I have not always been a religious person, in fact I think I was raised to NOT be religious. As a young child I remember attending church a couple of times with my grandparents but that was as far as it went. In our family we did not say prayers, we did not read scriptures and we definately did not attend church on a regular basis. Being a religious person was the last thing on my mind as I was growing up.
Then something happened, something changed. I started working as a teenager in a supermarket as a checkout chick. I remember on a regular basis 2 young men, always dressed in suits, coming through my register. They never spoke to me about religion, they never invited me to learn more but they were always happy and friendly. I don't know what it was but I wanted to be like them. Positive and happy. I decided that the way for me to start being a little like them was to read the Bible.
As a teenager I remember clearly hunting down a religious book shop in my home town and purchasing a Bible. It took me a couple of times to work up the courage to enter the shop and I remember afterwards being shocked that I now owned my very own Bible! I spent a lot of my time pouring over it's pages, just reading the words but not understanding what it was really about.
This lasted for about six months, I then put my Bible away and did not see any young men in suits for a very long time. Years even. However, it was a start, my heart had been pricked and softened to allow God to enter and little did I know at the time that it was a great preparation for the choices I would make in the future.
What about you: Did you grow up in a religious home???
Is religion a part of your life???
Is it counted as religion as being part of my life if at times I fall into the "militant" atheist category when people start talking about things that don't make sense to me?
ReplyDeleteI've never been religious. Yes I was christened, and I went through a patch in hs when I thought I wanted to be religious.
But it makes no sense to me. And I'm most comfortable like that
I grew up in a Christian home & it's always been part of my life :) I'm bringing up my kids the same & pray they will find their own faith.
ReplyDeleteI grew up Catholic. My great-grandmother had such a great faith and she taught me to pray. My home life was extremely violent and in those times I would retreat to my room and pray. To this day, I believe that God and praying got me through that time. Even now, when I look back on my life, everything that I ever prayed for, God has answered. He is a part of my life and I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a Jewish household but where we were not pushed into it - my parents had both practiced with their families and I think they were being more liberal. So I grew up never reading anythign religious nor praying, but celebrating with rituals and ceremonies from my Jewish upbringing.
ReplyDeleteMarried an Anglican who was raised with church but has not attended as an adult. We are now tentatively broaching the subject of religion with our kids. I plan to teach them about both religions and other world religions and hope to seek out a place we all feel comfortable exploring in the future.
The experiences we have growing up really shape us don't they? We love to talk to our kids about other religions and beliefs as well, to help them be respectful and understanding.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I grew up in a family that did not force us to follow god. Yet of our own will as children we attended the local church. We loved sunday school and the church kids club. It was a social and joyful experience.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not know how I feel about it all as an adult. My husband is catholic and as such we baptised our children. But I guess the reason why I respond to this is, when I see people that 'belong' to a church, they appear to have a real sense of belonging, being a part of something. It's that something that I feel like is missing from my life. You know when you talked about being a lonely mother. That kind of something. But I just don't know going to the church is the answer unless I'm truly going to believe what they preach. And I don't know that I will be able to truly believe. But I guess a bit like yourself in those early years, I look in from the outside and do sometimes ponder what I'm missing out on. Does that make sense?
I grew up in a family who never went to church, although I went to sunday school it was more of a babsitting service to my Mum we NEVER went as a family.
ReplyDeleteI am a brandnew (1monthish) christian just finding my feet, I have been going to church for 18months and just took the plunge.
I have kind of spoken about it in my blog but not in great detail.
oh wow naomi I love that you shared this because I just assumed you grew up in the church. For me I was catholic from the moment I was born. I went to church every sunday even if we were on holiday. My mum just never missed a Sunday and was always involved in church life. And we all went to catholic schools.
ReplyDeleteFor me I am so grateful that my mum did that for me, to know that you have God in your life no matter what and in today's society and that He loves me so much, well it's one of the greatest gifts I could have been given. I can't imagine my life without my faith. And then I met retro daddy and his upbringing was so similar and we both wanted to give our children the same and that is why we take our little ones to mass each Sunday even if they don't always like it:)
Corrie:)
I'm a Christian (grew up in a Christian home), but I don't call myself religious. I have a faith in God, but I'm not bound by rituals. My faith has seen me through so many dark times and continues to shape me into who I am. I'm glad that you can feel you can share about this on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a very Catholic country and was completely immersed in religion from birth. I attended a whole range of church services and received the sacraments. Until I turned 12, I think, when it stopped making sense.
ReplyDeleteOver the years, I realised that for the Poles, at least the ones I had around me, religion is a crutch, not a true faith. They like the pageantry of it, the rituals, but they do not behave as I imagine Christians would.
Over the years I explored a whole bunch of religions, eventually coming to the conclusion that at their heart they all carry the same values and teachings.
These days I describe myself as a spiritual person, rather than a religious one. Organised religion isn't for me, but a personal spirituality, that helps me to connect with the rest of humanity and the universe, is something that I am pursuing, with varied success. I believe, but I find it hard to practise.
Thank you for sharing this with your bloggy friends. I am a Christian too, and I cannot imagine life without faith.
ReplyDeleteLove the variety of experiences. Thanks so much for being honest and sharing your thoughts. N x
ReplyDeleteMy dad was studying to be a Catholic Preist when he met my mum. BOOM! Goodbye Seminary! My Irish grandmother Never forgave mum for stealing her son from Jesus. Nanna was a staunch Catholic but also a mega bitch. How does that work?
ReplyDeleteMum was bought up as the daughter of a communist atheist. My parents got divorced when I was 6 after my dad shagged ladies that were not my mum.
I married a man from the Jewish faith. My kids do Bahai during scripture because I do not want them to do colouring in at the library. They change scripture groups every year to experience different faiths. I respect every faith even though I do not have one. And I am lucky that I have never had to question it.xxxx
I grew up Christian as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I remember going to church every Sunday and to Primary during the week. I loved going to church with my family.
ReplyDeleteMany years later I still love going to church every Sunday with my husband and three boys.
We have a deep respect for all religious beliefs. My parents grew up Baptist and my husband Greek Orthodox before they became members of the LDS church.
Will you continue to share your story? I am just not broaching into religion and it's very hard for me for a variety of reasons. One of my favorite things to do is read other peoples stories of their forays into religion or their beliefs. I was not raised in a religious household although my mom was so it is strange to me that I was not. I think it had to do with some rather difficult life situations.
ReplyDeleteI will continue sharing more of my story and appreciate that for many of us it is a very personal experience. I also understand that for some people there are some very strong emotions attached to past experiences regarding religion. It is a difficult topic to discuss some times. Thanks for your comments ladies. N x
ReplyDeleteLike you, I grew up with a decided lack of religion in my home. Good people, ethical people who loved family, but no higher power to look toward or foundation to build on.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in jr high and high school I knew I needed direction. I began asking my friends about their religious beliefs and attending church with friends of all different religions. Finally when I was 15 two young men in white shirts and ties showed up at my door. I knew that the gospel that they told me of was what I had been looking for. That was more than 25 years ago.I am amazed everyday that my Heavenly Father loved me enough to send me what I had been yearning for.
My grandmother was religious, she read the bible and went to church, and as a kid I loved going with her. When i was a teen, i was worried about drugs/sex and so forth, and to 'keep safe' got involved in church. It was great!
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a home by an aetheist and a minister's son. And somewhere in the middle my parents swapped. Mum starting 'looking' and joined the SDA Church when I was 13. I think my faith is such an important part of who I am. I don't preach it, but know that my happiness comes from knowing, and experiencing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Naomi! xx
I am a non-practising Catholic. I completed all of my sacraments and attended Catholic Schools. I intend to send my daughter to a Catholic school as I like the values they teach. When she is old enough, she can decide where her faith lies! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a vaguely Christian/agnostic home & did RE at school. I disagreed with it from an early age, though many aspects appealed (loving kindness, compassion etc). I've been through agnostic, atheist, and Wiccan stages. Today I'd say I'm spiritual but not religious. My spirituality aligns closest with that of neo pagan and Buddhist belief systems, but I think all religions hold some inherent spiritual truths. However, for myself I am not a fan of organized religion and dislike dogma. I don't believe in a "God" as such but I do believe in a universal energy and an afterlife. My children don't participate in CRe (I wouldn't mind if all religions were taught) but are free to make their own mind up when they are old enough.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a non religious household. My mother was British and she never wanted us to go to church because she had attended very strict Protestant schools when she was a girl. She always said that she wanted us to make up our own minds as adults. I am now 47 and am just realizing that something is missing in my life. I also have a 13 year old son and am beginning to feel guilty that I have raised him without any religion in his life. We did try several churches when he was younger but none felt right or made us feel comfortable so we kind of gave up. Not sure what to do now. I have never been baptised and neither has he. My husband is a non practicing Catholic who attended church from time to time as a boy and was not baptised until he was a teenager. I'm afraid that if we joined a church just to be baptised when I might feel like a hypocrite but I really don't think I'll ever feel comfortable attending regularly.
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