Have you attended religious services or ceremonies in a church or faith that you don't belong to?

I have attended a Shinto house construction blessing. I learned meditation from zen Buddhism and recently studied the Hindu meditation techniques of Paramahansa Yogananda. I have been to Shinto shrines for New Years blessings many times. I didn’t go a few days ago because of covid fears. I’ve been to a Buddhist funeral. I’ve experienced authentic Chinese New Year celebrations including the Taoist aspects. I accept all faiths that are based in love.

I attended several Jewish bar mitzvahs when I was 12 or 13.

Christmas Catholic Mass many times (ex-wife was Catholic).

Hawaiian home blessing.

My (ex) SIL is Jewish. Their wedding was a bit blended of Jewish and Christian religions. When she was married to my brother, I lived with them for a year. I went to synagogue with her and attended the bar- and bat-mitzvahs of their three children.

Many friends are of different Christian denominations. Growing up, my best friend was Catholic. If I spent the night at her house on Saturday, I would attend the family’s church on Sunday. It was always a fascinating experience.

Sure, just out of curiosity. Most recent example was reading Book of Mormon, and was a part of an online study group. Nothing wrong with that.

I was raised Baptist, and that is still my faith. Recently I have been attending services at a Catholic church.
In the past I have attended services for Lutheran, Morman, Presbyterian, Greek Orthodox, Buddhism, and a Hindu wedding.

I’ve been to a Sikh wedding, complete with an elephant. In the suburbs of Orange County, strangely enough. Countless bar mitvahs and bat mitzvahs. And a bris. Catholic mass. Mormon, Buddhist and Shinto temple. Even went to Bible camp.

I’m somewhere between an atheist or an agnostic.

What led me to it? Friends and family. It’s a part of their lives. Seems weird not to take part, if you’re a part of their lives.

Yes. I’m Jewish.

I’ve been to Palm Sunday mass at a Catholic Church, and a few weddings, baptisms, and first communions too. I stand up when asked, but I don’t kneel. One friend, her priest was very funny at her wedding.

I’ve been to a Greek Orthodox wedding. It was good. The priest seemed happy and he described the different traditions like a Jewish wedding.

I went to a wedding that was some sort of born again Christian something (I think Baptist) where the minister put into the vows for the bride to repeat she would be “submissive” when she specifically said she did not want “obey” in the vows and the minister had agreed. I guess he thought he was slick or maybe he was obtuse. The bride was a very good friend of mine, and she was pissed. There was an audible gasp in the gallery when he said it for her to repeat.

I went to a wedding at an Evangelical church in Memphis and the preacher talked about Christianity being the only way to stay married and that people are against Christianity and trying to destroy it. I’m paraphrasing, but it truly was ridiculous, it was not simply reinforcing their faith as a Christian couple. The wording during a wedding was unbelievable to me.

Went to a service at an Episcopal church for an acquaintance who died. I really liked it as far as these sort of things go. Everything was explained, and I felt very welcomed there.

There are a few other examples of Protestant services for happy or sad reasons, plus one social event I attended in a mega church.

Even when I go to a service in my own religion I’m a little lost since I didn’t grow up going to synagogue, and I have a very small family, so there were very few weddings, deaths, or bar mitzvahs. Houses of worship always feel a little foreign to me.

I’m Baptist and have attended several catholic services including weddings and funerals.
I was in San Diego several years ago with a now ex-boyfriend. He insisted we go to a Scientology service. I was not impressed with it.

Yes many times, I’m interested in religious beliefs and practices. From handfasting hippie weddings to Vietnamese festivals, plus we are AOG and SW Baptist headquarters. We have a ton of options.

When I was in junior high, the local temple sent a dozen kids who were in Hebrew School getting ready for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs to our Catholic church to attend Mass. The next weekend those of us in confirmation class went to the Saturday service at the Temple. That year I also went to a seder at a friend’s house.

I have been to a number of weddings of various Protestant denominations. Most are short and sweet and one does not get much theology.

My ex’s grandmother was an elder at the Presbyterian chuch, and one time when visiting her we attended. I was shocked that the minister’s sermon made the point of telling the congregation that Catholics were in error and corrupted the Gospel.

Yes. Weddings, funerals.

I don’t belong to any church so, yes. Any time I step foot into a church or temple.

Sure. Catholic services always freak me out. They’re so archaic and full of superstition and ancient rituals.

Many times.

Been to Catholic masses a number of times. Attended several Wiccan drum circles.

I attended Methodist and Baptist churches as a child. That is where I was baptized, and my membership still stands. That said, there are some mighty big differences between Christian based churches. I attended several over the years with friends.

I worked for a time at a kosher bakery in Baltimore. Baltimore has a very strong Jewish community. I never attended any religious events, but simply by who I worked with I learned a lot. The business was run by a Rabbi who had a rough go of things. He had run two businesses into permanent red. The community had rallied to put him into the bakery. They set him up with what he needed, and if he blew it, he was out. He would have no more help.
Due to the situation, I learned a lot. People took a lot of interest in how he ran things. That began various conversations. That, coupled with my job was as a cake decorator, and I research what people want on their cakes to be accurate. A teacher wanted a Torah shaped cake. He wanted some of the words in red, some in black. Some had to be English, some in Hebrew. Obviously, these specifics had consequence. I asked him what it was for. His third grade class was being congratulated for reading the five books of Moses. That’s the first five books of the Bible! I was stunned. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy is mighty dry reading in those begats. I wanted to make it very special. I started with a quarter sheet cake, and placed a full jelly roll at either end, and iced it all as one piece. So, a cake that looked like a scroll, ready for the decorations. When the guy came to pick it up he had to push through the crowd looking at it. I was in the back. I hadn’t seen a thing. When I was told the teacher wanted to talk to me about the cake, I had to fight tears. I wanted it to be good so bad, for those kids. I had Rabbi write out the Hebrew part so I could make the letters right. When I stepped through the door, everyone in the line/crowd applauded. He asked to see me to let me know how much he liked it. Mind you, in this shop they observed that Jewish custom of insulting wares to get a better price. One lady laughed, and said look at the Hebrew. She said I had done it exactly in the Rabbi’s handwriting. On that day, I asked Rabbi if he could give me help learning how to write Hebrew. He gave me the address of a Hebrew teacher’s supply store. The man there could see I was not Jewish at first glance. When I asked if he had a book that would help me write Hebrew. He learned that I didn’t know squat, and what I needed it for. He looked emotional that I was taking measures to appease my customers. He recommended a beginner reader. It was perfect. It showed the Hebrew letters, some words, and a detailed explanation of the significance of each letter. I had no idea the language was so tied to the religion. It gave me more resolve to meet the wishes of my customers. After that, as I took down orders I would ask if they wanted it written in English or Hebrew. It caused quite a stir. It was a feel good experience, knowing they appreciated my efforts so much. Curiosity sprang up. People wanted to know more about what makes me tick. I didn’t need to attend religious affairs to learn a lot.
A very old man had moved from Russia. He was the janitor part time. He spoke no English. We started learning bits to communicate together. He had some personal history I would have liked to know more about.

@Patty_Melt How lovely to appreciate and be appreciated.

Awesome story @Patty_Melt. Thank you.

Yes, I have. I was raised Catholic, but I have attended Protestant, Jewish, and even Buddhist services/ceremonies before (the latter both in the U.S. and in Thailand). I’ve always been interested in the world’s religions and I don’t think you lose anything by experiencing other faiths first-hand.

You gain something @Demosthenes

A (US) college friend and her three siblings had no exposure to religion growing up. One day, I told her that I was envious of her intelligence. She looked at me and said, “I envy you for your education on (Christian) religion.” I asked her why, and she said, “You have been educated on a topic that frequently is referenced. It isn’t part of a formal education.”

They have religious studies in college. I had to take one.

@Dutchess_III Interesting. I attended a religious-based college, and religion classes were not required.

@Dutchess_III That’s interesting. Was it required for all students, or specific to your major?

I never took a class about any religion in school, K-12 or college. I assume my university had classes, but they weren’t required. Religion never came up in school at all for me except knowing the religion of my friends because they celebrated a holiday or were getting bar mitzvah’d.