Can i change my religion??i don't wanna be catholic!!!?

Question

im not understanding what they teach me and my *catholic* school.Whered god come from?Why is jesus the only "magical healer",whys mary the only real virgin.People couldve lied back then,my science teacher,who teaches religon also,says the bible is not a fact book,or a science book,so how do u know this whole thing they say is real. It makes no sense,can i be unbaptized.I kinda want to be agonost,or atheist,or buddast.Can i just change,or is there a process?

almost everyone in my family is catholic.
and i know my mom wont take me serious,but i AM! so much!

Answer 1

Talk to your parish priest, he can probibly answer some of your questions.

Answer 2

You've thrown out there a lot of "what I want to be's".

You also asked different questions about what Catholics believe.

Does your family practice their faith? Do they go to church every Sunday? Are you asking to stay home while they are being Catholics?

Sometimes things don't make sense because we are overwhelmed. It seems all of what confuses you, you have grouped together as a reason to run away from what your family believes.

What do you believe in? Do you have a good relationship with your family or is something else going on that you are rebelling?

You need to think about why your parents are Catholics and why you really don't want to be one anymore.

To stop being a Catholic you just stop. That's it. Do you think you are a spiritual person, looking for a church you understand better? Or do you just not want to be involved in any organized Religion?

As far as lieing, hey that is done everyday, watch TV., read the papers. For example Britney, Paris and Lindsay all say they have done nothing wrong. Could they be lying? Could our Senators and Politician's be lying? Do they even exist?

If you need something to see in order to believe in it then you definitely have no faith.

You technically cannot "see love", its not like a beacon that beats from our hearts so does love not exist?

You need to put a lot of thought into the why?

That way you can at least make an informed answer. Whatever you choose, in the long run it too will be a commitment. People somehow all seem to ask (in conversations with friends) what do we basically believe in? So if you determine which part of all of it you are, do your self a favor, think about it, research it and then you can live it.

Answer 3

Yes you can change your religion. And its ok to not want to be catholic. There are other religions out there. You will not go to hell for not being catholic. I say that only because if you did go to hell that it wouldn't make sense at all. What about all the other peoples beliefs in different gods? Are they condemned to hell? Ill bet they would say the same thing for people who denied their god and believed in jesus. To me it seems like everyone in the world would all be condemned to hell if this was the case. And if we all went to hell then that makes even less sense. This is just my opinion. I respect anyone who chooses to have a religion. Therefore I have no intention to persuade a heavy believer.


I personally still don't doubt in the existent of a god or gods. But I think its all completely different then how religion or people explain it. For example god could just be a giant sphere of energy way far out in the universe who only created the laws of life but nothing else and then let the laws do their work to influence the creation of planets, cells, atoms, and people etc. Think about it. Isn't it really interesting how all the laws in life work perfectly? How everything was created with enough proficiency to where it all works? Simply the work of a master mind of a god.

Religion and the bible is (again in my opinion. It's fine to disagree.) just the work of people themselves and what they thought over many many years ago. Their thinking could have been influenced by coincidental happenings or confusion over things they could not explain during the early times. For example when people first saw lighting they were confused and didn't know what it was or where it was coming from. So they figured it was the work of a god throwing down bolts.

Answer 4

Theres no process. Religion is a very personal thing and it takes years to find out what you really feel about it and what you believe. If you really want to change then study some other religions. Go to a temple and see what Buddhism is really about, etc. To the catholic church, until you get excommunicated, you'll still be an official member. There are some complications to that though like if you dont take communion/ do confession every so often then youre not a "true catholic."

best of luck!

Answer 5

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as being unbaptized, but in some cases you can submit a formal withdrawal to your parish, and if they sign it, you're officially out of the church. You don't have to do that, though, you can just stop going.

It is a process, though. While you can abruptly stop believing, you do have to educate yourself. I suggest that you read everything you can about every religion you can, and also about agnosticism and atheism. Teach yourself about logic, and about the various sorts of logical fallacies like begging the question or false dichotomies. Evaluate the logic of the claims that each religion makes... does it make sense according to the laws of logic and science that Jesus could rise from the dead, or that all holy books are holy because they say so? There are good theistic arguments and bad ones, just as with atheistic arguments; read them and study them, and think what is good or bad about them and why.

I also recommend that you keep a philosophy journal, in which you can write down your ideas or take notes on what you learn. Write and think, and read and think, then write and read and think some more! Learn as much as you possibly can about religion, logic, philosophy, and science.

Don't worry too much about being a Catholic school student; you are probably getting a good science education, and as long as you are studying religion on your own, it is useful to have a religion class too. (Take a world religions class if your school has it.) I'm not sure if you're a middle school student or a high school student, but I'm assuming you're in high school... and anyway, don't worry, I'm an atheist and I spent 13 years in Catholic schools.

Here are some resources you might find helpful:

philosophy:
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to ________ (any religion, also Online Religions, and Atheism)
- the Introducing ____ series (many are available, such as Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus)
science:
- "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene (PBS tv series)
- any and all of your science textbooks
religion:
- the Bible
- the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- the Talmud
- the Koran (aka Qu'ran)
- The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (book)
- The Skeptic's Annotated Bible (http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/index.htm)
- The Internet Infidels (http://www.infidels.org/)
logic:
- fallacies (http://www.logicalfallacies.info/)

Your local library will be very helpful in your ventures, as will your local branch of Unitarian Universalists if there are any in your area. I also recommend that you talk with the priest at your school, and with as many ministers of as many religions as you can. They can help answer your questions, and they can make you come up with more questions too... I used to talk with the chaplain in my high school all the time even though I was an atheist; I learned a lot about Catholicism and that helped me to distance myself from the RCC. Their answers may bring you closer or push you away, but the more you know the better.

Best wishes on your endeavour!

Answer 6

Of course my dear you can change your religion. There are no steps with the catholic church that you need to go through, just stop attending. I joke and say I am a recovering catholic. I was raised catholic but got over it. But there wasnt a 12 step program for me to attend. My whole life, while in catholc schools etc, questioned what i was taught. I felt in heart that I knew my path was different. More natural. I felt more at peace with myself by the water than anywhere else. Or in the forest. By 15, I stopped attending church but was still in a catholic school. But I knew "witch" way my path was heading. My mother always knew of my interests and never discouraged my learning. For a while, I believed or should I say, did nothing. Then, like "magick", I was awaken, and knew where I was headed. But not blindly. Reading, talking to like minds. Books, internet research. My heart lead me to where I am today in my beliefs.

Just dont say, hey, this____ is what I am now. Read about all kinds of religions and faiths. talk to different people. And even though there are a lot of people here who like to judge, this is also a good forum to get ideas and resources to sites and books, and networking with like minds. If you find someone who seems to think in a way like you, maybe shoot them off an email and try to connect to chat. Research alot. Then your heart will lead to your true path. I never stop learning. All faiths have something to contribute. Many blessings in your journey!

Blessed Be!

Answer 7

Whatever you do, don't convert to Islam!! It's even more confusing than the bible! And by the way, YOU SHOULD BE VERY, VERY PROUD of yourself for using your intelligence and not believing in something that you question! In my opinion, the bible is so contradicting that, how can you believe it? I was baptized as a Christian and now I'm a buddhist. Babtizing doesn't do anything to you except make you wet! You should watch "Science of the Bible". It points out scientific evidence and compares it to biblical stories. You don't even have to be a religion. You can just believe in God and form your own beliefs! Your mom isn't going to be happy at first, I promise you that, but it's your life. Not hers!

Answer 8

You can change whenever you want to. It is good that you question your religion. 99.99% of people are in a religion just because their parents were in that religion. The Bible is only a manual for your soul and spiritual things. It is not a fact book. The Bible says the you must be baptized AS AN ADULT in order to get to Heaven. The Catholics don't tell you this. Good Luck with your choice.

Answer 9

to put this in layman's terms. YOu can change your religion like you change your underwear. Its not that big a deal. Just go to a church a few times. If it feels good, then find out what you need to join. Most of the time, its pretty simple. Your science teacher is, shall i say, a liberal. The other questions you have are one's that you need to answer for yourself. no one here is going to be the "magic bullet". You have to find those answers and then, figure out what you want to do.

Answer 10

Most of my family is Catholic and I am a wiccan. You don't have to be unbaptized. depending on what religion you want to be in, they may have a right of initiation to go through. Atheist do not believe in god, I think they follow scientific fact, so no right of passage there. You can be whatever you want. The goddess gave you free will for a reason, to find what makes you happy. Good luck wiht your search.

Answer 11

Mark Shea : Of the Virgin !




August 3, 2007

Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means, God with us).

Anybody remotely familiar with the Christian story knows that Jesus was born of a virgin. What is not so easy to hold on to these days is the answer to the question "Why?" That's because we have reduced sex to a plumbing problem and no longer see it as sacramental and significant; therefore we see in virginity only "no sex" rather than a sacramental significance too. Further, since we see in "no sex" the ultimate deprivation from the highest pleasure mortal flesh knows, we see only loss. That's why our culture hates virginity. And that's why our culture hates children. For children are virgins and we trundle them out of childhood and on into an early and promiscuous adolescence as fast as possible. Jesus was born of one who was, in a famous phrase, "younger than sin." Her virginity was not a loss to her. It was a sign of total love for God. A sign for us to read.