saltfish

Quick though, maybe I could get some personal thoughts on this one.

You were raised religious:
+ attended church weekly
+ attended sunday school
+ went through age-specific rights of passage
+ studies/devoted your life to your religion
...

Do you think that you life would have been any different if you were not raised in this way?

Would you have found your religion in another way?

Now, on the other hand...

Do you feel you were served an injustice by your parents by being forced to practice their religion?

Do you regret any of the time that you spent in your religious activities?


--------------------
I, myself, was a long time practicing person of the Jewish faith. I grew up in a conservative Jewish home and participated in my Bar-Mitzvah.
To make a long story short, I had disappointed my father by my lack of desire to participate weekly, and after I had moved on to college I had cut that out of my life altogether.
Overall, I had a problem with my religious upbringing because I felt that it was all politics; rarely was anyone there to become enlightened, it was more of a meeting place/fashion show/networking session for the parents.



Your thoughts on the subject??



-SF

CSflim

I was raised as a roman catholic by my parents. I was baptised, communised and confirmed.

In the long run, I don't think I would have been much different had I been brought up with a different religion. I would probably have given it up.

Do I feel as if I had a great injustice done to me?
No, not really. My parents were doing what they thought was best. They never had particularly strong beliefs, it was just that "being cathollic" is simply the done thing (over here).
Over here there is actually a reasonably strong connection between church and school. You get communised/confirmed along with your classmates. Of course it *is* optional, but by not partaking, a child may feel different, or excluded. I don't think that would have bothered me, I was never a "go with the crowd" type person, but I can see how that might hurt a young child.

So, I guess, there was no "decision" made to raise me as catholic, that option is "specified by default". It would have been seen as making a definite decision *not* to raise me as a catholic.

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tecoyah

Born and raised Catholic, Abusive Nuns and Hipocritical Priests helped me to see the failures of this religion.I now realise that there is no "wrong" religion.Everyone is right in the beliefs they hold, and I dont know the mind of God any better than the pope.
I look back on daily church as a good experience, helped me to be the happy pagan I am today, gave me great understanding of the need of human nature to have a "faith crutch" in order to thrive. To each their own little chunk of the gods.

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Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

Bloodslick

I was raised as a Methodist.

+ attended church weekly - check
+ attended sunday school - check
+ went through age-specific rights of passage - check
+ studies/devoted your life to your religion - not so much, but I was in church choirs for years upon years, eventually forcefully

I think my life would have been different, as I would have had much more free time to pursue other activities. If my parents had not been religious, perhaps I would not have had to stop watching certain television shows for years. The possibilities are endless.

I do not believe I would have found my religion in another way. I gave up religion because I simply don't believe.

I don't feel that I was served an injustice by being made to go to church. My circumcision is another matter entirely.

I do regret time that I spent involved in church activities. I could have used that time to have hobbies, to sleep, or to engage in activities with other, non-congregational friends.

My parents still try to foist their spirituality off on me. Their strong belief makes them unwilling to accept my total lack of belief. We simply don't discuss religion now.

ARTelevision

I regret all of the time I was forced, coerced, pressured, whatever into religious activities.

It is the very worst thing I ever experienced.

A mind is a terrible thing to indoctrinate.

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Smoey

I was raised roman catholic too.

Followed all the steps, even was an altar boy, no the preist just grab my hand, but I don't think it affected my outcome. After I moved out I dropped it all together, now I have personal relationship with God. Besides if God is really God, when why do we need a chruch.
I do remeber sitting in the isles and looking around. The placed filled with old people, and I remeber nobody was even listening to what the priest had to say. That part pissed me off.
But everytime I walked out of Chruch I had a good feeling about myself, that part I miss.

CSflim

I guess I have good old apathetic watered down religion sentiment to be thankful for.

In Ireland religion, it seems, is nothing like what it is in America. The vast majority of the population are "catholic" in inverted commas, as opposed to actually catholic.

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Sledge

Haha - a thread just for ME!

Actually, I don't have much more to add to the very articulate Bloodslick or to ART.

My childhood involved everything on the list as well. I wish it hadn't. (I was just talking about this to my friend tonight, strangely enough.) Religious tenets aside, a lot of the beliefs I had about politics and society are not the beliefs I have now. For instance, I feel completely different about homosexuality, divorce, and liberal movements in general. I resent having been taught what was "right" and what was "wrong," and I am ashamed of having campaigned for those beliefs that I held so dear. I would certainly not have found my religion in another way.

The one good thing about growing up in church for me was the sense of leadership it gave me; having filled various necessary roles there, a lot of my personal growth came from being a member of and helping out my youth group. Still, young people can get that in nonreligious spheres.

MSD

MY mother still won't accep that I think differently. I go to church every Sunday because it's easier than arguing and the communion wine tastes good.

username

I was raised Methodist / Baptist
+ attended church weekly - yep
+ attended sunday school - yep
+ went through age-specific rights of passage - yep
+ studies/devoted your life to your religion - nope


Do you think that you life would have been any different if you were not raised in this way?

- I don't really think it would have been any different other than I would have seen church for what it is a place wear people wear nice clothes to show off how rich they are. I mean come on, if you are going to worship God does he really care what clothes you wear?

Would you have found your religion in another way?

- No, I would have never gone to church.

Now, on the other hand...

Do you feel you were served an injustice by your parents by being forced to practice their religion?

- Mainly my mom was the one who pushed religion on us. One day, my dad, brother, sister and I told her church was stupid and we weren't going anymore. It hurt her feelings a little but then we explained all we did when we went was sleep in the pews anyway...

Do you regret any of the time that you spent in your religious activities?

- I don't really regret it, it taught me how to tolerate other people talking to me and how to act interested in stuff you don't really care about. Of course I also met a few of my friends in church, and they were like me.. a parent or parents forced them to come.

taliendo

I was raised Pentecostal, yes the home of the holy rollers. I guess that we went to church periodically, but when I was young I went all the time, by choice. I always loved to sing and so I could go and enjoy the music there (still a large part of my spirit.) I got really involved in my own spiritual growth, read the Bible, decided to get baptized when I was 18. What really pisses me off is that my parents when from being pseudo hippies to fundamentalist, right-winger, Bible bashing, Christians. (OK, more my mother than my father -- Dad still has to pay his dues to make sure he still gets laid once a week.) Now they (my mom) don't understand how I've continued my spiritual growth and don't simply accept everything some man (also mortal and imperfect) tells me is GOSPEL TRUTH.

I still consider myself a Christian, maybe I'm a product of my upbringing, but I've considered other religions -- I really enjoy Buddhism as a philosophy. I guess that I just got fed up with the doctrine and hypocrisy that is entwined through out the 'church.' I've tried other sects of Christianity and found fault with every church I've been to. SO I gave up on organized religion (wasn't it supposed to be a 'personal relationship' with God anyway?) I truly value the lessons and personal growth that I experienced in that church. It led me down some of the right paths for my own life, it was a great starting block to understanding my place in this giant ball that we call existence.

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-LIFE IS ABSURD-

Peryn

I guess i am the only one thankful for my religious upbringing. My church is somewhat unique in its beliefs. We dont really take too strong of a belief on most issues, and we dont press them on our members. We teach them god loves you...blah blah blah... and let them make their own opinions on the matter, given what we know from the bible or other teachings.

Was i harmed by this? Absolutely not. I cant imagine i am any worse of a person for being brought up in a respectful religious household.

I attended church every week, and went to Sunday School every week as a youth. As i got older schooling and church activities no longer interested me ( partly due to a lack of youth at the time). Parents understood that and the fact that there was far more to religion than attending all teh activities and memorizing the bible. In fact, i probably couldn't quote more than a few lines out of that book. Knowing the quotes isn't what religion should be about...

I dont regret any time i spent in any of the church related activites. If i didn't want to go, i usually didn't have to. I occasionally get burnt out on church and take a week or two off. I have little to regret because i was allowed to decide if i wanted to or not (well, for the most part). I am very happy with many of the view and beliefs of my church...not just my congregation, but throughout all of them as a whole. I cant imagine i would have stumbled onto a religion on my own, let alone one i dont completely disagree with.

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Dont cry kid, It's not your fault you suck.

Jizz-Fritter

I went to sunday school and worship every Sunday until I was 14, and I came from a very religious family. I am 21 right now and in no way religious. I'm not an atheist, it's just I don't think/feel about spiritual matters. A Christian has to think about God and Jesus every day, and use them in how they behave and interpret the world. I don't.

I wonder what I would have been like if I didn't grow up so religious.

pyraxis

Raised Anglican, now agnostic.

One of the things that made me stop going to church was the realization that none of my core values changed, whether I was looking at a world with a god or without one. The virtues I felt drawn to within the Christian context (respecting life, etc.) are ones I still hold. And the things I had problems with (like confession and original sin) are ideas that I still object to, though now from a psychological perspective.

If it weren't for Christians upholding Christian values, I wouldn't be where I am today. But religion isn't necessary to live a good life. And it can throw up a lot of roadblocks in terms of learning to think for yourself.

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"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." -Emerson

amonkie

I was brought up in a Christian Lutheran/Baptist/Presbyterian household. Through most of my young adult life before starting college, my life was school, piano, and church. I don't regret the time spent in church, but it wasn't until I moved out and was on my own that I really felt that my beliefs were MINE, and not forced on me by my parents.
I was the one who chose whether I went to church or not, whether I prayed or not, etc. I found the best thing for me was taking a break from going to church, to make sure I was going for the right reasons. If you really take a look at what Christianity is all about, it's simply believing that Christ died for your sins, and you'll be allowed into Heaven if you accept his gift. Nowhere in there does it say, but you have to go to church, and go to confessional, and join the choir.

If people have a problem with the physical act of going to a church, or the rituals, just remember that God doesn't require that you be in a specific place to worship or acknowledge Him. People are just very communal in nature, and being surrounded by like minded people is a comforting feeling.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Tman144

I got off lucky with the religious upbringing because I was raised as a Unitarian. I wasn't taught that any group of people were wrong or evil. The leader of the choir was gay and the head of the daycare was a pagan(Wiccan I believe). I'm actually glad my parents made me go to church because I got all the morals without any of the guilt(universal salvation, so no hell). I can remember my friend's parents always trying to get me to go to their church. Like I was going to "see the light" and convert. My parents never minded because they thought it would be good for me to see other religions. Plus, I can celebrate any holiday I want.

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"Don't touch my belt, you Jesus freak!" -Mr. Gruff the Atheist Goat

dragon2fire

i was raised in the church of christ


i did not like it thought it was boring and got sick of the gulit trips


i will say most of the people were nice though



now a days i am a atheist

cartmen34

I cannot really say if I would have found religion. All else being the same, probably not.


Yes, I hated my childhood and dislike my mother directly because she forced me to be religious. I grew up a Jehovah's Witness in a small town in southern Iowa. (aka backwoods-hick-central USA) My mother made a point at the beginning of every year to come to school and tell all my teachers my religious beliefs and why I'm different. Thus, all the kids found out....thus, I was teased, harrassed, and/or pointed and giggled at throughout my childhood. Mom might as well have painted a big red "kick me" target on the back of my pants. At the start of every year I begged her not to come to school and talk to my teachers. She always refused..."We have to spread the word!" she'd always say. Fuck you, mom!
I hated it.


Yes, I regret almost ALL the time I spent doing that BS. While other kids were out playing, I had to finish my homework...THEN I had to study for the meetings, as we met on Sunday....Tuesday...Thursday....and almost every Saturday for door-to door work.
Imagine if you will: Being a 6-12 year old, having some serious shyness issues and being told/forced to knock on strangers doors and try to "sell" them on religion. If I didn't do it, I was a told (my my dear mother) that I was bad person for not wanting to help others find the "truth". Sometimes I'd get so nervous I'd vomit. Mom still made me go.

But I'm not bitter.....no....not me..... Ah the memories.

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"The problem with quick and dirty, as some people have said, is that the dirty remains long after the quick has been forgotten" - Steve McConnell

Starfish

yeah I think that I would have turned out different. I know that I would really be different. I still go to church now because i want to please my parents, but in the next year when I go to a university I will probally stop going. I have been confused anout the whole "does God really exist" questo for a while now and I think that I may be so confused about things becuse I went to church.

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Me: "Like a big floppy penis that hasn't been washed in a couple days."

Paeder

i was raised a lutheran. but when i was 14 or 15 my ma started taking classes to become catholic. i went along with her and attended the classes. i think that this was a great experience for me because i learned about the religion and its practices. i think that having not been raised into any religion at all still would have left me with the feeling of a higher power, just not a name to tag it with. i definately know what the thread starter means though when describing church as a meeting place and social gathering as opposed to a spiritual experience.

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"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."----Henry David Thoreau

moonstrucksoul

I was raised Christian. I never fully enjoyed it, although I became active in Youth Group for a while. It was a wonderful experience, because I learned of Christianity and understood the meaning of it, but it never seemed "right" to me. I couldn't understand why a God who loves all of us unconditionally would punish us and send us to Hell if we broke commandments or did not believe in Him- and also that if He created Us in the image and likeness of Him, yet we were born with Sin and not perfect.
My folks made me go- even tried to get my boyfriends and friends to go. I began to get really upset about that and started rebelling by stopping going to church- I was old enough for them not to make me. When I was a senior in High School and took college courses, I decided to take Philosophy of Religion and delved into that, seeing what my Truth was with all that I gathered from all religions and beliefs. The closest I came to was Taoism- believing in a "force" that runs through all things. And that we are part of that "force". Yet, being brought up in a religion, I never felt comfortable believing in just one. I knew there was something more, something deeper and bigger- that was burning within me.
I don't regret the experiences I had, because I learned more about myself that way. I was upset at the time my parents pressured it on me, but I am thankful for the experience. I may not have felt so strongly spiritually if I hadn't been brought up that way, but ya never know.

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:::OshnSoul:::

^^^^^oops, I did it again- that was me, forgot to sign out of my husband's name........

bukaki22

my parents punished me by making me copy the bible with pen and paper - good what to push a child away from religion

kurty[B]

I was raised as a Mormon, babtised at 8, received the aaronic priesthood at 12, went through the various age rights, and received the melchizidek (I know I spelled it wrong) at 18. I could've gone on a Mission for the Church, but moved out shortly after turning 18, and stopped attending church, and well didn't really question it, but made my own life decisions. I devoted my teenage years to the study of the Church, and encompassed everything about it. To be honest, I was about the perfect model Mormon citizen at the time.

I would definitely be a different person today if I wasn't raised as a Mormon. Not sure how I'd currently be, but definitely know I'd be different.

If I wasn't raised Mormon, would I have found it some other way. Don't know, if I had the cynical attitude towards religions I currently have, no, I'd probably turn it down before fully hearing it out, or would just claim that I don't currently have time to devote to religion.

I do not feel I was served an injustice by being brought up this way. I had fun, I enjoyed it. Like I said I truly devoted my life to Church and church activities as a teenager, and I felt good and happy doing such things, and being around great people. I had friends outside church, and spent just as much time with them as my friends from church, and well simply loved it.

After moving out onto my own, I realized I did not enjoy it so much when more and more it felt like I was simply some church member's project to have them better myself and get me even more involved than I wanted to be, and then when I pulled away even more, it became the project of everyone to try and get me back. Treated like I was a number rather than just a person. My believes right now... They're muddled, big-time, between what I "Knew" as a Mormon, and now what I know nothing about as an open-minded individual. I am glad for the way I was brought up though.

raeanna74

Raised Baptist (Cavinistic)
+ attended church weekly - 3 times a week
+ attended sunday school - weekly
+ went through age-specific rights of passage - baptisted, communion
+ studies/devoted your life to your religion - Sortof, Minor in Bible, Got Bachelor of science in Elementary Education from a private Baptist College.
...

Do you think that you life would have been any different if you were not raised in this way?
Very much so.

Would you have found your religion in another way?
I believe so. I've gone full circle from completely denying it and Studying other religions to coming back once again to study and question it.

Do you feel you were served an injustice by your parents by being forced to practice their religion?
Somewhat but the strict rules kept me from being distracted and gave me the opportunity to pursue higher education. I believe if I hadn't had the strict rule I would have probably had an early pregnancy or maybe even married before even beginning college or at least finishing it.

Do you regret any of the time that you spent in your religious activities? Some but not all. It taught me to understand philosophy better. I had some poor teachers and very good teachers. The good ones taught me to question everything and decide for myself. If I hadn't had them I wouldn't even know HOW to question the doctrines of the Baptists.

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My Karma just ran over your Dogma.