Did you have a choice about your religion?

Question

My mother is an athiest. She brought me up to think for myself about religion, philosophy and the cosmos. I feel lucky to have been raised in such an open-minded environment. Although I started out "denying the existence of God" as a child, my willingness and openness to seek answers from everywhere and anywhere has led me to become the person I call myself today: A free thinker. I understand the purpose of God. I understand why people feel it is important to bring God into their lives, and share their experience with others. But I often wonder how much of what they believe is truly THEIR belief, or more the influence of others while they were young and impressionable.

If you were raised in a religious environment, do you believe you had a choice in what you believed? Do you feel you were at all "coerced" by parents, friends, mentors or siblings? Did you ever seek answers from unbiased sources?

Answer 1

1-5yrs old I had no knowledge o religion and attended a CofE school. 5-11yrs I went to a Catholic school an dlearnt nothing of other religions, I assumed everyone was Catholic. My Mum was atheist and my Dad was Catholic to the point of studyingto become a priest in his teens, but he dropped out for some unknown reason.

11+ Local Comp with mix of religiong and religious study. I learnt with avid interest and met Hindus, CofEs, atheists etc. I found I wasn't getting anything from being Catholic at all, just an unrealistic version of events (how could Jesus speak English and have blue eys, fair skin & fair hair when he was born in Bethlehem etc etc). I became an atheist.

In 1999 I went to Malaysia to work and met Muslims for the first time and Buddhists too. I learnt a LOT about Islam and found it to be close to the way I wanted to live (bar a few things) and was thinking of converting when I met & feel in love with a Muslim. i got answers so clearly and instantly and even had dreams years before of finding Islam. I couldn't interpret them until I learnt more about the religion then I realized and felt as though I had been guided. Arabic seemed a much more likely language with which to communicate with God/ Allah.

So I became Muslim. I'm not submissive or passive, I read and question and argue and fight as many rules were written by men not God. I have found mor faith than I ever did as a Catholic, but also don't think old rules apply any more. I have much more learning to do, I will do it with my daughter as she is taught in school.

Answer 2

my parents raised me to question and study. If I had a question I was encouraged to seek the answer weather it was a religion based question or not.

My Parents are Buddhist and it was always practised in our home but my grandmother was a born again christian and very knowledgeable in the church.

I was lucky enough to have spend some years at school in London where there is such a mixed group of all races and religions. I was given the opportunity to visit Sikh temples, Jane Temples, Islamic mosques, Catholic churches, synagogues, the lot!.. I found my faith by reading and studying and find the right path for me... I only hope i am bring my children up with the same chances.

Answer 3

Great question and I have the answer. There are some people who are brought up believing what their parents tell them. For example if we talk about Christian beliefs we can look at families who bring their kids up to be Protestant or Catholic. A lot of times this kind of faith is not very stable and these kids, when they grow up may become disilusioned with their religion. Thats because at some point they start thinking that their views were not their own choice but their parents' choice.

Now there are also a lot of Christians who consciously make a decision to become Christian at some point in their life after doing research.

I was raised in a Russian family where no one was religious. I became a "born agian" Christian at around 20 years old when I read the Bible on my own.

So, I think if a person genuinely believes their religion they must realize they must know a lot about it to be able to defend it in a conversation. To be able to do that you must do a lot of research and to make a conscious decision to believe in it.

Answer 4

I grew up in a Pentecostal home and attended church 3 times a week from about 2 years old until I was about 16 years old. I rejected that theology and found it silly my whole life.

I am a Christian however but not of the thinking of my parental upbringing, and I decided that for myself.

I do however believe that religion still plays a big part in my life due to my upbringing, in that if I had not been brought up the way I had....and would have instead been brought up a atheist...I would likely not have had the presupposition that God exists.

I am now a Presbyterian (PCA) and worship the God I have known my entire life (even though I had before me false things...I knew this God that I know now).

Answer 5

I was raised as a Catholic, then I met a wonderful LDS girl, and married her. I was baptised 4 months after we wed, and we now have 2 daughters.

I didn't tell my mother for nearly six years, even though I had a fairly big responsibility within my new church which most sons would have been proud to mention to their parents.

I had to scrape her off the ceiling when she DID start to speak to me again, and now she dotes on my two daughters.

My change has nothing to do with belief or otherwise in God, but rather a choice similar in type to the one faced by many people every day - which religion is right, and is right for me?

Answer 6

I was raised in a home where there was no chosen religion. My mom studied many religions and philosophies and shared all she learned with me. She favors Eastern Religion and Egyptology. I became a Christ follower at age 21 after reading the Bible and praying with a friend while working on a cruise ship. There was no church to attend, and most of the staff of the ship did not follow any religion.
I think all people have a choice as to what they believe. It just takes some longer than others to figure things out for themselves.
I believe you have to make the decision for yourself to follow Christ in order to really be a Christian.

Answer 7

My mother was raised a Protestant who went out of her way to break every commandment she could! My dad was raised staunch Catholic who rejected it as an adult. I didn't have any kind of faith until I was 35, when I realised BY MYSELF how much God had guided me through some traumatic times. My parents still don't take my faith seriously so it is never discussed. My husband, an athiest, doesn't understand my belief but is fully supportive of my right to follow it. My littlest boy believes God is real but doesn't have any major beliefs yet as he is too young. It's just nice to hear him saying things like "I'm glad God looks after me" and I will support him in whatever path he chooses to take, which is more than my parents did!

Answer 8

i was raised as a catholic and had to go to church every sunday and was sent to a catholic school. I never felt it was forced on me i just grew up with respect for my mum so done as i was told. some of the aspects of the religion i still believe in but because of the attitude of the priest at my local church who had an opinion that he was better than everyone else and if you didnt follow the bible to the word you were a sinner ive drawn away from it. I can still believe without going to a church to made to feel like a naughty child. ive actually started going to a spiritulist church which im enjoying finding out their opinion on god etc and its a lot more friendly, they dont condemn you if you dont believe the same as them you just have to live your live doing it as good as you can. My mum doesnt hold it against me that i am drawing away from being catholic. i believe everybody should have a choice but i can also understand why parents try to make their child follow a religion but dont explain why. You need to explain things to a child not force it on them.

Answer 9

I had the right to choose everything for myself. My parents taught me nothing about religion growing up, and I actually was ridiculing people who believed in God as young as six years old. However, when I became an adult, I had the opportunity to learn more about God, and came to the conclusion that God exists and that Christianity was right about everything. Now, I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that He died to pay the penalty for my sins and that through Him I can have eternal life.

I wasn't brainwashed by anyone. I had no strong influences either way during my research. People told me about what they believed, but didn't pressure me to believe or not. I looked at the scientific evidence, looked at both sides to arguments, and came up with my conclusion. Don't call me stupid, either, because I have had plenty of education in my life, I've done well in school and college and have had a good GPA, and I can see everything for myself.

I've said the truth about everything I believe in. Of course, most people won't like what I say, so I expect to see plenty of thumbs down coming from this. If you want to deny it, go ahead. I won't force you to believe anything. All I ask is that you put aside all of your personal biases and look at all of the evidence from an objective point of view. If you choose to not believe, then at least you gave it a real chance.

Answer 10

I and my 7 siblings were brought up strick Christians. I am christian, but I don't agree with everything the people I was brought up with do and I don't feel coerced at all. I have looked into reasons God is fake, Islam, Buddism. Yet i am still Chirstian, only 2 out of the 7 kids in my family are christian so its not like you get brainwashed...