For those of you who switched religions?

Question

Either from one religion to another (conversion) or from one religion to no other (atheism, agnostic, etc), what prompted the switch and how did it impact your life?

Answer 1

Two things.

The realisation that my mother had forced her religion on me and decried all others.   That she had tried to indoctrinate and force me rather than show.

Secondly just try reading a small sample of Christian postings on here!!!

Intolerant, egotistical, hate filled and bigoted!! Eschewing education, science, evolution works of fiction and much, much more. Christians are the only religion opposing human rights and persecuting g**s, pro choice and so much more - but far worse whilst they demand freedom of religion they deny it to all non Christians and persecute them!!!

The behaviour of those calling themselves Christian surely shows there can be no loving god!!

Answer 2

Well, there were a lot of things that prompted it. Mostly realizing that people took the Bible as 100% truth (which I wasn't taught, I had always taken it metaphorically), people telling me that any religion other than Christianity were fake and inspired by the devil (this was from people in a different church in my town, not in my original one which was quite nice and tolerant, even enjoyable), and the general intolerance they had and how they never practiced what they preached. Of course, I learned most of this from my friend's church that I regularly visted (Grace Chapel >.>), and not my original church. My original church was (and is) full of wonderful, loving, and tolerant people who actually practice tolerance and preach it. Never in the 15 years that I was there did I hear them preach about hatred, or even h**l. They were nothing but positive.

It has impacted my life positively. I can take science courses and learn things without worrying if this would make people think I was going against my religion or something. In many other ways, too, such as being generally happier.

Answer 3

Logic, science and mythology prompted my switch... for the most part. logic said no reason to think God. Science said maybe there's an alternative to God. And mythology taught me that just because they believed something and it was popular did not make it correct.

it impacted my life because now I don't feel bound to arbitrary ideas like condemning homosexuals (as some religions do). I can decide for myself what I believe. Also, it prompted my interest in politics and the world at-large. I don't like that atheists are also a group that is discriminated against (im an atheist). Of course, I'm insane... i think its stupid they're trying to take down the cross in my city; freedom of expression right?  

Answer 4

I just couldn't find real peace in my old religion.  Then I ran across Wicca and things really began to brighten up.  It's hard to explain but when you find the right path you really know.

Answer 5

I was raised Catholic by my family.  I stopped after reading history and studying science.  I can't say I really switched because it isn't a switch.  There is no god based on reality, so, all I did was free up my Sundays.  I am still the same good person though.

Answer 6

I was raised Christian. By the time I was a teenager, my beliefs started to evolve, and I started to question Christianity. By my mid-teens I'd found my beliefs fit Wicca better (the only Pagan religion I'd been exposed to), so I described myself as a Wiccan. My beliefs continued to evolve as I explored spirituality more. I found my beliefs no longer fit Wicca and I've described myself as an eclectic Pagan ever since.

I now prefer not to tie myself down to a specific religion, and instead define my own beliefs.

Answer 7

ooh....I'm gonna get a lot of thumbs down for this one.

Well, I grew up as a Christian, and that was fine. But, I never really felt it. I would pray, read the bible daily, and ask God all sorts of questions. Well, I never heard anything.I never felt blessed in church and whenever I explained my 'faith', I felt like I was lying.

I always felt more spirituality in the earth, in the soil and water and the sky...so I'm guessing you can see where I'm going with this.

I became a pagan.

I remember before I did I prayed "God, if I really matter so much to you, prove to me, like you did for Gideon, that you want me."

In a nutshell, nothing happened.

Now, I don't grudge the Christian god - and I don't hate Christians. Most of my friends are Christians and I love them dearly. But even before Job was tested, or Abraham was tested, or even Jesus was tested, God had made himself known to them and THEN tested them. The whole "knock and the door shall be opened, seek and ye shall find" just didn't happen - from the time I was born until I was nineteen.

Now, do I believe that god was denying me? no - not at all. I was just in the wrong spot. And I know, I'll get a lot of quotes about 'soothsaying and divination, and witchcraft'. Well, not all pagans practice those things ;).

And I hope nobody gets upset at them when they do leave those verses. Just like I meditate by trees, they share they're faith. the only person who can allow himself/herself to get angry is yourself, I guess.

Anyways, thats my story.

  

Answer 8

I went from Muslim to Agnostic.

Family had an influence, plus I find that Islam is stifling and doesn't correlate with my values at all.

Answer 9

I was having problems with the different views of God in the Bible - but I was expecting it to make sense, like a book written by one person or a group of writers acting in concert.  And I had some big problems with the hatred against women and homophobia, and all that junk in there.

It came to a head when a very devout woman who was leading a youth Christian fellowship I belonged to began to be realy excited that "God was punishing the g**s" - and it turned out to be HIV.  That really revolted me, that she could see anybody suffering and rejoice in it.  That was gross - it made me sick that she could be a Christian and think that way and she was not the only person who was acting that way back then.  It kind of brought the dissonance to a head for me and I began looking for another faith.

I was trying to hold an edited version of Christianity when some woman on a train was trying to tell me I had to take the Bible "all or nothing" and I realized, yeah, there was no point in trying to salvage the Bible, so I became an atheist, then an agnostic and was looking at other faiths again.  I am still agnostic.  I enjoyed some aspects of my Christian faith - but the Bible itself is just the work of man.  It may or may not deal with matters that are diviine, but it was definately written by some messed up folks along with some people with fanciful imaginations.  Sometime I may take the Jeffersonian exercise of looking only at the words of Jesus, but for now, I have faith in what I can experience of the divine, nothing else.