Your religion/denomination and why
atomiclauren
Posts: 689 Member
Hi all,
I wanted to ask informally about your affiliation and how it came to be.
Were you brought up with it? Did you find it later in life? Was it based on teachings or people? If you became religious as an adult, did you have any exposure to religion growing up? If there are subgroups within a larger group (maybe like Christian --> Protestant --> Methodist), why that one in particular?
Disclaimer/disclosure - no agenda, I'm just curious how things happen and evolve. I'm not religious and I grew up in an a-religious (not anti-religious) household. I know this is a debating area but I wanted to take advantage of a potentially diverse audience that is open to sharing thoughts, ideas, and experiences..
I wanted to ask informally about your affiliation and how it came to be.
Were you brought up with it? Did you find it later in life? Was it based on teachings or people? If you became religious as an adult, did you have any exposure to religion growing up? If there are subgroups within a larger group (maybe like Christian --> Protestant --> Methodist), why that one in particular?
Disclaimer/disclosure - no agenda, I'm just curious how things happen and evolve. I'm not religious and I grew up in an a-religious (not anti-religious) household. I know this is a debating area but I wanted to take advantage of a potentially diverse audience that is open to sharing thoughts, ideas, and experiences..
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My parents raised me as a Jew. I had a Bat Mitzvah, kept kosher, and attended Hebrew School three times a week.
As an adult, I don't believe in a higher being, and I believe that after you die, there is nothing - just like there was before you were born. You are born, you live, and then you cease to exist. Even from childhood, I had a hard time believing in the concept of a "god", and I found myself sort of looking around at services going, "Do people actually think this is real?"
I kept this from my parents for a long time to keep from upsetting them, but now I am very open with them regarding how I feel. I don't feel that there is a "lack" of anything spiritual in my life, and I don't feel the need to apply a label to myself.0 -
I grew up in a typical Scandinavian Lutheran home in the Midwest. Pretty moderate, until as a teen and early 20's I tried my hand as an evangelical born again Christian and later became an atheist. Although I think somewhere deep inside of me, in my late teens I knew that I had a lot of doubt, I just fought it off until I was in my mid 20's.
When I was in the Midwest I was not exposed to a lot of diversity. I love the Garrison Keillor joke (I love a Prairie Home Companion) about Lutherans in the Midwest, "Even the Catholics up here are Lutheran" That pretty much sums up my childhood. I have a lot of affection for my childhood and the people I grew up around. On the West coast, I was exposed to everything and love that too.0 -
Raised Catholic. 1st wife was a Jew. 2nd wife was a Catholic. 3rd wife was a Christian. My wife now, Jan, was raised Mormon.
I don't believe in Fairy tales, the Easter bunny, Santa Claus or God.0 -
I grew up in a typical Scandinavian Lutheran home in the Midwest. Pretty moderate, until as a teen and early 20's I tried my hand as an evangelical born again Christian and later became an atheist. Although I think somewhere deep inside of me, in my late teens I knew that I had a lot of doubt, I just fought it off until I was in my mid 20's.
When I was in the Midwest I was not exposed to a lot of diversity. I love the Garrison Keillor joke (I love a Prairie Home Companion) about Lutherans in the Midwest, "Even the Catholics up here are Lutheran" That pretty much sums up my childhood. I have a lot of affection for my childhood and the people I grew up around. On the West coast, I was exposed to everything and love that too.
Raised in the midwest in German-Lutheran home. I attended a Lutheran school until the age of 14 and then 4 years of public high school. Today- I am still going back and forth and really am not sure what I believe. I typically believe God exists but question myself often.0 -
My parents raised me in a way that any religion i chose would be through my own findings, and not from their influence/brainwashing. I was told the one class at school they really didnt care what i did was Religious Education.
I looked at it all, and my underlining reason for not believing was "Wheres the proof?" None could provide any, so why would i believe?
I am technically an agnostic pastafarian.0 -
My family was what I like to call “convenient Christians”. The ones that say grace before each meal, but only go to church on Christmas and Easter. It was almost like it was just for show – as in, that’s the “good” and "right" way to raise your kids. Probably also because of pressure from extended family and my dad’s mother, who is super religious. Being religious I guess just became irrelevant to my life. As I got older it also just simply stopped making sense.
I have been an atheist and humanist probably since I was about 16.0 -
Ok, here’s the abridged version.
I was raised Christian (Grace Brethren….basically Baptist but not.) I did believe the Bible and all the teachings of my family’s church as a child. First year of college I went to a Christian College and say how they were preaching love but not practicing it and preaching didn’t match the actions. I got disillusioned with the Church and felt that its morality was impossible to attain.
I gave up on the Church and decided to do what I want. I started partying and doing all of the things that came with it. In my 5 years of partying I got into a LOT of really dangerous situations. In 09 I got sober and looking back at my drinking realized that not only could I have died but I SHOULD have died. This was the start of me thinking there was something bigger out there looking out for me. Though out the course of sobriety I realized that while PEOPLE are immoral and imperfect that does not mean that God is immoral or imperfect. I realized that while people had failed me God never had, and I realized that while the Church does not practice it perfectly that Christ did preach, teach and practice perfect love.
I then decided that I am imperfect so who am I to expect everyone else in the church to practice everything perfectly. I decided to love and follow Christ and that going to church and being a Christian didn’t mean I needed to agree with other Christians or what they do, it just meant loving the Lord my God and loving my neighbor as myself. I’m responsible for me, everyone else is responsible for themselves and it’s not my place to judge0 -
I gave up on the Church and decided to do what I want. I started partying and doing all of the things that came with it. In my 5 years of partying I got into a LOT of really dangerous situations. In 09 I got sober and looking back at my drinking realized that not only could I have died but I SHOULD have died. This was the start of me thinking there was something bigger out there looking out for me.
And this is the part that makes me lean back towards believing. I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that sometimes those things are signs from God, or the "proof" that some people need.0 -
My parents aren't religious, but for some reason, my dad wanted us to go to religious schools, so we went to a Catholic elementary and I chose a Catholic High School, for some reason. I'd always been indifferent about "god," so I guess I identified as agnostic, but now I'd definitely say I'm atheist.
Why? Well, I guess I find religion oppressive, judgmental, & problem causing, generally. It also is highly illogical, in my opinion and there's no proof of any sort of god or creator of the universe. Plus, I love science!0 -
I'm a "cradle Catholic". Both my parents were raised in Catholic homes, attended Catholic boarding schools and Catholic universities. My sisters and I attended Catholic schools growing up. I now work in a Jesuit school for boys and am married to a Catholic theologian/philosopher.
I like to study world religions and not focus on Christianity or Catholocism alone. I believe it's important to respect people's beliefs and non-beliefs.
Not sure why some people can't just answer your question here without belittling, ridiculing, or bashing others' beliefs, though.0 -
I grew up in a typical Scandinavian Lutheran home in the Midwest. Pretty moderate, until as a teen and early 20's I tried my hand as an evangelical born again Christian and later became an atheist. Although I think somewhere deep inside of me, in my late teens I knew that I had a lot of doubt, I just fought it off until I was in my mid 20's.
When I was in the Midwest I was not exposed to a lot of diversity. I love the Garrison Keillor joke (I love a Prairie Home Companion) about Lutherans in the Midwest, "Even the Catholics up here are Lutheran" That pretty much sums up my childhood. I have a lot of affection for my childhood and the people I grew up around. On the West coast, I was exposed to everything and love that too.
Raised in the midwest in German-Lutheran home. I attended a Lutheran school until the age of 14 and then 4 years of public high school. Today- I am still going back and forth and really am not sure what I believe. I typically believe God exists but question myself often.
Funny how similar we are on that one! You'll figure it out, I don't think there is any truly right or wrong answer on a personal level.0 -
I'm from Missouri and when I was a kid as far back as I can remember my mom took us to church. I remember her saying once that we were actually Methodists but since there was no Methodist church in our (tiny) town, we attended the Baptist church. I loved going to Sunday School and church as a kid but at some point in time we quit going for some reason. I had always believed in God and as a young parent of my first child, it was important to me that my child be raised in the church so I started looking in the phone book for a Baptist church to attend. My (then) sister-in-law (who btw had no idea I was looking for a church) invited my husband and I to the church she attended. It was a Baptist church. After that, she stopped attending. I know a lot of people would say it was a coincidence but to this day I believe it was God's answer to a prayer. That's the church I got saved in. I was in my 20's and now at 58 years old I'm still a Baptist.0
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I grew up in a baptist church. It was such a loving community of people as I remember. We moved when I was 13 and my family went church-shopping a lot. It was always a struggle to find the right one. They finally settled with one that lightly recognized themselves as Assemblies of God. I had never known anything other than Baptist or Catholic before that. I had always believed in God wholeheartedly. I even attended private Christian schools until tenth grade.
In my teens though, I got really fed up with the church we were at. I lost a lot of friends when depression became apparent at about 15. They all rejected me, telling me I needed to talk to someone, as long as it wasn't them. I do realize that they were just girls, plainly human, but knowing that they claimed to be all loving Christians to anyone ruined the shiny exterior of my faith. As I got older I started developing my own beliefs and searching for answers.
I merely decided that "Christianity" was not for me. If anything, it was just loving others that mattered. Whether or not a god exists, I should push myself to love others. It is hard to look to a God, like I was shown in Christianity, that allows so many terrible things happen. I have never heard a sufficient answer as to why God let's them happen to good people. I'm still open ears though.
I also find it hard to believe that there is nothing out there. I would say I am closest to Deism. I believe there is a creator, but not one who will intervene in the functions of the natural design. Other than that it is all about love, love, and love.0 -
Born in a family of moderate Presbyterians/Scottish Episcopalians, went to Sunday School and attended church-affiliated schools all the way through primary and high school. Faith, rather than religion, was the important thing in my family, though, and questioning things was positively encouraged - a lot of my family are scientists of one sort or another, my grandmother an avid historian, and my father is a lawyer, so multi-generational debate at dinner was very normal for us. I went through the usual teenage rebellion (mostly, if I'm honest, because I wanted to stay in bed on a Sunday morning instead of having to get up for Church!), but my pressing questions were never about the existence of God, but rather the way in which various religions have interpreted it down the centuries.
When I first moved to London, in an attempt to meet new people of the right age group, I attended a fairly evangelical Anglican church for a while, but left quite quickly, as I simply couldn't agree with a lot of the 'theology' being preached or the approach (and the music was absolutely awful - I don't want to need earplugs at Church!). I travel a lot for work, so I do occasionally go to church - of whatever denomination I can find - and find comfort/calm in the familiarity of the ritual and peace, and sometimes inspiration in a good sermon. Most of the time, however, I feel and acknowledge God's presence in the world around me and my day to day life, and for me, that is more important and more 'true' than a formalised ritual of worship in any church. If asked, nominally I'm Episcopalian, a 'humanist Christian' if the questioner wants to know a little more about my beliefs, but I'm also fascinated by Judaism, by the ideas of Tao, Shinto, and Sikhism. I find the Qu'ran interesting, and enjoy discussing and analysing the similarities and the differences between world religions, and denominations within the Christian Church.
At base, my beliefs and codes are those of the Christian church - the same essential beliefs I was raised with. However, my view is that the two central tenets are 'Love thy neighbour as thyself' and 'Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul'. Those are the things I try to stay true to. All the rest, for me, is window dressing.0 -
I was raised Catholic, attending catholic school for 7 years. the nuns petrified me and I had a bleeding ulcer by the time i was 13. Then as an adult I miscarried several babies and finally had two after many issues. A priest told me that I would go to hell if I had my tubes tied - to bad, I almost died having babies and I wasn't going to have any more.
since then I haven't been back to a catholic church. I feel that I am and my family are good Christians, we are good people, which is what God wants. My children are old enough to decide their faith on their own now and it is up to them. (which they have done)
I believe in heaven and hell, but I don't believe you have to bow down to a "supreme being" to get to heaven. I don't have to give the church 10% of my income to buy my way into heaven, that is what the government is for ( LOL)0 -
I was raised Catholic but it never really "took". It took me a number of years to realize I was an atheist but once I did I was happy about it. It opened my eyes to a lot of wonder and beauty in the world.0
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Jesus loving agnostic Unitarian Universalist.0
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Raised Greek orthodox, married Byzantine Catholic, turned agnostic about 5 years ago, but then quit lying to myself and realized I was an atheist.0
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I was raised Catholic. Church every Sunday and Catholic school. The church my parents attended was very stringent and traditional. My late brother was gay and they weren't welcoming. I did not like it, so as an adult I stopped being involved....
Fast forward to my 30s... met my husband, a practicing Catholic. He wants to get our marriage blessed so we went to a few churches and finally found one we are both comfortable in. They accept everyone and I mean everyone, openly. Though I may not believe literally all the traditional teachings of Catholicism, I found a place where I feel comfort. The priests there are awesome down to earth people who are current with the times. They actually explain how some of their practices came about years ago and concede they may not be practical in today's society - things like birth control. The church I grew up with never discussed such things.
I respect people's individuality. I respect their religion, whatever that may be, or their choice not to partake.
The only thing I do not like, is when someone knocks on my door promoting their religion, and will not go away when I say I am Catholic and not interested. I can not respect those who will not respect me.0 -
I was raised Episcopalian. I was baptized as a baby. I went through Confirmation at 15. Although my parents raised me to believe in God, they also encouraged me to ask questions. I am now agnostic. Ironically, it was my confirmation classes that led me to this belief.0
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I was raised Southern Baptist. Converted to ELCA Lutheran as a teenager. I loved the more open-minded approach to religion Now, I am agnostic (more atheist than theist). I moved that way in college and never looked back. My husband's family is Roman Catholic, and our children will be raised to be free to choose any religion they wish or none at all.
I do think Jesus was one cool dude though. Lots of great teachings about life in the bible. I just don't buy into the God = master of the universe, creator, answer to all things, bit.
I am a big religious history buff. Own copies of the Qu'ran, bible, torah, and several buddhist teachings.0 -
Raised Catholic. Went to private Catholic schools from pre-k through the end of high school. All my family are Catholics with the exception of one person. I am still Catholic. I still believe there is a God and I still practice my religion although I am very open minded about many things in life.0
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Jesus loving agnostic Unitarian Universalist.
I have looked into this a little, skimmed over their website, and I'm pretty intrigued. Can you tell us more about it? I'm interested to learn what a real-life member has to say, and how they'd describe what this church (is it actually a church?) is about....
I'm so interested, but I didn't learn a lot from the site (they encourage a visit to a nearby congregation), so I'd love to hear your perspective :flowerforyou:0 -
Realized I didn't answer, just asked a question. Bad Lucky!
My parents enrolled me first in Lutheran private elementary school, then a non-denominational Christian middle school. I was in 8th grade before I entered public school (culture shock!) I'm pretty sure the schools were chosen for educational value, not spiritual value. My parents are definitely of the "pray over dinner, church on Easter" variety. My step-dad is a non-practicing Catholic (as in, I attended one mass with him during my childhood. One.) He insisted my brother and sister be christened (I think he saw it as an insurance policy, sort of) but then my Mom was free to oversee all other religious training.
My Mom had a Bible study with Mormons for a while, and we went to that church once, I think. It didn't make sense, so she discontinued that. Then my Aunt (Jehovah's Witness) pressured us into having a Bible study with them (and gave our address to the Watchtower, gosh, thanks). That lasted 2 years, and eventually the lady who was coming over to the house told us that she wasn't coming anymore, if I wouldn't just go along with what she said without asking so many difficult questions, then she wasn't going to "keep spinning her wheels" (I'll never forget the use of that phrase). So that was over. Honestly, I was never going to join up with any church who would ask a member to allow their child to die rather than receive a transfusion. That and the excommunication behaviors are WAY too off-putting for me.
By the time I was in high school, I wasn't interested in religion pretty much at all anymore. But I did attend youth group at BCLC (Bakersfield Christian Life Center) another non-denom born-again type of church. I went to youth group because my parents were crazy strict and it was one thing that I knew they would let me go to. So youth group was just a way to get out of the house. I really was there only for the social interaction of the other youths. I absorbed nothing from the religious teachings offered forth.
When I got to college, I loved all the reading my Western Civilizations class required of me (raise your hand if you loved reading Gilgamesh! No?), and I started wanting to learn more about Eastern religions. I studied up on Buddhism, and I liked what I was reading. My problem at that time was, I never could find (and still haven't yet) any group or religion that matched the beliefs I hold about God, the nature of the universe, what we are doing here, what happens when we die, etc. So I wouldn't choose any group.
Cut to adulthood. Actual adulthood, not college-age. One of my oldest friends invited me to visit her. I flew down on a Friday afternoon, and we were going to hang out all weekend. Until she got off work on Friday evening, I was just hanging out by myself in her house. I found a book on her shelf that had a massive impact on my religious beliefs. It is Conversations With God, by Neale Donald Walsch. It's the first of a series. Upon reading htis book, I felt a deep sense of recognition, as though I was FINALLY reading the things I had always held true. I have read the three books in that series, and the companions books, Happier Than God and What God Wants, and they form the core of my belief system. Now don't get me wrong, there are still parts of this series that I have a bit of problem with, but it's a closer match than any other I've seen or found.
I'm pretty realistic about how likely it is to change anyone's religious beliefs. If you think chocolate is best, but I love vanilla, there's no way I'm going to convince you. If it is that hard to override people's opinions on ice cream, how much more futile is it to argue over who is "right" when it comes to religion? None of us can "KNOW" we are correct, and if, when I die, I learn that the correct answer was "Mormon" (South Park, anyone?) then I trust that God will judge me based on my heart, the life I led.0 -
Not entirely sure how I identify, beyond agnostic with atheist leanings. Both parents were raised in christian (protestant) households, but I never went to church as a child unless we were visiting grandparents.
Maybe this is the love of sci-fi and spec fic talking, but speaking for myself, I think most of the mythologies (and that is the correct technical term) modern religions subscribe to are kind of boring and don't serve much purpose...for me at least. The stories are dated and perhaps foundational to a lot of Western culture, but I think can do better.0 -
I was brought up with parents that belived in god,and we attended a lutheren church every sunday. But for me I have always been and athiest as far back as I can remember I never believed what they were telling me about god0
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my parents hardly went to church and my mom always wanted us to pick our own path. My sister is non-denom christain, my bro is an aithiest and Im aganogstic, sorry for all the bad spelling kids are climbing all over me, ill edit this latter lol0
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I was raised with no religion and never going to church. My husband was raised seventh day adventists... We both are agnostic.0
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I now consider myself a proud anti-theist. I was pretty uninterested in this topic at all while I grew up and lived in NJ. Now that I've been living in GA for the past 5 years.....I can no longer ignore how dangerous religion is to the world. I speak out against religion and religious ideas every chance I can. I don't pick on people.....but their ideas are fair game.0
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Here you go Lucky.
I have looked into this a little, skimmed over their website, and I'm pretty intrigued. Can you tell us more about it? I'm interested to learn what a real-life member has to say, and how they'd describe what this church (is it actually a church?) is about....Jesus loving agnostic Unitarian Universalist.
I'm so interested, but I didn't learn a lot from the site (they encourage a visit to a nearby congregation), so I'd love to hear your perspective :flowerforyou:
It's an interesting thing,,, Is it a "Church"? Is Unitarian Universalism a "Religion"? We say yes, but many might say no - and we're Ok with that.
There is no creed, there is no dogma. There is no specific religious doctrine that you have to believe to be one of us. We have a collection of principles that you should concur with if you want to be part of our congregation, and frankly if you don't agree with these things you probably wouldn't be happy among us anyway.
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7 principles of Unitarian Universalism
1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person
Unitarian Universalism is a high humanist system of thought, emphasizing the inherent worth of all people rather than any inherent flaws in humanity.
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
While UUs do not have a specific list of laws of behavior and are encouraged to personally consider the nature of ethical choices, they do agree that ethical behavior should include notions of justice, equity and compassion.
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth
UUs are very non-judgmental. A UU gathering might easily include atheists, monotheists and polytheists, and this diversity is to be tolerated and encouraged. Spirituality is a highly complex and subjective topic to UUs, which can lead to multiple conclusions. UUs are also encouraged to learn from this diversity as they develop their own personal ideas of spirituality.
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
UUs focus on their own personal spiritual development and understanding rather than being concerned about everyone reaching a consensus. Every person has the right to their own spiritual seeking.
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process
UUs egalitarian outlook lends itself to the promotion of democratic organization. As a second ethical statement, UU also endorses action based upon one's own conscience.
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
The notion of inherent human worth lends itself to an emphasis on the world community and the allowance of basic rights for all members.
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
UU acknowledges that reality consists of a complex and interconnected web of relationships. Actions taken seemingly in isolation can still have far-reaching effects, and responsible behavior includes being mindful of these potential consequences.
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So in reality what we do week by week is get together in a building. Some don't look like a "church", though ours does. In my congregation there is usually an adult Religious Education class going on before the worship service. These are optional of course and everyone is free to join or not. In fact, I know some folks who just come to RE class, or the reading group, or the "Today's issues" discussion group - and they never actually come to the church service. And that's Ok too. Right now we're doing a 10 week class/discussion on language and expression in relation to LGBT issues.
Choir practice is before church as well. Our choir does not sing every week in church. Instead they practice for weeks and then sing as part of a special service. They do amazing things for the holidays, including Christmas, Easter & Hanukkah. Lots of "ringers" in the choir. Our church pianist is probably an alien, as no mere human can do what he does. The music and choir performances in my church are easily professional grade.
We hold a service that looks a lot like a traditional protestant church service. We will sing songs, share poems and writings. The sermon will probably be on ethics, teachings, a topical discussion of the teachings of one of the major faiths as it regards a specific topic. I've heard talks on Christian beliefs of various form, Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism. There is much to be learned, and we study and dicuss it all. My 2 most respected friends at church are an 81 year old Atheist and a 95 year old Sikh. Much wisdom there, I love them both.
After services we gather in the church basement for Unitarian Holy Water (coffee) and lively discussion. We're very busy and it can be very involving. We do a lot of 'green' stuff, raise a big church garden, get together for dinners. Lots of fundraisers for various causes. Lots of fun.
I'd guess the congregation is 1/3rd Atheist, 1/3rd exploring Agnostic, and 1/3rd theist of one stripe or another. None of us think we know all the answers, and all of us are seeking and sharing and learning. That's why we're there.
If you're interested at all I'd recommend you find a congregation and pay a visit. I'm sure you'll be welcomed. Maybe it's for you, maybe it's not. It's all good... (it really is). :-)
Edit: Just remembered this. Have you read a short essay called "Everything I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten"? That was written by a UU minister named Robert Fulghum. It expresses a lot of our point of view in very clear and beautiful terms. http://www.peace.ca/kindergarten.htm0
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