irin Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 anyone here was raised without religion? and started following a religion as an adult? Link to post Share on other sites
CarrieT Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Not sure if this qualifies or not, but my parents only brought me to a local Methodist church for Easter and Christmas a handful of times before the age of eight... After that, they didn't bother with church and there was not a smidg'n of religion in our home or family. No talk of anything remotely religious. I was curious when I was 12 and began reading books on Witchcraft. When I was old enough to be allowed to walk the town, I started going to a local Catholic church, a Jewish synagogue, and a Buddhist temple (around the age of 14/15) just to see what they were doing. When I got car, I started driving to other alternative religious centers; Rosicrucian, a Self-Realization Fellowship, and other Christian churches. And I read and read and read... Ultimately, I became an occultist after having explored and studied most of the major religions. I'm essentially a non-believer in anything but the Self and that higher beings are contained from within. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author irin Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 ya me too i was raised with no religion but im definitely going through them, and trying to learn as much i can. Link to post Share on other sites
thatone Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 i was raised with none. i attended a church maybe 3 times before i was 18, and honestly not by choice even then, mom drug us to them those 3 times and neither my brother or myself ever wanted to be there. was curious about certain religious thing at times in my adolescence, but grew out of them all. my brother at times in his late teens tried to participate in various christian protestant denominations with his friends but it always died out after a month or two tops. as an adult he's now just as atheist as i am. i'm 35 and he's 32. i have a bit of an interesting situation actually with my gf. she claims to believe but doesn't attend any church or actively participate in any religion per se. her teenage daughter does. gf is fully aware that i believe in nothing, we've discussed it at length, and i've told her that i'll never attend a church service with her or the daughter. the daughter doesn't know but it'll come up eventually. i think the gf is under the assumption that i'll side step it but i don't really intend to. we shall see. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Stupid Girl Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I was raised athiest, and became a Christian for about 5 years from my early to late teens. But upon becoming an adult and learning to think for myself, I returned to athiesm. Link to post Share on other sites
fucpcg Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I spent 13 years in Catholic Schools, Kindergarten thru 12th. What I learned in those 13 years is that I am NOT Catholic. The hypocrisy I saw was insane, to be polite and brief. There is much truth in the teachings of Jesus, and there is much truth I find in far eastern spirituality, and those two different sources are very similar in what they teach. I believe in the teachings, but consider myself athiest. I am fine to learn what I can from the teachings,but the stories of invisible men in the sky and afterlife's are totally irrelevant to me. I try to be a good man, that is my goal. I am NOT motivated by stories of what might happen to me if I don't be a good person, I am motivated to be the best man I can be, period. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
fortyninethousand322 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Raised sort of Christian. Never really read the Bible as a youth and didn't go to church until I was in 4th grade and then only went sporadically after that. Grew up, went to college and became more interested in religion and more believing in it, although I'm fiercely non-denominational with a slight inclination towards Oriental Orthodoxy. If I had to pick. Link to post Share on other sites
Author irin Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 the reason i asked this is because i used to think people with strong faith must have been taught as a child, and were raised with it, kind of like brain washed at an age where they were not able to think for them selves. which is kind of true to some people. but i visited some places with extreme poverty, war torn, with little hope, i saw the power of believing in the after life. even though i didnt believe in it. i didnt dare to argue with those people because it seemed like the only hope they had, their faith was strong and kept them going. since then i have studied, Christianity, islam, Buddhism, i have them all very interesting. im going to start with Judaism soon. Link to post Share on other sites
Nohbody Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I think that Siddharta had it right when he said that thing about life being suffering. Link to post Share on other sites
FredRutherford Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Wasn't necessarily raised in a Christian home, though it wasn't anti-Christian. More of a Christian background as we attended church but wasn't a big deal. Became of faith my freshman year in college. Brainwashing it wasn't. Link to post Share on other sites
whichwayisup Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 anyone here was raised without religion? and started following a religion as an adult? Excellent thread starter! Both my parents were brought up with a lot of religion in their lives and they decided not to force it upon us.. I do recall going to church a few times, even Sunday School once in a while with some neighbours but what I learned (so basic) didn't stick. In some ways I do wish my parents at least pushed us to go to church to learn about the bible. To be honest I sometimes feel very stupid because I don't know anything about it. I stay away from religious conversations, discussions because I have nothing to add to any conversation. I am spiritual, I believe there is more out there than we know of and maybe nobody will know for sure until the day each of us die. I am open to others and their lives/religion, religious outlook on here and in my life. Not sure if I could get involved in a religious organization at my age (41!) and completely understand/learn all about the bible and have it stick! :laugh: Link to post Share on other sites
january2011 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I was raised without religion. However, I started to pray to a "God" (of no particular religion) when I was 12 because it calmed me and helped me to believe in the good in the world. I'm not a fan of organised religion, particularly the ones that exhibit ostentatious finery - though I am fascinated by religious relics and historical artefacts, including very old religious buildings. I believe that faith is personal, individual and without embellishments. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Feelin Frisky Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Not me. The opposite. Indoctrinated into religion before I had a choice, a perspective or even an identity and had to work hard to free my mind of that confining lunacy Link to post Share on other sites
denise_xo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I was raised by atheists, but had some Christian influence culturally and at school. In adulthood I try to draw what's meaningful from different sources, but I don't have a label or a proclaimed faith. Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I always wondered how people raised with no religion turned to faith later. To me it always seemed like something one was raised with. My father wasn't religious and my mom wasn't either, but all grandparents were Catholic and conservative as well as most of the families. Before I was a teenager, I was curious about church and god and went. As time progressed and I learned to develop my own views, I don't consider myself religious, but rather spiritual. i am progressive, believe in equal rights for men, women and gays. Since most, if not all religions don't condone homosexuality, I've never followed religion but I believe there is a higher power and things happening for a reason. Link to post Share on other sites
whichwayisup Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I always wondered how people raised with no religion turned to faith later. To me it always seemed like something one was raised with. My father wasn't religious and my mom wasn't either, but all grandparents were Catholic and conservative as well as most of the families. Before I was a teenager, I was curious about church and god and went. As time progressed and I learned to develop my own views, I don't consider myself religious, but rather spiritual. i am progressive, believe in equal rights for men, women and gays. Since most, if not all religions don't condone homosexuality, I've never followed religion but I believe there is a higher power and things happening for a reason. You can have faith and not be religious. You can have good morals and a healthy outlook on life, situations, dealing with people, respect etc, without having religion as an influence. (general you).. Link to post Share on other sites
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