Have you ever changed religion?

[booley]

This is just me wondering so if you could, take a minute and answer the poll.

This IS NOT about judging if one choice is better then another and you don't have to explain or justify your choices. I really just want to know. However if you want to explain anything (especially if you chose 'Other" or "I've always been my religion, I just grew up in the wrong church", I would appreciate it.

For instance, I am a Pagan and have always felt like one. A lot of my religious beliefs I have had since as long as I can remember. BUT I was raised Catholic.

Thanks for your time.

[FreedomAngel82]

1. I've always been my faith

but I did doubt for a while everything. I'm way more spiritual than most Christians I think. I do have the ability of a sensitive empath and have had a few vision's and things like that. :blush: But I still am a Christian. :)

[YOY]

2. I was religious but now am a agnostic...barely

Old habits die hard...and I think agnosticism works better than Atheism personally....plus there's none of the smugness.

[Finder]

4. smugness?

you fence sitter you...;-)

[YOY]

Sorry Finder, I just calls it like I sees it

And in religion most POVs are valid...most! :silly:

[etherealtruth]

5. Agnosticism works for me (n/t)

[silverweb]

48. Besides that...

Being agnostic rather than atheist denotes a mind still open to seeking, to new information and insights -- the "Church of Possibilities," as I like to call it.

:)

[Finder]

6. Visions? Do tell...

we atheists never get to have visions...;(

[FreedomAngel82]

17. A lot of them are mostly personal

:blush: Things with my life. I have seen a few things politically but far into the future sadly. You can't control it and it happens whenever you least expect it.

[Caoimhe]

3. You forgot one

I was religious but now am agnostic. There is a difference. Atheists know there is no God. Agnostics don't think one can know either way. The Flying Spaghetti Monster makes more sense every day I witness the Bush cabal.

[booley]

9. I also ran out of room

Sorry , religion is to broad a topic to get everybody in only 10 catagories.
;-)

[eallen]

24. The dividing lines are far from clear...

For some values of god, I think it's possible such gods exist, think it would be possible to have evidence of them, but have absolutely no such evidence in hand, and so don't believe in them. For other values of god, I can provide proof they don't exist. For yet other values of god, it might be impossible to know one way, or the other, or either way.

Still, there is no god I believe in, so I think "atheist" sums it up best.

[Bill McBlueState]

49. about "atheist"

A common definition of "atheist" is "one who lacks a belief in gods." As in a=not and theist=one who believes in gods. Relatively few atheists will make a positive claim that there are no gods. So you might have more in common with atheists than you imagine.

I think the word "nontheist" might also be helpful for some people, defined to mean, "one who is not interested in whether gods exist." :)

[Maat]

7. I was raised Presbyterian ..

exited the faith at age 15, did not participate in any organized religion, and found an alternative religion (outside the mainstream) when I was 45: Church of Religious Science ( www.rsintl.org ).

[xchrom]

8. well, christianity isn't even a stones throw

from the old faith.

especially the liturgical churches like catholics, episcopalians, etc.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. I like to think that my concepts of God evolved

and have changed greatly in my life. I was raised in the Methodist Church, and even while still in that denomination had some profound changes in my beliefs. But some things have remained the same-the quest for personal direct experience with the Divine, cultivating an inner life, knowing that helping others is important in my life. I was led to Sufism in my late thirties, and feel that the Order to which I belong is "home". But since one of our sayings is "Shatter your ideals on the Rock of Truth", I realize that faith is a living, growing thing-and Who knows how it will evolve from this point onward?

[proiowadem]

11. Here is my belief breakdown

75% is sure there is no "god"
15% wonders that if there is a "god" it is everything in this Universe
9% thinks the Greeks were right, ALL HAIL ATHENA
and 1% is absolutely convinced that we were sneezed from a turtle

[proiowadem]

19. Who here believes in reversed moral cause and effect?

Basically that certain things are "bad" in religion because they are "bad" for humanity in general, as opposed to things being "bad" because of religion.
Its a theory I first picked up from reading a Ben Franklin biography, and it struck a chord with me.

[jedicord]

25. Ah - Ben Franklin. The guy who got me to think

about religion.

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[phusion]

20. lol

Nice...

Welcome to DU!
:toast:

[HereSince1628]

12. I've tried to change religion but they don't pay attention to me.

It's very very frustrating don't you know?

[Hamlette]

I'd have to be "other" I've always been an atheist, raised an atheist.

[Hamlette]

13. I'd have to be "other" I've always been an atheist, raised an atheist.

[Nihil]

46. Does the double post mean you're a "born again" atheist?

... or just twice as sure?

:evilgrin:

[porphyrian]

14. I was raised non-denominational Christian, now I'm agnostic...

...bordering on atheist. I just don't trust that anyone here knows a damn thing about what's outside of our extremely limited perceptions, and I especially don't trust people who claim they do.

[realisticphish]

15. started out christian

moved briefly to agnosticism, now back to a liberal christianity

[funflower]

58. Just curious as to why you went back.

Did you believe deep down all along on a rational level, or were you drawn back to liberal Christianity on a more emotional or social level?

[funflower]

59. self-delete

[Greyhound]

16. Agnostic Atheist here, although Wicca is appealing. n/t

[4morewars]

18. Thank god, I'm an atheist !

:rofl:

[Ravenseye]

21. What are you if you're not even Athiest

Doesn't being an Athiest, thinking that you see no evidence that God exists, infer that you've thought about it?

I never really thought about it much. Wasn't raised with any religion at all. Bible stories sat on the shelf next to Greek Myth books. It'd be like saying a non-hellenotheist doesn't see any evidnece for the existance of the greek pantheon as being real. Well, I don't think Zeus or Athena is real, so I guess that makes me a non-hellenotheist, and I don't believe in God so I guess that makes me an Athiest.

It's just never really been a factor in my life even to think about it. If someone were to ask me "Do you believe in God?" I hear it on the same wavelength as "Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy."

I'm not 'being smug' as some think when I make that comparison. It's just how insane the question seems to me. "Have you found Jesus?" is no different in my head than someone saying "Have you found Apollo?"

And to date nobody has ever really been able to explain to me how those questions are different.

[porphyrian]

26. Maybe you're a non-practicing atheist.

:shrug:

[catmother]

35. if someone asked me if i found jesus i would tell them that i

didn't know he was lost.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. Atheism includes not believing in Greek gods too

It's not 'non-monotheism', it's 'not believing in any god'. I'd say your participation here shows that you've thought about it enough for it to have been a real choice of yours. You might argue whether someone who has never heard of any god is truly atheist, but you clearly have.

[michreject]

22. I changed

I was raised Southern Baptise and am leaning toward Judism.

Still an internal struggle.

[SharonRB]

29. No offense, but if you're leaning toward it you should learn how to spell

it.

It's Judaism.

[Lilith Velkor]

23. I was raised Unitarian Universalist

There's nothing to "switch from," since you can believe anything you want.

[kwassa]

37. I switched out

yes, it can be done.

[Selatius]

27. I would say I'm a Deist now

I was a Christian, but I left the Catholic Church after I found out my cardinal was switching around child molesters. I couldn't believe the sheer hypocrisy, and then I questioned why they were any better at being my religious authority than I was at being my own religious authority for me alone.

I found Deism a couple of years back.

"Deism is a free-thought philosophy, much like Agnosticism, Atheism or Pantheism in that it rejects the dogmas and superstitions of religion in favor of individual reason and empirical observation of the universe. Deism differs from these other free-thought philosophies in that it sees an order and architecture to the universe that indicates a Creator. The word 'God' is used to describe this creator, not to be confused with the 'Biblegod.'"

http://www.deism.org/

No, I don't believe in Creationism or Creationism masquerading as ID. The scientific evidence gathered points to a different direction.

[Nihil]

47. Same sort of thing here

Brought up as a Catholic (strict at school, liberal at home). Liked a
lot of the Jesuit teachings and philosophies but disagreed with much of
the orthodox views as I grew older.

Married as an Anglican - my wife's faith - as the vicar concerned was
a real-world person who I liked (rather than a dogmatic stamping from
the God-machine factory). Only contact with the church is via music
or to support family/friends (children's events, funerals, etc.).

Have been interested in Buddhism & Taoism over the years but neither
of them "seriously". Have looked into a number of religions from an
academic/curiosity perspective but have remained a non-denominational
Deist throughout most of my life.

Put myself down as a Jedi on the most recent UK Census as I disagreed
with the other tick-boxes. (It fits the bill ... if only I could make
a light-saber then I'd be well set!)

:-)

[seemunkee]

28. Raised a Protestant but consider myself a Buddhist

Who married a Jew and raised our children with Jewish traditions.
I never joined a Buddhist temple but believe in the tenets of Buddism

[MadisonProgressive]

30. Christian turned agnostic - I read the Dalai Lama though

[Goldensilence]

32. was raised catholic

but consider myself buddhist...too bad not near a temple in texas.

[More Than A Feeling]

31. I was raised atheist, converted to Christianity.

Not in the sense that my parents taught me to not believe in God. They never talked religion, period. I wouldn't have wanted them to pick my religion for me, but I would have appreciated it if they would have talked about it, and helped me understand it. No dice.

[Ready4Change]

33. Other: As a kid I'd change like a chameleon.

Whoever spoke with authority I'd buy right in. Don't know why some cult didn't haul me in, I was primed for it.

I guess, in my defense, I had a stronger inner cynicalism than I tend to remember. In whatever "church" I was in, for whatever reason, I always seemed to view all the trappings with, I dunno. Estimation?

What is that for? Why is that needed? Who says? If it's about God, not money, why all the money? If it's about listening to inner voices, why listen to preaching?

Finally, I've admitted to casting myself away from established religion. Even from the new agey paganism of some of my friends. Too indoctrinary. To much "this is how it should/will be done."

So I'd say, at this point, my religion is in a constant infinity of flux. Just seems "righter" that way.

To me.

[catmother]

34. well i checked other -- so i guess i should explain. i was raised

catholic -- catholic schools. when i was about 20-21 i stopped going to church -- not that i went every sunday. then i went through a period of believing that life was hell and death was heaven, i.e., just a deep sleep.

then mid 70s i started reading about edgar cayce (i was about 30 then) -- took it with a grain of salt. but around 1980 my nephew who was a young child starting having past life experiences. if my sister sees this thread, she'll probably tell you about it. so i started to read metaphysical books -- actually i devoured them -- i couldn't get enough. i started to believe in reincarnation and karma. i studied with 2 different spirtual teachers.

now i'm 64 and i don't practice any formal religion but my beliefs lean towards buddhism. however i also find wicca very interesting, but i've heard that many wiccans are not practising the true wicca.

on edit: have had quite a few experiences with those who have passed away (spirits) even animal spirits. sometimes i think one of my cats has jumped on my bed and i look and there's no cat there. i also experienced my late dog running across my bed. she was a shittzu and had quite a unique little walk.

[A Simple Game]

36. Another Agnostic.

[CatholicEdHead]

38. Always been the same

though I was much more agnostic during College. I am going against the grain with each hear so I am probably pushing towards a excommunication sometime in the future.

[nemo137]

40. Raised in the ECC (basically Lutheran), then my dad went crazy fundie

I'm sort of Lutherpalian right now, when I do go to church, it's to the local Episcopal chapel, but really, I'm just some variety of Protestant.

[Sgent]

41. There are a lot of "dual" Jews

A survey I saw a while back said about 50% of Reform Rabbi's are agnostic -- much less the Reconstructionist and Humanist Jews.

[TechBear_Seattle]

42. I've shifted around a fair bit

Raised as a lukewarm Congregationalist, I took up Wicca in my mid teens. For the next 20 years, I had trouble deciding between Wicca and Christianity and ended up doing ministry work in both religions. Nowadays, I define my beliefs when forced as "agnostic neo-pagan humanist."

[Vividqueen]

43. From Nothing to Jew

I was not really raised anything, but converted recently to Conservative Judaism!

[Dervill Crow]

53. Mazel tov!

That was my dream, but my nonpracticing Catholic husband was not exactly supportive.

[Vividqueen]

54. Too bad, my non practicing husband

was very supportive. But he wasn't raised with any religious background either. He just wants me to be happy (and I can't complain when he goes to play golf on Saturday).

[Dervill Crow]

56. Good for him. And welcome to DU!

:hi:

[catbert836]

44. Constantly on the spiritual move

Like Pi, I see a new religion and adopt it, discarding it as soon as a new one comes along. I've been a Catholic, athiest, Muslim, Jew, pagan, nature-worshipper, panthiest, and "god" knows what else.

[JVS]

45. ELCA-Lutheran to LCMS-Lutheran

CCM with the Episcopalians, Joint Communion with the Presbyterians, and The Joint Statement on Justification with the Vatican convinced me that the ELCA was not taking its theology seriously enough.

[ozone_man]

50. I never was never religious.

I didn't see that choice, so I put other. Technically, I did belong to a church as a child, but stopped going as soon as soon as I could resist my father's will to make me go. Unpleasant memories, but he meant well.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

51. ELCA Lutheran to Episcopalian

It's a better fit for me sociologically and emotionally.

Also, they don't probe too deeply into one's beliefs.

I'm definitely a theist, but I also believe that God is too overwhelmingly large and complex to be grasped by the human mind so that each variety of religion is merely an approximation and an attempt to get in touch with the divine. So when people say, "Yes, but the world wasn't created in six days" or "Jesus didn't really walk on water," I say, "Yes, I know, and it doesn't matter, becauuse it's not the point."

For me, the keys to spirituality are liturgy, music, meditation, and "being God's hands and voice in the world."

For others, it may be mantras or assembling in the woods or davening or saying the Nenbutsu.

[Dervill Crow]

52. Changed and went back again.

Guess I'm the only one so far who answered that way! I was raised church-free but to believe in God, so I sort of made up my own mental picture of deity. In my mid-20s I became an LCMS Lutheran born-again Christian and drove my family nutz for about a decade with that. Started disagreeing with a lot of Paul's writings and over the course of about 5 years explored Messianic Judaism (yes, I know that's an oxymoron), then Judaism, and then settled nicely into neo-paganism, which seems to line up well with my original ideas about how things work.

[MISSDem]

55. I read in one of my endless stream of self help books that

it doesn't really matter which religious/spiritual path you choose. Just choose one and get on with it. Personally, I would hate to think of trying to navigate this life without my belief in God. I was raised Methodist changed to and was confirmed into the Episcopal Church and then went back to the Methodists.

[Strong Atheist]

57. Raised religious (not strongly), then we went to UU

churches by my teens; became a strong atheist on my own in early teens.

[funflower]

60. I'm an agnostic/liberal Christian/Buddhist/FSM. Gotta a spot for me?

Oh, yeah. I was brought up an evangelical.