"I am a believer." In what?

May 24, 2009 9:50 AM

"I am a believer." What does this mean, exactly? I think it means that the speaker believes in the resurrection of Christ, but I am wondering if it also conveys more information--perhaps that the person believes generally but does not identify with a particular denomination. Or does it indicate that they are an evangelical Christian? Is this something that a Roman Catholic would be likely to say? I've only been hearing this in the past few years--is that just coincidence, or has this expression recently gained currency for some reason?
posted by HotToddy to religion & philosophy (29 comments total)

speaking as someone raised roman catholic, no longer identifies with any religion and currently lives in the buckle of the bible belt, i say it to mean "get out of my face with your jesus mumbo jumbo"
posted by ms.jones at 10:05 AM on May 24

I say it because I thought that love was only true in fairy tales, there for someone else but not for me, then I saw her face.

Seriously, though, I think what people mean by that statement is going to vary on a person-by-person basis.
posted by Mike1024 at 10:10 AM on May 24 [5 favorites]

I don't think this is something that would commonly be said by Roman Catholics, or mainline (non-evangelical) Protestants.
posted by availablelight at 10:28 AM on May 24

Disclosure: I'm a Christian.

The phrase "I'm a believer" conveys no objective theological information. They may be Catholic, Presbyterian, Mormon, Universalist or Unitarian. They may believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, they may believe that Christ was a prophet, or they may not believe that Christ even existed.

The speaker may not even believe in the God of the Christian faith at all.
posted by DWRoelands at 10:31 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]

Casting another vote for it not having specific meaning. If you google the phrase, the first page of links give you these very-different meanings:

- Part of a song (sung by Shrek in particular)

- A person in Illinois, who wants us to know that she believes in God, and is a non-practicing Catholic

- A student in Washington, who states he believes in extraterrestrial life

- A church in London who asks that -- if you are part of a believing church -- you pray for people who don't believe (and given the banner quote at the top of their page, I'd say it was believing that your sins are washed away in the blood of Christ)
posted by Houstonian at 10:43 AM on May 24

To clarify, I am talking about when people say "I'm a believer" in a strictly religious context, for instance, listing it under "religious views" on Facebook.
posted by HotToddy at 11:24 AM on May 24

“I’m a believer” is amorphous.

My dear friend/former boss, an elderly, Jewish Chicagoan, used the term quite often as shorthand for:

“You know that I do believe in God but where do these Orthodox get off making the women sit upstairs at temple and looking at you gals funny when you walk into the butcher shops out on Devon because they’re worried you're having your time of the month? And those fanatics in the Middle East?? Sheesh!! To say nothing about these fundamental Jesus ones we've got here--trust me when I tell you that these people have ruined my Republican party--being very, very unkind to the homosexuals. And lesbians--some of whom wear make-up and everything!”
posted by applemeat at 11:34 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]

They may be Catholic, Presbyterian, Mormon, Universalist or Unitarian.

On a side note, I'm a UU and have never heard another UU say "I am a believer." I think this is more associated with various Christian denominations, and UUism is not a Christian denomination.
posted by All.star at 11:38 AM on May 24

Another vote for "hard to tell," but my hunch would also trend toward availablelight's answer.
posted by midatlanticwanderer at 11:52 AM on May 24

In this context, I take it to mean, "I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and personal Savior." It's Protestant, evangelical.
posted by unknowncommand at 11:53 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]

I had no idea that "I am a believer" had such a specific evangelical meaning. I am Indian and back home saying "I am a believer" would merely mean that you believed in God in general i.e. not an atheist.
posted by peacheater at 12:36 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]

I agree that this is evangelical code/shorthand for being Born Again.
posted by mkultra at 12:58 PM on May 24 [3 favorites]

I describe myself as a born-again Evangelical Christian. I would not use the phrase "I am a believer" to describe my religious commitment unless I wanted to distinguish myself from an agnostic or an atheist. I know of no denominational meaning to 'I am a believer'.
posted by birdwatcher at 1:07 PM on May 24

This is more shorthand; it's a little explicit to be code. It definitely primarily refers to someone who has chosen to accept Christ as their personal Savior -- someone who is born again, usually evangelical Christian rather than old-line mainstream Protestant.

Of course other types of Christians including Catholics would insist that they "believe", but to evangelicals, being born again is a life-defining moment for which there is a Before and After. It really is that important.
posted by dhartung at 1:21 PM on May 24

From E. M. Forster's 1920s short story Mr. Andrews, about an Englishman and a Turk who meet in the afterlife:

"Are you not a Christian?" asked Mr. Andrews gravely.
"No, I am a Believer. But you are a Moslem, surely?"
"I am not," said Mr. Andrews. "I am a Believer."

posted by Pallas Athena at 1:43 PM on May 24 [3 favorites]

On Facebook? I think they are probably saying pointedly, "I am not an atheist" but don't want to put down their actual religious beliefs, possibly to avoid opening themselves up to ridicule. I could see someone who thinks of themselves as neo-pagan doing this, or a Christian with lots of atheist friends.
posted by cj_ at 1:57 PM on May 24 [3 favorites]

When I say "I am a believer" I mean it to say that I am a believer in Christ (and all the kit and caboodle). I would likely only say it when talking to someone of another denomination when I want the conversation to be about what we have in common and not our differences.

When I say "He is a believer" I am likely talking to someone from my own denomination about someone who is not a member of our denomination. I know a lot of fundies and they don't necessarily consider people outside the denomination "Christians" but will accept that they are "believers". If I recall a class long ago and far away correctly, back in Bible times, someone who wasn't an Israelite couldn't become one but practiced Judaism could still be considered a "believer" (like Cornelius in the book of Acts). (Someone probably knows better than me and can clarify/correct.)
posted by wallaby at 2:22 PM on May 24

I have no idea where some of you are getting the idea that "I'm a believer" is some secret code for "I'm an evangelical Protestant". I've heard numerous different Christians use this turn of phrase. I've also heard a Muslim say it to some friends of his from his home country during a discussion on religion, and have even heard it co-opted by a few neo-Pagans. It's an amorphous affirmation of faith, usually in Christianity, but not always.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:33 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]

I think it depends on who the speaker/audience is. I know that in the Southeast US, "I'm a believer" used in conversation would definitely be a statement used to identify as a fundamentalist Christian if the speaker is a baby boomer speaking to a peer. With younger people, or with people from other parts of the country, I have seen it used more as a statement of general spirituality. People outside the Southeast US and College or high school kids in the Southeast US would be more likely to use it in this context: "I'm a believer, but I don't belong to any church." Older southerners would say, "I'm a believer so I just don't think I could ever vote for a man who would approve of the homosexuals getting married."

But this is just my experience. I'm sure many people use it to mean other things.
posted by Quizicalcoatl at 3:34 PM on May 24

It's a Bible term for a Christian. The NT is full of references to "believers."
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:56 PM on May 24

To clarify, I am talking about when people say "I'm a believer" in a strictly religious context, for instance, listing it under "religious views" on Facebook.

If they posted it there to begin with, then you can consider it a jumping-off point for a conversation on the subject. In other words, just ask them. Be prepared for a convoluted, boring, or curt answer.
posted by hermitosis at 4:35 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]

"I'm a believer" is to some degree in the eye of the beholder, but in contemporary parlance, it's the opposite of "atheist/agnostic." "Believers" are people who follow a religious tradition or have a spiritual practice, the opposite of "nonbelievers." They are people who are stating that they have some beliefs based on faith alone - as opposed to people who are not believers in things that are not evidentiary.

If someone says they are a "believer," it is impossible to know from that statement what faith tradition they follow. All you know is that they have religious beliefs of some kind, and that they don't identify as athiest. You may make assumptions about that person based on where you are or what they seem like to you, but the word itself is used by many faiths and is not at all specific enough for anyone to be comfortable thinking they know what is meant by "believer." If I'm standing in the middle of Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering and we've just celebrated Mass and the priest says "Believers are called to hear the Word of the Lord," obviously, I have a good idea what it means to him. Meanwhile, down the street at AME Mt. Zion, it's going to mean something else. Ditto if I'm at the Shiite Masumeen Center or the Shambhala Buddhist Center.

However, within a particular church context, you'll also hear the word used to indicate people who belong to that church (since obviously, it's the right one, of course). And it's clear from this thread that some people think its meaning is narrower than it actually is: If I said to an evangelical Christian "I'm a believer," well, they might think that means "I'm an evangelical Christian," but they'd be wrong - that meaning is being mapped onto the word by them. I read and listen to quite a lot of journalism on religion and people of all faiths use the word believer. BeliefNet, the site about religious beliefs of all kinds, is for believers. As Marisa Stole the PRecious Thing notes, there are believers in Islam, a believer in Judaism, a Catholic believer, a believer in Baha'i, a Shinto believer, a Buddhist believer, etc.

The phrase "I'm a believer" without any supporting information tells you only one thing - the person has religious beliefs and is not an athiest. For the rest, you'll need to depend on context - or better yet, ask them what they are a believer in. People stating that you can tell by hearing the phrase "I'm a believer" what religion the person is are speaking from the point of view of a single religion. The general meaning of the word, however, just isn't that narrow.
posted by Miko at 4:49 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]

Believer.
posted by Miko at 4:55 PM on May 24

I'm a Buddhist and I Believe in the greater power of the universe.

I use the phrase "I'm a believer" when dealing with Evangelical Christians (including my father) because it is vague. I am not lying, but at the same time, I'm not going to get preached at. I really value everyone's right to go down their own religious path, and really truly feel uncomfortable when people proselytize to me. Saying "Oh yeah, I'm a believer" is a great way to circumvent the "Accept Jesus!" conversation and just skip to a broader conversation on religion.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:03 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]

When used on Facebook, I'd take it to mean "I'm not atheist or agnostic, but beyond that I wish to be deliberately vague about my beliefs."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:48 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]

I am so disappointed that no one has made the obvious Monkees joke yet.
posted by DWRoelands at 12:18 PM on May 28

You didn't look closely enough, DWRoelands.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:10 PM on May 28

I guess the obvious joke was there for someone else, but not for DWRoelands.
posted by Mike1024 at 3:09 PM on May 28

Ah, dammit. That's what I get for skimming. Mea Culpa!
posted by DWRoelands at 11:44 AM on June 2