Your current religion.?

Question

How many of you were the religion you were born into?
Have you ever explored other religions?

or

How many of you changed religions?
Why did you change?

Thanks for all the answers provided. I'm trying to get a general feel for how many people question there religion they were born into. All of your answers have been very helpful. Many thanks.

Haha I just realized the horrible typo's in my questions and details. Please excuse me, I'm very tired :)

Answer 1

My parents were Christian but I don't remember ever believing in it. They encouraged me to research and see what best for me. When I was around 10 years old I learned about Macro Philosophy and it made sense but I still believed in deities. I saw my deities as have both positive and negative attributes since everything else I saw seemed that way too.

In my mid twenties I learned about neo-paganism which was similar to what I practiced. In my thirties I found a particular branch of neo-paganism that I still really like. (I am now in my early 40's)

The changes I've made so far have been mostly minor ones and have occured slowly. I still believe in most of the tenets of Macro Philosophy like I did when I was a child. Some of my deities now have names instead of just titles. I am becoming more structured in my beliefs and practices as I get older and my relationships with my deities deepen.

Answer 2

I was born 7th day Adventist. Well, I like to think we are born without, but my brain was scrubbed in that direction. They aren't all that different if you never find out about Ellen White.

I have read up on a lot of religions. Also the church I went to took a lot of "field trips" to other churches so I was exposed to quite a few.

I don't know if I really "changed" it as that assumes I have one.
Lost my religion? No, that might insinuate I'm still looking for it. I trashed it.

I decided all religion is bunk.

I find it refreshing that so many people actually thought about what they were and even changed. Though most of the people in here are not the nut cases always arguing and posting things that leave me speechless. Well, one makes me feel like I'm Elmer Fudd when I read her posts, but I won't name her.

Answer 3

I was born into Christianity and was totally fine with it, although my parents weren't exactly practicing and I was never baptized. Went to Catholic school for a few years, but it was really only because my father thought the public school in our area was not good and he didn't want me to go there. In my pre/early teens I went through a few rebellious pseudo-Satanic phases, then finally got over myself and became born again Christian....in my mind I was anyway, I didn't go through any ceremony and was still not actually baptized.
Still in my early teens, I had several bouts with depression. During these time I would often turn to the Bible for comfort, but I did not always find it there. One night during one of these incidents I finally rejected Christianity altogether. I was 15 I think. I had never felt so liberated. Even while I was Christian I was always drawn toward magic, divination, various aspects of the occult.

During the next 2 years or so I studied Shamanism because I was also drawn to Native American culture and spirituality, also because I really wanted to be a healer. I didn't have anyone to apprentice, so I didn't really feel like I could fully develop that.
Over the same few years I learned a bit about Wicca from a few friends. I eventually started looking into it myself, and when I was 17 I officially dedicated myself to the Wiccan path. I have been fortunate that my parents, family, friends, etc accept this with no judgements. 10 years later, I'm still happily Wiccan. Blessed Be! :)

Answer 4

I was "born" a pagan, but raised in a Southern Baptist/Methodist home.

I explored the Quaker & Catholic religions in high school, but they were not for me.

I tried to be an atheist and an agnostic at one time or another but something was missing.

In the 1980s, I checked out non-denominational liberal Christian churches, including the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church.

In the late 1990s, I realized that I was a repressed pagan, so I guess that makes me a "born again pagan" now.

I checked out the "AA God" but it wasn't for me.

In this millennium, I'm actualizing my true self as an eclectic pagan & a hedge witch.

Some of my beliefs are grounded in Celtic, Druidic, British Traditionalist, Wiccan, Feri, Reclaiming, Buddhist, Hindu & Native American traditions.

Answer 5

I'm 7th Day Adventist. I grew up in a household where my mother was Catholic and my father was 7th Day Adventist (SDA) later my mother converted and joined the Pentecostal church. When I was 20 or so I did a little research into different religions. I wish I could have done a more extensive study but because of limited resources I was only able to find out about the religions I was more familiar with. The closest to what I believed turned out to be SDA and I have been that ever since. Still to this day I try to find out more about religions and if one ever makes more sense to me than I am still open to converting.

Answer 6

I was born a Southern Baptist. I was raised a Southern Baptist. Around age 16 I felt that the church I was attending just didn't have a few things right (spending $$$$$$$ on new carpet and the like, when they didn't really need those things and could have given that money to charities that really could have USED it wisely.) I attended a Seventh-Day Adventist church for awhile, and couldn't in good conscience call Ellen White a prophet, so I left. Now I call myself non-denominational conservative Christian. I do go back and attend my Southern Baptist church whenever I can though. It's still a great place to worship, even if I don't agree with everything they do.

Answer 7

I am not the same as I was born into - I was born a Catholic and am now a Christian.

I have explored the majority of world's major religions, delving especially deeply into Buddhism, Judaism, Native American spirituality and Islam. I also dabbled in mysticism like the I Ching before falling into agnosticism and eventually atheism.

I changed because I didn't understand the concept of Christianity since it was filtered through the pope & not given as it was intended - directly from the Bible as presented.

I changed because I faced a nearly fatal crisis of my own making and was forced to face the truth about myself and God.

Answer 8

I am not a Christian, which is the religion I was born into.
After researching other religions, and a lot of soul searching, I decided that I don't need to belong to any religion, that my faith in God, and in nature was all I need.
I must add that I decided that the religion of Chrisitanity was not right for me, but I think that what Jesus was trying to teach his followers is exactly the way we should live, and that is to respect each other as humans.

Answer 9

I was born into Catholicism, I found it was very brainwashing because my perticular school dident explain anything. We rarely read the Bible, and God was very distant. Things became too rituialistic, and the Christian God seemed to live in a building.

I embraced Paganism in my teens to early twenties because of my love for nature and my Native american heritage. I loved the idea of nature-based worship because I admired the beauity complexitcy of the earth. I marveled at the sky and the cloud formations. I was always in awe of the rain and how wonderful plants and animals were. I was interested in natural healing and Reiki.
Even though I rejected the Christian God, I still researched Christianity, for I found all religions interesting. I beleived at that point that all religions lead to the same God.

Then something stirred inside of me. I went to a Baptist Church with friends to support them( but definately not to worship their God), and I listened to the message there. I had no intentions of converting that night, but I decided to listen anyway.
I opened my heart, my eyes, and my mind to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ and I felt such an amazing peace come over me.
All the beleifs of my past , that had brought me such 'joy' and comfort' were nothing compared to the wonder and magnificance of this new feeling. I had found love, and its awsome power was in my heart. I realised that I was a sinner, and that Jesus died for my sins. All the 'Christian facts' that I had been learning suddenly made sence.
I stopped worshiping nature, and started worshipping the God that created it all!

Answer 10

I believe Catholicism, Wicca, Paganism, and all those other corporate structured, ritualistic types of practices are the only religions left.

If you mean faiths---living, breathing, functioning faith. Then there is no "changing". Faith is hope; hope is faith. Religion cannot make anything live----however, they do make very good corporate structures.

I was born in sin and lived sinfully, selfishly, and without regard to others or to myself. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior when I was knee deep in sin and had an attitude that was harder than you could imagine. Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit saved my physical life and my sppiritual life.

There is nothing that will turn me away from my faith in Jesus Christ.

As far as religion. It's like any other club or phase or "trend." Faith is to the core.