Your Childhood Religion vs. Now

[Left Coast]

I was raised nominally as a Christian but now I'm more agnostic atheist - and I think the numbers likely on this survey will not be useful - given that those here will unlikely be representative of the larger population.

It'll be a small convenience sample, no doubt. But interesting anecdotally nonetheless.

 

[Psalm23]

I was raised Christian and remain Christian. I'm not sure which denomination would most closely resemble my views.

 

[Vinidra]

Raised Southern Baptist, but it never stuck. I'm a Shakta Hindu now.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Raised in a Catholic household. I now identify as Hindu.

 

[Koldo]

Were you raised with a religion as a child? Have you retained that worldview as an adult, or has it changed? Are you part of another religion, or no religion?

For those of you raised non-religious, same question. Are you still non- religious, or are you part of a religion now?

Raised in a mix of spiritism and umbanda, now atheist.

 

[sayak83]

Were you raised with a religion as a child? Have you retained that worldview as an adult, or has it changed? Are you part of another religion, or no religion?

For those of you raised non-religious, same question. Are you still non- religious, or are you part of a religion now?

My family are culturally Hindu. I am more into it than my parents are or ever were. Still I chose the first option.

 

[Jedster]

Were you raised with a religion as a child? Have you retained that worldview as an adult, or has it changed? Are you part of another religion, or no religion?

For those of you raised non-religious, same question. Are you still non- religious, or are you part of a religion now?

I was raised Jewish.
In my early 20s, I entered a Bhakti path which I abandoned after 23 years.
I am an atheist.

 

[PureX]

The beliefs of each religion are determined by its members.

I am aware of no instance where that happens. religious ideology and practice are established by traditional, not by democratic debate.

Again: it's a matter of community. If a person:

- recognizes themselves as a member of the religious community, and
- is recognized by other members as a member of the community,

... then their beliefs are strong enough.

But this does not define nor cohere their beliefs. And their actual beliefs will vary widely, and dynamically, depending on individual nature and circumstances.

Again: up to the individual community. It isn't necessarily a deterministic or even uniform thing.

Yes, that was my original point.

We're dealing with human beings; even an individual person might not be entirely consistent in their criteria for who they accept into and exclude from their religious community.

Again, that was my original point.

Again: depends on the community. You can infer the criteria (to a certain extent; like I said, humans aren't entirely consistent) based on who does and doesn't get excluded from the community.

Which is why theological and religious surveys tend to fail miserably. Not only are these concepts and preferences very individualized, but they are also very dynamic and difficult for people to articulate.

 

[Left Coast]

Raised in a mix of spiritism and umbanda, now atheist.

I've never heard of umbanda, thank you for sharing! I just looked it up. Seems similar to Santería?

 

[Koldo]

I've never heard of umbanda, thank you for sharing! I just looked it up. Seems similar to Santería?

Never heard of Santería. But from reading the Wikipedia Page on it, yes, it seems very very similar.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I am aware of no instance where that happens. religious ideology and practice are established by traditional, not by democratic debate.

Don't be obtuse. I'm not talking about churches putting their doctrines to a vote; I'm talking about a culture that arises within the group naturally. It gets guided somewhat by the group accepting or rejecting beliefs - and the members that hold those beliefs - and by members choosing to join or leave.

But this does not define nor cohere their beliefs. And their actual beliefs will vary widely, and dynamically, depending on individual nature and circumstances.

That's right. Real-world religions generally have a spectrum of beliefs.

It's the idea that's summed up in an expression that's popular in some Christian denominations:

"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

It's just that different religious groups will have varying ideas on what constitutes an "essential."

Yes, that was my original point.

Again, that was my original point.

Then maybe you need to explain why these are stumbling blocks for you. I'm not seeing it.

Which is why theological and religious surveys tend to fail miserably. Not only are these concepts and preferences very individualized, but they are also very dynamic and difficult for people to articulate.

Right: apart from a common core of beliefs and practices, a single religion will contain within it a spectrum of beliefs and viewpoints. It's still a religion.

 

[PureX]

Don't be obtuse. I'm not talking about churches putting their doctrines to a vote; I'm talking about a culture that arises within the group naturally. It gets guided somewhat by the group accepting or rejecting beliefs - and the members that hold those beliefs - and by members choosing to join or leave.




That's right. Real-world religions generally have a spectrum of beliefs.

It's the idea that's summed up in an expression that's popular in some Christian denominations:

"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

It's just that different religious groups will have varying ideas on what constitutes an "essential."


Then maybe you need to explain why these are stumbling blocks for you. I'm not seeing it.



Right: apart from a common core of beliefs and practices, a single religion will contain within it a spectrum of beliefs and viewpoints. It's still a religion.

I was merely pointing out why these polls are so inaccurate when it comes to religious affiliation. All they can track are the reported labels, which have very little to do with what anyone believes at any given time because the labels imply a uniform cohesion that religiosity does not exhibit.

 

[Trailblazer]

I think the numbers likely on this survey will not be useful - given that those here will unlikely be representative of the larger population.

No, I don't think so either, because most people stay with the religion in which they were raised, and with the exception of some Christians you won't find these people discussing religion on a religious forum.

 

[Trailblazer]

Were you raised with a religion as a child? Have you retained that worldview as an adult, or has it changed? Are you part of another religion, or no religion?

For those of you raised non-religious, same question. Are you still non- religious, or are you part of a religion now?

I was raised without a religion but now I am a member of a religion. Both my parents were raised as Christians but they both dropped out of Christianity before their children were born. My father became an atheist but my mother retained a belief in God and probably also in Jesus.

Fast forward to my first year of college and I heard about the Baha'i Faith from my older brother, who had been investigating all the world religions for some time. He had all the Baha'i books that has been published at that time so I read everything he had. About two weeks later I joined the Baha'i Faith. My sister who was one year older than me had a similar experience. About five years later my mother became a Baha'i, so the whole nuclear family were Baha'is. My father had died before my brother heard of the Baha'i Faith so he died as an atheist.

I never lost my belief in God or Baha'u'llah and I have been a member of the Baha'i Faith for over 52 years but I don't really feel like I am 'part of it' since I am not involved with other Baha'is in Baha'i activities. Like my parents, I am very nontraditional, and the Baha'i Faith is just too traditional for me, with all the observances, scripture study, devotionals, etc. Also, I have had 'issues' with God over the years and still have some, so it is difficult for me to be part of a group of people who love God so much.

 

[syo]

I voted the first. My christian grandma taught me pagan. I was all ears.

 

[mangalavara]

Raised Southern Baptist, but it never stuck. I'm a Shakta Hindu now.

I misread that as, ‘Raised Southern Hindu, but it never stuck. I’m a Southern Hindu now.’

 

[mangalavara]

Were you raised with a religion as a child? Have you retained that worldview as an adult, or has it changed?

I voted, ‘I was raised with a religion, but I’m part of another religion now.’

My parents are nondenominational Protestants. They taught me about the god of Abraham; the prophets; Heaven and Gehenna; and good morality based on divine commandments.

As a child, I believed, based on my impressions from my parents, that God is real, that he sent prophets such as Noah and Moses, that there is an everlasting Heaven for good believers, that there is an everlasting fiery place for unbelievers and bad people, and that a good person was one who lived in accordance with the Ten Commandments. I also believed that Jesus was resurrected and in Heaven, but I did not hold any belief about him being divine. I was not involved in a church or any other group, I received no sacraments, and I was not actually expected to be a Christian.

The faith was not expected of me because my parents believed, and still believe, that it is God alone who makes people believers. My childhood beliefs didn’t last past age 12.

Since March 2021, Hinduism has been my religion and way of life.

 

[Viker]

Raised Baptist and Evangelical. Now Diabolism, neopaganism, theistic Satanism, LHP, etc.

 

[ChristineM]

I was christian (church of England) until mid teens, got chased out, over a couple of years reading the Bible i became atheist.

 

[Starlight]

I was raised protestant christian. I am now a ominist and spiritual but not religious