# How many times have you changed religion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082 "2005-06-13T15:08:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/21 "2005-06-14T00:31:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I would like to (politely) protest this turn of phrase. It’s not about intentions. I chose to delve into my religion, and soul-search. My lack of belief…one day I just knew, I didn’t believe, and possibly never had. Would you then also agree with the statement: “People who are religious do not choose to be so.”? ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/22 "2005-06-14T00:33:41Z")
I don’t recall a lot of church as a young child, but I assume we were going, since I got kicked out of Sunday School at the ripe age of 3 for calling my teacher a b\*tch. My Dad had us going to a Presbyterian church from the time that I was 6 or 7 until I was 10 or 11. Then we went to a non-denominational Christian church until I was 14 or so. Then we just didn’t go to church at all for a long time. I don’t feel like I was a member of the Presbyterian church, per se, even though I was sprinkled, because it wasn’t a choice that I made. I did choose to get baptized when we were going to the non-denom Christian church. I later went through a period of time where I wasn’t interested in church of any kind, and then joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was 17. I’m still LDS, so I guess it took. Does that makes 3 changes or just two? ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/23 "2005-06-14T00:36:44Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > I was raised Roman Catholic, but I never really had faith. My parents stopped forcing me to go to church after confirmation. > > Basically, I went from church-going atheist to regular atheist, so maybe I changed religions .5 times. > > The notion of changing your religion seems odd to me, but maybe that’s because Roman Catholics feel like theirs is the “true” Christianity. At least that’s the vibe I get. This describes me, except that a) I was raised Presbyterian and b) It took my mom longer to stop forcing me to go to church. In fact, I wasn’t allowed to stop until I arranged my work schedule to have me working Sunday mornings and told her they needed people then. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/24 "2005-06-14T00:52:01Z")
Born agnostic. Raised Episcopalian. Agnostic at 15. Athiest at 18. Believed in a higher power at 33 (due to a specific personal experience). Very bad Buddhist at 41. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/25 "2005-06-14T01:02:33Z")
As far as I’m concerned, changing demoninations isn’t even relevant, much less the same as changing religions. Assuming I’m wrong, the count is **4** : C.of Christ to Disc. of Christ to Covenant to Episcopal/Anglican to Disc. of Christ. I might be a member of the Disciples of Christ right now; I never applied for membership, but I’ve heard that I’m in the members directory. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/26 "2005-06-14T01:23:47Z")
I was born into the United Church of Canada. Thence I converted to neo-paganism in my late teens. I described myself as a Wiccan for several years but have recently come to realize that the way I practice is best described otherwise, so I’m now going by “Wicca-influenced eclectic Pagan.” ---
**Author:** ![Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoodoo_Ulove)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/27 "2005-06-14T01:38:24Z")
I often change religions in mid-sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/28 "2005-06-14T02:46:28Z")
Only once. Raised Episcopal. Found out all religions are a giant scam when I was in my teens, confirmed it in my early 20s. Agnostic ever since. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/29 "2005-06-14T02:49:14Z")
One conversion. I was born into a Roman Catholic family in Chicago’s Arch Diocese. I went to parochial school for preschool, kindergarten, grammer, and highschool. I formally declared atheism at about 15 and can’t imagine it any other way. I can still remember most of the prayers and I was an altar boy for years. It’s good to be RC in Chicago and I don’t feel wierd going to churches or anything. I guess I’d say I’m a Catholic who doesn’t practice…or believe. ---
**Author:** ![Low\_Key\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Low\_Key\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Low_Key_1)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/30 "2005-06-14T03:03:25Z")
Never. I have never really had any strong religous beliefs. When we lived in the US, it was church on Sunday followed by breakfast because apparantly that is what good suburban American families do. My mom has always at least had christian leanings, although I’m uncertain of exactly how strong they are. She wanted me and my brother to get baptized when we moved to Sweden, so I did that for her sake. To me, it all means very little. A baptism does not mean that I am now a christian. Following rituals does not mean belief. Sometimes I don’t really understand what people mean when they say, yeah, I belong to this church or denomination, but I don’t realy believe in it, or “I am a bad \_\_\_”. It seems to me that religous belief must be founded in something more than filling out a membership card. I would have no qualms about filling out membership cards for several different churches or denominations, but would not say that “I am a \_\_\_” if asked what my religion was. I would say that I am agnostic, I guess. I enjoy going to church or other religious meeting things because they can be interesting. I went to one cool christian religious thing, but I can’t remember what they called themselves - it was all very meditative and peaceful. I would go to that again if I could remember what it was. I don’t think that I will ever belong to any organized religion simply because I cannot accept that any truly benevolent god would really put more weight on rituals and dogmatic behavior than just being a good person, which I try to be. I recently read some essays by Hegel on religion, and he feels this way as well about dogmatic behavior in organized religion which has influenced me slightly. So, while my beliefs on what consitutes being a good person may change, my religous beliefs about god or supernatural beings has never changed beyond I guess there could be something or just as plausibly nothing, but this makes no difference to my behavior and actions in life. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/31 "2005-06-14T04:07:25Z")
Weak Presbyterian (0-19) —\> even weaker born-again Christian (for about two months) —\> Athiest. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/32 "2005-06-14T05:31:59Z")
United Church -\> Buddhism Just once, I was 15 or 16. It was over a rather long period of time so it’s hard to pick an exact age. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/33 "2005-06-14T05:51:25Z")
Never. Never believed. Still don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/34 "2005-06-14T06:40:55Z")
Athiest, so nothing has changed since coming out of the womb. Nothing added, nothing changed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/35 "2005-06-14T07:31:38Z")
Depending on how we slice it, my answer is between zero and two, inclusive. From one perspective, I was never into it in the first place and practiced and went to events because I was raised and required to, and then I stopped going through the motions when I realized that was all they were. That’d be zero. One: raised Jewish and then stopped practicing because I realized I didn’t believe it. That’d be one. Two: had no religious views one way or the other as a young child, naturally, then acquired them from my family and then realized I didn’t believe any of them at age 13, when I became an atheist. You could call that two. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/36 "2005-06-14T08:00:51Z")
My family is nominally Methodist, but we aren’t a particularly church-going bunch. (Yes folks, it’s possible to be from Mississippi and _not_ be a Southern Baptist!) I remember going to church exactly once as a child, and being so bored I fell asleep. My mother raised me vaguely Christian, with nighttime prayers and such. When I was about twelve, I had my epiphany. I didn’t believe in God. I was an atheist. I remember a big rush of relief when I realized I didn’t have to hate gays anymore. I told my mother about a year later, and her first reaction to my atheism was to inform me that I was going to Hell. So, 1. Methodist -\> Atheism. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/37 "2005-06-14T10:30:15Z")
I was Christened in an Anglican church a few months after I was born and have been an Anglican ever since. On the other hand one of my closest friends grew up a weak Presbyterian, became a born-again, fundamentalist Christian, then a hard atheist, then, after a religious experience, a Wiccan. One of the things which formed our friendship was our shared love of discussing religion. I also can’t tell you how many of our early conversations included the phrase, “Now, I’m not trying to convert you . . .” Because of some of my less conventional experiences and beliefs, he’s called me an “Episco-Pagan”, but as I said over in GD, I have neither the desire nor a reason to change. I’ll also second what **Baker** said about the food at Episcopalian churches. I swear the 11th commandment is, “Thou shalt not suffer a guest to starve!” 😉 CJ ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/38 "2005-06-14T13:10:40Z")
Superficial changes - many. Protestant, deist, Buddhist, the list goes on. Actual, real changes - zero to three, depending on how you count. Nothing - agnostic - weak atheist - strong atheist. I’d probably put my actual changes of faith at zero, as I cannot remember ever actually believing (and I find believing difficult to understand). **Anaamika** , what’s an atheist Hindu? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/39 "2005-06-14T13:38:05Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > **Anaamika** , what’s an atheist Hindu? Check my thread in GD, we’re debating it right now. But briefly, it’s someone who follows the ideals & tenets of Hinduism, using them to create a moral life, without god involved anywhere. The tenets and morals are, for example, to be a good citizen, a good family member, and to do good and right in the world. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082/40 "2005-06-14T20:02:52Z")
I wasn’t really “raised” in any religion, as my parents were not church-goers. I started attending the nearby Methodist Church as a child, and it was at a Methodist youth conference that I had a conversion experience at the age of 15. When I got to college I attended a relatively high-church Episcopal service, and that is where I spent the next couple of years, before taking the full plunge and finishing my reverse-historical progression with a conversion to Roman Catholicism. So, two changes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-changed-religion/308082.md?page=3)