How were you raised??

[SuperHeroGirl]

hello everyone! i was readig a lot of posts and realizing that sooo many people were raised Christian! i was shocked!! i was just wondering what type of household you were raised in. and if you werent brought up followin the craft...than what were you rasid as nd what made you decide to change?


please excuse the lack of choices!

[Desert_Shadow]

:D I was raised in a family of Southern Baptist Ministers and it never felt right for me or made sense. I got into trouble for asking all the wrong (or so they thought) questions, and my road to the craft is a long one...too long for retelling here. Just darn glad I found it at last!!!

[slovene_gds]

Go Shan! Postin a poll! lol
Christian, but my all means, not orthodox. We were EC Christians. (Easter and Christmas).

hehe
BB~
Bast

[NeoPhoenix]

My brother and Sister were made to go to one of those supresive POS Christian schools to be brain washed into thinking that they where going to burn in hell. I on the other hand was blessed by the Lord and Lady because I never had to go there, I never even recived comunion. I use to pray to the Christian God before I decided to follow the Wiccan path. But there was always something missing, and I hated how Christians acted toward others, Christian or Non- Christian, so I seeked and found my divine parents of whom I now love dearly. :D

[clef0628]

My parents never made me go to church. They told me to fine my own way. They were from two different Christian paths. I think they tought I'd fine my own way to God. But, I found the way to Mother Earth instead. I left for three reasons. One, no one wants to change the bible if we find something is not right in it. Like how come when we found out about dinosuars they did not stick it in some place? No, they say science is wrong, oh? Then explain all those bones!!!! Two, was the "Magick" I felt in the air when I walk in the woods alone. I can see and fell things other cannot. Spirits and ghosts. My parents still think I made that stuff up, because they cannot see them. I think they just don't wait to look. Then there is reason three, when I was deep in depression in my life, and was thinking about ending it, God did not answer my spirit friends did and stopped me.

[Chibi-Fallon]

My parents both rejected their religions in high school. So I got to and still get to sleep in all weekend! That's the way to raise a child. No early mornings. ;)

[Amethyst Rose]

Well..... it was sorta a mixture of both for me..... My mom took me to church until I was 12 and was communicated (could take communion).... but then we stopped going because she decided she couldn't stand the hypocracy of the church any more.... and my dad is athiest.
So I didn't know if I should say Christian, when it was only sorta Christian (only to the extent of believing in the Christian god), or to say other..... so I said "other" cuz it was losing in the poll. :)

On an interesting, and sorta out in left field note..... when I went home for Christmas, I was speaking to my grandmother who was raised, and has been a devout Catholic her entire life.... and she told me that because of her studies (she's extremely studious), she no longer believes there's a god.
That was a shock to hear.......

[Twig]

I was raised a poor black man. ( apologies to Steve Martin 80 :crazy: )

Actually, I was the G-son of a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. Although my mom was agnostic, I can still remember reading a bible chapter a day out loud (we each did) then getting on our knees, pray for everybody in the world and that we wouldn't fry in hell for picking our nose or whatever the sin du jour was.

I moved to OR. at 9 and my mom was the "your choice" kind so I was off and on again . At 13 I started asking the "wrong" questions also.

" How can an omnipitant God have such base human emotions as rage and jealousy? Would an ALL merciful God create Hell??

Getting fewer and fewer good answers I started to look elsewhere. I started with Anton Z. LeVey, Alister Crowley and Jim Morrison...............but that's another story!

Peace
Twig
:elf:

[Rubi Waters]

I was raised catholic, even went till 8th grade in a catholic school.
I refused to make my confirmation in 8th grade because they couldn't answer
the questions I had. (mind you I was one to speak much unless I had reason
to) Their answers were... just because!!!! so from then on I was the family outcast
anyway but didn't know where I belonged I just knew it wasn't there. I finally
found my answers when I just happened to pick up "living Wicca" by scott
cunningham and it all made sense to me. I had found home. My family doesn't
know yet ...they don't need to. My boyfriend ,whom I live with does and he's ok
with it. in fact he doesn't follow the path but does encourage me to be who I am.

[Flaire-FireStar]

I was raised a baptist (christian)... :ahhhh: What made me want to change was that I found that their beliefs were waay different than mine - most of them aren't "okay" with other religions and homosexuality (some of my friends are gay/bi)..And I just thought that was wrong. :dis: I also found that some of them are extremely wasteful and don't care what they do to the outdoors (one of these people I have to live with....:dis: Arg! That just ticks me off!)

[Djiril]

Jewish Renewal with a Wiccan mom. I'm still kind of floating between the two.

[Danustouch]

Up until the time I was in third grade, we were christian by label only. I mean..both my parents were raised in church, pretty much, but..when they became young adults..stopped going. Then..my brother and I came along...

When I was in third grade, some loud mouthed ignorant little kid came into class with ashes on her forehead, for ash wednesday, i asked her why her head was dirty. She said so that she could get into heaven. I told her.."Well..when I die, I'm going to heaven, and I don't have ashes". She said.."you're not catholic. That's why you don't have ashes. And if you're not catholic, you're not going to heaven. Everyone knows THAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT". I went home and bawled my eyes out, thinking I was going to go to hell for not being catholic, and not having ashes on my forehead. I was inconsoleable. The next day, I came home from school to find a Childrens Bible on my bed, that my mom had bought just for me, that very day. She also placed some of her old religious poems and such, beside it. And she began to read from the childrens bible with me every night. It still took quite a bit of convincing that I was NOT and never WOULD be a catholic...but..eventually, i relented. And she and my dad wound up taking me to a Congregationalist Church, from then on. My brother probably wanted to clock me. Since I started that whole deal. LOL.

Then...years later..here I am a Pagan...go figure!

[Wyrdsister]

I was raised in the United Church of Canada - probably the most liberal church you can get while still being Christian. :D I still feel a very good and healthy connection to that church and actually have a great relationship with the minister of my parents church. Whenever I'm in town he and I get together for "theological tea" as we call it! :)

Wyrdsister

[Faery-Wings]

Strict Italian Roman Catholic here. Which is why a 33 yo woman is scared to tell Daddy she is Pagan. :D

I had all the same questions re: God, hell. etc. Then for a period I was agnostic and New Agey, power and energy but no God. Now that I *finally* found my path, I couldn't be happier.

[Flar's Freyja]

Catholic. My parents forced us to go and only attended with us for special occasions such as First Holy Communion and Confirmation. I always thought that was Christian until I moved to this part of the country and received a rude awakening that the Baptists and Pentecostals don't consider us Christian. They say we worship idols and don't believe in Christ. I religion shopped for many years and have been Jewish, Assembly of God, Pentecostal and Baptist - then returned to Catholicism before finding my true path - Paganism. I've studied a multitude of other religions and conclude that they all say the same thing in different words, basically coming down to The Rede. Unfortunately, those words are manipulated to fit individual agendas. Although I took my own children to church with me when I attended when they were small, when they became of age to make their own decisions I allowed them to go where they wanted to, or not go to church at all. None of them attend church currently, but all of them seem to have a spiritual foundation.

[Myst]

Other as in none. My family wanted us to find our own religions. I chose Christianity for a few years then Paganism. My fiance has no religion and we plan to raise our children with exposure to any or all religions.

[WetPaperWings]

My parents decided not to raise me with religion and let me make my own decision. Needless to say, I'm thankful for that. :)

[amberlaine]

I went to a Lutheran school. My parents were Presbyterians, but I considered myself Lutheran until my senior yer in high school.

[MidnightSun]

I voted other because my mom is Christian, but my dad is an athiest. I was never forced to go to church..i started going with friends when I was 6. It was the "cool thing" in our area. lol :) I was baptized when i was 8, didn't mean that much to me. I found my way to Wicca through a lot of ways...1, Christianity never did quite "click" with me. I never did agree with a lot of it. 2, i was in serious mental trouble at the time my younger sister started reading about Wicca, she introduced me to it. I was on the verge of suicide, and with the help of the Lord, Lady, Spirit and mundane support *family and friends* i was able to get through it. There ya have it :)

[MammaStar]

Irish Catholic Dad, Roman Catholic Mom. However, the ONLY times my dad EVER went to church with us when I was a kid was for a baptism, funeral or wedding. My Mom dragged me & my kid bro every sunday for a LONG time. Then it turned to just the holidays, excpet when it was time for one of us to make First Communion or get Confirmed. I considered myself Catholic for a LONG time. I was even in a Youth Group (with WtchyChick) for about 2 years. Man, they were a perky bunch. The thing that made me quit that group was one morning (we were encouraged to attend Saturday Morning Mass) after service, we were trying to figure out what to do, and one of the perky girls (can't remember her name) chimes "Let's go picket the abortion clinic!" and the rest of the yahoos in the group (WtchyChick wasn't there) all agreed! That ended it for me. Cute guys (which is why I joined originally) or no cute guys, I couldn't take it anymore. I "claimed" to be Catholic for a long time. Then my son was born and I decided to "be like my folks" and started bringing him to church. He was baptised when he was 6 mos old. I did that mainly for my folks and my grandpa (who died shortly after). Once my grandpa died, I didn't want to go to church anymore, so i only went on the holidays, just like my Mom did for us. I tried. Real hard to comprehend what was being spoken during services, but I just couldn't. I couldn't understand why my Mom & Dad, would tell me that as long as we're good to ourselves, family and each other, we're good people in "the eyes of God". My mother taught me a Woman is free to choose what she wants to do with her life in all aspects, but here was some guy up on a podium telling me I was "bad" cause I believed we were friends with nature or that because I was a woman, I was inferior. Drove me nuts and I finally left.

Then, because I love bookstores and such, I saw the Cunningham's book, and picked it up. Leafed through. Found it interesting and headed off to talk to a woman I had met before who I knew was Wiccan. She invited me to her Grove and that, my friends, was that. As the Site God says, I found home.

As for my son, I'm slowly, introducing him to the Path. I teach him that all things are related to each other. That what we do impacts everyone around us. I teach him to be kind and tolerant of everyone, despite their path in life. I teach him respect for himself, and others. Right now, he drawn to the Greek myths, so I bought him a book and he took out another at the school library. Lately, he has been getting some slight "harrasment" about Jesus, church and the like, but he handles it real well. We even came up with a joke for the kids who won't leave him alone. So far so good.

*Sorry this is so long* :eek:

[Lavender]

Mostly Christian with a mix of Buddist/Ancestor worship/Zen. My mom's family decided that all the girls (my aunts) were going to a Christian school. All the boys (my uncles) went to a Catholic school. It was a pretty large family so both got a fair share of my relatives. :D

The funny thing is that outwardly, they were very much Christians & Catholics. But we would leave food on altars for our ancestors and various household gods/goddesses. I remember how I used to follow my grandmother around as she cleans & prepares the altars. Once a year, we would go on a massive family picnic & worship them at their gravesites. I grew up going to church & learning all that a good Christian girl should. But funny enough, it was the other things we did that had more of a spiritual meaning for me than Christianity.

[AradiaSupernova]

I voted other :)

My Mom is Christian, my Dad is, for lack of a better word, Athiest, and my older sister was Satanist.

I primarily was raised Christian but having my Dad and older sister around definately stirred things up a bit.

[Garnet]

I was raised by Ward & June Cleaver...:lol:
I grew up in the 'we're better than they are' Roman Catholic church...in the 'we have no pagan past' Eastern European tradition.
I started searching for a different path as a teenager, after a nun told my catechism class that we were better then other religions & they all knew it. I asked why they weren't all R.C. if they knew we were better. The nun told me that I had sinned against HER & told me to pray for forgiveness. That was the end of the R.C. path for me.
I dabbled with 'say the Lord's Prayer backwards' witchcraft, & attended lots of different religious services. (In one of my 'back to nature' fits I even thought about the Amish faith until I fell down a flight of stairs in the dark). I thought I had gone home when I went to a synagogue & eventually went through a Reform conversion. My parents were cool about it since they're both converts to R.C. I never fit in such a big congregation & started looking for a smaller, more traditional shul, but all the Jewish congregations started to flee to the 'burbs beyond the reach of public transportation.
I never chose Paganism. One day I was beating myself up for picking another Mr. Wrong & found myself asking the Goddess for help. I guess She chose me. I am busy stirring Judaism, withcraft, & Paganism into a faith that fits me, but my refusing to learn to drive keeps me a solitary so I can add, subtract, & stir til my heart & soul's content.

[lieve]

I was raised Christian.
But EC Christian.
My parents thought it was important to raise me
with those basic values.
Went to catholic school,
but then again,
in Belgium the best education is provided by catholic schools...

I'm glad I found this path though.
Makes me feel at ease with myself and my surroundings.

Lieveke

[Yvonne Belisle]

Catholic/jewish and ripped down the middle with feelings and personal beliefs that fit in neither religion yet were unshakable I have practiced my path without a name since I was very young it wasn't untill 1996 that someone listened to me and my beliefs and said "oh you are pagan" That gave me the name for what I am and always have been.

[SuperHeroGirl]

i was raised catholic.....for in to CCD (sunday school) for about 7 years even though i told my mother i didnt believe. i couldnt bring myself to love a God who would bring such pain and soeeow among his people. my grandmother is EXTREMLLY christian, i still remember her yelling at me for watching ricki lake with all the "evil homosexuals and their sinful lifestyles". thee was no way i was going to stay in a reigion that had so much hate behind it. my grandma recently married a hatian minister and takes monthly trips to hati to convert the hatian people from voodoo. i dont understandwhy she cant let the be happy with what they have!!

well that was my rant :D

[michellef]

like a few others here I was raised with no predominant religion. My mum encouraged us to celebrate both Christmas and Yule and never even bothered to christen me. I was encouraged to find my own path, which I eventually did :)

BB
Michelle

[Alchemy]

My family hadn't stepped foot into a church since before I was born so i really wasn't raised in ANY belief system. The household was pretty devoid of religion, but mom always made it clear that anything not christian was WRONG. I remember being given a childrens bible and I was expected to believe what it said or go to hell. I just couldn't go for it. Mom was always the worst kind of hypocrite and certainly never practiced what her good book preached, so as a kid I was a closet pagan, even before I realized what that was. I devoured books on mythology and aincient cultures and thought god being a lady was pretty darn cool. As a teenager I found the craft and and all the pieces came together. :)

Alchemy

[Dellit Tandannon]

eek! raised in strict irish catholic family. they made me go to church with them every sunday untill i finally snapped and swore i would never go again. i didn't really mean to freak out, but it was building up for a long time. i felt bad for a little while, but i'm over it now hehe

(on a more random, useless note this is my 666th post) :eek: lol

[SuperHeroGirl]

(((((((bump)))))))) :D :D :D

[SimplyStrange]

Well, my family always was Methodist. After my parents' divorce, though, my father met my Mormon stepmother and now they are both very strictly Mormon. My mother is Christian, but she doesn't go to church or anything anymore. She's got this kind of view where it doesn't matter how much you go to church and how much you do this and that and blah blah blah, just so much as you believe, and stick to those beliefs you can't go wrong. And I've picked that up from my mom, just with a different religion. :)

As for my family, I'm quite lucky. Although my father and stepmother tried to force Mormonism on me when they first married, we eventually came to an agreement. And I'm lucky that my parents are so cool with it. My dad and stepmom have seen my pentangle necklace (since I wear it all the time) and they're all right because they haven't said anything about it. And my mom and I have talked about religion, and she's cool too.

Hehe, I'm lucky. :)

[MistOfTheSea86]

I have cool excepting parents in all aspects, never once have they forced anything on me. I like the way I was raised, I have been very happy:)

[Zaniah]

I voted 'other'. I was baptised as an Anglican, but never practiced. (My parents wanted to baptise my younger brother also, however they'd just moved and the priest wouldn' t do it on the basis that they hadn't been attending the church long enough. That was the last straw for them and I have no memory of ever attending an Anglican church.)
In the military schools I attended as a child we had a choice of taking weekly Catholic or Protestant classes until the fifth grade (I took Protestant) until it was abolished. I went to a Catholic school from grade 7-13. I always had a fascination with theology. Also as a child I often played make-believe and we were always witches or fairies or knights and princesses. I made up spells that didn't quite rhyme or make sense and my mother always nurtured that imaginative part of me.
Dad has always frowned on religion of any sort, as long as I can remember. He doesn't like it in his house. He didn't like it when I had a year-long fling with Pentacostalism in ninth grade and he doesn't like me doing rituals if he's around. It makes him very uncomfortable.
My mother wasn't concerned about me converting to Wicca as long as she knew what was going on in my life. That was four years ago now. She finds it interesting but makes no effort to learn more.
All in all, my religious upbringing was Bugs Bunny-- If you don't watch yourself, a roadrunner will drop a boulder on you-- and that you can only really rely on yourself. Also a strong work ethic was ingrained in me. Any other religious training I have is self-taught. I've been semi-christian, I've been Pentecostal, I've been Wiccan and I've had some Hebrew leanings with some of my recent research. Right now I"m just focusing on me.

[pilvikki]

i was raised by 2 atheists, so it's not surprising i'm not of the christian sort, even though this was a big deal in the community and in the schools i went to at the time.

instead, i was taught to respect nature, not to 'disturb' animals in the forest, to take care when walking so as not to damage any trees or saplings, to always only pick a few flowers instead of ripping up the lot... etc.

[Empress Kerigan]

I was raise Roman Catholic and forced to attend church EVERY sunday. I still go sometimes but only if my grandmother asks because now it's kinda just a tradition to go with her. She never tried to shove it down my throat and actually seems quite interested in the "different" path I have chosen. Plus I give my g-ma mad respect.

[astrokaiju]

both my parents are atheists. i don't get crap for being a pagan- i get crap for believing in anything at all. i have believed in gods and spirits since i was very young. my parents tried to nip it in the bud when i got a little older, but they were powerless. they even frowned on my reverence of nature and my idealism. they used to tell me i'd grow out of it someday.

i didn't.

[ambiaka]

I guess I was lucky, we were EC at best, mostly it was never really discussed, didn't have to go to church, and was the envy of all the other kids, everyone was stuck going to church; but me! I was lucky I didn't have to get over the guilt or go through the anger stage so many of my pagan friends did. I figured out I was pagan and that was that. BB

[Nyx]

I was raised with no religion at all. The subject was never brought up. I was pretty much a pagan kid, though, or, at the very least, new-agey. Like many here, I did not have a name for my beliefs until later. I also have a great interest in Eastern philosophy. :D

[Sephiroth]

i was raised to be a soldier more than anything. but the religion was christian.

[Euphoria]

my family has lots of mixed religions ... my mother is some japanese religion ... my fathers side of the family are VERY christian ... my mothers side are completey and utterlky mixed from buddhist to jewish

[shnen]

I was raised New Order Mennonite by my Mom.... no, not the horse and buggy ones, but it's a lot like what my dad is, pentecostal... I was depressed when I was christian, and I left it and am loving it!, feeling constrained by all their rules, never fitting in, and always feeling like I was never good enough... NOT FOR ME! Now I have never felt more balanced, and energized!

[Euphoria]

scuse my ignorance but what is mennonite

[astrokaiju]

Originally posted by Euphoria
my family has lots of mixed religions ... my mother is some japanese religion ... my fathers side of the family are VERY christian ... my mothers side are completey and utterlky mixed from buddhist to jewish


first of all...that's really really cool! i am jealous!

second...is yer mom Shinto? that's the most prevalent religion in Japan, and one of my favorites.

[astrokaiju]

Originally posted by shnen
I was raised New Order Mennonite by my Mom.... no, not the horse and buggy ones, but it's a lot like what my dad is, pentecostal...



heh...are you really good at making quilts and jam?

[Ball-Bhreac Ròn]

me, I was raised by a mum who had been raised a strict Christian...and hated it. She gave me the freedom to choose what I wanted to do as far as religion was concerned, as she said it was a personal matter not to be chosen or imposed upon by anyone else. I went to a CofE primary school, but only cos those are the only primary schools for absolutely miles around, and I remember praying to God a few times when I was 7 or 8....just to see if it worked ;)

[Ganga]

I was raised in a Christian house, so called. My parents were not deeply religious, leaning toward communism in their ideology (I can see all you Americans gasping now, but it wasn't really that bad;) Anyhow, those days are over now, what with the fall of Soviet Union, etc.) I was always religious-minded. I used to play that my Barbies were nuns in a convent! Later, I started to question the Christian "philosophy" and stumbled upon too many unanswered questions. That's when I turned to Hinduism. It's been only lately that I've identified myself as a Pagan (Hinduism is Paganism, isn't it?) and started working magic consciously.

Ultimately, I see all the religions as one, but my parents are still trying to accept the fact that I don't think the way they do. *sigh*

[Meow]

I was raised fundamentalist Christian (very strict rules--lots from the Old Testament like not eating unclean meats, etc.). I was very sick as a teenager with food allergies (fyi: I outgrew them) and my church believed illness was a sign you were sinning and discouraged medical treatment at the time. They also believed mental illness was caused by demon possession. I have bipolar disorder. I prayed and prayed and prayed but nothing changed. I still was sick. I still had wild mood swings. I felt God hated me and was punishing me for doubting him. When I was 20, I left the church and began searching for my own religious beliefs. First, I tried different christian churches but nothing felt right. Then I threw ALL my beliefs out the window and started over. Slowly my beliefs formed. I began to see and feel "god" in the trees, the wind, the grass beneath my feet, and the warmth of the sun on my face. I began to see that all gods are one god and that there is one god who is all gods. Then I found Wicca which had some of the concepts I had formed. But it didn't fit quite right either. So I slowly became a pagan--a process that has taken 10 years. And now I am at peace, the healthiest I've been at my life, and know the bipolar isn't my fault. And my beliefs continue to evolve.

[SuperHeroGirl]

bumpty-bump-bump bump-bump!

[Skye]

I chose pagan, partly because we were not raised with a religious belief system, it was more earth based energy, herbs, and stuff like that.

I have found I come from a very long line of heathens, and I myself have continued down this path, and have raised my children and now grandchildren this way.

[Earthcup]

Dad was a Baptist minister and Mom taught Sunday school. Dad didn't agree with our church pastor(who had a God complex) and stopped attending. Mom still dragged me to church though and I got the insurance policy and was publicly dunked by a minister at 9.

From 12 to 16 I was pretty crazy and very religous, I came close to becoming an "orthodox" Mennonite(prayer coverings, totally reject the world). Realized I was crazy and suicidal, might have had a nervous breakdown, and decided I needed a break from religon. Jehovah and I needed a break from each other really badly!

I'd already studied church history(evil Catholics! :) ) but I got a PC and began to learn more about the real world and different religons but was still on my sabbatical and pretty non-comittal.

Found an article about Wicca on an alternative news site(aka the real liberal media ;) ) and started reading up on it and decided it was definitely for me. Am now a happy solitary Pagan.

My sis is so religous she freaks me out, the other sis is only interested in the freaky side of religon and my bro is a conservative Baptist who never goes to church because it would cut in on his gaming. :lol:

So I'm still pretty much in the broom closet! :D

[Dancin Girl]

Mom was former Catholic, Dad was was a one time Methodist- I believe it was.....Neither of them was particularly religious... but they seemed to feel they needed to put on some sort of front for us kids so they took us to the Lutheran church. Dad thought of it more as part of a well rounded education for us than anything else. He insisted we go and learn something about organized religion so that when and if we decided that we wanted or needed religion, we would have some referance point to start from in making a decision. We went to Sunday school, confirmation, faithfully because he made us.... they went to church on holidays and special occasions... When we asked them questions about religion, they told us to make up our own minds about it. My Dad always said the bible was interesting historical reading and Mom just refused to talk about it much. Her family was very Catholic and preached to her when ever they were around....mostly about she was going to Hell for leaving the church!! As a result, she never preached to us, never pressured us, only said, You have to believe in something otherwise what's the point of going on??

[Azure]

Generic Air Force Protestant. We went to military chapels while I was growing up. It was pretty ecumenical, since the spaces got shared with the Catholics, Jews, and Buddists on the bases. It made you tolerant regardless of what you were originally intended to be.
My Dad's whole family are Baptist ministers, his grandfather was the ultimate hellfire and brimstone sort of guy. My Mom's family was Methodist. These days, Mom is still Methodist and so is my sister (she has Pagan interests, but has been brainwashed into fearing them). My Dad attends church, but his real spirituality sort of reflects his Native American ancestry.
I figured out I was Pagan by age three or four, however, the point where we moved to Greece, and I saw more temples and statues of Gods than anything else. Modern American churches just never again compared.
I did think Athena was Jesus' girlfriend until I was about 10. . .

[Green Lantern]

Hi, folks. Green Lantern here. Long time Pagan, first-time caller... ;-P

I was raised Catholic, but was never confirmed. My Lovely Wife and I were married in the Catholic church back in '95, although neither of us were really avid church-goers. We discovered the beauty of Paganism just short of two years ago. I'm 30, she's 31, and we have chosen not to tell our parents. It'd break their little hearts.

That begs the question: since we've changed faiths since then, are we "living in sin" by the new belief system?! We'd best get handfasted as soon as possible!!!

Take care and have a great night, everyone. We're gonna log off and go watch that DeNiro September 11th documentary in a little bit, and probably cry our eyes out.

Green Lantern
(Formerly "Lantern" of Beliefnet)

[Topazz]

*waving hi to Lantern, and his lovely wife too, and scritching Lightning behind the ears*

Great to see you here! Hope to see lots more of you. Both.

[Niamh]

Irish Catholic mother... my father converted to Catholicism (from Russian Orthodox) after they married.

I went to Catholic grammer school, high school, and college. I started questioning the Church and my faith in high school, but not seriously enough to look at other religions, faiths, paths, etc. That came in college when I did some serious soul searching.

My parents know I don't attend church and that I have major problems with the Church. But I have yet to come out of the broom closet to them!

[JuNiPeR]

Like most of the other people here I was raised Christian. Although no one in my family goes to Church anymore.
Around 15ish I started researching other religions, Wicca stuck my Fancy... that lead me onto the path I'm on today :)

I plan to raise my kids with no religion, to let them chose and deside for themselves.

[shnen]

Originally posted by Euphoria
scuse my ignorance but what is mennonite

Mennonite is one of the religions in christianity. They are the ones that people joke around that dress all in black with horses and buggies, no electricity, lots in Pennsylvania. There are more modern versions however and That's why I was raised "New order mennonite, it's pretty much like Pentecostal..

hope this helps, your not having ignorance, rather you are gaining knowledge! :)

sorry took so long to answer!

[WandererInGray]

Originally posted by Ganga
That's when I turned to Hinduism. It's been only lately that I've identified myself as a Pagan (Hinduism is Paganism, isn't it?) and started working magic consciously.


*smiles* It works for me too Ganga! I pretty much identify the same way. I like the Hindu philosophies and such, but I'm a Kitchen Witch as well. So Pagan seems the best label if I must put one on.

A Non-religious option would have been good on that poll....*grins*

I grew up pretty much that way. If you'd asked my parents probably would have said Christian, but we lived so far out of town that attending church with any regularity was no really an option.
I have vague memories of Summer bible school...but that was when I was really young and probably more so Mom could have some time to herself! *grins*

My father's a farmer and from him we learned alot about respect for the land and things of that nature, so I probably could say I had an "informal" pagan childhood as well. :D

[Earthcup]

I understood the Amish were horse and buggy people but the Mennonites drove cars and used electricity. There are Mennonites who drive horses?

[Man/Wolf]

Baptist, by God! Dad is a retired baptist minister, in poor health and if he knew I am Pagan, it would finish him off. I don't talk about it around him for that reason. Mom knows and although she doesn't approve, she leaves that stuff up to me, which is cool.
tried Wicca for awhile...too much like church with all the structure and ordains and yada, yada, yada.
I don't have a label unless it's "Shake before using."
:smoke: I'm a laid back pagan-type dude.

[Old Witch]

There are Mennonites in Abbeyville, SC who have the best restaurant......................

[Mythrel]

simple put, Christianity just didn't work for me...

[Gwion]

by griffons

[Karma Chameleon]

I was born an Atheist and raised a Christian. I gave up Christianity because I no longer believed it.

[TaysatWesir]

Roman Catholic :p

[yarrow_elfglow]

My brother and I were raised Penocostal (christian). my mom made us go to chruch every sunday, sunday night and wednesday.

[Greybird]

I was raised oblivious. I wasn't discouraged, I wasn't encouraged, it wasn't avoided, but it wasn't discussed, either.

[LostSheep]

I was raised Catholic, or went to a catholic school at any rate ... but once I got to high school I finished with all that, and as I gradually got to think for myself I decided that I didn't want to have to 'fear' my God, I didn't want to be part of a religion that worshipped that kind of vengeful, jealous Old Testament god, so I abandoned the idea of religion altogether, until i started seriously looking into paganism, rather than treating it as a joke or being afraid of it as synoymous with satanism.

[Koehnae]

I was raised Catholic. I even did time as a Catholic school girl. :geez: It was actually during that time that I really became aware of the fact that Christianity was completely wrong for me. I began pouring through anything I could find on other religions. I'm still seeking my niche, but I'm much happier and more aware of my spirituality now... not blindly accepting a particular way.

[Catiana]

I was raised nothing. My family didn't have a religion, didn't talk about religion, didn't care about religion or anything spiritual whatsoever, they're all still that way. When I was a teenager I would go to different churches with my friends from school, then once I was an adult I explored different paths.

[Pentangling_57]

My parents never have said anything about relegion, but we celebrated Christmas and stuff. Not relegiously though, just... went to see the relatives and have a good time. Hunted for easter eggs on Easter and such, cooked a lot... BUt nothing about relegion, really, just about having fun. I once asked my mum when I was really little and she said that she had always hated going to church when she was little, she found it boring, but if I wanted to go that was my own decesion. And I just said, 'No, not really' because... I dunno. At five years old I guess the church seemed boring. It still pretty much does. There was never any pressure to choose a relegion.

Haha, also... when my mum was little, she asked her father (who went to church but wasn't really relegious, much... then again he was a doctor, I supposed he was less inclined to beleive that sort of thing)... anyway she asked her father if Amdam and Eve had kids, then who did their children marry? And her father kind of looked at her and winked and said, 'Well... I suppose it was monkeys.' But he gave the impression that, 'Well if a little four year old could figure that out then I mean really, they could have worked a bit more on that plot flaw.' =P

Anyway... yeah. ^_^
~Penty

[sandra_the_green]

Hmmmm.....Well I was raised as a "non-practicing" christian I suppose. My mother always told me we were christians, however that was pretty much the extent of out religious view point in life.

[mtpathy]

My mother is whats know as a "new age christian",my father was a non-practicing christian
neither one of them every pushed religion on me and my mother already knew of paganism
from my older brother exploring it and had a overall good opinion on the practices and beliefs.
like Graybird said i wasnt incouraged or discouraged to explore religion or spiritual practices
so i pretty well had free reign to enjoy my practices for the simple fact of them.

[sari0009]

hello everyone! i was readig a lot of posts and realizing that sooo many people were raised Christian! i was shocked!! i was just wondering what type of household you were raised in. and if you werent brought up followin the craft...than what were you rasid as nd what made you decide to change?


please excuse the lack of choices!

Yours are common questions. Searches are likely to bring up similar threads here and elsewhere, if you want more.

I was raised Lutheran but that doesn't tell you much about how I was raised. Anyway, I can remember the Lutheran Church before it split into two branches -- one that takes the bible as the literal word of God and one that does not and that taught me a lot about arguments over who had the one and true right way. That introduced me to politics within religion and even churches.

Multicultural Exposure: I also was allowed to visit other places and types of religious worship. Travel allowed me to see many historical sites along those lines. It also developed a sense of history and religious-cultural-political-philosophical-logical-spiritual-economic evolution. My interests in anthropology and archaeology enriched insights and learning.

Similar link explains why I left Christianity: Why did go to another religion instead of become an atheist or agnostic? I read the bible and wrote about how that influenced me to leave Christianity -- See messages 22 and 23 at http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?p=2058376#post2058376 (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?p=2058376#post2058376) .

Why Neopaganism: Ah, but why did I go to Neopaganism, in particular? For my intents and purposes, I feel it allows me to better explore and live out stimulating variety, learning, questioning, archetypes, cognition, philosophy and spirituality (for me). It really stresses knowledge, intuition, questions, imagination, self-awareness, knowing your path, purpose, focus, clarity, will and so on (cracking open Amber K'sTrue Magick: A Beginner's Guide showed me that up front, as did other works such as Isaac Bonewits' Real Magic: An Introductory Treatise on the Basic Principles of Yellow Magic, just to name two).

All in all, I found Paganism to be healthier for me and less riddled with logic errors since there's no bible and there is no pope to contend with -- I leave the rest and go for the best. Questioning is encouraged and "question everyone and everything" is commonly stressed rather than "believe what I tell you."

[HeavensHope]

well.....technically I wasnt raised a certain way, by that I mean there wasnt really a dominant religion or a preferred religion that was pushed on me growing up. My mom is christian, my dad's buddhist, so I was exposed to both sides. My heritage is rooted in buddhism, but I went to church every sunday and sometimes sat. mon, and weds. I was baptised a Luthern, but I've been to catcholic, Methodist, baptist, etc. churches. The only religion I havent been exposed to was/is Islam and Judaisim.

[abrakus]

I was raised a pagan and a gypsy at the same time. My mom's a pagan and my dad's a gypsy. So pagan, it was never forced on me I chose my religion and my parents guided me for a while until I found my feet.

[WynterWynd]

I was raised Catholic. And I ran (literally) away from that when I was about 7 or 8. I got tired of doing the 'church aerobics'. Stand up, sit down, kneel...stand up, sit down, kneel......repeat for the next 60 minutes.

[Phoenix Snowrose]

I was raised in a non-practicing Episcopalian household. My parents were never strict, and we hardly went to church...but they were still upset when I told them my religious choise. My father says I should be an episcopalian in respect for my great-grandfather.,,,who was an episcopal priest...what horse*@$%.

[Blue Dragons Wings]

:tarotwitc
Oh how I know abotu the Catholic Aerobics. I went to Catholic school for 12 very long brutal years. Not fun. I always had an interest in other worldly stuff, but never knew how to actually start, until I took a class 5 years ago. Well the rest is history..

[faerymom]

As a child, I attended Baptist Sunday School (in IN). As a teen, I became active in the local Covenant Christian Church (in SE GA). I was 19 when I found the path I am currently on. I find myself much happier now.

[Twig]

This old threads still kickin around?

:yayah: 5:00 and I go and see what a couple of karma touchs were for and it lead me here. Hah! I had completely forgotton I wrote that.

Aaaaand yeah, Jim Morrison. For those that understand. ;)

Peace

[LadyCelt]

I was raised with no belifs iposed since my parents are atheist

[Anyanka]

I was raised as a Christian, although my family, in particular my dad is not religious. My mum and dad's family are all and were raised as Christians so for me it's strange that my dad is not religious.

[bbnflpn]

i was raised with no religous prefeance, my mom said that i should find the path that suited me. i went to alot of differnt bible studies and churches with freinds. they never felt right to me and i found my self asking questions and they didnt like it at all. today i was watching the movie dogma and paradise came up, i was told when i was young that paradise was for people who have never heard of god or jesus. because they didnt know anything about heaven or hell. i remember feeling so betrayed by any one who told me about god or jesus cause it took away my chance to go to paradise. i was real little then maybe 5-6.

[Aidron]

I was raised in the church of "Don't talk with your mouth full." and "Be kind to others." with a strong bent towards open-mindedness and a slight bent towards Southern Baptist.

I occasionally talk with my mouth full. The rest I am sure I would recieve a solid "F" in.

[Whitewolf]

I was adopted by my parents when I was a baby [I was born in Bogota, Columbia South America]. I was raised Jewish. Eventually I became interested in Wicca. But I decided that wasn't the path for me.
Today I follow the path of Shamanism. Ok, I know that it isn't really a religion. My beliefs are in the Earth Spirit, Gaia, plus I believe in animism. I'm fascinated by the Egyptian Gods, especially Set and Anubis. The Goddess Bast is fascinating also. Plus I have particular interest in the Norse Gods and Goddesses. So I'd consider myself shamanic with some tendencies leaning towards the Egyptian/Norse Pantheon.


-Jessica [aka Whitewolf]