Everyone has a story. The woman you pass on the street. A man waiting at a bus stop. The janitor at work. This department features someone who was approached at random and asked about his spiritual interests.

Name: Anthony

Age: 25

Occupation: Substitute teacher

Favorite TV show: Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Last book you read: Nirvana the Biography

Hobbies: Playing and listening to music, reading, cycling

Relationship status: Single

Children: No

Hometown: Mingo, Iowa

How would you describe your home life growing up? 90s version of Leave it to Beaver

Do you believe in God? I believe in the idea of God more than the idea of man. Therefore, I don’t believe because the idea of God can be manipulated by the writing of man.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how spiritually interested are you? 10

Do you believe in an afterlife? Sure

Do you believe in heaven? No

Do you believe in hell? No

What’s the criteria for getting to the afterlife? If I don’t understand if there’s an afterlife, I’m not going to understand if there’s criteria for getting there.

Are people basically good or basically bad? People inherently have a thirst for survival. They’ll do whatever it takes to survive. People do good and bad things to survive.

Do you pray? No. I used to, but I don’t any more. It feels superstitious to me. I feel like people pray so they can rely on something else. We all have the power inside of us to do what needs to get done.

Do you believe that your truth is the only truth? No, not at all. If I believed that, I’d be naïve, pretentious, and hypocritical.

Do you go to church? No

What’s your impression of churches in America? I think they’re great for people who go and get something out of it. For people who don’t, it’s no good.

If you could ask God one question, what would it be? Can I have $1 million?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how afraid of death are you? Depends on the day. On average, it seems like the final frontier—the most exciting place to explore because no one knows anything about it.

What’s the purpose of life? Pursuit of happiness

Do you consider yourself happy? I know what my idea of happiness is; I’m just not there yet.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t like that kind of responsibility. It’s a fictional question.

If you had one day left to live, what would you do? All the drugs and alcohol I could get my hands on. And I’d probably try and get laid one more time. Drugs, alcohol, and sex.

If you could know truth, would you want to? No

Photo by: Matt Crummy