Would you have converted to your birth religion if you'd been around long ago when it was first preached ?

Question

For example, if you're of English origin, would you have been interested in becoming Christian if you'd lived in Anglo-Saxon times? Or would you have preferred to stick to your ancestral gods?

Answer 1

What an unusual question. Had I lived in Anglo-Saxon times, I doubt that I would have received any education, especially as a woman. So possibly I would have been easily persuaded by the stories of healing and miracles. To an uneducated woman of that time they would have been truly wondrous stories, which possibly I would have liked to believe. I doubt though, that I would have been brave enough to go against the male members of the family and tell them that I wanted to discard the ancient Gods, especially as these were Gods to be feared.
I would have thought that the `new`God had more to offer me than the `old` Gods, as a woman anyway, as the ancient Gods were really only interested in the men-folk. So I think the answer would be Yes, if I had no pressure from the men-folk. Having said that, in to-days` world I am educated and am a scientist, I am also a non-believer.

Answer 2

I personally was baptised a Catholic, confirmed as an Anglican, and am an atheist by choice.

Answering your question is difficult. If you think about it society when Christianity, for example, was first preached was so different. The social obligations to an Anglo-Saxon feudal overlord meant that, probably, I as an individual would have no choice in the matter - to my lord I will be truly faithful - was part of an Anglo-Saxon fealty oath.

Society then was not democratic in the sense that we now have individual choice. To have openly defied your overlord in those times would have had dire consequences. I suspect that I as an individual would do what many actually did. Be a Christian publicly while covertly worshipping the old gods.

Answer 3

Religion is not always dictacted because of how you were born, some people gravitate away from or toward religion at different points of their lives.

I live in 2006 therefore, I cannot speculate on the social, educational, or spiritual environment of 100 years ago or 1000 years ago.

Next, what says that because you are born today in the family and body you have, that you would be born into the same family 100 or 1000 years ago in history? You could have been born into any family on the face of the earth at any point in time since man has existed, but you were born into the family you have today.

The question you asked did not take that into consideration either.

Answer 4

My religion was first preached by Jesus of Nazareth. I'd like to say I would've been converted but as the saying goes hind sight is always 20/20. I'm not so sure that his "different" ways of doing and looking at things wouldn't have been a little scary for me.Of course, being a woman in an occupied land would've been a challenge in itself. Interesting question to ponder.

Answer 5

Knowing what I now know, I would have listened to Jesus, because he was a socialist who believed in human rights and equality. He kicked against the establishment. Of course, at the time, I wouldn't have had this knowledge or the concepts. As an under-privileged Jew I might have listened, as a well-heeled Jew I would have dismissed the message and considered him as just another revolutionary trying to rock the boat.

Answer 6

You would have had to, because people were usually punished, out of fear of the unknown if they did not follow the religion of the invaders.

Some of the Vikings, for instance kept their traditional gods, but abandoned them when they saw that the overtaking Christians were not punished by their gods.

I don't have to worry about such matters since I'm not any religion. :P

Answer 7

I would not have been interested in becoming Christian as it would have seemed like some kind of cult