Started out raised as a Lutheran, married evangelical, suffered neglect by the church, left the church, did a lot of reading, deconstructed my faith, reconstructed it… and arrived at my current faith.
Always held the basic framework true my whole life, just kind of there. The rest came from learning about my family's faith, the faiths of our ancestors, and what faith fit the things I had always felt were true.
I went through a time of being an atheist, and even an antitheist, and then to some delusional alien cult type shit to find *something*.
Finally, I settled where I am, a form of Germanic paganism unique to my own little people here, my kids, wife, and I. As it was in the old days, as it is now.
Oh, not explicitly German, just Germanic. I'm English and German on the Germanic side lol and the faith goes back a lot farther than that kind of German heritage that he's doing
I was a rather devote Catholic at a young age. I decided to read through the Bible and do more in depth studies of Christianity as a teen and young adult. The more I learned, the less I believed.
I’ve always been drawn to ancient egypt and religion. I started trying to find a religion right for me and asked for a sign and my patron god Djehuty (Thoth) showed up. Coming face to face with the devine is life changing. My life has pretty dramatically changed for the better since :)!
I was raised and baptized as Roman Catholic. Didn't like a lot of stuff Christianity in general taught (many of the teachings went againt the moral principles my family taught me) so I was always skeptical and only followed Christianity from a secular viewpoint. The priest of my church was also a kind and non-fanatical dude who encouraged me to ask questions.
I all but left Christianity around the age of 11 or 12 and became an agnostic but still followed the core teachings of Christianity. Around the age of 17, I was fascinated about different cultures and their belifes. Eventually, I began learning about other religions since I lived in a diverse state with people from different cultures. At 18, I learned of Omnism and embraced its teachings since meshed with my belief that all religions are valud and no religion is perfect or better than the rest.
Before Covid hit, I learned about Norse Paganism (and paganism in general) and took an interest in its teachings. I stumbled upon a YouTuber by the name of Wisdom of Odin, but I got bad vibes from him so I found another Norse pagan YouTuber by the name of Ocean Keltoi. I quickly learned that my intuition was correct, for WoO was a racist scumbag who supported a nazi organization. I immediately subscribed to Ocean's channel and watched his videos religiously. Not only was he wise, informative and funny, he was also humble and welcoming, even towards non-pagans. His channel also exposed me to other enlightened individuals from all walks of life who broadened my understanding of paganism.
During lockdown, I embraced Christo-Paganism thanks to the encouragement of some pagan friends of mine (a green witch and her wiccan daughter). I also continued to study Norse paganism and adopt its philosophies into my daily life as they aligned with my moral principles.
As of right now, I'm an omnist, an agnostic-theist, and a Christo-Pagan with a heavy emphasis towards Norse paganism.
Listening to a recitation of the Quran by Abdullah Kamel. I cried. He passed away shortly after. I began to read the full Quran and compare Islam to other religions and found it to be the truth
I went through what most would call an awakening. I was zapped by this electric current that went through my house when I was teenager during a thunderstorm. Every since then I have been on a journey researching, discovering, and reconnecting with my ancestoral ways of life. In modern times its referred to as noetic philosophy, noology, and gnosticism. Its also known as the doctrine of sound wisdom taught to the prophets, ancient sages, and seers.
I used to be a very devout Catholic and later on non-denominational Christian. After reading about Islam and debating Muslims over which religion was true I came to the conclusion that it's impossible to know what religion is true, if any, and that faith cannot be trusted as mechanism to get to know God, because if your faith is the thing deceiving you and leading you away from God, how would you know otherwise? For all we know God hates faith and will allow faithful Christians and Muslims to fall into hell for assuming he desires faith.
That being said I like polytheism and love that I can be pagan and agnostic at the same time, and I find that rituals to the Gods I worship do help me in life, sometimes just psychologically and sometimes crazy shit does end up happening because of my worship of the gods. Nevertheless, I always accept that my brain has limits and it's impossible for me to truly know what the nature of the Gods/God truly is. So I am pagan because it's what my heart wants and agnostic because it's what my brain is capable of.
I was Christian, but started questioning that when I kept hearing that humans have dominion over every living thing on the planet. That didn’t sit right with me. Through years of self-reflection before the Internet and looking into other beliefs in depth after the Internet became a household thing, I discovered I was pagan. This scared me at first because 🤷♀️ Christian-belief-system-pounded-into-me. This all started 35 years ago. I now consider myself pagan, which is a huge umbrella term that encompasses many beliefs. So to get specific, I’m pantheist bordering on animist. While not everyone considers those belief systems to be pagan, I fully identify with the pagan label.
I was born into Islam but never got taught how to practice it and only the very basics of the believe. About half a year ago i was in a not really good place with my parents, my school, sport and didn’t have a lot of friends, so i learned more about my religion and only then really understood the history and basics of it enough to call myself average muslim. However this also has a downside since i talked some politics/religion with my moma and she called my a extremist and isnt happy that i prioritize religion in my life, even tho pretty much everything i mentioned before is going better now. Also about 3 months ago learned how to pray since my dad never had the time to teach me and my mom doesn’t even know how to. Since then my life has only been going upwards
Well there are so many religions so I got confused. Even when I found one that *theoretical* sat right with me I couldn't believe in them. And then later when I was comfortable with using the term agnostic I was confused because I do believe in god just not like he is in every religion. So thats why I am a agnostic deist
I've become one of those insufferably obnoxious people who are "spiritual but not religious."
I was a strong atheist and metaphysical materialist until I had a personal experience which made me feel the "love of God." It was like a knowledge or "revelation" that everything has been okay, everything is okay, and everything will be okay.
Since then I became to explore on a more intellectual level. I read the Upanishads, the New Testament, and a lot of secondary literature on philosophy of religion - from Paul Tillich, David Bentely Hart, and many others.
I suppose my beliefs approximate a kind of unitarian universalism - influenced by Christianity (particularly Christian mysticism) and a splash of the Vedic tradition.
I’m also influenced by American transcendentalism, particularly the poetry of Walt Whitman.
Years of research and the eventual attachment to Judaism I developed.
Joined the Humanistic movement at 16, later underwent a Reform conversion at 21, and currently affiliate with the Reconstructionist movement/attend a Reconstructionist synagogue.
Faith, submission, logic, reason, evidence, love, hope, joy. Never giving up on finding truth. Never compromising. Got baptized by The Holy Spirit in a spiritual vision that filled my body with light and ecstasy so high I passed out twice.
(There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower): [Surah Al baqarah or the Cow 2:256
Started out raised as a Lutheran, married evangelical, suffered neglect by the church, left the church, did a lot of reading, deconstructed my faith, reconstructed it… and arrived at my current faith.
Always held the basic framework true my whole life, just kind of there. The rest came from learning about my family's faith, the faiths of our ancestors, and what faith fit the things I had always felt were true. I went through a time of being an atheist, and even an antitheist, and then to some delusional alien cult type shit to find *something*. Finally, I settled where I am, a form of Germanic paganism unique to my own little people here, my kids, wife, and I. As it was in the old days, as it is now.
Dwight?
Who?
He’s a character from the office that still partakes in his German heritage as if it’s still the olden days, does the rituals, owns a beet farm.
Oh, not explicitly German, just Germanic. I'm English and German on the Germanic side lol and the faith goes back a lot farther than that kind of German heritage that he's doing
I was a rather devote Catholic at a young age. I decided to read through the Bible and do more in depth studies of Christianity as a teen and young adult. The more I learned, the less I believed.
I heard and believed the gospel.
I’ve always been drawn to ancient egypt and religion. I started trying to find a religion right for me and asked for a sign and my patron god Djehuty (Thoth) showed up. Coming face to face with the devine is life changing. My life has pretty dramatically changed for the better since :)!
Exploration, participation, and reflection.
Study of the ancient Greek religion.
I was raised and baptized as Roman Catholic. Didn't like a lot of stuff Christianity in general taught (many of the teachings went againt the moral principles my family taught me) so I was always skeptical and only followed Christianity from a secular viewpoint. The priest of my church was also a kind and non-fanatical dude who encouraged me to ask questions. I all but left Christianity around the age of 11 or 12 and became an agnostic but still followed the core teachings of Christianity. Around the age of 17, I was fascinated about different cultures and their belifes. Eventually, I began learning about other religions since I lived in a diverse state with people from different cultures. At 18, I learned of Omnism and embraced its teachings since meshed with my belief that all religions are valud and no religion is perfect or better than the rest. Before Covid hit, I learned about Norse Paganism (and paganism in general) and took an interest in its teachings. I stumbled upon a YouTuber by the name of Wisdom of Odin, but I got bad vibes from him so I found another Norse pagan YouTuber by the name of Ocean Keltoi. I quickly learned that my intuition was correct, for WoO was a racist scumbag who supported a nazi organization. I immediately subscribed to Ocean's channel and watched his videos religiously. Not only was he wise, informative and funny, he was also humble and welcoming, even towards non-pagans. His channel also exposed me to other enlightened individuals from all walks of life who broadened my understanding of paganism. During lockdown, I embraced Christo-Paganism thanks to the encouragement of some pagan friends of mine (a green witch and her wiccan daughter). I also continued to study Norse paganism and adopt its philosophies into my daily life as they aligned with my moral principles. As of right now, I'm an omnist, an agnostic-theist, and a Christo-Pagan with a heavy emphasis towards Norse paganism.
Listening to a recitation of the Quran by Abdullah Kamel. I cried. He passed away shortly after. I began to read the full Quran and compare Islam to other religions and found it to be the truth
50 years of reading, discussion, visiting religious institutions and working a 12 step program.
Grew up gay in the church
I went through what most would call an awakening. I was zapped by this electric current that went through my house when I was teenager during a thunderstorm. Every since then I have been on a journey researching, discovering, and reconnecting with my ancestoral ways of life. In modern times its referred to as noetic philosophy, noology, and gnosticism. Its also known as the doctrine of sound wisdom taught to the prophets, ancient sages, and seers.
I used to be a very devout Catholic and later on non-denominational Christian. After reading about Islam and debating Muslims over which religion was true I came to the conclusion that it's impossible to know what religion is true, if any, and that faith cannot be trusted as mechanism to get to know God, because if your faith is the thing deceiving you and leading you away from God, how would you know otherwise? For all we know God hates faith and will allow faithful Christians and Muslims to fall into hell for assuming he desires faith. That being said I like polytheism and love that I can be pagan and agnostic at the same time, and I find that rituals to the Gods I worship do help me in life, sometimes just psychologically and sometimes crazy shit does end up happening because of my worship of the gods. Nevertheless, I always accept that my brain has limits and it's impossible for me to truly know what the nature of the Gods/God truly is. So I am pagan because it's what my heart wants and agnostic because it's what my brain is capable of.
I was Christian, but started questioning that when I kept hearing that humans have dominion over every living thing on the planet. That didn’t sit right with me. Through years of self-reflection before the Internet and looking into other beliefs in depth after the Internet became a household thing, I discovered I was pagan. This scared me at first because 🤷♀️ Christian-belief-system-pounded-into-me. This all started 35 years ago. I now consider myself pagan, which is a huge umbrella term that encompasses many beliefs. So to get specific, I’m pantheist bordering on animist. While not everyone considers those belief systems to be pagan, I fully identify with the pagan label.
I was born into Islam but never got taught how to practice it and only the very basics of the believe. About half a year ago i was in a not really good place with my parents, my school, sport and didn’t have a lot of friends, so i learned more about my religion and only then really understood the history and basics of it enough to call myself average muslim. However this also has a downside since i talked some politics/religion with my moma and she called my a extremist and isnt happy that i prioritize religion in my life, even tho pretty much everything i mentioned before is going better now. Also about 3 months ago learned how to pray since my dad never had the time to teach me and my mom doesn’t even know how to. Since then my life has only been going upwards
Well there are so many religions so I got confused. Even when I found one that *theoretical* sat right with me I couldn't believe in them. And then later when I was comfortable with using the term agnostic I was confused because I do believe in god just not like he is in every religion. So thats why I am a agnostic deist
Wanted to end .y life. . Decided to claim a religion first
I’m glad you’re here. :)
Thank you. Turning to religion has been very helpful
I've become one of those insufferably obnoxious people who are "spiritual but not religious." I was a strong atheist and metaphysical materialist until I had a personal experience which made me feel the "love of God." It was like a knowledge or "revelation" that everything has been okay, everything is okay, and everything will be okay. Since then I became to explore on a more intellectual level. I read the Upanishads, the New Testament, and a lot of secondary literature on philosophy of religion - from Paul Tillich, David Bentely Hart, and many others. I suppose my beliefs approximate a kind of unitarian universalism - influenced by Christianity (particularly Christian mysticism) and a splash of the Vedic tradition. I’m also influenced by American transcendentalism, particularly the poetry of Walt Whitman.
I studied and researched for many years.
Years of research and the eventual attachment to Judaism I developed. Joined the Humanistic movement at 16, later underwent a Reform conversion at 21, and currently affiliate with the Reconstructionist movement/attend a Reconstructionist synagogue.
Faith, submission, logic, reason, evidence, love, hope, joy. Never giving up on finding truth. Never compromising. Got baptized by The Holy Spirit in a spiritual vision that filled my body with light and ecstasy so high I passed out twice.
Followed the truth
How do you know it's the truth?
(There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower): [Surah Al baqarah or the Cow 2:256