How did you choose your religion (or no religion)?

I was raised a Catholic but when I was 16 yrs old I stopped all religious activities as I asked myself the question: If everyone was Catholic would the world be any better? I still believed in God but thought that religions have not contributed to a better world. WWI and II were fought mostly among religious people (including a lot of Catholics) of one sort or another. Still, I reasoned that if God exists than there must be some group that represents him well on earth. So I started to read all the religious books and looked at those that practiced that religion and asked myself: If everyone on earth belonged to that religion would the world be any better? I fell in love with Jesus Christ, his ways and his teachings. I try to practice the same religion he practiced and associate with the group that I found the closest to that. I am not perfect and neither is the group I associate with but I ask myself the question: if everyone belonged to this group would the world be any better? I believe it would!

Well I did not choose the religion. I was brought up as catholic and for me it was natural to follow because every member of my family did. As I grew up I realized that I don't always agree with the things which church try to teach me. I know now that If I have children in the future I will give them opportunity to chose religion they would like to follow.

I'm a spiritual non-theist. I do not believe in any higher being. I believe that all is equal. I came to believe what I believe just by seeking all the information I can, putting it all together, and then trying to figure out the best answer I can. My beliefs are not frigid and can definitely change. That is one reason why I do not believe in religion. How can anyone know everything? Knowledge is infinite. Also, I would much rather seek out truth on my own rather than have someone else tell me what to believe. Sometimes I apparently come off as someone who hates religion, but this is not the case. I am very interested in religion and I have noticed that there really are a lot more similarities than differences. I think that they are all true, just explaining the universe from different perspectives. Namaste.

I think I fell out of religion's grasp when I began to question what was going on with religion. My mother was fairly religious but not really devout. She took me to church often enough because my uncle was a baptist preacher. The church used to scare me. The old (probably only 30s looking back, but "old" to me back then) people would scare the piss out of me, saying I'd better sing and put money in the offering plate or else I'd be on God's bad side. But that was still minor compared to the babysitter mom used to take me to. She was a complete over-the-nest whackadoo. She used to cook hotdogs until they were char black and then make us sit on the dirty floor and eat them off the floor. She would bring her son in and he would make us all sit in a group while he sang religious songs to us. He told us often that if we ever neglected our guardian angels or told them to go away, the floor would open and we'd fall into hell. So I lived in total fear for years. But around the time I caught mom wrapping presents and also realized that a giant bunny wasn't putting dollars under my pillow for my teeth, I was emboldened enough to tell those angels to F off. Nothing happened. The more I looked, the more I realized that all this stuff was weaker than my dad's threats. At least if he said he'd catch me with the belt if I stepped out of line, I knew there was a good chance of getting caught with the belt. With the whole "God/Jesus" bit, I never seen either one come down and snap that leather to keep me on the straight and narrow. I just couldn't piece together what made other people believe in religion. As I got older and a little more confident in my intelligence, I would choose either side of the debate. If someone didn't believe, I'd argue for religion. If someone believed, I'd argue against it. Against it always won, because despite not being able to "disprove" the existence of any god, there is absolutely zero logical evidence of the existence of any supreme deity, outside of someone's personal "feeling." And as far as that goes, I could feel like I'm Napoleon resurrected. But I imagine how far that would get me. Eventually, I found more wisdom in there not being any god watching over us all. Religious people might always cling to the fact that it cannot be disproved - it never could be. But that isn't the least bit logical, because the burden of proof would be on a god whose only purpose for giving life to humans is so they follow his rules and worship him. I don't believe my agnosticism is a rebellion from the religion I grew up with. I just believe it's the logical result of independent thinking and demanding more evidence to subscribe to theory beyond someone's personal feeling. And I hold that for every walk of life. Global warming is included. I won't trust only the state's numbers and people who stand to become billionaires off the industry. I'm skeptical by nature. I think we should all be. And if you come back with the result that there is a god, then good on ya!

I choose a religion for me to save comes judgment Day. I made sure that the religion where I belong is a true one. Have true God to be served and worship and follow all His commandments to enjoy eternal life on the second coming of Jesus Christ.

I don't have a religion, because I am not religious. I am a Christian, but I don't have a religion. I don't believe in religiosity. I believe that to be a Christian you have to be called, you don't just 'go.' I don't believe in choosing a religion because a religion isn't going to send me to heaven or hell. I have a relationship with Christ, which isn't a religion. I don't hold to any church doctrine. I think some of the things in the bible may have some element of truth, but not actually true. Like Adam and Eve... I believe there was a beginning of the human race... but not like Adam and Eve. I also believe in the big bang.

you do have some religious troubles. actually, most people do. most people are lost in a most common topic which is religion. evidence is the very high number of religions which have prospered in this world. the first religion wherein in got affiliated with is catholicism. it is so easy to see why. it was because i was born to parents who were both catholics. however, since 1983, i became a member of the Church of God in Christ Jesus, the Pillar and Ground of Truth (Iglesia ng Dios Kay Cristo Jesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan). i got to be converted into this church through a thorough study of the bible which took some months in the first phase. it would be advisable to have this thorough biblical study in one's life. if we understand the bible thoroughly, all our religious questions will be answered properly. thanks for your time and may you have a good day, alnilam.

well I wouldn't say that you really choose your religion. you either encounter something that feels like the truth to you or you don't. although I was raised in a Pagan household, I was never tought to beleive a particular thing, instead being encouraged to work it out for myself. I was never exposed to Christianity until I went to school, and it didn't feel any different to the Greek, Roman, Norse and Egyptian mythology that I enjoyed, but didn't beleive to be factual. over the years I've had a number of different spiritual experiences. I beleive in my Gods as I have experienced them in dreams, meditations and occasionally in normal, day to day life. likewise I believe in ghosts as I have seen them. my religion is the product of my spiritual experiences.

Like you, i was able exposed to religion, Catholic to be exact when i was a child, as if we really have choice right? Growing up, i just learned i was baptized when i was a baby and branded as Catholic. Growing up, i was also exposed to all the hullabaloo of Catholicism. I was in a private school for all years of my school life and it was a Catholic school, so i know about Mass, Sacraments, prayers name it and i memorized it lol.. But growing up, i learned that i still have a choice and i am fond of learning and reading and i have learned that there are things in the religion that i was branded that just do not sum up. It says it is Christian, but how come those who are Christians do not act as Christians? There are also stuff in it that just do not sum up, some ways are even pagan for one. Anyways, i still believe in one higher being, i have FAITH and i still believe in Jesus Christ. But i do not have to choose a religion, religion is just like common noun.. something that you can choose, there are other options, for me that is. Religion is like a way of life you choose..and i chose another option. Its hard to explain these to people especially those who are devote, to those people who really do the Mass, who go to church regularly. But it is what i chose.

I never chose any religon. I was born with none.

Hi you have started a task which have completed this is my facebook id ammara saleem. So please check it. Thanks, Have a good day.

The only reason why we should be part of a religion is just for only one reason? For us to be saved from the judgement day and have an eternal life and meet our creator. I think it's a big honor to meet him. About choosing a Religion. Well for me the only christian religion available for us to be saved is the Church of God written in the bible and no other religion can save you. Not Catholic church, not Baptist, Not Mormon church, all religion created by man are false religions according to bible not on my own thought. It's up to you what religion should you choose but I suggest choose Church of God.

To me religion is very personal issue and everyone is free to follow his/her religion with great respect. I take religion as way of life and all religions have many similarities.All religions teach that there is a divine power that keeping an eye on us,on our good and bad karmas.That kind of belief warns you every time in life when you choose wrong way in life. Other points you yourself have added in your topic that most of us dont choose religion by our choice we grow with it.

i choose my religion because this is my mother religion too and since i live in this earth i believe also of my religion and i understang my religion

The way you explain it, you are an Agnostic . My mom was an Agnostic . My Dad was a Baptist. By the time I was born , we didn't go to church. So Even though I was Christened, I didn't feel Christian. At age 13 I saw the movie Fiddler On the Roof, a musical about Jewish Russians at the turn of the 20th century. The music was so rich and beautiful I thought about being Jewish As the years passed I learned more about the structure and the message . The more I learned , the more I felt like I was coming home. I especially loved that questions are welcome, not discouraged. By the time I was 17 I wanted to be Jewish And by age 21 or so I was practicing.

Hi Alnilam, I am of no organized religion. I was raised Catholic and questioned many things in that religion while growing up but still participated because, well, I pretty much had no choice in the matter. Once on my own, I stopped activily participating and have researched other religions but not found anything that pulled me in. I'm interested in life and the possibility of an after life and a higher power but to subscribe to a particular religion I feel is too restricting. I don't want to just slot myself into one particular belief and with religions also come all these man-made rules. You can't do this and you have to do that. Of all the religions I've read up on, Wiccan or Pagan is the closest to my own personal way of thinking.

I wanted to know the truth about what the Holy Scriptures say. I questioned many things. Mainly this; Most churches teach that when you die you go to heaven or hell. Where does the resurrection fit in there??? I studied the Holy Scriptures much on my own. It seemed most churches ive come in contact with were not teaching what was really in the scriptures. Except this one group of believers that i believe are really teaching what the Holy Scriptures really say. Ive studied their publicatons for many years now and it always coinsides with the Holy Scriptures.

It's pretty simple to tell why most people choose the religion there in. I was born a Christian so it was pretty natural to get into. So in truth most do not have a choice at all to what religion they belong too. I myself am not sure about the Adam and Eve story, it seems to have hole after they were kicked out of the garden of Eden.

For me, I found a relationship between God and me. It is not a system of belief that I have. It is a relationship between 2 live individuals. I can actually get to talk to Him through prayers. Surely, my prayers get granted. I hope everyone will also experience this.

I never got a baptism, and my parents never worried about giving me religious education, something I am very thankful about. I was free to choose which religion I wanted to pick, and I chose Wicca, it's a religion I feel totally comfortable with, they respect your humanity, but they teach you how to communicate with the god and the goddess as a human, since you are not a semi god as Christianity and many others always try to depict. We may have couple relationships ( the s word), marry same gender (the s word), even if you a are a "priest" or "priestess" in the religion, abortion is tolerated, and many many other things other religions would say to be evil, but that are indeed part of our character of humanity. We can deny all those characteristics, because that's what we are, instead, we should learn how to deal with them, and how to give them a positive outcome. Wicca is that, it teaches you how to unleash your inner energy.