I was raised with no religious beliefs, it was something I could look into myself when I was ready. I did so, found they’re all stupid and now am an atheist.
Only 15% think religion and science mutually exclusive: http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=16200&SnID=518811652
I was never given any formal religious training as a child. My folks never took me to church, never sent me to Sunday School, etc. But they also never said that there was no God. They just didn’t discuss the matter with me at all.
When I was about ten, I read a book on “The World’s Great Religions” and was pretty confused. None of it made an ounce of sense to me.
About that same time, I got to asking pesky questions in school. A group of (so-called) Christians among my schoolmates helped me out by beating the crap out of me.
So…I became a vitriolic anti-Christian. Practiced petty vandalism against churches. (Never set one on fire, but broke a few windows. Chopped down a cross once.)
Then I got into this style of BBS discussion group, and met a handful of good Christians, who helped ease me of my vicious hatred of their faith. Bless them forever!
I still don’t believe, and never will, but good people brought me away from a hate-based viewpoint, to which bad people had driven me.
Sometimes, that’s about as good as one can hope for.
Nevertheless, there are those who believe they’ve witnessed a divine event, whether personal or not, and also attempt (and succeed) in rationalizing it and other issues on faith as something that’s possible.
So far, out of 60 voters, 7 have chosen this option.
Glad you were able to shed the hate, not everyone can do that – hate, ironically, feels good, and I understand the vitriol. Great post.
I have switched from a mainstream faith to agnosticism and then to my own home-rolled nonestablished theological understandings which were the outcome of divine insights and enlightenment.
A rational mind would seek for an explanation within the laws that govern our universe first, and likely find it if they’re honest about it.
I chose the first option. I was brought up in a Lutheran household, and have belonged to the same church all my life - although since getting married and moving a few miles farther away from it, I don’t go as often.
I used to be a bit more militant in my Christianity, firmly believing that I was right and everyone else was wrong. But then it occurred to me, that if I had been born to Jewish/Muslim/Buddhist parents, I might have felt just as strongly about them. So then I started having serious doubts. In high school, I had a Catholic friend whose church had some fun youth activities, and I used to go with her sometimes. At one point in a discussion, I brought up the fact that I was having doubts, because my religion had been only determined by my parents. Some people answered by saying that it’s also important that the religion feels right to you personally. And it does, so that made me feel better, and ended up making me more tolerant too. I really do want to believe that there is a supreme being and an afterlife.
I used to think I could never date an athiest or agnostic, and ended up dating and marrying an agnostic. It helps that we are both fairly tolerant - if he was a militant anti-religion person, or if I were a devout fundamentalist, it wouldn’t have worked. But he has no problem with there being some religion in my life - I go to church, my family says grace before meals, we all celebrate Christmas, etc. And I am not bothered by his lack of religion because he is a good, moral person.
I chose Other, but if I could invert the option “I used to hold no faith, but became a believer under my own rationalization” to read “I used to hold faith, but became an unbeliever under my own rationalization”, that would pretty well cover it.
I was raised in an exceedingly narrow fundamentalist sect - theconservative holiness movement- and came to despise it for a number of reasons. In young adulthood I distanced myself as far as possible from that miserable strictured faith and self-identified as agnostic. After awhile, and a few personal crises later, that seemed to be lacking…I discovered an inner core of faith that had very little to do with my upbringing, and began casting about for a belief system that I could identify with.
For awhile I attended a Quaker meeting and found much to like there…as a group, Quakers are some of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet and their faith, with emphasis on self-direction and lack of ritual made sense. However, this particular group was among the more conservative and believed in living an exemplary life. I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoy certain sins of the flesh and while the group would probably have welcomed me anyway, I did not feel good about asking to join a church that my own behavior might reflect badly on. I eventually stopped attending, with no hard feelings on either side.
I eventually drifted into a sort of nominal unitarianism. I don’t attend a church, in fact there are no Unitarian churches in my area…I think the nearest one is about 70 miles away. However, the UU’s do offer an at-large congregation, unlike most other faiths which require one to join a local congragation. I joined this some years ago, recieve the literature, sometimes join in online discussions, occasionally send them a donation and have found that this program suits me quite well.
I used to have faith, but no longer do now. Unless you count secular humanism as a faith, which in a way it is.
I picked “I generally believe in the faith I was brought up in.” I’m Christian. That has never changed, I was baptized as a Lutheran, but am now Episcopalian. Just a denominational switch, which I don’t count as major change.
Thank’ee. The most important thing, I think, is for us all to remember that there are good people to be found in any religious faith.
It’s unfortunate that the bad ones just stand out more. They’re more obvious, and they spend more time shrieking for attention. There is an understated quietness surrounding most really good people, but, if we have the wisdom to listen to them, there is a lot we can learn.
This is where (with all due respect) I differ from Der Trihs: I think that religion is a little like, oh, let’s say “chemistry.” It has been used for horrible evil in its time – poison gas in Nazi concentration camps – but it isn’t evil per se. It can be used wisely and well.
(And I’m no good at using it at all! Never even took an introductory chemistry class! The metaphor is perfect!) 
Ahh, while I would typically agree with you, people rationalize things all the time; whether or not they’ve rationalized matters correctly/logically is another matter.
“I used to hold no faith, but became a believer because of divine intervention and rational thinking,” is the statement I’m criticizing.
Rational thinking is not compatible with believing in divine intervention.
I’m everything the Protestants rail against: Catholic by heritage, but prone to superstition and paganism. I was raised without religious instruction, so although I thought I was Christian until I was a teenager, I was fantastically ignorant about what that meant. I believed in God, but I also liked the gods I encountered in Greek myths, and as I child I constructed a rationalized system that let me have the best of both worlds as I understood them. I’ve never not had faith, though I don’t put a lot of stock in it. I mean, I know that the gods I worship are ones I kind of made up.
I guess my faith is what allows me to suspend disbelief for those parts of my life when I’m being religious.
Well, see, now we’re getting into what you, me, or they might consider rational or delusional, but I’d like to keep that out of this thread.
I chose “I generally believe in the faith I was brought up in” but only because there was not a choice for “I absolutely believe in the faith I was brought up in.” Why not? To me it sort of presumes an automatic rejection of the faith you were raised in, or at least a shift away in some fashion. I personally feel my faith has grown and deepened—at least I consciously strive to make it so.
Just to keep poll options to a minimum and to irk you. You have been irked! 
I think I should have also added options for “I believe in a faith I wasn’t brought up in”, “…not by the local majority” and “…not by my peers”.
I might have to do a re-do.
Speaking of, I think I would like to do a redux on this poll.
Would anyone like to suggest some more pertinent options?