How has family influenced your religious beliefs?

1. 75

   IntimatEvolutionposted 13 years ago

   How has family influenced your religious beliefs?

   replyreport
2. 59

   Marlena Oechsnerposted 13 years ago

   Wow...what a startling question! I never really thought about what my family has done to influence my religious beliefs, but I believe they moved me away from religion. My parents were both Catholic and had the intentions of raising myself, my brother, and my sister in that fashion. After their not-so-sudden (or shocking) divorce, religion went out the window. I had always questioned the concept of a god, but as a teenager, I just avoided any religion. Once I went onto college and learned about the world outside my own, I disregarded religion only to find that my father had too. He didn't necessarily give up on a god, but he questioned a lot about what he knew. I thought it interesting that my dad and I moved in the same direction without openly discussing it. I still don't practice any religion.

   replyreport
3. 67

   MonetteforJackposted 13 years ago

   Through:
   
   1. Traditions -- I grew up following my family's traditions and values.  Examples, going to mass every Sunday and other holiday of obligations; making the sign of the cross whenever there is a lightning storm; saying my day and night prayers without fail everyday.
   
   2. Education -- My parents sent me to a Catholic school to learn not only about the rudiments of reading and arithmetics, but also to learn and be indoctrinated about Catholic religion and my spirituality.
   
   3. Living it -- My family openly discusses anything that affect our religion and traditions. I participate in festive occasions of Catholic rites like Baptism and fiestas.
   
   Reflecting on your question, I am a Catholic because I was born into it and was baptised when I was an infant.  Now that I have learned and know about different religions, I honestly can say that it will be my choice to remain a Catholic and practice my religious beliefs that I have known all my life.

   replyreport
4. 61

   jeshonposted 13 years ago

   My parents have never tried to influence me into religion. They have anwered questions and been supporting me when I've been confused, but in the end I have always ended up making my own decisions about what I believe and where I stand.
   
   The things I believe in today I found during my own experiences in life. And today I am very spiritual, but not religious. And somehow I have come to have quite the same believes as my parents after all....

   replyreport
5. 61

   juiwei2000posted 13 years ago

   My mum is a Chrstian and to be honest, my experience with her, play a big role in why I hate "Christianity" and in my opinion it is the worse main stream religion in moder world (with exception of scientology, because it is a cult).  My impression towards it is that, its unbarebly, intolerante, radical, judgmental and although not so much the case any more, anything that say otherwise to the bible, they say it is evil (E.g. evolution) and historically has the tendency of attacking other people for different religious believe and although it is not the case anymore, they use to even launch military invasion, towards other nation, because they have different religious believe (e.g. in the middle ages, they try to invade the middle east, because they are not christians.)    Although in my opinion, the modern christianity is much better then the past, I still think it got much improvment, I personally got nothing against Jesus, but I believe Jesus would disapprove most of the things, he saw Christians in his future do e.g. disallowing teaching of evloution in public school, invading other nations for their different religous believe in the middle ages,  discriminating against homosexuals, crazy witchhunts where they burn people for been witches (I never get it, Merlin in western legion is a wizard too), choosing to go prey in church rather then going to the doctor while people are sick etc. 
   
   I am sorry, I just simply don't like this religion and honestly, despite all the improvment, since the 19th century, I don't think Jesus would like what Christianity became after his passing away, either.

   replyreport
6. 60

   Angel709posted 13 years ago

   I was raised with religious dogma.  Yet underneath, I felt the entire story was not being told. Because my parents also instilled in us to find truth for ourselves, I left the traditional way of "knowing God" to find truth for myself.  I still have some basic foundational beliefs that I seek to gain more clarity on, but I have definitely moved away from the "religious" way of raising my children and practicing my personal faith. I believe I am on an individual path that has somewhat distanced me from some of my family in terms of "religion", but because I am not around a lot of family members at one time, nor do I readily/openly discuss these differences, there isn't really a conflict.
   
   I hope to find others that share a mutual understanding, so that I can have a sense of community in this area.

   replyreport