dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
A quick little poll to see how many of us at RF were born into our religion, or converted.
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Raised in your religion, or converted?
- Thread starter dyanaprajna2011
- Start date
Nyingjé Tso
Tänpa Yungdrung zhab pä tän gyur jig
Raised up in a agnostic family, they tried to get me interested to Christianity because of tradition, but I made my choice and definitely settled from agnostic to Hindu.
I don't think either of those options describes my history particularly well. 
I left the religion I was introduced to as a child too early for me to really say I was "raised" in it. I'd always been building my own religion - my own answers to the big questions - and I continued doing that after I left. It was only many years later that I became aware of religious options that already described what I'd been doing. As such, I wouldn't really say I "converted" either. It was more of an "oh, so that's what I'm called. Cool?"
I left the religion I was introduced to as a child too early for me to really say I was "raised" in it. I'd always been building my own religion - my own answers to the big questions - and I continued doing that after I left. It was only many years later that I became aware of religious options that already described what I'd been doing. As such, I wouldn't really say I "converted" either. It was more of an "oh, so that's what I'm called. Cool?"
Tough call. I think the answer is neither.
I think I've been on my own path for my whole life. Part of it began under a specific religion, and I think it was some of those teachings of that religion (that I should follow truth as I understand it to be) that lead me to honor and follow what I believed to be so -- which also resulted in me leaving that church. That's my way of "following God's guidance". I used to refer to myself as "Catholic", and now I just don't see the point in a label, or going through the motions of certain things I think are unnecessary.
I don't experience it now as a slamming the door on that part of my past, or rejecting it as part of new and completely different approach -- just simply having that religion as a foundation, and then continuing on down the road of life -- and when I look back, occasionally agreeing and occasionally disagreeing with what I remember, or what I see happening there now.
I don't expect some other religion to have "the answers" to the certain questions that really only come from within.
I think I've been on my own path for my whole life. Part of it began under a specific religion, and I think it was some of those teachings of that religion (that I should follow truth as I understand it to be) that lead me to honor and follow what I believed to be so -- which also resulted in me leaving that church. That's my way of "following God's guidance". I used to refer to myself as "Catholic", and now I just don't see the point in a label, or going through the motions of certain things I think are unnecessary.
I don't experience it now as a slamming the door on that part of my past, or rejecting it as part of new and completely different approach -- just simply having that religion as a foundation, and then continuing on down the road of life -- and when I look back, occasionally agreeing and occasionally disagreeing with what I remember, or what I see happening there now.
I don't expect some other religion to have "the answers" to the certain questions that really only come from within.
illykitty
RF's pet cat
My parents aren't religious. I was baptised out of tradition - because it's a "nice" ritual.
I wasn't really exposed to religion growing up, only a little bit through school. We had a system were you could chose what to learn every few months after getting a report card. I had secular moral class but was curious once and chose Catechism, it didn't last long at all... When it came to chose again I took morals. Then in my teens I started my own research.
So after all this, I'm theistic, although I still have to figure out my path, it's likely to be Paganism. I'm not sure that the choices reflect what's happened. Although baptised my parents are not Catholic and you don't tend to convert into Paganism.
I wasn't really exposed to religion growing up, only a little bit through school. We had a system were you could chose what to learn every few months after getting a report card. I had secular moral class but was curious once and chose Catechism, it didn't last long at all... When it came to chose again I took morals. Then in my teens I started my own research.
So after all this, I'm theistic, although I still have to figure out my path, it's likely to be Paganism. I'm not sure that the choices reflect what's happened. Although baptised my parents are not Catholic and you don't tend to convert into Paganism.
I'm the only Hindu I know in real life...
I was raised Baptist, but I guess "converted" to Unitarian Universaliam?
I think evolution is a better description for me, rather than converted. The only time I converted was from the Roman Catholic Church to the Eastern Orthodox Church. After that it has been a journey and evolution to what I am now (whatever the heck that is 
).
).
Sees
Dragonslayer
I picked converted even though a lot of the old ways/traditions are taught naturally and subconsciously while being officially raised part of a "revealed" religious tradition. Things are organic and built into your heart, mind, soul, culture, family customs, etc. Who you were the whole time.