What has been your journey in religion/faith/unbelief from as young as you can remember up to the present?

Question

Mine was agnostic (who once and while attended catholic church), then fundamentalist (dispensationalist), then partial preterist, then preterist, now christian universalist/preterist

I'm not asking about minor details but only major changes.

Answer 1

OK, you asked for it. My earliest memory is my Catholic catecism, I completed that and made my first communion. I was Catholic until I was about 14. I went to mass and recieved communion. When I sat down and did the communion prayer of thanks, the wafer flew out of my mouth (no gag reflex, no sneeze or cough) it just flew out. It landed on the floor just as flat and round as when I recieved it. I then heard a voice in my head saying "you do not belong here". I left right then and there and never went back. I then looked into other religions. I studied Hindu, buddhism and athieism. Then when I was about 17 I started going to my stepmothers Lutheran Church (some what under protest). I went through confimation classes and became a confirmed Lutheran. After I got married at 19 I didn't go back to church. I called my self christian just not practicing. I had tarot cards at this time and worked with them and with runestones, but nothing serious. After my divorce I was looking for some form of spiritual guideance but knew the mainstream religions didn't do it for me. In 1999 I was in a spiritual supply store, I asked the owner if there were anyone that was teaching wicca. She gave me a phone number. I called the number and was put in touch with a priestess of a local coven. I took her classes and in one year and a day I became an initiated and belted witch in the NROOGD tradition. Since then I have never looked back and have never been more spiritually fullfilled and able to have questions answered with out hearing "pray to god for the answer". Instead I hear, this is how you do it.... Praise the goddess the giver of all things living and she who loves all.

Told you, you asked for it. I came a complete 180.

Answer 2

I am born and raised LDS ("Mormon"). My dad's family has been part of this church for 4 or 5 generations, my mom converted when she was 10.

Personally, I've always enjoyed church. I've understood a lot of our doctrines since I was a kid. I went to classes when I was in high school where we studied books of scripture- always loved it!

I served a ful-time mission in Wisconsin. returned with honor...

Recently, I've struggled. The congregation I attend now is a pretty close community. They're all very established in their ruts. I don't always feel like I belong... But then I think, "What does that have to do with your relationship with God?"... so I go again.

Answer 3

Raised Presbyterian until I was 9. Turned to atheism after my dad died ("A loving God wouldn't do that"), wandered gradually to apathetic agnostic ("maybe there's a God, I don't care"), started reading mythology in junior high and high school and eventually found my own spirituality by way of the Norse and Greek myths when I was about 17. Eventually found out that there was a label that shared a lot (but not all) of my beliefs - Wicca - and began studying it in earnest several years ago. I currently consider myself Pagan with strong Wiccan influence.

Answer 4

Carol Kingg I celebrated the Bicentennial too! I Felt the Earth circulate decrease than My ft and that i Celebrated the recent Millenium with the aid of asserting so long to 2000 and hi to 2001 maximum of persons theory the Millenium started in 2000

Answer 5

In short, I went to Catholic school and was ardently religious as a little girl. the when I was about 7 yo, the nuns told me to hate Jews because they killed Christ. Having been brought up in an all Italian neighborhood, I knew only one Jew. His name was Murray and he had a crush on my mother. How could this sweet guy be responsible for someone who was killed so long ago? then, as I grew, I started asking more questions. today I believe there is not one accurate religion, because if there was, we would all be born with the knowledge of the divine and would not need religioius indoctrination.

Answer 6

I was raised in a home that attended Baptist church. And, as a child, accepted what I was told on faith.

But, the more I questioned, the more I discovered that it was all nonsense from a factual or historical viewpoint.

I have faith the sun will appear tomorrow morning on the eastern horizon. I have no faith "God" exists anywhere.

The first has evidence to support the faith, the second has no evidence to support it.

Answer 7

Was born in russia, was lucky enough to have parents who let me decide for myself. Started out atheist.. then kind of beleived in a form of reincarnation based on karma.. now beleive in some kind of higher power, not really reincarnation anymore, if at all, not based on karma.. and have so much against pretty much any organized religion. especially those that encourage killing of infidels.. seems like the biggest role organized religion usually plays, is making people think less about the whole issue, just eat up what you're told

Answer 8

I was christened in the Anglican Church. Born and lived my preschool years in a small town where Catholics were rich, otherwise all variants of Christian were acceptable. I mostly attended Church with my great grandmother. I was given a basic teaching of the 12 commandments..and read the Bible thoroughly. However I studied a small amount of Buddhism and Hinduism..notably the Tibetan book of the dead..I studied small amounts of chemistry and physics, enough to realize that there are light and dark and life and death so that to me the world and all its illusions is that work, until dust is dust, and heaven is that work until eternal joy is life ..but balance is like a teetertotter,diferent places, different ceatures, no olive trees grow in the lake, etc.,the earth a place to be born again
and ultimately Jesus is the traveller the giver and shepherd..
but the healer..homesickness ours..and greed theirs
for me heaven is your own home..paradise your own garden,and the prophets spoke of the desire in each of us for our own home.
Myself the real antichrist in me is the concept of marriage it appears to be more legalised prostitution but actually in my life..
a nicely revamped form of slavery.
My Dad remarked that Roman Catholics and Jews see women as cheap labour..although I admire and trust the teachings of Jesus as written the violence and customs are different and I'd like to believe all still my experience and history says God hates me..we'e too different. and I keep wanting to ask...what does a true Christian pay or what does Jesus pay his cleaning lady?

Answer 9

I have been LDS my whole life, but not always active LDS. I have gone through periods when I have wanted to not follow a religion at all, but I have always come back to this one. To me, it holds everything that I find I value in life- our idea of family, Christ, God, values and acceptance. I am now very strong in my faith and my conviction in my religion. I go to church every week, read my scriptures, pray, hold FHE (family home evening- if you don't know what that is, it's where the family gets together once a week to have family together time). We are very family orriented and believe that family is one of the cornerstones of our lives.

Answer 10

Raised generic methodist...stopped going...went to Baptist...stopped going...gave a series of other churches a shot (Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, etc..etc..)...atheist.. then became a comfortable agnostic ....occasional Reformed Druid and generic pagan.