How many of you have changed religion during your life?

[xAbbyMcx]

Whether you went from a Christian to a Muslim, a Buddhist to a Hindu, or a Jew to a Pagan... Even if you went from an atheist to a believer or a believer to an atheist, it still counts! Why did you change religion? How old were you? Did it affect your family in any way or did it not matter? I'd really like to know all of your stories. So I will tell you mine first. I've changed twice in my life. I'm still quite young, so who knows, I could change again, but at this stage I'm really just experimenting to see what really works for me. First, I was a Christian. Well, looking back now, I don't know if I ever REALLY was a Christian. I was raised as a Catholic, had a catholic family, went to a catholic school, and all that. But I never really, REALLY believed with all my heart. I hated having to pray at school, and I hated going to church. I know that most really young children do, but I questioned everything about my religion. It actually took a surprisingly long time, it wasn't until I was 9 or maybe 10 that I decided: This is not for me. I don't believe in God, and I don't like this religion. So, I became an atheist. For a few years I lived not believing in any deity or religion whatsoever, I practically worshiped science instead. That was my first change. It was ok for a while, but eventually I started to feel empty. Science could answer the questions that I had. But it couldn't satisfy my soul. Then, a year or so ago I was at the beach, relaxing in a sand dune, listening to the sound of the ocean while feeling the soft, silky sand beneath my skin, and the day was absolutely gorgeous. Now this sounds like the most cliche thing in the world, but I honestly think I had a revelation that day. Something changed in me, or more specifically I feel like something was awakened in my soul. Since then, I've been a Pagan. It took a while to switch over, but it happened gradually and naturally. I wasn't really sure what I believed in at first (hell, I'm still not really sure.) but I always knew that I felt a deep connection with nature. Forests, the ocean, and the moon. The moon is...special to me. You know, maybe I won't be a pagan for life. I'm still young, my mind is still growing and developing every single day, and my ideas constantly changing. But I won't worry about the future just yet. What happens, will happen, but for now, I know that paganism is the best for me at this point in my life.
So, please share your own stories if you have ever changed religions in your life!

[rmcdra]

I was raised a Methodist Christian. Due to life issues in my pre-teens and my birth religion not being able to answer it I became a neo-pagan. I fully embraced it when I was in high school and the beginning of college. Near the end of college and when I moved states, I became a deist since well paganism wasn't fulfilling. By the time I was a deist, I was leaning more and more toward scienticism since it was the only world view that was making sense to me. About five years ago, I had an experience that lead me to becoming a Gnostic Christian.

[The Great Confuser]

I was raised as a Lutheran Christian and believed it only up to the point where I started really thinking for myself. The more logic I developed and the more I read the Bible and went to church, the less Christianity made sense to me. Then I gained a brief interest in Wicca, although I wouldn't say I exactly followed it. I thought I did, but in retrospect it was more of an academic interest and agreement with some of the general principles than genuine belief. Afterwards, I was more into a nonspecific sense of spiritualism. Nowadays I'm happily atheist though. I do still understand why some people would believe and follow some form of religion and spirituality and there's evidence to back the idea that doing so can efficiently improve one's mental health, but it just isn't something I can see myself getting into or believing again.

[Limonchiki]

Very brief summary of my religious experiences to date

1. agnostic with religiously mixed family that isn't religious
2. agnostic with curiosity toward Christianity because of friends
3. agnostic who decides against Christianity but is interested in religion academically
4. agnostic who likes Islam because it reminds her of childhood but doesn't believe in it and feels a bit sad about that
5. agnostic who regularly attends long incense-y services at a Romanian church but doesn't join the church and breaks the rules

[Six Billion of Spades]

I once changed wine into triple sec, but Jesus pissed in it.

[King Shining Heaven]

No, I've been the same religion all my life and I'm not changing it for anything

[madziee]

I was raised a Catholic. I'm now an atheist

Why did you change religion? Because I think that logically deductive reason brings me to the most probably conclusion that there is no such thing as 'a God'
How old were you? 12ish
Did it affect your family in any way or did it not matter? My dad still tries to bring God into everything, but he's a total liberal so it's bearable.

[Reidmarr von Brugge]

I was raised a Catholic. I pretty much stayed a Catholic until I turned 14. At that time, I started to actually pay attention to what the bible was saying. Some of the ideas such as original sin, and the concept of hell and torture drove me away from the religion. I also thought going to church was a waste of time since it got in the way of my studies. So from then, I went Atheist for about 3 years. Now I'm a Germanic Heathen (Asatru). I found out about Asatru through the internet while doing a world history project that had to do with ancestral origins. I was intrigued that people still followed the ways of old. Although I was Atheist, I always felt a distinct connection to my ancestors. As I read the Sagas and Eddas, I found that I liked the ideas presented in them.


My mother is the Catholic, my father is a Buddhist. After I became an Atheist, my mother distanced herself from me (as I did from her) while my dad grew closer to me (as I did to him). My whole family on my mother's side distanced me from themselves. To this day I can't remember the last time I spoke with my extended family on my mother's side. Anyways, I never really went into Buddhism because of the solipsistic nature of the religion. That didn't (Still doesn't) matter to my dad.

[Lucky~9~Lives]

Abbeon119

I'd really like to know all of your stories. So I will tell you mine first.

wat

[SylverStar]

Hmm...I think that I've always pretty much believed the same thing...however I have participated in many different religions trying to find the one the matches what I believe. I've gone to Baptist, Catholic, Mormon and non-denominational Christian churches. I've been a practicing Wiccan and then moved to being eclectic natural witch/general pagan. I've studied Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Now I usually mark Pagan, Hindu, or Other on Census stuff. When someone asks I generally describe my basic beliefs.

I moved past Christianity mainly because it has this wrong vs. right concept and discriminates against people outside the religion. I think everyone has the right to believe what they want. I liked the Ritual in Wicca because it reminded me of Catholism and my youth (My family is Catholic)...but I did not care for the stucture and in the end the beliefs didn't match my own. I was a practicing witch for years but I started out with a need for control that faded and got wary of some of my fellow witches and what their intentions were. I very rarely do spellwork anymore. To me now it's more about my actions and my values lining up and understanding the connection in everything. I've been focused on the Buddhist concept of letting go of desire and the Hindu concept of Dharma.

[xAbbyMcx]

Lucky~9~Lives

Abbeon119

I'd really like to know all of your stories. So I will tell you mine first.

wat

er yes?

[Legato of the Night]

Raised Roman Catholic. I started asking questions about why anyone believed in the Bible as a literal, inerrant historical record when established facts contradicted that. Then, I reasoned that not everything in the Bible must be taken literally, and that the message was important. Finally, I asked myself that if I wasn't supposed to take the Bible as a literal, inerrant historical record, then why did I consider things like Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and the Holy Trinity as real, too?

I concluded that either I was going to be a fundamentalist, which was entirely silly to me, or that I was going to reject the premise altogether and stop taking the Bible seriously at all. I chose the latter option.

Now, I prefer to look fondly on the Bible as I do the tales of Homer. I enjoy the rich symbolic imagery, cultural history, and literary significance of the book rather than taking it as a factually valid accounting of the universe and/or a spiritual/moral framework.

[Lucky~9~Lives]

Abbeon119

Lucky~9~Lives

Abbeon119

I'd really like to know all of your stories. So I will tell you mine first.

wat

er yes?

You said it as if you telling your story first was necessary for you to know everyone else's stories. Maybe it was.
- xp

[Bromuzl]

Myself I was raised going to Lutheran/Baptist church by my mother, while my aunt would teach me bible stories from her Jehovah's Witnesses book for kids (Had more story and picture than actual scripture).. My mother and father divorced early, so I didn't get much experience with my father's side Catholicism, but I did go to sunday school and a few services with my grandmother on that side of the family. I grew up reading the King James version of the bible, and a New World Translation NT in my room. After going to several different churches I decided that what I felt was closest to the Baptist creed, and the people there were really nice.

Later on down the line, after not going to church or reading for many years, but with a love of studying the bible, studying it with my father, and praying sparsely, I met a friend who I quickly became attracted to who was a Mormon. This would be the first Christian who I was romantically interested in, so each of us having a great understanding of scripture and Christ's teachings meant we had an incredible relationship. Early on I asked a lot of questions about what she believed, and felt that the God which I believe in would prepare the things she taught me about, like Eternal Families, and baptisms for the dead, and the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ.. I wasn't sure how I felt about latter-day prophets however, it was my understanding that after Christ, the Pope had the last known lineage of the keys of the priesthood, but I also knew that miracles and powerful spiritual experiences still happened, so why not continue to have a prophet to give the final say?

I started investigating, and put aside my feelings for the girl as best I could, so I wouldn't let my feelings for her cloud my judgement, and set myself to reading the scriptures, and the stories on the website and beginning of the Book of Mormon. After gaining confidence that I had unwavering faith that I would receive an answer if I asked for one, knowing that I had felt my prayers answered subtly in the past, I set myself to pray to ask about my concerns, to know if what I have read actually took place, and if there was no deception in the church which would lead me astray. I sincerely hope I am not breaking any of the forum rules by describing what I experienced next, as it is the reason why I believe what I do, and very important to me.. As I prayed, I felt a light sensation that felt warm like sunlight began on the back of my neck, which was slightly bowed as I prayed, and the warmth descended downward until it reached the center of my chest. Then, expanding from about my heart a fiery sensation as best I can describe it, with an overwhelming feeling of love filled my bossum, and left me in awe as I sat quietly unable to finish articulating my prayer, remembering stories my father would tell me about the feelings of the holy ghost when he would be in deep prayer with a group after studying the bible and praying upon it with others. It filled out to my arms and legs, leaving me happy and feeling more loved than I had ever felt before. I took this as an affirmative answer, as well as God's approval of my giving up the drugs I had started using after witnessing my grandfather pass away. I felt this was the moment I'd been hoping would come for years of confirmation that God loves me personally, and cares about me and my life.

Now two years later, I am a baptized member of the Salt Lake City LDS, and am preparing to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. I am so grateful for the change religion has made in my life, and look forward to finding others to discuss matters of religion. Hopefully this doesn't count as Proselyting.. xD

[Brothern]

Young King under Heaven

No, I've been the same religion all my life and I'm not changing it for anything

Ever hear of the black swan theory, or "confirmation bias"?

Swans are white, right? That's what we all used to believe. Almost our entire literary history of the Western world is based on the idea of white swans.
Then, the British colonized Australia. And fuuuuck, we were dead wrong.

People, especially the faithful, like to declare that they're "never changing for anything." Is that truly a manner in which you want to live your life? Is that an intelligent, curious and brave perspective? That you've decided now, and forever more, that you're absolutely 100% correct about everything and are eternally unwilling to change your religious views?

Brilliance is about being able to embrace the unknown and admit, "I don't know everything." It's smart to be open-minded, or to have the ability to embrace outside perspectives and be willing to change your mind. That is what differentiates those who are able to excel, and those that are stuck in mud (and who still believe swans are white.)