Hello Religious people, can I ask you this?

Question

If you could just answer these questions I'd appreciate it...
Are you from a religious family/a family that did have some grounds of one religion or another?

If yes, are you the same religion today?

Have you ever delved into finding out about if anything else other than what you were brought up believing, different religions/evolution/atheist?

Have you ever considered that what you believe now is solely because that's what you were told growing up?
It doesn't make it true..
Just an example to illustrate what I'm trying to say here..
Growing up, kids are told Santa is real and they believe it because that's what they're told..

Let me know what you make of this..

favouritefood0: I was asking if people who are religious ever looked into anything else apart from what they were told, i.e, people who believe in creationism are obviously religious, and evolution and that theory of how the world began contradicts that.
Duh!

Answer 1

1. No, I am not from a religious family. In fact my mom is an atheist.

2. No, see answer to #1.

3. Yes, I have looked into other beliefs in fact I was a Philosophy Major.

4. Considering my beliefs are so different then my families no.

Answer 2

Hello Religious people, can I ask you this?
If you could just answer these questions I'd appreciate it...


Are you from a religious family/a family that did have some grounds of one religion or another? YES

If yes, are you the same religion today? NO

Have you ever delved into finding out about if anything else other than what you were brought up believing, different religions/evolution/atheist? YES

Have you ever considered that what you believe now is solely because that's what you were told growing up? YES
It doesn't make it true..

Answer 3

1. Yes, I am from a religious family. They were really the ones that planted me in my faith; I love my family.

2. Yes, I am of the same religion today.

3. Yes, I have looked into other beliefs, and I would like to do some more extensive research soon.

4. I have wondered about this. Again, I'm extremely thankful and lucky to have the family that I have.

Answer 4

1. I was not raised in a religious family.
2. n/a
3. I was first exposed to religion when I was sent to a Catholoic High School. The largest influence in my journey was my sister who bought me a Bible in 1990 and told me to start with the four gospels. She attended a very lively church. Although I was not comfortable in her church, I thought the gradual change in my sister was amazing and wanted to learn more about the sense of peace she had. I have actually studied and attended many different denominations of Christianity. I also studied Buddihism and Muslim.

4. After many years in the Church of Christ, I am converting to Catholicism. This is a choice my family made together.

Answer 5

My family was relatively secular, but I did have some religious education.

Same religion, different sub-group.

I have studied different religions a bit, though I admit not nearly enough, I want to study more in the future.

Of course, I fully admit I might be wrong, but I have not found anything better or what could be "more right"

until I find something better I have no problem sticking to what I know. Being part Ethno-religious group is much more than faith or religion. It is a cultural and historical identity that is part of who I am.

Answer 6

I was born a Catholic and I attended Catholic School and Church until I was about 13. At that point I wanted to learn about different religions and began attending all different kinds of churches, I even took a world religion course. I learned a lot and took into consideration what I learned. I made an educated decision to continue attending the catholic church because I believe they teach the truth and the church began when Jesus made Peter the "rock" of the church so it has a lot of history behind it.

Answer 7

Are you from a religious family/a family that did have some grounds of one religion or another?
-Yes, but it was diversely religious. My parents were Christians but they are very different sorts of Christians than I am today. The theories and ways of life are all different.

If yes, are you the same religion today? Sorta. I'm more into it than they are. My dad's side is sort of legalistic, traditional and ritualistic about it, and my mom is more new-age with Jesus mixed in. I was actually converted through more intellectual means than emotional. Reading Christian non-fiction, and studying psychology from a humanistic approach really had an effect on how I looked at it.

Have you ever delved into finding out about if anything else other than what you were brought up believing, different religions/evolution/atheist? Yes. I studied Buddhism and I still really like it and think a lot of it is very true and wise. I was an atheist for a while, although I kept it to myself for the most part. When I really found God MAN was it different. I could feel it in every part of me. It made sense. I'm a rather numb person emotionally, but just thinking about God makes me tear up. Nothing else makes me cry. That's something. Loving God is my only real passion, and he calls us to love him by loving others, so true or not, it will make the world a better place if done right. It's so powerful, sometimes it scares me, and I run away and ignore God for months. I remember God in childhood just being a "fact" that I never questioned or struggled with as a child. It was unimportant, like the sky being blue. It was dumb. Reading the Bible as a young teen was boring, now I can read a page and it will change my life. Real faith is a struggle. It went from being the reason my parents took me to church on Easter to the reason I'm still breathing. Tradition vs. real faith. There is a difference. :)

Have you ever considered that what you believe now is solely because that's what you were told growing up?
-Oh yes. I think everyone thinks this at some point on some level, unless they are mentally ill, mentally abused, or brainwashed. But there is a difference between a belief and something you know down to your core, and question constantly. When I was a kid, I believed. Now, I dissect, because certain aspects of Christian tradition might be false, you know? I want the best and truest version of the truth possible, but that takes time, experience, and effort. You've got to keep asking yourself this question. Don't get comfortable, even if you're an atheist.

Let me know what you make of this..
-This is an important question. If people are only what they grow up with and can't change, it would be a blow to religions everywhere. However this is what I think happens when anyone is raised in a certain system of belief as their foundation.
Person A- Raised religious, but doesn't have a heart for God. This person goes through the motions to avoid controversy. They don't often think about it and it doesn't affect their lives, minds, relationships, or outlook.

Person B- Raised religious and does have a truth-seeking heart. They will question it at the age of accountability (somewhere in the late teens) and they will search through all the doubts and questions and come to a conclusion. God or no God? I respect the person who is loud about rejecting God. Better hot or cold than a hypocrite. We have too many of those. Just be real.

It's a heart thing. If it's important to you, you will make it your own, or find something else.

I heard of this guy (from a guy I know who was friends with him) who was raised Buddhist in a Buddhist village and had never heard of anything else. One day he ran out of his temple and shouted at the sky "I KNOW this isn't for me. I KNOW this isn't it. Please, whatever is out there, find me." The next day, he met missionaries on the outskirts of his village. Now he's a Christian, totally on fire. Do you want to play it safe, believe everything your pastor says, or everything you hear? Or do you want to step out of your box and have your world rocked? Even if you end up finding out that your parents were right all along, you will be wiser and stronger in that. It's all about what you desire.

My stepdad was raised Jehovah's Witness and came out a firm atheist. My friend was raised Christian and came out agnostic. My roommate's boyfriend was raised Muslim and is an atheist. One of my friends used to be wiccan and is now a Christian. It happens all the time IF that's important to you. If it's not, you make a choice by not choosing.

I believe the verse "seek and you shall find". No matter what you grew up with, if you have an open heart and are searching (not just lazily going with a ritual you've been taught, just for culture's sake), it will find you wherever you are.

You can tell if people are in a religion or a relationship. You can tell who would have chosen it and who just wants to keep the parents happy.

As a Christian, I think God puts certain people in Christian homes that would have chosen it anyway to give them a head start. Christianity appeals to a lot in my nature. The freedom, the idea of grace, Jesus, need for unconditional love, etc. I believe I would have found him eventually, but the foundation I got pointed me in the direction quicker. As for Creationism, who cares how he did it, he did it! I've studied both, and they both can't be disproven. It happened millions of years ago. The debate is not about God anymore, it's about who is smarter, and I really don't care.

Answer 8

Yes on 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Answer 9

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Yes.
4. No.

Answer 10

Yes
Yes
Yes
No, It's more than something I was told. I grew up and was able to make my own decisions. In my younger years, I searched out other religions and even thought about atheism, but only for a moment. I always felt empty until I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I thank God for the guidance that I was given as a child. Christianity was never pushed on me, rather shown to me and I was able to discern from that.