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Make that 10%, and even that is not mandatory. I went for a number of years without paying a dime and nobody said a word about it.
True you can still be a member. But you won't be allowed to do Temple work, etc. You won't have a Temple card. And it is more than 10%. That's the minimum. Then they come tell you they are building a new stake/ward house and your share is 5K, then there are the meatless Friday donations and x dollars a month you are supposed to contribute for missionaries. Religion is not inexpensive.
Make that 10%, and even that is not mandatory. I went for a number of years without paying a dime and nobody said a word about it.
The militant Christian church I attended in my mid-20's strongly insisted, recommended, and in most cases expected no less than a 10% tithe. Many sermons were preached around tithing no less than 10%. Those of us who tithed less than 10% were indirectly branded as being out of sync with the church's goals, missions, and core beliefs.
I recall the year my wife and I had our first child. Up until that time, I'd been tithing 10%. But as any parent can attest, bringing a child into the world requires considerable finances; e.g., diapers, clothing, doctor visits, etc. My child and family's needs outweighed tithing. As soon as that tithe dropped, I was questioned about it under the guise of, "Oh! Dear brother. We noticed your giving has dropped. We just want to pray and believe God with you so you'll have all the finances you need." And with those words, they expected me to continue tithing 10% - which I didn't.
From that moment forth, I was marginalized from those within the inner circle. And that was a good thing!
I had been a regular attendee to my local church - but the mass shooting like
2016 Orlando nightclub and the terror attacks worldwide around that time did it for me. I couldn't understand how religious leaders could explain these types of heinous acts away.
I think some posters are conflating "religion" with "god belief." I thought the original question was more about belief (or lack thereof) than formal religion.
I was fortunate to be barely raised to be civilized, never mind in any faith thing. I never had a god belief and was genuinely surprised to learn that some people actually do believe this (never mind doing so through a formal religion). I have always been atheist and never saw occasion to move away from it at all. In fact, I almost got sent to Kuwait in the first Gulf war- I wanted to go to prove there can be atheists in foxholes! Because there certainly are.
I've had a pretty wide variety of religious (church) experiences. And that could be why I am no longer an attendee of any church.
The last church I went to, on first appearance, felt like the best one I'd been to. The pastor had a gift for delivering sermons. He had humor. He pointed out his flaws and how he made it to his current post.
As time passed, more and more was being preached about 10% tithing. And cliques were plentiful. The pastor was male and made it known he would not counsel any female member. She would be referred to his wife.
I had some problems with one of his "favorites", the reason being too long to post here. I was trying to make a friend with a man who attended, was not looking for more than that. She let me know in no uncertain terms he would not be interested in me because I was way too old for him. And anytime she saw me talking to him, she immediately came over to interrupt and ask him to do something for her. The last straw was I had written a question regarding what we were studying in the church and asked the pastor to help me with it. He assigned it to "her". Her written response was not especially helpful.
So I figured that I had a strong belief in God, I believed in Him and His promises, and did not need hypocritical people to give me a better experience.
I think some posters are conflating "religion" with "god belief." I thought the original question was more about belief (or lack thereof) than formal religion.
I was fortunate to be barely raised to be civilized, never mind in any faith thing. I never had a god belief and was genuinely surprised to learn that some people actually do believe this (never mind doing so through a formal religion). I have always been atheist and never saw occasion to move away from it at all. In fact, I almost got sent to Kuwait in the first Gulf war- I wanted to go to prove there can be atheists in foxholes! Because there certainly are.
Yes, I meant the question in a broad, vague sense really, though attending services more frequently (provided you were doing it because you had an interest in what they were saying, not just to network or whatever) would certainly qualify.
For decades I considered myself "agnostic". But as time has passed, I have become increasingly aware that IF there is a "god", it must be evil.
The evidence AGAINST the idea of a nice old man in the sky with a big white beard who gives us nice things when we ask sufficiently nicely (Santa Claus, anyone?) is overwhelming. I no longer pussyfoot around the issue - I'm an atheist and in reality I always have been.
I'm just not afraid to admit it anymore.
Here, here.
I've been atheist for decades, but become more and more anti-religion as I see what it does and the people in it do.
My cousin was raped by a priest as a child. The whole Boston priest conspiracy. And he got AIDS from that priest and both died of it.
I was stranded in a town once when my wallet was lost and was advised to go to the local church for help. They refused because, as they said, they didn't know me.
How religion treats women. What they haven't done.
The new prosperity christians, like Joel Osteen and his shuttered doors in Texas, and their belief that wealth is god's way of saying you're a good person. I think we all know that's not true, nor it's corresponding opposite.
When someone starts talking religion to me (it's only christians who bring it up - very rude where I come from, as is talking about politics), I just try to avoid the topic. But they inevitable box me into a corner and ask what church I go to (really? It's so galling to assume everyone is christian), so I tell the truth in a matter-of-fact way: that I'm an atheist. The response is immediate. They either walk away, or become visibly angry or uncomfortable. They simply can't treat someone fairly unless they believe like them. And I've made sure my response is as matter-of-fact as them saying their christian.
Well. I avoid religion IRL. But if they were ever to sit down and think about why they don't believe in the 33 million gods of Hinduism, they'll understand why I don't believe in their one god. Really, I just believe in one less god then them.
So it's not possible for me to be less religious as I age. And I've know elderly atheists who didn't change their minds on their deathbeds. Neither will I.
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