R & S pArTiCiPaNtS? oVeR hErE!!?

Question

ok ok lol the weird spelling was to get your attention :P just thought of asking:
1)what religion were you as a child (family religion)?
2)what religions have you studied throughout your life?
3)are you of the same religion still?
4)how did your study of other religions affect your view on the final religion (or lack of) that you have chosen?

me:
1)was born a Buddhist (that's atheistic)
2)have read the bible and the Qur'an and many other books related to those 2 religions.have also read extensively on hinduism and paganism as well.
3)am still a Buddhist
4)i learnt many many undeniably valuable things from all my studying and i thoroughly enjoyed it.also,the more i study other religions,and the more i question Buddhism,the more convinced i become of the truth in Buddhism.

no rude remarks please and no putting down of any religion.nice polite answers ok :) thanks!

a little clarification:Buddhism IS atheistic.we don't believe in any God.enlightenment (nirvana) must NOT be confused with heaven.it's completely different.nirvana means the vanquishing of all worldly desires and after attaining nirvana (through meditation during ones life) one has no afterlife.

Answer 1

1) I was raised as a Christian

2) I've studied Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism

3) Now that I'm an adult, I have become an Atheist

4) I realized that all these superstitions are just that and there is no one of them that are somehow more substantial than another. For example, how is Scientology any more likely than Christianity? Just because Christianity is older?

This is not meant to be rude, but I think it is insulting to Buddhism not to consider it a religion, personally. So I don't consider Buddhists Atheists (mainly because they believe in reincarnation and such a thing as enlightenment). I know you'll disagree, but that's just how I feel.
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Edit: I'm sorry, but atheism is the lack of belief in god or anything superstisious. That includes reincarnation or nirvana .

Answer 2

1. Born an Atheist.
2. I have studied, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and finally the one I know the most because I use to be one is Christianity (I wasn't very good at it because I always questioned everything).
3. I am now an Atheist.
4. Studying the Bible reafirmed my belife that there is no god. I do love studying religions though. I find it fascinating.

Answer 3

Family was nominally Christian. By the time I was eight, it had become clear that the biblical tales could not be reconciled with science, and since science is obviously correct (it works!), the bible had to go. I have examined Christianity (and by default Judaism), Islam, and Mormonism in some detail, and have found no reason to be anything but an atheist. I know nothing about Buddhism or Hinduism.

Answer 4

1) Raised to go to chuch: social Christianity.

2) I'm familiar with Christianity in its variations, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, all intellectually (inside knowledge is something else) variations on existentialism and secular humanism, and a few odd ones: Scientology, Theosophy, Wilhelm Reich, the expanded consciousness (LSD) movement... That's not an exhaustive list.

3) I've changed position several times, as my knowledge, experience and thinking developed. I'm an atheist, after many years as a committed, believing, Christian.

4) Now that would take pages: my bookshelves groan with volumes of theology, philosophy, cosmology, physics, history... OK, I exaggerate. I've only got about five shelves-worth.
Buddhism still retains appealing aspects but, apart from anything else, I have no confirmation in my experience of what others have apparently found in meditation. I've tried several techniques, but found nothing to encourage me to persist. Pretty much the reverse. (But my brain is differently wired from most).

Answer 5

1) None
2) Christianity but mostly Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Wicca
3) I'm Buddhist
4) I learned a lot about the religion through the study, but I learned a lot more about the people of each religion by experience. The people influenced me not to become Christian. The study of Buddhism influenced me to be a Buddhist.

Answer 6

Hello, hello!

Think this is an interesting question.

I too, was brought up a Buddhist & spent a fair amount of time looking into & learning from other religions.

Would query your understanding of Nirvaana & Parinirvaana, though.

Don't think it's too different from theistic religions. Jesus said 'my father's house has many mansions', of which Nirvaana could perhaps be seen as the highest.

There is no further rebirth, but I think Jesus' idea of 'Everlasting Life' is very illustrative, (if not taken too literally).

The Buddha was silent on the condition of the Tathaagata 'after death', and once referred to Himself as "Brahma Bhuuta" (become divine, Agga~n~na Sutta).

Answer 7

1) Catholic
2) Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Satanism, Buddhism, Islam, Wicca
3) No
4) It wasn't so much the study of religions than it was the realization that gods cannot logically exist. After that, well, most religions are useless as they're centered around deity worship. Buddhism isn't, but I'm also not too keen on the whole supernatural, spiritual, reincarnation thing.

Answer 8

My mother was an Atheist, my father is a retired Unitarian minister. So we didn't exactly have a "family religion" but I did learn about Unitarian, Univesalist and Atheist beliefs at home.

My father taught us all to explore all possibilities and decide for ourselves. I have read the bible and find it to be unbelievable. I have read about Buddhism and a bit about the basic beliefs of other religions.

I am a Unitarian because it makes the most sense to me so far. No violence, no hatred, no discrimination, no hell.

Answer 9

1) I was raised Christian, but my Mother "didn't believe in organized religion" I think she was a witch.
2) Christianity, Episcopalian, agnostic, Wicca, Asatru
3) I am a Wiccan.
4) I learned that I didn't like feeling like a hypocrite sitting in the Christian church, some of the things that they were saying just 'felt' wrong to me, I like all of the ritual in the Episcopal church, Asatru has the belief that all the gods are separate entities and reincarnation is not a factor.
Everybody knows how they feel in their own hearts and NO amount of preaching is going to change that, it's what's right for them.

Answer 10

Hi,
I was raised Catholic, then at around 18 got involved with a born again group..or at least that's what they thought? Then I studied with JW's for about 6 to 7 years, and left that group, and then started studying on my own. I am a Christian.... no religion for me. Just God's word and the redeeming Grace through Jesus.