Changing your religion?

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

Out of curiosity, do you consider this a good 'change'? Do you think it was negativity on the other site or some other factor that caused the transition?

Oh hell yes it was a good change. It was a long, long story how I got to this point. The short version is that I saw some things in my faith that just didn't add up; I started asking open questions, and I got answers.

I think that RF has helped me to be comfortable with some of my beliefs. Even a year ago, I would have been ashamed if someone had been critical of my 'mostly goddess' path, and would have allowed myself to backpedal furiously. I'm a bit more confident now.

Now that's really cool. What do you mean by that?

 

[YmirGF]

I think that RF has helped me to be comfortable with some of my beliefs. Even a year ago, I would have been ashamed if someone had been critical of my 'mostly goddess' path, and would have allowed myself to backpedal furiously. I'm a bit more confident now.

I'm glad to hear that Meg, to be frank, I consider you to be one of the most spiritual, insightful, people on RF and have given you questions that I KNEW others would barely understand. Thanks for being there when I needed another point of view. Although I consider myself an unofficial "expert" on dream analysis, you and Kreeden (and Michel) are certainly very high on my list of "go to" people with whom I feel comfortable enough to compare notes.

Aside from this, being on RF has not altered my persoanl "spiritual" outlook in the slightest. I have however softened my stance on some religions though. I have the deepest respect for people to believe whatever they wish, but I simply do not respect their beliefs themselves. That is asking a bit much.

 

[Tigress]

Have you changed your religion since joining RF? Have you considered changing, or even just changed a small portion of your religious outlook? If you have, was it because of RF, or something external?

Yes and no. I've gotten into Quakerism since joining RF, but I'm still a universalist, and continue to believe in the UU principles. My introduction to Quakerism was also unrelated to this site.

 

[Kungfuzed]

My beliefs were already shattered and I was actually doing a search looking for proof of God's existence as a last ditch effort when I found this website. I just sat back and read for a year or two before I finally created a username and started posting last summer as a solid atheist.

I have to say, I'm so impressed with the level of intelligence and education here. One thing that kept me from signing up was that I was intimidated by all the big words and deep philosophy. It's like attending a university without the tuition. I've never seen anything like this forum before. Church was never as interesting as this. You've got me hooked.

 

[Fluffy]

My 'religion' category on my profile has gone from Wicca to Christian Wicca to Atheism and those changes were almost entirely due to RF.

I'd probably consider changing it again to a more cohesive group (I dislike defining myself in the negative) such as Bright or Humanist but I don't consider myself to be knowledgeable enough to do that yet.

 

[MaddLlama]

My 'religion' category on my profile has gone from Wicca to Christian Wicca to Atheism and those changes were almost entirely due to RF.

I'd probably consider changing it again to a more cohesive group (I dislike defining myself in the negative) such as Bright or Humanist but I don't consider myself to be knowledgeable enough to do that yet.

Is there a particular reason for that? You don't have to answer if it's private, I'm just curious. =)

 

[Fluffy]

Heya Maddllama,
My switch from Wicca to Christian Wicca was due to my greater knowledge of and affinity with Christianity. I felt more comfortable envisioning my deity as Jesus Christ and I felt that Wicca was incomplete without many of the teachings of Christ.

I then switched to atheism because I became convinced that God's existence was implausible and so I was unable to maintain my belief in him. Many of my arguments for holding to theism were broken down by the RF atheists and encountering other revisionist attitudes to religion led me to conclude that I was uncomfortable doing the same. Additionally, many of the RF theist descriptions of faith demonstrated that I simply was not truly theistic.

 

[Scuba Pete]

If not, do you think the idea of changing a religious belief, however small, because of discussion means something negative about the person?

I don't think that I can point to one particular person, I have changed a LOT. Yes, I am still Christian, but my understanding of the scriptures has changed dramatically. Drastically even! I think this was due to both sources inside and outside of RF.

 

[evearael]

My faith has deepened and I miss going to services. I can't wait to move and have several synagogues to choose from... The more I study and pray, the more I find my views becoming increasingly Orthodox.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Thank you for the kind thoughts, Ymir! You just gave my day a boost!

Now that's really cool. What do you mean by that?

Pretty much my whole life, I've been guilty of attempting to adjust my personality in hopes of not offending others. The idea of conflict has worried me so much that I would usually do anything to prevent it. I won't say that I no longer fear conflict, but I'm getting to the point where my interaction with what I see as the divine is now at least important to me as maintaining the peace, and I'm now willing to risk having someone react negatively to my faith than be concerned that they think ill of me. For example, a few months back, we had a 'same-faith' pagan debate about why Pagans refer to deity as "Goddess" if they do, indeed, celebrate all genders equally. I noted that I thought of myself as a 'Dianic Pagan', one of a specific tradition-within-the tradition (McFarland) that also recognized males as being of equal spiritual worth but did tend to focus on celebrating the Goddess. Someone debated that this approach would lead to a gender-bias within the believer, that they would not be being equal because they weren't deliberately celebrating deity in all its forms. I backpedaled by noting that I did, indeed, worship a few gods, but I didn't have the courage to put my foot down and firmly state that, since the other member wasn't living in my head, they had no way of knowing whether or not the result was detrimental in the way I treated others and myself. Hopefully, I'd put it more nicely than that, though!

 

[uumckk16]

I've only been here since last April, but my beliefs have changed a lot since then. I think that's just the natural process I've been going through, though - my beliefs also were quite dynamic in the months before I came here. I do think that RF has helped me to understand other viewpoints more, and it has definitely led me to consider certain beliefs that I never would have considered before. I like to think it's made me more open-minded

 

[jamaesi]

I was agnostic when I joined RF but am now an Unitarian Universalist Muslim. RF really didn't have anything to do with that change, though.

 

[Comprehend]

Changing a religious belief is something that everyone should do as they grow, for lord help the person who has at sixty the same beliefs and understanding he had at six.

That's wierd, Jesus said the opposite.

Matt 18:3
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mark 10:15
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.



...but I know what you meant (and agree).

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I am considering one small change. I have learned much about the UU's, and I have considered, and probably will, attend sermons at a UU church. Only thing stoping me is my habbits of sleeping until 2 or 3 pm.

 

[James the Persian]

I haven't changed since being here, and I can't envisage any change in future,k but I certainly had enough changes of faith in my past to make up for that. I used to think I'd be a perpetual seeker, but the last 5-10 years of investigating/being Orthodox seems to show that I've found what I sought - or maybe it found me.

James

 

[MaddLlama]

Well, here's my next question for the people who said they had changed (due to being here or not): how did you know that the faith you chose was more "home" or better for you than the one(s) you followed in the past?

 

[Real Sorceror]

I've definitly shifted away from my original pagan ideals, and become a diest of sorts. I've also started thinking more like an agnostic, and I feel much more comfortable around strong atheists than I originally did. My moral values, however, haven't really changed at all.

 

[Willamena]

Have you changed your religion since joining RF? Have you considered changing, or even just changed a small portion of your religious outlook? If you have, was it because of RF, or something external?
If not, do you think the idea of changing a religious belief, however small, because of discussion means something negative about the person?

The nature of my understanding of "my religion" has changed since coming to RF, thanks to many people on these forums. My labelling of it hasn't changed.

I don't think changing a belief, religious or otherwise, constitutes something negative.

 

[pete29]

Changing a religious belief is something that everyone should do as they grow, for lord help the person who has at sixty the same beliefs and understanding he had at six.

i have the same religion as i did when i was six, but hardly the same beliefs. as i aged i like to think i grew wiser.

 

[pete29]

Yes actually I have, when I first joined RF, I was in search of something more meaningful in the religious sense. I was very unhappy at this time with Christianity but struggled for a very long time with actually accepting the fact that there are other religions out there...the reason for this stuggle was the brainwashing fear that Catholicism/Christianity imposed on me. I thought that it was Satan decieving me into feeling this way, until finally, about a year ago, I felt compelled enough to search for a better understanding. So I came to RF, and learned about the various religions and found U/U to fit the criteria of what I think a religion should be. I don't want my daughter growing up being taught what I was taught, and since I don't ascribe to any belief exclusively, U/U gives me the opportunity to grow and learn more without any dogmatic rules or fear deterring me...and I want my daughter to have that opportunity as well.

in 50 years as a Catholic i never felt brainwashed. I don't think my wife who belongs to the Community of Christ would stay married to me if I were.