Has anyone converted to a religion, either from agnostic or atheist, or from another religion?

I was raised in a devoutly Christian household and gave it my best shot until I was in my early 20’s. I finally gathered the courage to take a hard look at my faith (by which I mean my personal faith) and was forced to admit that there was no real substance to it. About 6 years later I began practicing Zen and have been at it ever since.

i was a good little christian boy, said my prayer every night. etc., then i started growing up, and, well, i don’t know exactly when it happened, but i just started thinking, and what came out of that was, that in my eyes, god couldn’t exist, so then i told my mom, she accepted it, but felt sorry, she’s quite a firm believer, but then again, the only one in our family who still does

i just live life knowing i want to live it to the full, and so i do every day

I was raised as a Christian and became a Baha’i in my early 30’s.

I don’t feel, by the way, any particular disdain for Christianity. All of the nonsense that has been perpetrated in its name says more about the perversity of human nature than about Jesus’ teachings. I’ve known too many beautiful, spiritually developed Christians to discount it as a valid path.

@iwamoto I hope you’re not offended by my question, but do you believe in afterlife? I’m just curious after questioning, what you might believe about it.

@ harp, agreed.

I was raised a lutheran.

My dad kicked me out as a teenager because he found out I had a girlfriend (being a girl myself). I actually ended up becoming a christian again (a_real_ christian, as I called them—and still do). blah blah blah, I was still dating girls, and eventually decided Christianity was not what I wanted, after learning about so many other religions which are, in my opinion, superior.

I have lots of Christian friends now, left over sort of, and none of them are the type to think that I’m hell bound for any of this.

I was raised Catholic and I am studying to become a Baha’i’.

I was a Catholic but not strict, just passed down from my grandmother. Didn’t go to church. I was an atheist for a while, about 20 years, and I’ve recently become a Buddhist. Although, Buddhism is technically not a religion it has become a form of spiritual guidance for me.

@Deezer, i believe that when we die, we cease to exist, yet we will live on in the memory of others, yes, this scares me a lot, but i guess i’ll have to live with it, i mean, i’d love to believe i’ll go to a nice place (after all, the earth is hell) but i’d rather spend my life living it good than just having a “wait and see” mentality

I went to a christian school as a child, so by proxy that made me a christian. However, when I moved to England for High School I just stopped believing.

I’m not sure if I would have remained a christian if I stayed at the same school, but I am thankful that I moved to an environment which encouraged me to develop my own thoughts and opinions, rather than stifle them.

I was raised Catholic and will be one for the rest of my life. I am also into Buddhism, because my dad and my Japanese side of the family are buddhists. I take part in my Catholic ceremonys (CCD, sacraments, etc) but will still attend “the Obon Festival” every year (practice the dances every week and wear the kimono). I love being Catholic! And I love exploring all religion’s. So, to answer your question- I will never convert- but will always be interested in other religions and beliefs.

@iwamoto Thanks for the explanation. That’s what my brother, who became an atheist some years ago also believes. I know there are some people who may consider atheists to be satantists, but I’ve never believed that to be true. I’ve known some fine people who believe the same thing that you do. They’re all really fine people.

I don’t personally believe that earth is hell but these subjects are always subjective and owner-sensitive. People should be true to themselves since in the end that’s ultimately who we’re accountable to.

I was raised christian, in a very conservative, christian household. Once I realized that I didn’t agree with my parents’ political views I started reevaluating their religious views and realized that they didn’t make any sense to me either.
I’m half atheist, half pantheist. At any rate I don’t believe in a personal god.

I was Buddhist until the age of 6, then I decided I was agnostic.

I was raised Catholic and became very active in my teens; however, once I became an adult I studied Christianity carefully, then decided to become a Christian. I did attend many different churches in the States and hardly any of them convinced me of their faith, rules and regulations. I now belong to a non-denominational church that has no rules, so everyone can do whatever they feel is right for them as long as they don’t disturb the neighbor. All the church goers do share the same faith though, but are not subject to ridiculous rules. There is a pastor preaching but in the end is up to the listener what he/she decides to believe in. We all have a good time though, some dance, some sing, some shout, it does get noisy when we are playing music inside the building.

Was raised Catholic switched to Baptist

I was raised Baptist, found it all to leave me wanting in my twenties. I studied the other religions, and none met my exacting standards. All religions seem to exclude some one or some group. Then about ten years ago, I decided the best religion would be one I created. So I created Evelynism. One religion is the same as any other, and Evelynism is the only one I’ve found that accepts everyone, no matter what their preferences are. It also gives me something interesting to say to the religious proselytizers that show up on my doorstep.

Haha.

Knock knock.

“Hi, I just wanted to let you know that Jesus—”

“Hi my name is Evelyne, and I’m an Evelynist. I think I’ve got a pamphlet here, somewhere…”

I was raised mormon and now I’m just whatever I feel that day. I think I believe in a supreme being… Some days I don’t. I am very open-minded to ideas, but I will never consider myself any kind of particular religion again. I love learning about other peoples beliefs and I won’t ever tell a person their beliefs are wrong. There is so much hate that comes from religion and I don’t care to be a part of that. “There are virtual parasitical machines all around us, made up of intangible but very real components, that are fueled by the good labors of people. The time, effort, and money that otherwise would go to deserving families, children, mothers, and fathers, is in part siphoned off to power these entities. Many of these entities, or machines as one might say, take the form of religions. But it’s larger than that. Not all religions are parisitical machines; and not all parasitical machines are religions.For the intelligent individual, it is enough to be aware that they exist, and to avoid the pitfalls that would enslave oneself to any of them” I can’t tell you the name of this person, but they are the creator of the website realmormonhistory.com. I was e-mailing this person for a while and he…or she? gave me some of the best advice I have ever been given. I couldn’t agree more with the above quote.

Oh, and if you’re interested in peoples story you should read this website. Click “Kelly’s personal story” Very interesting. Very intelligent person, I wish I knew him or her personally.

it’s a he btw. I knew that, I just forgot.