odin

i honestly dont see how he believes in god

i mean this guy is the man o steel if he was on krypton they would not believe in any gods as kryptonians were a scientific race scientist like to escape the barrier of religion and do not believe in miracles. so i say he doesnt have a religion

@XxDoyleBoi: Rao

Superman was raised in the Methodist Church, has researched the religions of Krypton (Rao) and has had heart-to-hearts with Catholic priests. I think he's intended to be a believer who struggles with exactly what he believes.

He looks around at the ladies of the Justice League and thinks

there must be a god

superman believes in superman

@XxDoyleBoi said:

i honestly dont see how he believes in god

i mean this guy is the man o steel if he was on krypton they would not believe in any gods as kryptonians were a scientific race scientist like to escape the barrier of religion and do not believe in miracles. so i say he doesnt have a religion

@GunGunW said:

Christian. A small town farm boy raised with Conservative morals and ideals? What else would he be?

Exactly my thoughts.

The superheros and religion thing is always iffy. Here is a man who knows for a fact that the Presence, the Source, the Spectre, angels, Zeus, Athena, Ares, Thor, magic, alien dieties, Entities, infini dimensions, ghosts, time traveling laser vision, demons, Asura, and little blue men that protect the universe all exist. How the hell would anyone pick what's right?

@GunGunW said:

Christian. A small town farm boy raised with Conservative morals and ideals? What else would he be?

I agree with this

@Brazen_Intellect said:

He looks around at the ladies of the Justice League and thinks

there must be a god

exactly.

Superman believes in Batman

@XxDoyleBoi said:

i honestly dont see how he believes in god

i mean this guy is the man o steel if he was on krypton they would not believe in any gods as kryptonians were a scientific race scientist like to escape the barrier of religion and do not believe in miracles. so i say he doesnt have a religion

Because he's been to the afterlife and has met numerous supernatural beings such as angels (e.g. Zauriel) and demons (Asmodel, Blaze, Satanus, Neron) and all that. It really doesn't make sense to be an atheist in their world seeing as the occurrence of events that defy physical laws is an everyday thing.

.

@supermanfan1234 said:

i'd say hes agnostic or atheist.

Yeah cause he met Spectre and thought "Meh.. You're master does not exist!"... Nyahahaha!

@Dernman: Off-topic.. Has Zauriel appeared in the New 52?

@Dernman: Off-topic.. Has Zauriel appeared in the New 52?

There is a wide difference between being religious and being atheist. Given the beings he's met atheist wouldn't be accurate unless he denies there existence, he's fought gods and fought with them after all. It doesn't mean he's cracking open a bible when he relaxes at the fortress of solitude.

He doesn't belong to any organized religion, his moral code comes from himself. Maybe a religious upbringing helped impart that on him but he's not doing what he does for "God" or to improve his standing for an afterlife.

@Durakken said:

On a side note to that... Agnostic is not a label. It is a modifier. You can't be "an agnostic." People who use that term are using it wrong in most cases and are more over using it out of fear of derision from theist or are ignorant in general. Further more it is somewhat of a dumb modifier to use in the modern day because the modern outlook is that of Agnosticism, which is that that there is nothing one can know absolutely. Gnosticism on the other hand is that one can know things absolutely and anyone that claims anything with the gnostic modifier is generally an idiot, especially in the areas where people tend to like to use it, in theology.

What are you going on about? Organized religion still runs on the basis of blind faith so its ridiculous to say the modern view point is agnosticism. One can certainly be an Agnostic, it is a view/philosophy that one can adopt as there own exactly the same way as someone can be Catholic or Muslim.

@MisterKetch said:

What are you going on about? Organized religion still runs on the basis of blind faith so its ridiculous to say the modern view point is agnosticism. One can certainly be an Agnostic, it is a view/philosophy that one can adopt as there own exactly the same way as someone can be Catholic or Muslim.

Blind faith, as if there is any other kind, is not the same as gnostic/agnostic. There are very few people who actually put forth that they know anything absolutely and those that do are laughed at by just about everyone. Our entire society and culture is based on agnostic principles.

As to whether someone can be "an" agnostic. No, they can't. Go learn English. Agnostic is an adjective, a modifier to a noun. Saying you are "an" agnostic is simply bad grammar and a complete misunderstanding of the word in general..

Superman and Lois (Pre-Flashpoint) got wed on a church. Just saying.

@ssejllenrad: I have the issue where the scans are from. And I still think it's deliberately iffy. I mean in Action Comics 848 and 848 there's a story where this guy called Redemption gets his powers via the faith of his church being channeled to him. He goes round to 3rd world countries fighting dissidents attacking the soldiers or something like that. And Superman comments on how he doesn't mind religion, only when its beliefs are imposed on others. I really want to get those issues now to get the full story.

There's also another tale in Superman: For All Seasons I believe where it shows that Clark did use to go to a church in Smallville but then stopped due to his powers developing, particularly his superhearing which meant he could hear all the confessions made to the priest. These confessions were beginning to make him think that humanity wasn't as good as he thought it could be so he decided to focus on the better aspects of humanity. So in that regard, Christianity didn't help him there.

He's a practicing muslim. I mean it's obvious. I'm not even going to list the reasons why its obvious because it's just so obvious and relevant to the character.

@TheCrowbar said:

He's a practicing muslim. I mean it's obvious. I'm not even going to list the reasons why its obvious because it's just so obvious and relevant to the character.

@ssejllenrad said:

@TheCrowbar said:

He's a practicing muslim. I mean it's obvious. I'm not even going to list the reasons why its obvious because it's just so obvious and relevant to the character.

lool

His creators were Jewish and modelled Superman after Jewish figures from the Golem to Moses. Larry Tye in his Superman book even addresses Superman's religion head on and speaks about how his creators never intended for him to be Christian, but later generations of writers who themselves were Christian interpreted him that way.

Yes, Superman was raised on a farm in Kansas by people who were presumably Christian but he eventually came to know that he is in fact not even human, but rather a Kryptonian/alien. And obviously there was no Christianity on Krypton, instead those people had their own very different beliefs. That would surely have influenced Superman's worldview. More to the point, he is never shown practising religion in the comics (getting married in a church is just something people culturally do whether they're really religious or not) regardless of what he may or may not believe about the supernatural (which is actually real in the DCU). It is shown however that he uses science considerably (he would probably have grown up to be a scientist like his father had Krypton not died) and it's clear that shapes his understanding of the universe more than any religion.

Superman is probably agnostic or undefined as open minded. I don't think he should be considered Christian, because he was created by two Jewish kids, and they presumably didn't intend him to be Christian or probably any denomination. I don't think Superman would be bound to a narrow interpretation of religion, he's the kind of guy who would be open minded to anything and accept any positive school of thought. He has made mention of Kryptonian religions but I don't think he practices those at all.

@Durakken: even though I agree to an extant,batman has shown to have religious affiliation.And other times they make things contradictory to that.Tim drake,I just don't know about him.

When it comes to comics,nothing makes sense.I am surprised that science is actually used in the comicbook world,and on many occasions they have odin and zeus in the same universe.

@cameron83: Batman is shown to have religious iconography and be respectful of his parents. He was likely baptized whatever and even likely attended some sort of theistic private school... that doesn't make one an "x" nor does it make one a "lapsed." That is a term that cults use as to claim members and thus make themselves look bigger than they are.

If we were to base my "religious affiliation" on various metrics...

• Baptised Catholic
• Father was Lutheran
• Went to a Nazarene school
• Father switched to Jehovah Witness
• Father baptised Mormon
• I held more Gnostic Christian beliefs before deconverting

So what do you think that makes me? By what you are arguing I'd be a lapsed Catholic Lutheran Nazarene Jehovah Witness Mormon Gnostic christian... which is so utterly wrong on so many levels. Arguing he has symbols around him is similar. Most people aren't pagans but that doesn't stop them from having most of the pagan holidays and symbols around...even those forbade in the bible like the Christmas tree.

The fact is that is not something to go on. What he says he believes is what you have to go on. That is pretty much the one line he has been firm on forever "No such thing as supernatural"

Oh also, the word is "extent" not "extant" The former means limit and the latter means exists. Just in case that wasn't a typo... not calling you out. I'd just hate to go around saying the wrong word because no one ever told me lol

superman is whatever his writer want him to be. the only reason you would see him in a church is because most readers are christian. on that account he might as well be jewish, just like the two who brought him to this world.

...on a farther note, superman is whatever you want him to be - that's what also make him part of you.

I thought he was previously anglican. But writers have shy away from writing religion in Superman's book. But his very existence is a comic book version of jesus christ.

You know how the father sents his son down to earth to be our saviour kinda thing?

superman is whatever his writer want him to be. the only reason you would see him in a church is because most readers are christian. on that account he might as well be jewish, just like the two who brought him to this world.

...on a farther note, superman is whatever you want him to be - that's what also make him part of you.

Having Superman subscribe to any particular religion lessens the greatness of the character. He belongs to all of us, all of humanity, representing the good we have to offer. Plus, he's pretty much a sun god himself.

Superman isn't Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu, he's Superman. Batman, on the other hand, is an atheist.