Did you choose, inherit, or lose your religion? ...or

[Philosoraptor]

Poll question: Did you choose, inherit, or lose your religion? ...or

Choice 3 for me.

[Greyskye]

1. How about choosing an absence of religion?

:shrug:

Or inheriting an absence of religion?

[Philosoraptor]

3. Covered in choice 3

I did all three, I inherited one, chose one, and finally rejected them all.

[Greyskye]

5. Not if you didn't have one to lose. n/t

[Philosoraptor]

6. You are welcome in my thread.

[Greyskye]

8. Thanks.

Wish I had an option that I could vote on.

[Philosoraptor]

13. Adding your option.

[Greyskye]

21. Thank you.

I was raised non-religious (NOT anti-religious) by an atheist and an agnostic. I experimented with various non-western-traditional religions for a while, but never felt more than an anthropological/psychological curiosity towards them. I now consider myself to be a secular humanist, if I have put a label on it.

[cynatnite]

57. I did not lose anything. I chose to quit my religion...

That's why I feel it should be included. It's a good poll, BTW. I've never seen one like it before.

[slackmaster]

2. I think of it as having outgrown my religion

Apostate Christian agnostic reporting in.

[Solly Mack]

4. Can't lose what you never had

[MNDemNY]

7. To be more correct, I "tossed", not "lost"it.

[Philosoraptor]

10. Me too. In fact I'm currently heavily into 'Me-tooism'

[jobycom]

9. I didn't lose it. I know where it is. I just don't go there anymore.

More like I grew in a different direction than my parents' religion could take me.

[Marrah_G]

11. I chose my religion

I was raised in the Catholic church but never believed.

I chose my faith (or it chose me)based upon it encompasing all the things I already believed. It was quite by accident that I stumbled upon it and quite a shock to realize I wasn't alone in my beliefs.

The truly odd coincidence is that my birth siblings are also Wiccan (despite being raise without religion) even though we did not meet until I was 33.

[polichick]

12. My mother intended for me to inherit - I declined the offer.

[deoxyribonuclease]

14. None of the above

I was raised in a nonreligious household. My parents were never religious, and they never pushed the issue of religion onto me.

[No.23]

15. Isn't inheriting a set of beliefs a choice too?

I think it is.

You either choose to go with the family's party line or you don't.

There aren't too many things that isn't a choice in some form or another.

[Towlie]

16. 31 votes before me and I'm the first "never had". I figured it out when I was just a little kid.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

17. I was born into it, but chose to adopt it as my own upon reaching adulthood.

I was born and raised Catholic, and even though it appears Catholic-bashing is sometimes all the rage here and the term "lapsed Catholic" or "fallen Catholic" is oh-so-fashionable, I like the religion and I've chosen to continue as a practicing member of the faith. Yes, the church heirarchy can be infuriatingly frustrating at times, and things like the Church's stance on women or married priests and birth control I don't agree with, but I like the gospel message of Jesus. And I also like the sacrament process, especially the Eucharist--it brings faith to me on a personal level. I could have gone to another denomination, or even religion, but I can't find any that relate to me like Catholicism. So I guess I can say I am a "confirmed" Catholic, and that doesn't just mean I received the sacrament of confirmation. I grew up Catholic but I've stayed Catholic as an adult.

And that's just about all I can really say about that.

[Philosoraptor]

18. I have many wonderful Catholic friends

[NeedleCast]

19. Mine was a slow downgrading

From Southern Baptists to non-denominational Christian to Uniterian to basically atheist.

[Occam Bandage]

20. Trying to keep up with you.

And I don't know if I can do it.
Oh no, I've said too much.
I haven't said enough.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

22. You evolve your religion

at least I did. As a child, I attended church, and thought God lived in the stained glass window in the ceiling. As I grew older, I thought that believing in Jesus would mean you would live after death. And then Mom had me read "The Passover Plot" which shook my notion of religion to the core. I looked at the message of Jesus, a message of how to live your life, and realized that this was what was important in his message. Then at 17, a mystical experience made me better realize the nature of things, and how different--an vast and unknowable--it really is. After this, I read many esoteric books and relied on inner guidance, which led me to the Sufis. I have continued to study and experience, and have found that my concepts of religion, God, and spirituality continue to evolve.

[Philosoraptor]

25. I've always been fascinated by all the world's religions

[azmouse]

23. Even though I'm not a church goer

I'd have to say I chose my faith. My parents never went to church and so did not instill that habit in my brothers or me.
But I do believe in God and pray and consider myself a Christian. I just don't have much faith in churches.

[endarkenment]

24. Thats me in the corner, losing my religion

Thats me in the corner
Thats me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I dont know if I can do it
Oh no Ive said too much
I havent said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

[scarletwoman]

29. Man, I LOVE that song! One of my all-time favorites!

:D

[The_Commonist]

26. I was raised as a member...

...of the American Christmas Religion, with the deities Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
But i gave that up because it turned out to be little more than cheap consumerism.

[madmom]

27. That's a tuffy, my parents send us to church (didn't matter which one) because

it was the thing to do. They did not go. So I was really ambivalent about the whole thing as a child, now I choose to abstain.

[scarletwoman]

28. Where's the "I inherited my religion and then chose to drop it" option?

I was raised Catholic, but wanted nothing more to do with it by the time I was 14. I didn't "lose" it, I sent it packing.

sw

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. When the priest answered my question with "God works in mysterious ways" I chose to think for myself

I was 12 and the question was, "Where did God come from?"

I'm now a half-assed Buddhist because, at least, Buddhism makes sense..and, it has a sense of humor.

[Number_Six]

31. "Please........"

It took time for me to figure it out, but, my folks were asked politely NOT to bring me back. Ever. Fucking ever. Never-fucking-never-ever.

Why? Someone at the hospital fucked up and sent them home with the Vulcan, that's why.

Adam and Eve. "How did Eve know she was naked when there was nothing to compare such to? The environment in Eden, obviously, meant there was no need for clothing...." "I've never seen a talking snake...."

Noah's Ark. "There ain't that much water in this star system." (Enough to bury Mt. Everest? Even at that age, my mind reeled at such a stupid concept!)

Yep. The smart kid who saw through the dogma with analytical process. Questions, questions, more questions. Uhboy, they said to themselves, we've one of them on our hands!

Quit? Nope, fired. So, I spent Sundays at the library or in front of PBS, learning about the observable universe, art, history, poetry and yes, Julia taught me to cook. And I read things that expanded me, not constricted me.

And I ain't been back yet. No plans to.

Put me down as "Terminated for poor conduct, but did better after all."

[lunatica]

32. Actually my mother rejected her Southern Baptist religion

And my father never practiced any religion. We were very lucky as kids because we were allowed to go to church if we wanted to, so I ended up visiting Catholic churches (mostly for the Cathedral experience and because I liked looking at the pictures depicted in the windows. And I visited a Mormon church. No one preached so it was all silence but every once in a while someone would stand and say something, mostly a gentle chiding about us children trying to be quiet and getting a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

I think we were lucky because in my household we really were allowed to choose our religion. Or to choose not to have one.

[DevonRex]

33. Lost it and then chose/developed another one.

[City Lights]

34. I didn't lose my religion. I inherited it as a child and rejected it as an adult. nt

[Edweird]

35. Lost it, or more accurately rejected it.

In my teens I had a "You have got to be fucking kidding me. You expect me to believe THIS?" moment of clarity and that was that.

I found Satanism later and that most closely represents me, so that is my "religion".

[Arugula Latte]

36. My parents were raised in semi-religious households, but realized it was all hooey

when they were young.

So, thankfully, they never imposed any of that mythology and superstition on me.

However, I did go through a time when I was a kid when I tried very, very hard to make myself believe that there was a god (sort of like a year-round Santa Claus). I even forced myself to read through a children's Bible. It never took. I finally thought, eh, who am I trying to fool? I'll never be a believer.

[MineralMan]

37. When I was a child, I could believe in a Jesus who would

send me to Heaven when I died. When I became a thinking adult, such an idea seemed ridiculous to me, so I gave it up and live the life I have.

[4lbs]

38. My father was raised Catholic and my mother is Buddhist. However, growing up, I was never pressured

into any religion. My parents wanted me to choose my own religion.

I was rarely taken to church as a young child.

To this day, I've only been to church less than 10 times in my life, only for weddings and funerals.

[Upton]

39. I was raised Catholic

made my Communion and Confirmation, even had a short stint as an altar boy......but I don't think I ever believed in God.

[Blue_In_AK]

40. I was raised Quaker, Church of the Brethren and Methodist,

none of which left me scarrred or anything, being good peaceful and service-oriented denominations, but after 19 years of going to church and Sunday School every single week, I had had enough when I reached adulthood. I've internalized the good parts and left the Sunday-morning socializing to others.

[madokie]

41. I lost mine somewhere between fire and brimstone

Thats where they lost me. Now I'm free to never wander that way again.

[ZombieHorde]

42. When I was a child my favorite religious figure was Santa Clause.

[Fumesucker]

43. Lost, but it happened in my tweens and I was never a strong believer to start with..

[Lars39]

44. I both chose it and lost it.

[marions ghost]

45. Can you have a different kind of religion?

I don't fit into the churchgoer category but am not a disbeliever or atheist.

I believe the world of reality and the world of spirit are one and the same, requiring no translation from one to the other. When I think about it, I have felt certain of this from earliest childhood. My parents are not followers of a particular religion (although they loosely adhere to the tenets of Christianity). We are all manifestations of the one, the life force, the essential pattern--regardless of religious viewpoint (or lack of viewpoint)--is my view. Religious affiliation doesn't really matter in the overall scheme of things, I don't think. It's all just a path to the same end--ie. a greater understanding of our purpose here.

I don't put down any known spiritual practices, but don't need their guidance particularly. I am glad that religions exist as long as they are not used to justify wars, cruelty, discrimination, etc. I don't like religions that involve abuses by a too-powerful clergy. I'm fine with religion being a body of philosophy and teachings by enlightened people who lived their principles.

My one guiding principle is not to intentionally hurt or harm anyone else, not even in small ways. Small violences, rudeness, insensitivity, using others to your own ends--all that is just as unacceptable to me as inflicting physical violence. If I mess up on this I don't ask the spirits for forgiveness, I just try to correct it. I think it matters how you live every moment. Not because you might face retributions in hell, but because it feels better not to live in a negative way and you don't suffer from guilt & other inner tortures. It just seems practical to me that if you hurt others, you hurt yourself. You could call this a personal philosophy rather than a religion, but to me it has a spirituality component. I do believe in unseen worlds of existence beyond ours, beyond our imagination.

So I say I do have a religion, but I just "know" it --I don't think it. Maybe this is category "other."

Trust you to bring out the philosophy questions, Philosoraptor. :)

[GeorgeGist]

46. I invented my religion

[defendandprotect]

47. Inherited it and tossed it as soon as I could . . . age 12 ==

but by age of reason I was reacting to RCC dictatorship.

I should have made a bigger fuss at home and freed everyone from the Catholic

disease!!

[FudaFuda]

48. I lost my 'religion.' But I didn't lose my faith.

religion = organization

I pass on religion. But I believe in God, and I believe in the things Jesus said.

I was brought up in a fundamentalist 'Church of Christ" home. I stopped going to church 5 times a week when I was 16 - basically stood up to my parents and said "Enough." I havent sat through a regular church service since, but my belief in God is stronger than ever. I just don't need people to tell me what to think.

I think my kind of situation is fairly common among my generation, and explains this quasi-news story out today about there being 'fewer religious people' in the US now compared to 20 years ago. It seems to me that a lot of churches that used to be the usual Christian mainstream Sunday gathering have become more cultish and paranoid. Those who do not wish to be part of a happy-smiley "Up with People" concert every Sunday morning are alienated by the freaks who've taken over their church, so they stay home. Doesn't mean they stopped believing though.

[H2O Man]

49. Other.

My father was Catholic, and as a kid, I was forced to go to that church. Of the many priests and nuns I knew, a few were very nice people. But most of them were not the type of people that I had much in common with. As a young teen, in the context of catechism classes, I had a rather bad experience when I asked a serious question that the nun found uncomfortable. From then on, I knew that I was not a Catholic.

At this point in life, I have spiritual beliefs, which are not limited to any one religion. These are the result of the experiences I have had, as well as from the influence of a wide range of books that I have read. They allow me to be equally at ease with people from any religion, or with any spiritual belief system, or with none at all. I trust that my family and friends are equally capable of interpreting the meaning of their own lives, and establishing their place in the universe, as I am.

[peace frog]

50. Didn't so much lose my religion as

revise it considerably. I'm spiritual, not religious.

[tangent90]

51. 2 and 3 both (settled on 3)

:-)

[JerseygirlCT]

52. Both inherit and choose

Raised RC, from which I gained a great deal. But left over the misogyny. I'm now Episcopalian.

[Philosoraptor]

53. .................

[mwooldri]

54. 1 & 3...

I chose it, and now am losing it :(

[Skittles]

55. I chose to think for myself

and not believe any of that crap

[cynatnite]

56. I quit my religion.

That should be included as well.

[IrishBuckeye]

58. I misplaced my religion and when I went looking for it I found logic and quit looking. /np

np

[pleah]

59. I gave it up for my sanity.

:)

[rockymountaindem]

60. I was born into a Jewish family

When I was a kid, I didn't believe much in God and hated going to religious education classes, but about the time I started studying for my Bar Mitzvah and started getting into some more advanced topics, I began to feel more attached to my faith and also to God. So, I wouldn't say I chose my religion since I still have the one I was nominally born with, but in some sense I flirted with atheism and went with increased faith/observance in the end.

[KG]

61. gave it up for Lent.