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Reason you left

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
As comfortable and nice as it was, I just don't want to live in a rose colored stained glass house anymore.

Fantastical Religion was certainly alive in my mind alright and it felt real good, but it conflicted with reality too much to the point that I started to think it wasn't very healthy to stay with the fantasy and puppetry.
Yeah reality has a way of wakin one up
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Yeah reality has a way of wakin one up
It does. Not as comfortable either nor as satisfying, but there is a type of draw that reality offers that playing pretend simply cannot provide, and that is a solid footing and realizing ones place among something that defies even the imagination on its best day.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3
I never really left my religion, I just disassociated myself from it for a long time, almost 30 years. I would not say it was because of 1, 2, or 3, because I always retained belief in my religion and in God, I just fell away for personal reasons, as I was very busy in life with college and my career pursuits, and I also had many personal issues to resolve before I could feel worthy of calling myself a Baha'i.

I am still not involved in my religion as far as attending any Baha'i activities or working with others in my Baha'i community , but I do post to other Baha'is on forums and I have a good Baha'i friend who I e-mail and post to on this forum. My husband of 36 years is also a Baha'i and has been for about 55 years.

I tend to do my own thing but I would not say I follow my own spiritual path because I firmly believe that the spiritual path outlined by Baha'u'lah is the right path to tread. I just tend to walk alone because I am an introvert and because I am not enamored with organized religion and all their activities and practices.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other
4: I leave a religious group if they impose their interpretation of the teaching on me OR if they show contempt otherwise by pretending that my belief is inferior and/or their belief is superior
 

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3
At about age 14 I found no one actually knew what they were talking about, which rather let all the magic out of the proceedings.

Later I worked out what magic is about, which both explained and confirmed.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
I think once somebody finds number three the rest don’t really matter. As far as the teachings go I was raised to not hate so I didn’t have a problem with any of that. Sadly I guess I can see where someone might hate their whole life because they read it in a book.

At the core, I wouldn't say it's based on hate. For me, I never believed. So going into and falling out of belief had no emotional affect on me. No hate, just irrelevant to how I live and see reality.

I think many (not most...who knows) hate, I guess,their former religion's practitioners because of how They interpret and practice there doctrine. I'd assume based on RF there would only be a handful I can think of would not be christian regardless the people.

My question/puzzlement is why can't people not believe just to not believe?

Why does there need to be a fault (i.e. hate, ignorance, rejection, misunderstanding, etc) to come to their conclusion of disbelief?

To me those justifications from believers help the person making them. They feel better than just not understanding something so obvious.

However, what are they based on that it would be true?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Ultimately, I left theism in general as I realized the reason I believed was its a comforting thing, and that's not a good enough reason.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Christianity I left as it was horrible for me. I was a Southern Baptist, on a path to become a pastor, I had a lot of inner turmoil, severe depression, I was tormented with dreams of going to hell, and things only kept getting worse. I wanted to die and prayed god would let it be. Getting educated outside of the highly insular world I was in started to crack my faith, as I learned so much of what I was taught was wrong. I turned to the Bible for guidance but the violence, genocide, rape, and other atrocities committed by god and those he ordered to commit them was another harsh blow to my faith. And my life kept getting worse.
I still remember thinking to myself, making the choice between the god and church I had always known and what was up until then the only thing I really knew, amd putting that all behind me.
Amd I found there is some truth to that idea of needing that religion and god for morality, because once I gave it up the uptight, prudish ways came to an abrupt end. I got into music like Pantera and White/Rob Zombie, started going to Ozzfest, started cussing, guilt free sexual thoughts and masturbation, and my personal library grew exponentially even as all the Christian stuff was discarded.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3
there was an obvious headnodding to anything offered by those in cloth

blind faith

not for me
 

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3

They start by believing the bible.

Then they assume that pastors (educated) know more about the bible than they do.

Then they realize that pastors don't follow Jesus.

For example, Reverend Robert Schuller only allowed rich parishioners, and his son was recently photographed with booze in one arm, a scantily clad blonde woman in the other arm, and his pants down with his penis hanging out in public.

Another example is Reverend Jim Bakker and Tammy Fay Bakker, who stole donated money that should have helped starving Africans so that they could live in their mansion (in their lawyer's name).

After being disillusioned by pastor after pastor, they abandon the religion because they realize that it is not the path to heaven, but the path to hell (making war, torture camps, etc.).
 

McBell

Resident Sourpuss
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3
4. Other
 

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
Christianity I left as it was horrible for me. I was a Southern Baptist, on a path to become a pastor, I had a lot of inner turmoil, severe depression, I was tormented with dreams of going to hell, and things only kept getting worse. I wanted to die and prayed god would let it be. Getting educated outside of the highly insular world I was in started to crack my faith, as I learned so much of what I was taught was wrong. I turned to the Bible for guidance but the violence, genocide, rape, and other atrocities committed by god and those he ordered to commit them was another harsh blow to my faith. And my life kept getting worse.
I still remember thinking to myself, making the choice between the god and church I had always known and what was up until then the only thing I really knew, amd putting that all behind me.
Amd I found there is some truth to that idea of needing that religion and god for morality, because once I gave it up the uptight, prudish ways came to an abrupt end. I got into music like Pantera and White/Rob Zombie, started going to Ozzfest, started cussing, guilt free sexual thoughts and masturbation, and my personal library grew exponentially even as all the Christian stuff was discarded.

Have you considered marriage to a pastor who believes as you do?
 

firedragon

Veteran Member
What’s the biggest reason people leave religions?
Is it:
1. They disagree with the religions teachings?
2. They believe that God doesn’t exist?
3. They have found their own spiritual path?
4. Other

biggest for me is #3

If you take globally, most conversions happen from one theology to another. Studies show a lot of findings. Per Capita GDP is one of the major correlations to conversion. So is intermarriage. So is communism. Causation is a huge issue to consider seriously because of Hawthorne effect in research.
 

McBell

Resident Sourpuss
They start by believing the bible.

Then they assume that pastors (educated) know more about the bible than they do.

Then they realize that pastors don't follow Jesus.

For example, Reverend Robert Schuller only allowed rich parishioners, and his son was recently photographed with booze in one arm, a scantily clad blonde woman in the other arm, and his pants down with his penis hanging out in public.

Another example is Reverend Jim Bakker and Tammy Fay Bakker, who stole donated money that should have helped starving Africans so that they could live in their mansion (in their lawyer's name).

After being disillusioned by pastor after pastor, they abandon the religion because they realize that it is not the path to heaven, but the path to hell (making war, torture camps, etc.).
Cool story.
Now do Islam.
 
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