Can Religious Beliefs be Changed?

Rainbow Mage · Jun 22, 2010

I can't imagine why some people would want to remain the belief system they were raised in. I see this often with people raised fundamentalist. Why is this? Do they never question what they were taught?

Engyo · Jun 22, 2010

Senedjem said:
I can't imagine why some people would want to remain the belief system they were raised in. I see this often with people raised fundamentalist. Why is this? Do they never question what they were taught?

Some do.

Moonstone · Jun 22, 2010

Yes they can, a lot of people here on the forum are proof of just that.

LuisDantas · Jun 22, 2010

Senedjem said:
I can't imagine why some people would want to remain the belief system they were raised in. I see this often with people raised fundamentalist. Why is this? Do they never question what they were taught?

There are two basic cases, far as I can tell.

Some people are in fact afraid of such questioning, perhaps with good reason. In some circles it can be very unconfortable indeed to be seen as a questioner.

Others, quite on the contrary, do question what they are taught and conclude that they have no need to reject too much of it. There is usually a fair amount of latitude in most belief systems so that it does not necessarily exclude having a mind of one's own.

Evandr · Jun 22, 2010

ReligionandMMA said:
Question that has always troubled me... Can religious beliefs even be changed normally? People spend so much time attempting to convert people to their beliefs, but the reason that never made since to me is that other people have been raised their whole life to accept a different belief and believe it just as firmly as the first person believes their religion... It is just like if someone attempted to convince you... You would refuse to stray off of your belief if you are truly devout... Another 2-cents...

AHHH, the operative phrase here is "truly devoted". As I travel through religious forums it is not hard to find people who are "between religions" or converting away from or back too the religion of their childhood. I think we all have an inherent need to be able to have confidence in what we believe about God. Some do so by tying their whole belief structure on someone elses and hoping their personal ignorance on the subject will somehow be justified because they chose the right person to follow, a gamble at best. Others will fight for the traditions of the fathers regardless of what their gut tells them, in which case temporal structure is more important than eternal possibilities. Others will simply avoid the whole issue all together thinking it better to stay neutral than to be wrong and so on and so forth.

The question is "who are you and what do you want?" If something seems wrong then seek for answers that you can have confidence in. If you cannot find them than maybe it is time to put aside the traditions of your fathers and let others into your life who think they can answer your questions, what is right will surface for you. In the end no one else will be held responsible for the choices you make. People change their minds all the time because there is a lot that is simply not reconcilable with God and common sense, a person must find the truth themselves.
As a person grows older and supposedly wiser they will begin to see the discrepancies in their learning if there are any and the truly wise person will seek to put their intellectual house in order.

Tarheeler · Jun 22, 2010

Engyo said:
I can change MY religious beliefs. YOU cannot change MY religious beliefs. I cannot change YOUR religious beliefs.

I can possibly influence you in a given direction if you are ready to change your beliefs, but I cannot force such a change.

This ^^

Yes, beliefs can change. If you had told my Southern Baptist self 15 years ago that I would one day be considering becoming Jewish, I'd had laughed at you. But here I am.

Like Engyo said, nothing anyone can say will change your mind unless you have already started moving in that direction. The change has to start with you and your beliefs.

ChristineES · Jun 22, 2010

ReligionandMMA said:
Question that has always troubled me... Can religious beliefs even be changed normally? People spend so much time attempting to convert people to their beliefs, but the reason that never made since to me is that other people have been raised their whole life to accept a different belief and believe it just as firmly as the first person believes their religion... It is just like if someone attempted to convince you... You would refuse to stray off of your belief if you are truly devout... Another 2-cents...

Sure, people can change and so can their belief systems. No one can convert another person, each person must "convert" themselves. People can try to convince you, but only you can choose whether or not to believe it.

Sunstone · Jun 22, 2010

Although change is possible, my impression is religious beliefs are more often re-worded than genuinely changed.

dogsgod · Jun 24, 2010

I ditched all my religious beliefs.

blackout · Jun 24, 2010

Bottom line, you are who you ARE.

If something doesn't fit you,
now matter how hard they...
or you ...
try to "pull it over" on yourSelf...
and "smooth it out"...
it will NEVER fit right.

Eventually you will just get tired
of all the tight itchy fabric
and go find something COMFORTABLE
that actually fits. You. Well.

Mommy can't dress you forever.

blackout · Jun 24, 2010

Wandered Off said:
Of course beliefs can be changed, but it's not a simple act of will like changing your shirt. IMO, beliefs are not under our direct, conscious control. They are more an emergent property that result from our interpretation of all our inputs. Certainly you can influence your beliefs by acting as a gatekeeper for what information you receive. For example, you can choose never to read a particular holy text, and you will vastly reduce the chances of adopting the related beliefs.

Lots of people, including the fundamentalists I grew up around, say that you are capable of simply changing your beliefs, and that's why the notion of eternal punishment or reward based on our beliefs alone makes sense to them. I see it differently. Can you, for example, simply choose to believe that I am in front of you pouring pancake syrup in your hair? I doubt it, unless you have issues distinguishing fantasy from reality. Belief is more complicated than that.

I am convinced that the only way beliefs will change is if some external catalyst (new input) comes your way that renders your current beliefs inadequate and can't be explained in the context of your existing ones.

*Sensuously licks syrup as it trickles down face to lips*

(I can even tell you what shirt you're not wearing....) :flirt:

Danny Heim · Jun 24, 2010

ReligionandMMA said:
Question that has always troubled me... Can religious beliefs even be changed normally? People spend so much time attempting to convert people to their beliefs, but the reason that never made since to me is that other people have been raised their whole life to accept a different belief and believe it just as firmly as the first person believes their religion... It is just like if someone attempted to convince you... You would refuse to stray off of your belief if you are truly devout... Another 2-cents...

Yes they can change, but it is a mistake to try and change anyone's belief but your own. I am struggling with this right now. I wanted to argue against the Christians idea of hell, but soon discovered it was counter productive. That it is better to accept the differences. However, I also am very concerned about our need to raise our collective consciousness to a higher level since we are in so many downward trends, particularly climate change. And we need to come together, it is very had to come together with a Christian about anything other than Christianity. So, it's a problem.

Kilgore Trout · Jun 24, 2010

Without an extreme stimulus, I don't think actual core beliefs actually change much. I think a realization that you don't actually believe what you professed to is pretty common. Also, I think a relabeling of what one believes happens quite a bit - but an actual, total change from one set of religious beliefs to another seems rare and unlikely.

Danny Heim · Jun 24, 2010

atotalstranger said:
Without an extreme stimulus, I don't think actual core beliefs actually change much. I think a realization that you don't actually believe what you professed to is pretty common. Also, I think a relabeling of what one believes happens quite a bit - but an actual, total change from one set of religious beliefs to another seems rare and unlikely.

I agree and disagree. I agree with this, "I think a realization that you don't actually believe what you professed to is pretty common. Also, I think a relabeling of what one believes happens quite a bit" . I disagree with a total change being rare. Unless I am rare, because I grew up a Christian, but now have pagan beliefs and very little has remained of Christianity. However, I don't know any numbers on this.

Eliot Wild · Jun 24, 2010

Danny Heim said:
I disagree with a total change being rare. Unless I am rare, because I grew up a Christian, but now have pagan beliefs and very little has remained of Christianity. However, I don't know any numbers on this.

Actually, the change your beliefs underwent is probably rare, at least by my definition of the word. However, I guess we would need to reach some concensus on what constitutes rarity. Is it every fifth person? Perhaps every tenth person or one out of twenty, perhaps one out of one hundred? That could be very important.

I would also be curious to know what catalyzed your changing beliefs? Did you just gradually, with little stimuli, just undergo changes to your beliefs? Or did these changes result from education? I would call enlightenment a very powerful stimulus.

Just curious.

Eliot Wild · Jun 24, 2010

Eliot Wild said:
Actually, the change your beliefs underwent is probably rare, at least by my definition of the word. However, I guess we would need to reach some concensus on what constitutes rarity. Is it every fifth person? Perhaps every tenth person or one out of twenty, perhaps one out of one hundred? That could be very important.

Okay, as the saying goes, we learn something new everyday . . . and I just learned that Danny is right and I am wrong.

Apparently, according to a PEW Research study, by the most common definition of the word, it is not RARE at all for Americans, at least, to change their beliefs. Here is a report on the research that says about half of Americans change their religion affiliation in their lifetimes.

http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf

I would qualify change of religion as a change in their core beliefs, and half of the population certainly couldn't be characterized as rare.

So, Danny you're right, I'm wrong. So it goes.

Danny Heim · Jun 24, 2010

Eliot Wild said:
Okay, as the saying goes, we learn something new everyday . . . and I just learned that Danny is right and I am wrong.

Apparently, according to a PEW Research study, by the most common definition of the word, it is not RARE at all for Americans, at least, to change their beliefs. Here is a report on the research that says about half of Americans change their religion affiliation in their lifetimes.

http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf

I would qualify change of religion as a change in their core beliefs, and half of the population certainly couldn't be characterized as rare.

So, Danny you're right, I'm wrong. So it goes.

Deduct 100000 frubal's

Danny Heim · Jun 24, 2010

Eliot Wild said:
Actually, the change your beliefs underwent is probably rare, at least by my definition of the word. However, I guess we would need to reach some concensus on what constitutes rarity. Is it every fifth person? Perhaps every tenth person or one out of twenty, perhaps one out of one hundred? That could be very important.

I would also be curious to know what catalyzed your changing beliefs? Did you just gradually, with little stimuli, just undergo changes to your beliefs? Or did these changes result from education? I would call enlightenment a very powerful stimulus.

Just curious.

It's probably your typical Reader's Digest story. The usual. Christianity’s one way approach was too illogical. I got interested in eastern religion and eventually wound up with my own conclusions about the spiritual. Sort of a Hopi/science view in the end, I try not to take it too seriously. It is a relief to be open.

it's_sam · Jun 24, 2010

i think mostly we are all afraid of being called a hypocrit, a christian that hunts for sport most certainly does not protect all life. Likewise a person that kills for peace is not peacefull. One thing i have found in religions is they expect all of their followers to never falter, to never sin, to never look down on their neighbor. Do we see this in practice? We see it in words as what is expected, so why the gap? We need to be realistic about life, and the reality is we will never reach a point of %100 accuracy because we are all seperate, different, different in thought and practises, but we hold why we do it as close as any other because we love our family and we love our friends, and we want that for everyone else even if were not involved personaly we will gain much from the mere sight.

it's_sam · Jun 24, 2010

when i see people change religion it isnt their core they are changing, its the practices that maintain this core they arent satisfied with.

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