How Did You Come Into Your Religous Faith? The way you were raised?

That was great of your father, that was his way of saying he would accept you no matter what you choose, wasnt it? Yours is a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing it with me. I was raised Methodist. We went to church each sunday no mater if we were sick or not. We got up and went to church, dressed in our sunday clothes. I was from a large family so our sunday best was not very nice but it was clean and the best we had. When I got married and moved away, we tried driving back to my church each sunday but it got too hard and expensive. When I children of my own, I knew that I needed a church. I felt a tugging on my heart to find one that was perfect for me my husband and my children. I went to the local Methodist church first and heard mor gossip about my neighbors than I wanted to hear. The next sunday, we went to a baptist that one of my neighbors went to. Again, gossip was running rampid also they took up 3, yes three collections adn I had no money. I never went back. I went to different churches for seval months, not finding any that felt comfortable to me. Finally I went to The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints and it felt right. There was very little gossip and there were no collections taken up. I have been going there each sunday ever since. I dont always get along with the people and they do some pretty imoral things sometimes but the gospel is true and it is what I cling to. It has made me a better person and that is why I go back. I dont go for the people there, I go because I feel peace there.

Mine originated with how my parents raised me. Then honestly when I got older I realized that my faith was importnat to me and I wanted to make sure that I shared it with my children and so on. Great post!

Wow it sounds like you have an awesome dad. That is a wonderful thing for him to do. I follow my heart, I have my confersations with my creater and follow my heart. I do believe in God, that doesn't mean I have the right answer. I think we all need to find our answer within ourselves. I do go to a protestent church, I happen to have the same believes as I had when I was a kid. The church I go to does what your dad did for you. They take the youth group to visit other churches and learn about other faiths. We need to learn about other beliefs to decide for ourselves.

I was raised in a multi-faith family. Jewish, Church of G_d, Babtist etc. I am also the daughter of a D.O.D. Church organist, so I was subjected, well subjected is the wrong word, I was exposed to so many religions. Going to church was like attending a potluck, you never knew what you were going to get! Any given sunday services would be lead by a Luthern, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Mormon or nowadays even Wiccan. Processing all of these differing views and beliefs from birth until my early 20's, I came to the conclusion that my relationship with G_d is private, individual and sprinkled with a bit of this and that. I simply try to live a good life, be generous, forgiving and treat everyone I meet well. It is working well for me so far. I'm curious, do you consider yourself a true Pagan? Over the centuries there have been so many focused efforts by the Catholic church to completely erradicate paganisim, that the Pagans begin to splinter and rename themselves, over time morphing into many different forms of whorship. Do you believe in and worship the feminine? The Goddess? I'm very curious about your beliefs. Have a blessed day! Acuity

I wasn't raised in a faith at all. Mom and dad just didn't seem that way inclined. When I hit my teens I began thinking about life more deeply. Where did we come from? Why are we here? What purpose do we serve? Two years ago, I discovered Wicca. I have a Wiccan friend who told me that I should really think about it before deciding whether to take it up or not. She advised me to read up on Wicca and the ceremonies and everything. After doing as she suggested, something didn't feel quite right. Then I discovered Spirituality quite by accident. I bought a book by Sylvia Browne about Spirit Guides and I was hooked! Everything about Spirituality just resonates with me on a deep level. I've since had actual contact with my Guide, and also I rely on my Guardian Angels for help too. Since then, my life has taken a turn for the better, and I'm gradually starting to live again, instead of just existing. I have to thank Sylvia Browne for that. What an amazing lady!

The way I was raised. The ignorant teens these days will only choose something thats "cool" to them. I think it's rather immature. They should feel strongly on something before choosing a life-long commitment.

I was born and raised into the Catholic religion. I am still Catholic but I do not follow their religion or attend church on a regular basis. I do go to catholic churches occasionally during the holidays with my parents. I also go to my mom's church which is Presbyterian. I have been going back and forth since they have not been going to church together lately. I still believe in God and love God and praise everything he has done for us and given us.

When I was little, my parents too me to a Presbyterian Church. But after my mother and father got divorced, they didn't go to church anymore. My mother then started sending us to church with a lady that lived down the street. But later I was taken from my mother and custody was given to my father. Even though my father had a strong faith, we did not go to church. I still tried going to churches and was even baptized because it was the thing to do at the church I was going to. But it never worked for me. I had too many questions that could not be answered. Then I started experiencing things that people would call paranormal. This really changed my view of religion. I knew what I experienced was not "the work of Satan". So, I stopped going to church. However, when I got married, my partner and I tried many many churches. Nothing seemed to fit my views of life. So I lived my life to what I thought was right. I cherished all living things, knew there were energies that I could not see or explain, knew there was more to life than that could be explained by the science we know today, and I respected and loved the earth and saw it as our mother that took care of us and nurtured us. Little did I know that there was a religion for the way I lived and loved life. When i discovered Wicca and Paganism...it was like everything made sense! It was home. :)

That is a wondeful path, Donna and your father did a truly amazing thing. All parents should do something like that. I was raised a Roman Catholic which is not unusual in the area where I grew up and now live. Catholicism is the major religion here. In my late twenties and early thirties, I also chanted as a Nicheren Shoshu Buddhist where I met some of the finest people I've ever known. Although, I am still close to a number of the buddhists and occassionally still chant, I am now(at least nominally)a Catholic again.

No I am not still practising the faith I was raised in, oh yes I was raised i faith. No I never changed my original faith, but I did go to different churches it was my decision to do this and approximately 36 years ago I found where I belong in the Uniting Church and have been very happy in this religion.

I was raised in a Southern Baptist church. In high school I began questioning some of the things that I was taught. I did a lot of research. And I actually discovered that Baptists are indeed the closest to what I personally believe. The doctrine is sound, it was just the specific pastor we had that I had issues with. I still go to church most Sundays. There are some that I don't, like if my husband has to work. We think it's important to be there since we both believe. We want to set a good example for our son. We know WHY we believe what we believe. We will never force our children into something that they don't want to do, but we will always be available if they have any questions about our beliefs.

what a wonderful gift your father gave you. that is so cool that he showed you different religions. did your mother or grandmother never discuss their beliefs and religion with you? I assume they were also pagan? I was born and raised Baptist. I went to church every sunday until high school and then sort of not going, but my parents did. As an adult, I have gone back and forth, but I never really feel quite right with it. I do believe in A god, but maybe not everything that is taught in the Christian religion. I go back and forth becuase it is so ingrained in my head that I will go to Hell and that terrifies me. Paganism and wicca really interest me, but people are so bigoted with it and relate it to witchcraft and dark magic and demons. i would love to talk to you more about the pagan religion. i would love to talk to you and get some hints on websites and/or books I can read and do some research. i don't know much, but i do feel lost and i am constantly drawn to this form of religion. i just am not sure where to begin. thanks so much for the great discussion.

Yes I still practice the Christian Faith. I was born a Christian and I am a firm believer of its teachings. Even if circumstances hinder me from living it at times, I still see to it that my prayer life is intact. There is no other way to live.

I come from a Christian family, Baptist on my mom's side, and Episcopalian on my dad's. They were influential in teaching me about God and the Bible. I started attending church pretty much on my own terms though. I was utterly depressed and stressed out that particular morning and just walked to a service at a nearby church... pretty much on a whim in hopes that it would calm me... and it worked. I have had struggles with my faith, as almost everyone has, but it is something I keep coming back to. It's been a committment of mine now to take all my problems to God and allow Him to guide me through everything, and always remember back to the life of Jesus Christ when I face unfairness and evil in my life and the events within it.

Donna, that is so incredibly close to my life story! Except that my father never went to church it was always my mother, because it was the correct thing to do. Now my father is a born again christian, again and again, and it hasn't made him a better person at all. I abandoned Christianity as a religion many years ago, as I believe it is very contradictory. I too realised that the way of the Pagan was my way in my 40's, and I also do the herb thing too! "If that which thou seekest, thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee."

Hey there, sorry i didn't get the chance to respond before now but i didn't get the email notification, for some reason i haven't been getting many at all..... Anyways, I was raised in a really messed up home... What i mean by that is that my father was what he called an atheist, even though he wasn't... He just chose to bash everything he could, That was him. When i asked if i could go to church i wasn't allowed according to him. My mother was Roman Catholic, and she baptized me that way against my father's wishes. and even though i was baptized in that religion, at 7 years old i didn't know what 'god' was. I was totally clueless until my friends started teaching me. When they got to a certain point i wanted to learn more. I went on the internet, researching religions from all over the world, far and wide trying to find my way.. I just wanted to know who I was, and what I believed in. I began going to church behind my parents backs when i was about 10 or 11, i really at that point wanted to explore the group settings, as i knew what i believed and what i didn't, but i wanted to see how each church was in reality.... Well, that just made my personal beliefs stronger, which was odd, because no one i had ever met believed what i did... For years i wasn't sure what to call myself, because i sway between paganism and wiccan. After a few more years research i found out that both parents had a long history of wiccan in the family lines, both sides going back past doccumentation. But there's certain things that i don't do and don't believe there either. So i learned to classify myself as an unpracticing wiccan. I don't do spells (other than protection, and purification) , and i don't practice with anyone else. I like you use herbs in the kitchen, every meal i make has a mix of herbs, and i'm always incorperating a new, odd herb. My house has so many herbs you would think that i'm a practicing witch, but that's not me. I guess performing magic mostly makes me see personal gain, and i wouldn't want anything bad happening to anyone. I do call to the gods and goddesses when someone's in need, and i thank them accordingly. But that's it. Anyways, sorry for this long post, it's hard to explain my beliefs, and most people don't get how i can believe in such things, as my family has swayed in the last generation, but i am who i believe i guess a person can say... Great discussion hun, makes people think, and i think that more people should understand others religions.

I have faith in god

Thanks for sharing your story, first of all. This is a great topic. =) As for me, I like to say I wasn't "raised". I was a "hot potato kid", meaning my family all kind of jostled me around, sending me off to whatever relative, family friend, or whatever would take me for a bit. As a result, I got a lot of different religious influences, not all of them good. The religion I follow is for the most part the religion of my great-grandmother on my father's side. She was always very kind to me, and it was her religious teaching that struck true to me as a very young child. She was pagan, more specifically Celtic. I have so many fond memories of learning from her as a child. The other religious influences that I kept were those of her husband and his family, who are Native American. Hence I try to honor both my heritages, though if I'm talking about my religion I'm more likely to say "Celtic" to simplify. As for my other influences, much of my family claims Christianity, and as a child I believed them. As I child I thought Christianity a very fearful thing, as I had been abused heavily by those in my family who claim it. However, once I studied the religion, my fear of it has turned to an understanding that the religion itself isn't the problem, those people are the problem. Though I now have a Christian husband, I don't think it could ever be my religion. Other influences of my childhood: friends from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish backgrounds. What can I say? I love everybody. =)

I was raised fundamentalist Southern Baptist. At about age 13 I started finding myself out in the hall instead of in Sunday School class because I'd question the lessons. I talked to my grandmother - the Native, and she gave me some direction, but I'm not totally Native - I'm one of those East Coast "long time been here" mutt mixes. Celt, Native, Afro-Am - in varying and some 'less discussed' quantities. In my 20s I found a Wiccan group - spent years going through all the training and the steps and was officially made High Priestess eventually. Still there was something that just did not fit just right. I was fine in circle, but out of it something was missing. I left the coven and started on my own journey. Where I found myself was in an eclectic mix of Celtic Pagan and Native with a nod to Voodoo in it. I put a little organization to it, got an 'official ordination' so that I could apply to the state for marriage celebrant status under religious leader and now have a semi-formal Pagan 'Ministry' that covers several states with people who work as counselors, wedding celebrants and teachers. At just short of 50 and looking toward my impending Crone-hood I am happy looking back and seeing that the daughter groups are growing and while there is no 'unified' doctrine that the network continues to support their sisters groups in other areas. It's time, since my move to a new place to start the next phase, at least one more time setting up a circle in our new home.

when i was very young, my mom didnt know which faith to "be", so she did as your dad did and took my brother and I to a bunch of different churches. Only i wasnt quite old enough to really know the difference. they were all teaching me sorta the same things. whe ni was 11, she finally decided to convert us to roman catholic. we went to church for a few years, then that was that. in the past few years I have become very supportive of all religions. i am a gnostic i guess, because I just want to know what is real and what is just told to scare us into being good.