Current Events > Were you raised in a religious household?

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Were you?

My family has always been really weird about religion.

We weren't allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter because they're "not in the bible". Casual swearing was acceptable, but "goddamn" was off limits. We had it hammered in our heads that pushing your religious beliefs on others was a terrible thing to do and one of the the few things explicitly "against our religion".

However, I've never been to church in my life. Religion rarely came up except when my dad wanted to bash Christmas.

RasterGraphic posted...

My family has always been really weird about religion.

We weren't allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter because they're "not in the bible". Casual swearing was acceptable, but "goddamn" was off limits. We had it hammered in our heads that pushing your religious beliefs on others was a terrible thing to do and one of the the few things explicitly "against our religion".

However, I've never been to church in my life. Religion rarely came up except when my dad wanted to bash Christmas.

What religion were you, Catholic ? Are you religious now though, like your parents still are?

Somewhat? I went to Christian private school, but parents never went to church. Religion never felt the focus, never asked them why it went that way.

I stayed with the church crowd growing up and still hang out with them weekly.

Raised Catholic. We went to church occasionally. Wasn't ever consistent. And my mom put me in those classes for communion/confirmation. But I told her I didn't want to do that after a few classes and she was finebwith that I guess.

I'm atheist now.

Mom was very Catholic.

One Good Friday I laughed at something and she flipped the fuck out. You are not supposed to have any joy on that day or something.

My parents are both Catholic, but opted to raise me without religious influence so that I could reach my own conclusions, and I am deeply grateful for that.

I was raised by my mom. We went to church every sunday for quite a while, but at some point we just stopped going.

Yep, Im from a Mennonite family. Im not religious anymore.

My parents are practising Catholics. But they left us kids to find our own way.

My parents weren't really religious when I was really young but then became Catholic when I was in middle school and I had to start going to CCD and church. I had to go to church through high school but was allowed to stop once I graduated (I also had a job at a movie theater at that time so I was always busy on the weekends anyway). I didn't really care that much about having to go to church until when I was in high school and had a really painful cyst and was practically in tears and my dad wanted me to go to church to "pray to get better". Thankfully my mom said I could stay home. After that I was done with it for the most part and given how the hypocrisy is even worse now than it was back then, it's not a decision I regret.

Now the only time I'm in a church is for weddings or funerals (more the latter lately unfortunately). We did get our son baptized because my MIL and my wife's aunt were always complaining about it but we didn't do any of the rest of the stuff.

I guess it wasn't all completely bad because between my 8th grade graduation and Confirmation, I got enough money to buy an SNES that was all my own.

GranTurismo posted...

What religion were you, Catholic ? Are you religious now though, like your parents still are?

The only answer I've ever gotten was "non-traditional Christian" so I'm under the impression that it all came from my dad, and my mom just bought into it, since both sides of my extended family dont share his beliefs.

While there are some elements of Christianity I still follow, I would think calling myself religious would be a stretch.

Grew up in a Christian Science home. Thankfully not so fanatical that I never saw a doctor, or where they'd rather let me die than take me to the hospital or whatever, but the focus was definitely on prayer healing illnesses and pains. I was made to attend Sunday school every week until an age when I could be stubborn enough to refuse.I made an honest attempt to connect with faith a few times growing up, but it never sat with me. Too many questions, contradictions, and reservations for it to do anything but bounce off me.

Dad catholic, mom protestant

and they hate each other

Yes, and it sucked. I know I had it a lot better than some that grew up in religious households, but the restrictions I had were annoying.

I still remember my stupid evangelical church having a crusade against Pokmon, and I had to get rid of all my toys, cards, and games. Seriously, fuck them for doing this and my mom for following their lead. She did try to make it up to me by buying me Pokmon Platinum years later, but I will always be upset that I missed playing the games with other kids during recess.

Between bullshit like this and their support of traitorous right wing politicians, I have zero desire to engage with the church I grew up in or any churches. I know some are more progressive than others, but no thanks.

We went to Christian Baptist Churches every Sunday. Mom definitely believes, but I always had a feeling that a part of my dad, buried deep in the back of his mind, secretly doesnt.

It usually just started and ended with going to Church every Sunday morning. Not a whole lot of religiousness outside of Church. Whenever my brothers and I misbehave it was God is watching and if they wanted the truth out of us, it was God knows if youre lying.

Ive been an atheist pretty much I turned 18. Though I think I had been questioning much earlier than that. I always felt weird / out of place when we were at Church and people were singing the songs and raising their hands in the air like they could feel God touching them or something, but I just never felt that. >_>

My brothers and I have never come out as non-believers to our parents, and probably never will. It would shatter moms heart, and I dont want her to be on her death bed thinking that shes never gonna see us again because were gonna be burning in hell for all eternity.

I was forced to go to church until I was 14. I never went back once they stopped forcing me. Well, that's not entirely true. I have regurned a few times for family events like weddings, funerals, etc. But that's it.

Yes, Southern Baptist. My parents are cool, but I can't say the same about the community. I've never seen soo much hatred towards other Christian Denominations. I remember the first time in Sunday school I had the biggest red flag waved about my religion when my teacher taught that The Pope was the "Anti-Christ" and the Catholic Church was "The Beast" described in the book of Revelations. While I do think Catholics have bizarre beliefs, like transubstantiation literally being cannibalism, at least it doesn't try to down talk other religions.

But yeah an Agnostic Atheist now.

Bass posted...

I still remember my stupid evangelical church having a crusade against Pokmon, and I had to get rid of all my toys, cards, and games.

My mom got caught up in the Satanic Panic when I was a kid. We had Geraldo's "Satan's Underground" episode on a home recorded VHS, lol.

I remember getting a few D&D books from a garage sale once. I was so excited about it, and when I showed them to my mom she made me take them back and get my $1.50 back. It made no sense. I was always drawing fantasy monsters, wizards, demons, etc., and dressing up in costumes and play-acting... but a table top RPG was a bridge too far, I guess.

Cuticrusader09 posted...

Mom was very Catholic.

One Good Friday I laughed at something and she flipped the fuck out. You are not supposed to have any joy on that day or something.

Good one there , no joy on that day or something .....kinda sad really...

My father is only vaguely "Christian", never even picked up a bible until a couple years ago

My mother is a devout Atheist

Raised Jewish but I wouldn't say it was a Jewish house. Not kosher but we did do the bare minimum for Passover.

Villain_S_Fiend posted...

My mom got caught up in the Satanic Panic when I was a kid. We had Geraldo's "Satan's Underground" episode on a home recorded VHS, lol.

I remember getting a few D&D books from a garage sale once. I was so excited about it, and when I showed them to my mom she made me take them back and get my $1.50 back. It made no sense. I was always drawing fantasy monsters, wizards, demons, etc., and dressing up in costumes and play-acting... but a table top RPG was a bridge too far, I guess.

Yeah, I remember my mom never liking DnD, so I never tried to play it or anything. She didn't like anything with magic and stuff like that in it, but I was able to sneak a few things through.

Sorry that happened to you, though. I know how nonsensical and arbitrary some of the restrictions placed on us were.

Not really. We went to church but religion never really had any other control over our lives. Though I did get sent to some kinda religious classes that we went to after school once a week. I think my mom wanted us to be religious but she never really seemed all that invested herself.

Villain_S_Fiend posted...

My mom got caught up in the Satanic Panic when I was a kid. We had Geraldo's "Satan's Underground" episode on a home recorded VHS, lol.

I remember getting a few D&D books from a garage sale once. I was so excited about it, and when I showed them to my mom she made me take them back and get my $1.50 back. It made no sense. I was always drawing fantasy monsters, wizards, demons, etc., and dressing up in costumes and play-acting... but a table top RPG was a bridge too far, I guess.

I remember one of the things we did on Sunday was to go on the sidewalk and tell people to boycott Pokemon down to picket signs and all that, where almost all the kids were forced to join it. I don't remember why, but I think it had to do with it promoting "evolution" and "satanism" (I guess with the pentagram star on Alakazams head or something). The main one where I saw kids actively fighting back against the Sunday school teachers was when they told them to not read/watch the Harry Potter because it promoted Witchcraft.

Crazy times.

My mom's dad was a pastor/preacher, though more part time/guest than the head of a church. My mom's mom still reads the Bible daily and occasionally sends me religiously themed messages or verses.

Went to church pretty regularly for the first... ~12 years of my life.

Not long after we moved in 2004, we stopped going to church due to my mom not liking the nearby churches. Poor, single mom with a child out of wedlock. Apparently how you dress is super important to Baptists in the south lol. She couldn't afford a variety of nice dresses/'Sunday' clothes, never really cared for dresses to begin with, and has never been one much for gossip so we just stopped going.

My mom was never nearly as religious as her mom, at least not outwardly in the sense of proselytizing.

I wasn't allowed to play Runescape once my mom found out it had magic in it, but when I was older she didn't seem to care as much. I was reading Harry Potter at age 12 and she let me watch the movies so I think it was less religious concerns for her outright and more wanting to make sure I was mature enough for the content I was reading/watching/playing. She didn't want me watching DBZ at age 6/7, but I also think she didn't want me to fight/get hurt.

Prestoff posted...

Harry Potter

My brother and his wife are like that, and they wouldn't let their kids have anything to do with HP, because it taught children how to be witches.

It makes me wonder - with their seeming inability to separate real life from fiction, I wonder what they think of its author. I'm sure they like what she's had to say about trans women, but then there's the issue of her books. I'd wager they have less of a problem separating the author from their work due to their bigotry, than separating stories about schools of witchcraft from the real fucking world.

My best friend grew up in a strongly religious household. His parents didn't have any problem with him watching Pokmon/Harry Potter/DBZ/etc., but didn't let him watch Ed, Edd n Eddy for the longest time.

I always thought it was weird.

Looking back, its surprising that my parents let us have Pokmon and Harry Potter stuff. I guess they didnt pay that much attention to the media we were consuming. DBZ was so insanely violent.

FL81 posted...

but didn't let him watch Ed, Edd n Eddy for the longest time.

I always thought it was weird.

With weird shit like that, it usually seems to come down to whether the parent personally likes it or not.

I was allowed to watch Greg the Bunny as a kid just because my parents personally thought Seth Green was funny.

But South Park was off-limits until I was about 14.

I do remember my dad getting extremely offended over Ed Edd n Eddy once. It was never banned, but he went on a long rant about it inappropriately using racist language. It was the episode where eddy was trying to talk like a farmer and said "cottenpickin" every other word.

I remember a point where we werent allowed to watch Disney movies because they had magic in them. Then one of my moms sisters gave one of my brothers a copy of Aladdin on VHS, and suddenly it was okay.

Luckily by the time Pokmon was out my mom was a lot more lenient. She didnt like how interested we were in it, but never forbade it. It was also always my mom that was the strict one. My dad was a big sci-fi and superhero fan, so he had no issues with other genre stuff, but it was always my mom taking the lead on the whole raising us stuff.

My mom was raised Protestant, and my dad was raised Catholic. Religion was never really discussed much at our house, and we never had any entertainment restrictions in relation to it, but I do recall that my brother and I had to attend church and CCD for a year or two during our elementary school years. I don't know if it was my dad's decision, or someone else on his side of the family. Probably the latter.

My brother and I barely paid any attention to religious teachings, and today we both consider ourselves to be atheists.

Parents kind of... its my grandmother who raised our faith. Parents were busy, too busy with work. I wanted my dad and mom more growing up. We didnt eat together growing up. Every weekend was a family party somewhere for us to go. It made our relatives a foundation of the house. We were the religious ones in our family due to grandmother. We would get left at grandmas house or my dads brothers would kinda be watching us when they were home.

Grandma would always be praying or singing a church tune more nearly all the time with her rosary. I thought she was praying for us all the time. She was a kind lady. Id like to think we were raised well becuase of her good heart and patience.

parents didnt like public schools so We got sent roman catholic elementary schools, Middle school was a catholic school,
then an Allboys catholic High school here...

None of the church scandals throughout my life as far as im aware. Just never heard the abuse other than news. We went to church on sundays and all. Got all the sacraments i was supposed to as a baby, in elementary, in high school... just got to get married and the final annointment before my time is over for that catholic lifetime achievement lol

Guess id be what folks call nonpracticing catholic. I had a neear death experience from a riptide when i was in my mid20s. These days i think about it much more. I say small prayers in my mind, maybe like grandma used to do. My siblings sing church songs in their cars or hum a tune to it some times and advise others to pray for each other like to think its grandma way for us to stay in touch together.

Like to think we got a decent spiritual foundation from being raised as catholics. Im back reading the bible here & there. Its just different after my experiences. Last week friends of my sister handed me a one year bible and im like wtf... so i guess im gonna read that one and see where it guides me this time. Maybe itll lead me to a place or more understanding. ..

Nope.
Went to church/Sunday School 3x a month, mostly for parents community purpose. United Church, the caffeine free Diet Pepsi of such things.

For a while I think. Yes. I went to a religious school of some kind but not for long. And we did attend church but not for long either.

My last visit to one in my early child hood had adults falling over due to their belief. And I decided there and then that wasnt going to be me.

Yes, but not a Christian or Jewish one at all. And not even in the United States either.

Raised in a Baptist house.

was very gung-ho about being a good Christian kid until i went to Bible College

Despite us literally studying the bible and taking classes on what Jesus said, literally everyone acted like your standard Prosperity Gospel Christian.

I literally failed out of the school because i gave up on Christianity.

Now the only time i step foot in church is at Christmas because my grandma needs a chauffeur. And holy shit is it just more of the same. "Here's what God/Jesus says, alright sermon's over go be your normal Capitalist selves"

The kind of Latino Catholic where it is extremely important to go to Church on Sunday, but also no one's actually read the bible.

Wasn't a huge amount of religious talk at home but i was forced to go to church so id say yes. She has gotten more religious with age sadly.

rick_alverado posted...

I remember a point where we werent allowed to watch Disney movies because they had magic in them. Then one of my moms sisters gave one of my brothers a copy of Aladdin on VHS, and suddenly it was okay.

Luckily by the time Pokmon was out my mom was a lot more lenient. She didnt like how interested we were in it, but never forbade it. It was also always my mom that was the strict one. My dad was a big sci-fi and superhero fan, so he had no issues with other genre stuff, but it was always my mom taking the lead on the whole raising us stuff.

Really like magic is especially bad? I really don't get this reasoning.

Yep.

My family went to church fairly often when I was a kid. After my dad died when I was 9, we never went to church again. Now I'm a big ol' atheist.

It fluctuated for brief periods. We went to church until I was 9 or 10, then stopped going. Then my aunt rebelled and became a Satanist in her teens, and my mom freaked out and was a fundie for like a year and I wasn't allowed to play D&D or watch anything with dragons. Then she went back to normal like nothing had happened, and my mom pretty much hates organized religion now.

Hayame_Zero posted...

It fluctuated for brief periods. We went to church until I was 9 or 10, then stopped going. Then my aunt rebelled and became a Satanist in her teens, and my mom freaked out and was a fundie for like a year and I wasn't allowed to play D&D or watch anything with dragons. Then she went back to normal like nothing had happened, and my mom pretty much hates organized religion now.

satanists are just weird. i know that most of them treat it as functionally atheism, but why tie it to 'the root of evil' from christian mythology? just to be edgy?

Thank god no

monkmith posted...

satanists are just weird. i know that most of them treat it as functionally atheism, but why tie it to 'the root of evil' from christian mythology? just to be edgy?

Nah, that's exactly what it was. My aunt was like 17 and goth at the time, and she was just being an edgy teenager.

Kind of. My mom was a minister at the local church that my uncle was the pastor of. Practically every single sunday us kids went with my mom to the morning service+bible school for us. From when I was like 5 to about 11 and a half this was common. The church I went to also had wednesday and friday services, but I didn't go to these nowhere near as much as the basically mandatory sunday services.

My dad on the other hand used to just chill at home and was never a church-going guy. He worked 5 days a week and so saturday and sunday was his relaxing days, lol. I can't remember my dad going to a service a single time.

Once us kids became old enough my mom left it to us if we felt like going or not. For me I used to go to the occasionally service just to have a reason to meet up with my childhood best friend and the many, many girls around my age that also used to go to the church. By the time I was 15 I used to just call my boy up mainly and never really went to a actual service again since.

As far as my mom goes, she just eventually got tired of the church politics (my uncle was cool, but everyone else was constantly playing church politics with backstabbing, arguments, misusing church funds, people only really hitting you up when they need money for some sort of event (like you could be sick and in the hospital but still the main priority for a lot of those people would be hitting you up for money) etc. Its a whole friggin' thing man). Along with her too just flat out being tired from years of working and watching kids yet also said screw it and started saying home. Basically "retired" from the minister life pretty much.

There was never any kind of weird limitations when it comes to what my brother and I could or could not do when it comes to the TV or movies we watched, music we listened to (at most we would get a "man....this sounds terrible, lul" type of comment) video games we played, friends we made and hung out with etc. Thank goodness.

GranTurismo posted...

Really like magic is especially bad? I really don't get this reasoning.

Magic is usually equaled to witchcraft. (Same as how pokemon=demonic). Basically why harry potter was a no-go for many in pretty deep super religious peoples.

Christian household. Very active in the church. Youth groups, mission trips, mom was in the choir and Dad was/is big into the prison ministry. The death of my little brother to cancer when he was 14 kinda ended my mom being involved much in the church. She still considers herself a Christian but stopped going to church or participating in church activities. I dipped as well because I was only doing it because the whole family was involved. I dunno exactly what my sister still believes but she doesn't go to church anymore either. My dad still goes to church and does his prison ministry stuff.

Parents never cared about policing our entertainment based on whether or not it was Christian or if it was "demonic" or any of that shit.