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Anyone Else Here Without Any Religious Background Ever?

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
My family was without any religion.
I was born not believing, & remained so.
Now, I read threads here about experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?

I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.
But I've had unsettling brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all.
Never again. So her younger sister was later blessed with
my not attending hers.
 
Last edited:

Fool

ALL in all
Premium Member
I read threads here about posters' experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?
I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.

I've had brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre creepy flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all. Her
younger sister was later blessed with my not attending hers.
You are a wise man to realize that fantasy can be ritualized. I was born into a religious family and still found some of it creepy as a child.


I'll never forget stepping into a pentecostal church after going to a baptist church for years. There was a woman running up and down the main aisle in a very chaotic manner and making loud vocal sounds. There was others making strange sounds too. When I went to the baptist church and behaved like that, we got took outside and given a whooping. I was confused to say the least.

one man's creepy is another man's freaky get it on

UGH


 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
You are a wise man to realize that fantasy can be ritualized. I was born into a religious family and still found some of it creepy as a child.


I'll never forget stepping into a pentecostal church after going to a baptist church for years. There was a woman running up and down the main aisle in a very chaotic manner and making loud vocal sounds. There was others making strange sounds too. When I went to the baptist church and behaved like that, we got took outside and given a whooping. I was confused to say the least.

one man's creepy is another man's freaky get it on

UGH


I'm uncomfortable with crowds already.
But dang....behaving that way...I'd flee like George Costanza.
 

Regiomontanus

Ματαιοδοξία ματαιοδοξιών! Όλα είναι ματαιοδοξία.
I'm uncomfortable with crowds already.
But dang....behaving that way...I'd flee like George Costanza.

Sorry for the OT query but I watched an episode of Disenchantment (by Groening) recently and found myself thinking of you :). You watch it yet?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
My family was without any religion.
I was born not believing, & remained so.
Now, I read threads here about experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?

I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.
But I've had unsettling brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all.
Never again. So her younger sister was later blessed with
my not attending hers.

Birth to 17 I never heard of god
17-22-mother never believed in god but she took us to any ol' church cause she thought a christian family was a perfect family but 18/19 I had brain surgery, so christian/god was least on my mind
22-28 -I only knew of christianity (not specific to god) for four years out of 6.
28-maybe 32 I was in and out of Buddhism (mainly because the sects were evangelist-more than christinas)
32-40 (today) no religion

I didn't know about god (like what they know about him) till I hit catholicism for those 4 years

But as for traditions, church, prayers, and indoctrination-none throughout my whole life. Everything was done/not done on my own accord.

To tell you honestly, I probably wouldn't be on RF if mother hadn't taken us to church. She went for the music, though. But if she didn't, I wouldn't have know what god was--can you believe that!
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Birth to 17 I never heard of god
17-22-mother never believed in god but she took us to any ol' church cause she thought a christian family was a perfect family but 18/19 I had brain surgery, so christian/god was least on my mind
22-28 -I only knew of christianity (not specific to god) for four years out of 6.
28-maybe 32 I was in and out of Buddhism (mainly because the sects were evangelist-more than christinas)
32-40 (today) no religion

I didn't know about god (like what they know about him) till I hit catholicism for those 4 years

But as for traditions, church, prayers, and indoctrination-none throughout my whole life. Everything was done/not done on my own accord.

To tell you honestly, I probably wouldn't be on RF if mother hadn't taken us to church. She went for the music, though. But if she didn't, I wouldn't have know what god was--can you believe that!
Church music makes my skin crawl.
I'm more....
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
Anyone Else Here Without Any Religious Background Ever?
I'd say I am close to that. My parents went to church (and took us kids) perhaps 2 or 3 times a year on holidays, never really spoke of God in the household, never taught us anything about The Bible that I can remember. I had at least some experience therefore, but as you describe, when I came into contact with the more seriously inclined religious element, it was a very foreign thing indeed - and I would often find myself confused as to why people would behave in certain ways - or especially, make certain claims that it didn't seem they could possibly make in good conscience. I can honestly say I never for one moment in my life believed in God, or even anything "supernatural." All of these inexplicable experiences many people tend to have that they attribute to one thing or another have either dodged me all my life or I simply never took it to wild conclusions as others around me have. I am still willing to assess which of those options is in play - but unwilling to humor or accept unevidenced claims without at least mildly challenging, and setting definite boundaries that let the other party know I am not going to be some easy sell like they may otherwise be used to.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
My family was without any religion.
I was born not believing, & remained so.
Now, I read threads here about experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?

I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.
But I've had unsettling brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all.
Never again. So her younger sister was later blessed with
my not attending hers.
I got a full dose of religion everytime I turned around
seems religion is how most people get their grip on Something Greater

but I grew out of the dogma and
the practice of religion

so I do understand the revulsion you feel

it's the lack of believing I don't get
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
My family was without any religion.
I was born not believing, & remained so.
Now, I read threads here about experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?

I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.
But I've had unsettling brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all.
Never again. So her younger sister was later blessed with
my not attending hers.
You're an American. There's that. Its technically not called a religion, but it is.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
My family was without any religion.
I was born not believing, & remained so.
Now, I read threads here about experiences in churches, temples, etc.
It's all gorillas in the mist....entirely foreign to me.
Anyone else here who finds religions to be utterly alien?

I can be tolerant of religions & believers at a distance though.
But I've had unsettling brushes with religions.
A couple....

I once worked as a sexton in a Methodist church...very
creepy...the accoutrements...the clothing...the preaching.
And they're one of the less bizarre flavors.

Attending a niece's bat mitzvah, I had a barely controllable
visceral urge to escape the religion & politics of it all.
Never again. So her younger sister was later blessed with
my not attending hers.

I understand it fairly well, as I spent 20 years there, and know a ton of people who live there. As a kid, I didn't know what happened in churches. It seemed strange to me when I learned what they were used for. That was rather late in my childhood, as we never went to town Sunday mornings. I had classmates that talked a bit about it, and in summers there were sermons over at the very rural United Church of Canada place. Occasionally we'd drive by and I'd see cars outside, but didn't put 2 and 2 together.

If I were to change world views again, I'd most likely go back there. It was a comfortable place.
 
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