Why?

[neon_sheep]

Hello everyone!

I was just thinking that it would be interesting to hear why everyone chose the certain religion they chose. Also, why their religion or, perhaps, their lack of religion, is "more correct" or whathaveyou than the rest. I don't mean this in a way where religions and beliefs are put down, of course!
--Taryn

[ISFP]

hey taryn-

i wouldn't say i chose my religious tradition (Quaker), so much as found it. it was one of those "i guess i was really a ______ my whole life, but i never knew it" situations, and i'm grateful to have found a religious community where i feel at home and at peace.

i wouldn't say that i find my religious tradition to be superior to others, and i think the phrasing of that questions has the potential to rub some the wrong way. there was a great quote (bananabrain?) refering to judaism in which was said "we do not believe that judaism is the best religion for everyone, just that it is the best religion for jews".

i think the same can be said for other traditions as well.

[I, Brian]

Hi neon_sheep and welcome to CR.

Personal experience draws us to certain areas of human thought and expression, and for each of us, it is a different path, yet in the same landscape.

[alexa]

Hi neon_sheep and welcome to CR !

Are you from Québec ?

[Sacredstar]

I AM a mix and match, picked out the best fundamental principles the rest is taught to me direct. Guided to what I need to learn, when and why! So do I have a religion I would say no, I have a spirituality that resonates with my soul at this point of its evolution.

Sacredstar

[Basstian]

Kind of an old thread but one I felt worth adding to

I myself havent decided what I am maybe someone can help me
I base my beliefs in Jesus but see (no offence to anyone) very little
Truth in Christianity as a whole.
I feel Jewish inwardly but would never be accepted.
I feel a brotherhood with Muslims I cant explain other than I know the feeling
of being a son cast out (from the Bible story again no offence)
I believe in the spread of civilization from the tower of Babel and feel that
almost every religion carried a piece of the truth with them handed down through the ages but cant seem to sort it out through all the myths

I am open minded but not easily swayed I believe what I read but doubt its authenticity unless I can trace its roots.
Reading this I might seem confused But yet feel very secure in my heart.

I long for a Martin Luther a reformer that would dare to take a stand against what is preached as truth. But yet I wouldnt want Him to stop short because of worldly carnal needs.

And yet I believe salvation is as simple as faith. The rest is just a puzzle that we piece together on our way to a closer relationship with God

I would Rather Learn than Teach I would rather teach than sit quietly and listen to something I know is wrong.

Peace

[Friend]

Salaamu Alyckum all

I think it is nice for us to understand each other through believes or religions ,because the person believes reflect his personality and give idea about the average of people that follow his religion , So we can feel that people outside our region are like us , feel and suffer ,think and ask ,learn and taught . this could help in opening our mind to understand others and decrease misunderstandings that cause stereotyping perceptions, or take the behaviours of some people as generalization about the followers of the same religion .

[Nitai]

Why Hare Krishna?

The knowledge gives me the most information about the purpose of this material world; about God and the process of self-realization.
Because the chanting of the holy name of God, elevates the consciousness to the platform of love of God, Krishna.
Because there are so many nice details how to develop personal relationship with God, Krishna either as a servant, friend, or lover.
Moreover, the Hare Krishna life style is very pure. No meat-eating; no gambling; no illicit sex; no intoxication. All these four activities are the pillars of sinful life. So being free from them and chanting Hare Krishna it gives already in the beginning happiness that I never had following the Christianity.
Ultimately, I became a Hare Krishna devotee because I don't see that the philosophy is against any other religion. That means in essence - there is one God with many names; and one religion with many names - love for God. I call Him Krishna

[foreversearching]

I think that's a great question

I was brought up Catholic but when I was about 15 I wanted to remove myself from that faith because it didn't feel like it was for me. I tried Wicca, which I found to be a beautiful religion based all around nature but I didn't last long following it, so that didn't work out.

I am now a Spiritualist. There are two main types of Spiritualists, Christian Spiritualist and non Christian Spiritualists. There isn't really much of a difference between the two, the only difference I can think of is that the Christian Spiritualist Churches only let Christians in, whereas regular Spiritualist Churches embrace all religions. I attend a non Christian spiritualist Church for the simple reason that I think it's great how they welcome anybody, no matter which faith or walk of life, whether or not they believe in any sort of God, they don't even have to beleive in Spiritualism. As long as a person is prepared to respect the fact that other people do and be open minded while they are in the Church they will always be welcome.

I still haven't decided whether I want to be a Christian Spiritualist or not, but even if I do I will continue to attend a non Christian Church for the above reason.

When I first walked into the Church I was 15, and it just felt like I had come home and the feeling of love and peace that resonates from every part of the building is amazing. So I kept going back, my Grandma used to go anyway so the family didn't think it was that unusual.

I chose Spiritualism because I had been experiencing things I couldn't explain, and when all logical explainations of what they could be had been explored I decided to seek out answers in the supernatural side of things. Everything Spiritualism taught made so much sense to me, They were my beliefs but until I found Spiritualism, I just thought my beliefs were my own random ones that didn't really belong to any organised religion. When I discovered that they did and that other people believed the same things I was delighted. And that's how I came to Spiritualism.

Lisa x

[PluckyAli]

Hi all,
Spiritulism is out of my mind.It's uncomprehensible for me.I believe in power of mind,pure logic and science and they are the building blocks of my beliefs.I believe in things which make sense,I dont',can't and will never believe in miracles,magic,spirits or supernatural things.I believe God has given us mind to comprehend things and not just accept things by miracles.

"The most incomprehsible thing about the universe is that it's comprehensible"--Einstein.

[smkolins]

I had investigated several religions through college classes and envisioned making an independent position of my own. Along the way I tripped across what would become my religion and went to an informational meeting to ask questions - having never heard of it, it was a chance to examine a religion out of the blue. The people were warm, the teachings interesting, and reconciling of the problems of the age and made sense of history in profound ways. It defined the quest for spirituality in ways I had previously thought of in fragments, and gave gravity to the needs of the day. There was much personal prayer and study, and the seeking after religions in some ways continues today,(being a Baha'i makes one suppose there is a truth in all religions and it's my job to find it.) But to join the Baha'i Faith as an avowed member I had an experience which raised the experience from conjecture to certainty, from hope to work....

[Saponification]

Certain life experiences helped me relate to sone of the teachings of Buddhism. My story is fairly typical of that of a lot of Western Buddhists - deep, dark, interpersonal stuff.

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by Basstian

Kind of an old thread but one I felt worth adding to

I myself havent decided what I am maybe someone can help me
I base my beliefs in Jesus but see (no offence to anyone) very little
Truth in Christianity as a whole.
I feel Jewish inwardly but would never be accepted.
I feel a brotherhood with Muslims I cant explain other than I know the feeling
of being a son cast out (from the Bible story again no offence)
I believe in the spread of civilization from the tower of Babel and feel that
almost every religion carried a piece of the truth with them handed down through the ages but cant seem to sort it out through all the myths

I am open minded but not easily swayed I believe what I read but doubt its authenticity unless I can trace its roots.
Reading this I might seem confused But yet feel very secure in my heart.

I long for a Martin Luther a reformer that would dare to take a stand against what is preached as truth. But yet I wouldnt want Him to stop short because of worldly carnal needs.

And yet I believe salvation is as simple as faith. The rest is just a puzzle that we piece together on our way to a closer relationship with God

I would Rather Learn than Teach I would rather teach than sit quietly and listen to something I know is wrong.

Peace

Having a multi-faith approach and yearning for a reformer, and one who had a family (the point of carnal needs I think) and pointed to the importance of faith... well I think you should check out the Baha'i Faith, and it's Founder Baha'u'llah. One may start almost anywhere. www.bahai.org for example, but also check within your country/city.... chances are there are at least a few Baha'is there.

[path_of_one]

Well, I suppose I should preface things by saying I only think my path is more "correct" for me. I don't suppose to know what is best for anybody else. Correctness in choosing a religion is relative to me.

Anyways, I am a Christian mystic and a modern Druid. Although I've found bits of stuff that resonated with my own experience and practices in other religions too, the bulk of my beliefs and practices and experiences of God can be summed up by Christ's teachings (denomination-wise I guess I'd be a blend of Celtic Christian, Quaker, and vague "other" category) and modern Druidry.

I didn't so much choose a religion as I have had experiences from the time I was a young child, which generated a belief system after I pondered on these experiences and prayed over and meditated on them. I was raised pretty much to be a free-thinker and explore whatever I wanted. I found that Jesus always resonated with me, from a very young age, which brought in the Christian aspect of my faith. The Druid aspect I found not long ago. I was doing some research and stumbled on modern Druidry, and surprise!- it pretty much was a summary of a lot of beliefs, experiences, and practices I had long developed on my own.

I don't really consider myself religious. I'm not very structured that way. But I found the closest matches to my own path are the combination of mystic Christianity and Druidry. Ultimately, I just have my unique path, which explains why I believe it is the correct one for me.

[At_the_Wellspring]

I think that is a great question, one which I have asked myself a lot.

I would say a lot of my spirituality has come simply because of the environment I grew up in. I grew up in a Protestant Christian family, one which I believed helped me to nurture a spiritual life of my own. The faith of my Grandparents, Parents, and extended family, I have always felt is a very 'real' faith, both meaning it played an important part in the way they live/lived their lives, but very 'real' also, because the family is based on love, compassion, understanding, acceptance and non-judgement. Life flows from this 'essence' of Christianity, rather than being predominantly dictated by the feeling of restriction/ rules/ judgement.

I'm not sure any more if I would call myself 'Christian', because I personally don't feel comfortable with attaching a label to myself. I love the imagery and poetry of the bible, and this will always hold a lot of meaning for me, and I have learnt a lot and will continue to learn from studying the life of Jesus.

But I also feel if I had been brought up in an environment of a different religion I think I would have sought the essence within that religion - and in the end my belief is in one God, and that love is the foundation and essence of spirituality, so I would have sought that within whichever environment I was raised.

I'm not attending a church as I haven't found one where I feel truly myself and at home. But for the moment it doesn't worry me. I feel comfortable in this kind of 'grey area', always asking and searching, evolving. And seeing the Divine in the daily experience.