Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Maybe there is a thread about this already and if so, I would love to have the link.
Anyhow, there seem to be some threads about people who became atheist but were raised with some kind of religion. Are there also some people out there where it was the other way around? Were you raised without religion (or maybe it hardly played a role) but at some point you noticed something was missing and you became part of some kind of religion and actively practice it in some way?
What was it like? Are you still happy with your decision? How did friends and relatives react?
I wouldn't want to conflate a "none" or religiously indifferent or non-practicing or incurious person developing an interest in being more observant, with the other extreme of someone who in a thoughtful and aware fashion is a self-labeled atheist and then turns to religion. The dynamic for those two scenarios would be quite different.
The more common pattern I've noticed seems to be something like this:
1) A fairly traditional Christian loses their faith and becomes an atheist.
2) Later, they drift back into some form of theism which, nonetheless, would not meet with the approval of anyone in their former traditional faith.
This is actually consistent with some of the models of spiritual maturity and development that have been put forth. Skepticism and atheism are something of an abreaction to traditional faith, and the person may with some time and distance, return to a liberal tradition or to a sort of deism, feeling like it's more balanced.
Well there is me. Raised in an atheistic home. In my 20s became a believer in God then a few years later a Christian.
And there is my friend Chuck. Raised nominal Methodist. Became atheist. After 20 years found atheism lacking in the light of scientific evidence-biological and in how the universe came about. Became an Evangelical Christian about 10 years ago.
Grew up with next to no religious influence in home and with family, have not joined any religion, if anything, have made up my own from life experiences and observation.
Well there is me. Raised in an atheistic home. In my 20s became a believer in God then a few years later a Christian.
.
I am curious. Can you describe what you mean by 'atheistic home'?
How often did you go to church? Never? Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals? More often?
Did your parents ever state why you went to church with this frequency?
Did anybody ever say thst there was no god? If conversations with neighbors or relatives on the topic of religion ever came up, what did your parents say?
Maybe there is a thread about this already and if so, I would love to have the link.
Anyhow, there seem to be some threads about people who became atheist but were raised with some kind of religion. Are there also some people out there where it was the other way around? Were you raised without religion (or maybe it hardly played a role) but at some point you noticed something was missing and you became part of some kind of religion and actively practice it in some way?
What was it like? Are you still happy with your decision? How did friends and relatives react?
I've been a Christian for 21 years now. I was raised Catholic, but for all intents and purposes...was an atheist. God played no active role in my life, and I lived as if I didn't believe in God. There was a time when I was not a believer in Christ. Now I'm Christian and pastor a church.
I am curious. Can you describe what you mean by 'atheistic home'?
How often did you go to church? Never? Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals? More often?
Did your parents ever state why you went to church with this frequency?
Did anybody ever say thst there was no god? If conversations with neighbors or relatives on the topic of religion ever came up, what did your parents say?
Mother agnostic. Step dad, a card carrying member of the American Atheists organization. Never went to church. Jerry ridiculed the idea of a god of any sort. Mom never said much on the topic.
Mother agnostic. Step dad, a card carrying member of the American Atheists organization. Never went to church. Jerry ridiculed the idea of a god of any sort. Mom never said much on the topic.
Are there also some people out there where it was the other way around? Were you raised without religion (or maybe it hardly played a role) but at some point you noticed something was missing and you became part of some kind of religion and actively practice it in some way?
I think it is also important to consider these two factors:
(1) Level of education during period of atheism
(2) The type of believer the atheist becomes (i.e., liberal/non-literalist Christian vs. fundamentalist/literalist Christian)
I would be most curious to hear about cases where a college-educated (especially someone with a college science background) atheist becomes a fundamentalist/literalist Christian. I suppose there are some examples of this, but I suspect it is a fairly rare phenomenon.
For someone who does not have much background in science, the transition from atheist to liberal Christian could be a relatively easy change. The transition to fundamentalist is probably a tougher change, but it is nevertheless fairly common because the fundamentalists tend to be active evangelists. When I was in college, I tended to be shy and somewhat of a longer. Some beautiful Christian gals from the "Campus Crusade for Christ" lured me in with amazingly warm smile and a bubbly attitude about how great it was to be Christian. It was emotionally/socially enticing (almost like taking a hit of crack cocaine) and I almost fell for it. (BTW: I really didn't consider myself to be an atheist; I thought of myself as loosely Christian, but I'd read the Bible and I had doubts.) But I loved science, and despite the tempting social pressures and warm smiles, I just couldn't ignore the heaping helpings of rational and scientific absurdities I was being asked to believe. If I had not been so science-minded, the appeal of being accepted into this almost cult-like mindset might have been too powerful for me to resist.
The difference between liberal Christian and fundamentalist can be dramatic. My college Organic Evolution professor considered himself to be a Christian. He could reconcile evolution and Christianity by assuming that most of the Bible should be understood as, in effect, inspirational poetry - not literal history or the literal words of God. He saw no serious conflict between religion and science, and given his loose sort of theism, he was correct.
Bottom line: For me, the only transformation that I would find surprising would be a transformation from well-educated atheist to fundamentalist. All other transformations can be made without any serious affronts to rationality and science.
Last edited by Gaylenwoof; 02-08-2015 at 06:59 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
