Then and Now religious views

I grew up Mormon. Now, while I have a great deal of respect with a variety of religious viewpoints, I wouldn't describe myself as religious.

 

I don't think I would describe myself as agnostic. I think there is a deeper dimension to experience that people experience in a variety of ways. My degrees are actually in comparative religious studies. I may have just seen too many things that I deeply appreciated to subscribe to any way that views itself as the only way.

 

I wasn't raised in a religious environnement, even if some person in my family are catholics, and I am an atheist now. Someday, the idea of believing in a god/gods/godess/anything seems really nice, and maybe reassuring in some way ? But I really can't believe in God. I have tried, but I can't.

 

Then:
My dad is an athiest, but mum was more agnostic and it's within that environment of skepticism that I was raised. My grandparents though, were mildly religious, although not regular churchgoers.

Now:
I identify as a christian, although many of my beliefs differ from the traditional interpretation. While I find inspiration in the fundamental teachings of Jesus, I remain unconvinced by many of the classic claims of miracles or the notion of a God with human pronouns who dwells in the heavens above the earth, slightly higher than aircraft.

Although I hold the Bible in high regard, I approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism and recognise the importance of reading it carefully, considering it's historical development and context. Treating religious scriptures, including the Bible, as literal works akin to Harry Potter leads to endless interpretations and misunderstandings (often to suit the prejudice/s of the reader or preacher). It's this tendency towards literalism and Bible bashing that lends support to the argument of militant athiests that religious belief is entirely delusional. In actual fact, it's not... or at least, it doesn't have to be.

Fairly long answer, but I've learned of the need to clarify when I talk about my faith, just so people don't think "I'm one of them."

 

My immediate family - atheist, although my dad's side is very strictly Christian and tried to influence. Still atheist lol. I understand not all Christians are hateful, but I'm thankful my dad is coincidentally the only member of his family to break away from it, considering the rest of them can be pretty dang judgemental.

 

Most people I know had a very bland and boring experience of Religious Education at school, but I was taught RE in a very different way, beginning with deep questions about ethics and morality and I just found it fascinating. I still find it fascinating to see how people develop their views and opinions about ethics and morality and the way in which religion and philosophy shapes all of those views.

I guess a lot of credit needs to go to my Religious Education teacher, who realised just how interested I was in all of this and nurtured my interest. He persuaded me to look more closely at the different world religions and the influence of Christianity on our society, and to understand how different faith and belief systems developed for good and for ill. The fundamental (not fundamentalist) teachings of Jesus are not difficult to understand. They are timeless and inspirational to me. I truly believe that if we followed Jesus' teachings without our own spin, the world would be a much better place.

 

As a kid, I was raised to believe in God as a higher power and an afterlife, but that was it. When I started college, I became an atheist. Now, I'm something else.

I study religion a lot. I've read holy texts like the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, some Buddhist sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, etc.

I can't really come up with a label for what I am. I guess technically, it's New Age, but that's a broad term and there's a lot of New Age stuff I do NOT believe in.

Generally, I believe in reincarnation, a spirit realm, spirit guides, and some form of higher power. I think there's new souls and old souls, souls that cycle out of the cycle into something higher, and new souls that are in their first human incarnation. I don't think there's a set time period a spirit spends in the spirit world before reincarnation, maybe its optional - I don't know.

You see, when I say I "believe" it, it doesn't really mean I'm fully convinced it's a reality. It's just resonance. It resonates with me.

I think it's important to live life to its fullest, just in case this life really is the only life we've got. But I also think it's important to live a good life, be generous, and treat everyone with love and kindness, since it couldn't hurt the life we live now, and could only add to a life in the herafter
if there's more.

 

Was raised going to church, but all I've learned since realizing I'm gay, has made it clear to me it's so full of man-made stuff for their own power and to control women and others, I have no interest. Is there some energy/power/whatever in the universe? I dunno but the universe is a lot bigger, older and more fascinating than what I was told to believe, and it's the same energy for everyone, if there is anything at all. It's tragic billions of people have been killed and destroyed so much in history fighting over and trying to force others to believe one way. I want no association to all the abuse and death for LGBTQ+ people due to religions either.

 

Interesting topic that comes around every now and then.

I was raised in a Christian faith - specifically Catholicism. In other parts of the world, Catholics are almost always seen as Christians. In the U.S., some people take issue with that and think that their evangelical Protestant way of worship is true Christianity. I won't even touch this.

My parents kept going to church and I got so busy during my university studies when I was also working part-time that my attendance began to slip.

If someone asked me my religious beliefs, I'd say I was Catholic. I don't agree with all of it and question some things. But it's better suited to me than other religions I've been exposed to. I have more of an issue with the bad things that happen in the church than with the doctrine.

The most important thing I've learned along the way is that you should treat people the way you'd want to be treated. If I'm doing that, I'm usually feeling pretty comfortable with myself.