I was born not believing in gods.
This never changed.
This never changed.
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Poll: How Long Have You Been in Your Current Religion or Lack Thereof?
- Thread starter Exaltist Ethan
- Start date
Consistent with their values, or stuck in a rut?I thought people changed their spiritual / religious views more often. Was not expecting over 50% to say more than ten years, and if you combine that with the life timers, that's 70% of people saying they've been in their religion for at least ten years. Very interesting. Maybe I should have went "10 to 20 Years", then "20 to 40 Years" and then "My Entire Lifetime", although 40 years is well past my age.
Still, it's great to see so many people who are consistent with their values.
Same here. I think it was just an impression that we had due to such individuals standing out.
Exaltist Ethan
Bridging the Gap Between Believers and Skeptics
Unless their nationality doesn't allow them to change religions, if they're stuck in a rut for long enough, they'll find their way back to something better one day. Like @Eddi did going from Projectionism back to Christianity.
But that is something I haven't fully considered. Many people are born into a faith, leave it and explore others as teenagers and young adults, then go back to their original faith they were born into. So how do you count people like Eddi? Do you say they were that religion from the moment they picked it up again, or do you say they were that religion as a child AND coming back to it, add both years of being in it together? I don't know, I hadn't fully considered that, but I have found that a lot of people end up in scenarios like that.
Eddi, if you are reading this, it's up to you how you want to answer the poll, if at all. I never left any instruction on how to count it if you leave and then come back to it. I always leave my polls open and you can always see the results even if you don't answer.
I thought people changed their spiritual / religious views more often. Was not expecting over 50% to say more than ten years, and if you combine that with the life timers, that's 70% of people saying they've been in their religion for at least ten years. Very interesting. Maybe I should have went "10 to 20 Years", then "20 to 40 Years" and then "My Entire Lifetime", although 40 years is well past my age.
Still, it's great to see so many people who are consistent with their values.
You're not entirely wrong - I recall a PEW Research study some years back indicating a majority of people switch religious affiliations at least once. And sometimes answers depend on how you ask the question or how you create the "religion" boxes.For example, one could make the case I "switched" religions when I joined OBOD. Or that I "switched" religions when I formally joined a UU fellowship, and again when I quit going with any regularity. Or I "switched" when I decided Wicca wasn't my brand of contemporary Paganism. The story is as complicated (or uncomplicated) as I tell it but I tend to keep it simple. And the simple story is I discovered contemporary Paganism existed in college (roughly a couple decades ago) and haven't deviated out of that landscape since.
Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
I've been a Wiccan, a polytheist, and a spiritualist for less than a year. I started following Wicca and polytheism not long after I joined RF, and then I started following spiritualism not long after. I was a devout Christian for 30 years before I renounced my faith in God.
Exaltist Ethan
Bridging the Gap Between Believers and Skeptics
It's hard to gauge these kinds of topics and I'm leaving it open for personal interpretation. It's especially confusing for me because I came across a religious idea that I thought didn't exist anywhere and then over a decade later find out that there's a considerable amount of people and organizations who actually believe the same thing. That would be like someone who believed Christ was God but didn't know anything about Christianity until recently. I'd consider that person a Christian at the moment they believed Christ was God incarnate, not when they started to understand and explore their own religion.
And yeah, I've been involved in creedless faiths too, like the UUs and liberal Quakers. But before any of that happened I started to believe that God is the change humans are doing to nature, which boil down to the first two tenets of Earthseed - "God is change" and "Shape God". My own idea, Exaltism, just happens to focus more on the "Shape God" part of the equation. My idea of shaping God comes from the transhumanist concept of extropy. I just took the basic Earthseed principles and elaborated on it.
Viker
Häxan
20 years. I arrived to this point after being in Laveyan Satanism, flirting with Wicca/neopaganism, Luciferianism and several years in theistic Satanism. I would consider myself more neopagan or dark pagan than anything else, but allow for others to still call me a Satanist or Luciferian...it doesn't always matter and there are parallels and crossing points.
Disgustedman
New Member
Former Mormon here. Funny how no one in my family really pushed me to read the Bible, nor did our church.
For 40+ years, I dabbled with Wicca, some churches, Presbyterian, Baptist, Judaism and Set Free Ministries. Nothing pulled me in. So, while I was in between jobs, I finally read the Bible. (Shocked expression)
Wow, just wow. Then began my quest to find a church that aligned with it. I found it, but whether I should attend again is debatable.
So, I'd nod to the Mormons for my belief, but bow to God, for my better understanding of his way, plans (which I'm not privy to) and rules.
Hard to change after so long. But I'll try.
For 40+ years, I dabbled with Wicca, some churches, Presbyterian, Baptist, Judaism and Set Free Ministries. Nothing pulled me in. So, while I was in between jobs, I finally read the Bible. (Shocked expression)
Wow, just wow. Then began my quest to find a church that aligned with it. I found it, but whether I should attend again is debatable.
So, I'd nod to the Mormons for my belief, but bow to God, for my better understanding of his way, plans (which I'm not privy to) and rules.
Hard to change after so long. But I'll try.
I was baptized and confirmed at Easter Vigil in 2007. So for 15 years. I have had my struggles, tried to reject Catholicism and claim other religions but I always come back to the Church. I never formally dedicated myself or joined those other religions, anyway. I expect to remain so until I die. I'll always see the Trinity as the true God and really always did, even if I didn't want to admit it. I know I'll be seeking the last rites on my deathbed, regardless of anything else, anyway.
It’s been an honour and humbling to have been a member of the Baha’i Faith for 46 years. Brought me a stable marriage, work life, profession and education not to mention inner peace and contentment.
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
I'd say I was an atheist for most of my life, and grew up in a mostly atheistic/agnostic household.
There are some nuances in my younger years, though.
There was a period of time where I obsessively nailed planks together to make crosses.
At that time I said I believed in God, but I think this is partly due to "grown ups" having that association with crucifixes and projected this on me.
I liked the movie Jesus Christ Superstar (Still do, but now for different reasons), but only for three highlights: The scene where Jesus gets whipped, and the scenes where Jesus and Judas died.
So in hindsight I'm pretty sure it was just morbid fascination as I didn't know or understand anything of the Bible and the Christian message.
I was too inexperienced in life and too self-centered to get that anyway, and I thought the Bible was boring, safe for the violent parts.
That said, I do remember praying to God when my favourite cat went missing.
My prayers were answered, although the cat died a few years later after he got hit by a car.
I remember a period of time where I sort of deified that cat after he died, thinking he was watching me from the clouds and I prayed to him whenever I wanted something.
When I did something I was proud of, I imagined him being happy and purr, and when something didn't go the way I wanted, I blamed him for not helping me, and thanked him whenever something did go in my favor when I asked for it.
As I got older I cultivated a mindset that was pretty much non-spiritual and atheistic.
Pretty much like popular opinion, I considered religions in general to be silly superstitions and possibly more often than not a cause for narrow-mindedness and unnecessary division.
I never really blamed religion for mankind's problems, though.
In my late teens/early twenties I grew disillusioned about the superiority of, let's say secular humanism; about how non-religious or non-spiritual people aren't necessarily more open-minded, wiser, more compassionate and tolerant, or peaceful and selfless than their "superstitious" counterparts.
I grew curious about the Bible and made it a priority to read it with the intent to try and understand it from a believer's point of view; as someone who doesn't see its content as outdated and overrated works of fiction.
This opened up my mind to a new dimension and kindled in me an interest in the spiritual and started studying other religious texts.
I started identifying as religious when I was 25, I think.
I don't care much about labelling it, but if I had to give one, I would just call it Monotheism.
I still needed some time and experimentation to adjust to this new perception of reality, as there were occasions where I tried too hard and had to re figure out what was rational and reasonable and what isn't with this new way of thinking, causing me to be on the brink of psychosis a few times.
Now that I've gotten more experienced and have a better idea of what I can bear and what is out of my reach, I'm doing great.
What the future of my faith will be like: I don't know, but because of its syncretic, and more or less fluid, adaptive nature I don't think I have a reason to renounce it anytime soon.
There are some nuances in my younger years, though.
There was a period of time where I obsessively nailed planks together to make crosses.
At that time I said I believed in God, but I think this is partly due to "grown ups" having that association with crucifixes and projected this on me.
I liked the movie Jesus Christ Superstar (Still do, but now for different reasons), but only for three highlights: The scene where Jesus gets whipped, and the scenes where Jesus and Judas died.
So in hindsight I'm pretty sure it was just morbid fascination as I didn't know or understand anything of the Bible and the Christian message.
I was too inexperienced in life and too self-centered to get that anyway, and I thought the Bible was boring, safe for the violent parts.
That said, I do remember praying to God when my favourite cat went missing.
My prayers were answered, although the cat died a few years later after he got hit by a car.
I remember a period of time where I sort of deified that cat after he died, thinking he was watching me from the clouds and I prayed to him whenever I wanted something.
When I did something I was proud of, I imagined him being happy and purr, and when something didn't go the way I wanted, I blamed him for not helping me, and thanked him whenever something did go in my favor when I asked for it.
As I got older I cultivated a mindset that was pretty much non-spiritual and atheistic.
Pretty much like popular opinion, I considered religions in general to be silly superstitions and possibly more often than not a cause for narrow-mindedness and unnecessary division.
I never really blamed religion for mankind's problems, though.
In my late teens/early twenties I grew disillusioned about the superiority of, let's say secular humanism; about how non-religious or non-spiritual people aren't necessarily more open-minded, wiser, more compassionate and tolerant, or peaceful and selfless than their "superstitious" counterparts.
I grew curious about the Bible and made it a priority to read it with the intent to try and understand it from a believer's point of view; as someone who doesn't see its content as outdated and overrated works of fiction.
This opened up my mind to a new dimension and kindled in me an interest in the spiritual and started studying other religious texts.
I started identifying as religious when I was 25, I think.
I don't care much about labelling it, but if I had to give one, I would just call it Monotheism.
I still needed some time and experimentation to adjust to this new perception of reality, as there were occasions where I tried too hard and had to re figure out what was rational and reasonable and what isn't with this new way of thinking, causing me to be on the brink of psychosis a few times.
Now that I've gotten more experienced and have a better idea of what I can bear and what is out of my reach, I'm doing great.
What the future of my faith will be like: I don't know, but because of its syncretic, and more or less fluid, adaptive nature I don't think I have a reason to renounce it anytime soon.
I suppose I had to answer, for my entire life, given I started to disbelieve in God at an age when I could make such decisions (10/11 perhaps), and upon discovering so many different religious beliefs. The switch to agnosticism came later as a softening and an acceptance that I probably just can't have any of the answers I might seek. Better a loser than a continual seeker in my view - and which might amount to the same.
TagliatelliMonster
Veteran Member
My entire life.
I had a secular upbringing. Gods were total non-issues.
I was well into puberty before I really had my first real encounter with religion.
I was "aware" of religions and especially christian stories since I grew up in western europe - a judeo-christian culture. So we have the holidays like christmass etc.
But to me, the baby jesus at christmass (for example) was pretty much on par with santa and the easter bunny. It was just part of the holiday theme and not to be taken seriously at all.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that people actually DID take it seriously.
Since I was brought up totally void of any religious influence, I guess that made me kind of immune to it.
I think I'm a good example of the religious importance of "get them while they are young".
It’s actually hard to say. It was a gradual thing. It was in February 2011 when I decided I really was Hindu. I was in a “New Age-y” kind of shop, which I still frequent, when a couple of small statues of Hindu deities caught my eye. I bought them, set up a tiny shrine and began worshiping them. It has grown since. Boy has it grown. Since about the mid-1990s I drifted away from Christianity and towards “agnostic deism”, which has the name ietsism. If I were to pick another belief system/philosophy in place of Hinduism it would be ietsism.
Since about the mid-1990s I drifted away from Christianity and towards “agnostic deism”, which has the name ietsism. If I were to pick another belief system/philosophy in place of Hinduism it would be ietsism.
AppieB
Active Member
Was raised in a catholic household in the Netherlands. Not as strict as I noticed in other countries, but I was an altar boy and a acolyte. Started questioning my beliefs since puberty and at the age of 18 I told my church and my parents I didn't believe anymore and I didn't want to go to church anymore. And that was that. I didn't have bad experiences as a believer in my childhood. It was pretty ok.
Since like 10 years I started to get more interested in religions and started to interact on Dutch forums. And now also on this forum since a year.
Since like 10 years I started to get more interested in religions and started to interact on Dutch forums. And now also on this forum since a year.
TagliatelliMonster
Veteran Member
Since this is "close to home" for me (near Antwerp, Belgium), I'm curious...
What was the reaction of your church and parents, or your immediate environment in general (friends, family,..), who still believed when you announced that you were done with it?
Did it "break" something in those social relations? Was / is there "social tension" or other awkardness?
Or was it more like "yeah, sure, whatevs...." and business as usual with as only difference you sleeping in on sundays?
AppieB
Active Member
I just let the church know I didn't want to be an acolyte anymore. And that's it. They got the information and I didn't really 'wait' for a reaction.Since this is "close to home" for me (near Antwerp, Belgium), I'm curious...
What was the reaction of your church and parents, or your immediate environment in general (friends, family,..), who still believed when you announced that you were done with it?
Did it "break" something in those social relations? Was / is there "social tension" or other awkardness?
Or was it more like "yeah, sure, whatevs...." and business as usual with as only difference you sleeping in on sundays?
As for my parents; it wasn't a big deal for them. Like I said, we weren't very strict religious. We went to church almost every week and we prayed before dinner and that's basically it. They knew/know I'm a good person and if there was/is a heaven, I would probably go there as well.
So no negative reactions. They respected/respect my beliefs and I respect theirs. To be honest, I don't think we have so much of a different worldview. Except the believe in a god of course.