Did you accept your parent's religion or think it was a pass-me-down brainwashing and rejected it?

Answer 1

Raised Catholic but my parents gave us the freedom to choose when we felt we were old enough to make such decisions. Ended up a Baptist while my siblings are Presbyterian, Nazarene, Agnostic and one stayed with the Catholic faith longer but now is just a believer.

Answer 2

My Mom raised me in the Lutheran Church, but my Dad and her both introduced me to critical thinking. They always encouraged me to ask questions such as "Why?" or "How do you know?". My tendency to ask such questions at an early age didn't make me a star pupil in Sunday School where I was expected to simply accept "because the Bible says so" like all "good Christians". Faith didn't seem like an answer to me, but a lame excuse for something that couldn't be proved. When I was in high school, I actually read the entire KJV cover-to-cover (highlighting the "dirty parts" and flagging seeming contradictions). The whole Christian mythos steadily unraveled before my eyes and by the time I was in college I'd converted to Buddhism (Nichiren Shoshu). That only lasted a few years before I realized that all "revealed religion" was essentially the same - just different dogma and rituals. I flirted briefly with Deism before finally admitting to myself that I was an atheist at heart.

Answer 3

I was pretty young and believed everything my parents told me. So yeah, I accepted it. But I think that's normal. It's also normal to go through a phase of questioning it, accepting some of it and rejecting other parts of it, and coming out the other end. I don't know if people completely reject every single aspect of it.

Answer 4

I accept Christianity but having looked into the Bible for myself, I Have found that the Church I grew up in was not following the Bible as they had tried to tell me they were. I have since found a Bible based religion that I attend. I still worship the Christian God but I worship in a more Biblical way.

I don't feel this was a brain washing because I examined it for myself and came to the conclusion the Bible is accurate but the teachers I had were inaccurate.

Answer 5

Both. First I accepted it because my parents sucked and I needed something or someone to believe in and go to.

Then I did some research and eventually ended up rejecting it. But I found a new way to believe and am much happier!

Answer 6

A little of both, sort of. In my 20s I really examined all the things I had been taught as a child and teenager, and ended up back at the church I grew up in because I found it to be very close to the Bible. There are a few things I don't agree with, but no church is perfect.

Answer 7

I rejected it but not because I thought my parents intent was brainwashing - quite the opposite. Though my parents are christians they always encouraged me to explore and learn and make my own assessments on various things.

Answer 8

As a kid I accepted it because I had no choice.
As a young adult I rejected it because I had a choice to have none.
As a midlifer I accepted it more deeply than ever because I have a choice and that is what I know will be there for me.

Answer 9

As a child I was brought up Christian (Baptist) & once I got old enough to understand I evaluated the Baptist beliefs based on my own reading & understanding of the Bible & I have chosen to remain Baptist. Even in my own church I don't accept everything the preacher says as 100% truth, I see what the Bible has to say about it before I automatically believe it.

Answer 10

I accepted Christianity, but took it a step further and was Confirmed as a Catholic-Christian.