A poll to RF Westerners !

[Wirey]

I was always an atheist, I think.

 

[Revoltingest]

I was born not believing.
Then I didn't believe.
I was a strong atheist.
I gradually became a weak atheist.
I'm still a weak atheist.
What a wild & crazy journey!

 

[sun rise]

My parents were secular Jews but my cousins were observant. Growing up, I went to Hebrew School but was not interested in the religious aspects of Judaism. Subsequently I became interested in God and religion but don't follow an exoteric religious structure.

 

[George-ananda]

I was born as Christian, finally converted to Hinduism (after some intermediate steps including atheism)

 

[Terese]

Born with no religion in mind, a secular household, converted to Hinduism a year ago.

 

[fantome profane]

I was very very young when I was born. And being so young at the time I had not yet made any commitments to any deep philosophical positions on the nature of reality.


(what a stupid question)

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I wasn't really raised as much of anything. Culturally Christian, I guess?

My mom was a Christian of a sort, but not a strident one, in terms of any dogma. She was mostly into praying to God, Christ and Mary - very spiritual. But she had her own beliefs and was into things like Tarot cards, astrology, reincarnation, etc. She also had a fondness for ancient Egyptian culture and had statues of the Goddess, Serket, and a bunch of books on Egypt and other things. She was pretty liberal. We went to church sometimes when we moved to Ohio to live with her side of the family, but we also went to a UU church for a time. Her and I both converted to Catholicism during my mid-teens (it was actually my idea but she was excited about it since she loved the Mass and always loved Mary). But I always pursued my own beliefs, whatever they were. She may not have disagreed with my beliefs at certain times, but she never tried to stop me from exploring, even when it came to Satanism (which she really disagreed with and thought was dangerous). She let me be my own person, affording me the freedom that she was denied by her parents when she was young.

(My mom was a single parent and the only constant in my life until her death from cancer in January of this year. My dad has been out of the picture since he ran off about 20 years ago.)

Now I am not a Christian. I am a Hellenic polytheist. But I have a respect for most religions that I have much knowledge about. I am spiritually cosmopolitan, just as I am socially cosmopolitan.

 

[Buttercup]

I was very very young when I was born. And being so young at the time I had yet made any commitments to any deep philosophical positions on the nature or reality.


(what a stupid question)

Be nice!!

 

[lunamoth]

Christian > apatheist, vague theist > Baha'i > Christian

 

[Revoltingest]

Be nice!!

That is him being nice!
It isn't necessarily a criticism.
I find some arguably stupid questions lead to interesting answers.

 

[David1967]

Be nice!!

I'll second that Buttercup.

 

[Kirran]

Born with no religion in mind, a secular household, converted to Hinduism a year ago.

Did you never consider yourself Muslim?

 

[Terese]

Did you never consider yourself Muslim?

No i didn't. I wasn't taught anything about Islam anyway.

 

[RRex]

Catholic Atheist Deist

 

[savagewind]

I was very very young when I was born. And being so young at the time I had not yet made any commitments to any deep philosophical positions on the nature of reality.


(what a stupid question)

You just had to add the last sentence. I wonder why? LOL
I understood the question. It is a simplified question. I guess you are too smart for simple.

My family was church going Protestant Christian. I don't know about my dad. His family was Catholic and he didn't go to mom's church. I was christened as a baby. I don't remember it. I went to Sunday School. When the four children grew up mom stopped going to church, but I don't remember that either. I was married in church and I baptized two of my children. Two are not baptized because I became a Jehovah's Witness and then later I became a Christian again.

You can have a big fight with the JWs about them being Christian. I didn't say they weren't though.

 

[Tarheeler]

Born a Christian, became a Jew.

 

[metis]

Born a Christian, became a Jew.

Ditto, but operating from an open-ended paradigm-- whatever caused this universe/multiverse I'll call "God" and pretty much just leave it at that.

 

[fantome profane]

You just had to add the last sentence. I wonder why? LOL

Because I am a mean bad man.

I understood the question. It is a simplified question. I guess you are too smart for simple.

My family was church going Protestant Christian. I don't know about my dad. His family was Catholic and he didn't go to mom's church. I was christened as a baby. I don't remember it. I went to Sunday School. When the four children grew up mom stopped going to church, but I don't remember that either. I was married in church and I baptized two of my children. Two are not baptized because I became a Jehovah's Witness and then later I became a Christian again.

You can have a big fight with the JWs about them being Christian. I didn't say they weren't though.

I just don't understand how anyone can say they were "born Christian", or "born Muslim", or "born whatever". It is a meaningless nonsensical statement to impose such ideas on the recently born. And I find it offensive to ascribe these advanced philosophical positions to infants or small children who can't possibly hold them. And perhaps that is not really what was meant by the phrase in this thread, but I just find the idea so disgusting that I could not let it pass. I am a mean mean man. But people are still saying they were "born ___", and I wish they would cut it out.

 

[savagewind]

Because I am a mean bad man.
I just don't understand how anyone can say they were "born Christian", or "born Muslim", or "born whatever". It is a meaningless nonsensical statement to impose such ideas on the recently born. And I find it offensive to ascribe these advanced philosophical positions to infants or small children who can't possibly hold them. And perhaps that is not really what was meant by the phrase in this thread, but I just find the idea so disgusting that I could not let it pass. I am a mean mean man. But people are still saying they were "born ___", and I wish they would cut it out.

Are you done?
Think of it like this: Did the person's mother, father, extended family member, some of them or all of them assign the child a religion at birth consciously or unconsciously?

 

[Godobeyer]

Because I am a mean bad man.
I just don't understand how anyone can say they were "born Christian", or "born Muslim", or "born whatever". It is a meaningless nonsensical statement to impose such ideas on the recently born. And I find it offensive to ascribe these advanced philosophical positions to infants or small children who can't possibly hold them. And perhaps that is not really what was meant by the phrase in this thread, but I just find the idea so disgusting that I could not let it pass. I am a mean mean man. But people are still saying they were "born ___", and I wish they would cut it out.

I just make it as abréviation ,to I born in "Christian family" , or "Atheist family" ...etc