Converting to Neopaganism: Reconciliation

[wikkedpixie]

i was raised by grandmother was a devout xtian. until I was a teenager, I went along with everything that I heard at church without question, but then I just started thinking that there has to be other ways of thinking. That is whenI started lookin into paganism.  

[Oterys]

I was raised in a methodist/bapist christian family...but I converted since it wasn't really working out for me...but I tend to practice my parents faith too, which gets a bit confusing at times.  

[Annalixa]

My mom is a very devout Methodist, my dad I don't know. He was raised Eastern Orthodox and still goes to the important services when they come up (Christmas and Easter, and since the Eastern Orthodox church uses a different calendar, he goes to our "family" church for Christmas and Easter as well). Thus, I was raised Methodist, though I was never a really fervent believer. I was confirmed and then stopped going, much to my mother's irritation at the time. I sort of regret it not because I miss church but because I'm sure she has figured out I'm not a Christian and, by her reckoning, will suffer in hell. That must be hard on her.

As I was never a Jesus cheerleader, there's nothing for me to really reconcile. No real crisis of faith to overcome. Simply put, Christianity is not for me. And I don't like the sort of erroneous/intolerant things it's instilled in my mother, an otherwise kind, intelligent, and sensible woman--though I recognize that's more a factor of her specific experience of Christianity. I don't know if there's anything I bring from it to whatever I currently believe it, Methodist is pretty vanilla. I don't even have the benefit of Catholic pomp and circumstance as a base. razz I suppose my ethics have a vague Christian influence, like belief in the existence of evil, or a tendency towards monotheism. The latter is expressed more in belief in one "energy source" or whatever--like the Tao. Or that's what, intellectually, I prefer. It's hard to say what I actually believe.

I don't really have an organized path that I walk, nothing structured. So...I guess the last question I can't really answer.  

[SonarP]

What was your religion before you chose to walk a Neopagan or alternative religious path?
I'm not really too sure on this. First I was Christian, because my family introduced it to me. Then I became a silent agnostic; I didn't tell anyone in my family save for my brother, because we both found out we were agnostics in an odd brother-sister-thing. Now I want to become a pagan, and I'm making steps to do so with help from other communities in my area. ^_^; Forgive me if it sounds fluffy, but that's it in a nut-shell.
How do you reconcile with your previous religion? How do you feel towards it?
I'll be honest here. I bear a bit of hatred towards Christianity. It's not the religion itself, but the way it's interpreted now these days, and how damaging it can be with the claim that it "helps"..also, the way it's influenced my family...it wasn't very good to say the least. I'm not saying all Christians are evil and closed-minded, as I have friends who are. I still find them saying "You're wrong, my god is right. Please come see the light." I respect them for caring, but Christianity just isn't right for me. You know what, though? I'm pretty sure I'm being closed-minded myself.
What similarities, if any, can you see between what your old religious practice was and what your new one is?
I don't have a practice, so I can't answer that yet.  

[saint dreya]

raised religion-
Episcopalian, mixed in with what i now consider some Gnostic concepts. for the earliest bit of remembered religion, i was in a Baptist church.

reconcile-
well, after growing up and getting through my "anti-Christian" fluffy, emo days, i've been able to look through the religion again and detect what i would consider its "true" meaning, of which i think has been perverted. while i admit to it being a nice idea (love everyone), i'm no longer compelled to really.

similarities-
not that i can pinpoint exactly.  

[Greeneyed_falcon]

I never converted, owing to traditional aspects in my family. There are pockets of my family that are tradcraft witches, others that are catholics (not as unusual a blend as you'd think in Ireland), and everyone in my family walks a path in either extreme or somewhere in the middle. Still we have added some neopagan aspects to our lives (the tradcrafters amongst us). We have core beliefs that you will find throughout the family, and I have no animosity towards Christianity or Catholicism, nor the Catholics in our family towards us

Considering many people who convert to neopaganism, are attracted by its all-embracing manner, why then would people harbour negetivity towards whichever religion they left?  

[Deoridhe]

Greeneyed_falcon

Considering many people who convert to neopaganism, are attracted by its all-embracing manner, why then would people harbour negetivity towards whichever religion they left?

Rationalization. "I left it, so it must not be good." Also, frequently the reason people leave their birth religion is because they have a bad experience or bad experiences with it.  

[MaddLlama]

First, I have to say that it's incredibly refreshing to see a number of Pagans who aren't immature Christian-haters. I encounter that a lot, and it drives me freakin batty. I find that a lot of the time the tolerance and "all-embracing" attitude of Paganism doesn't extend to Abrahamic religions for some people.

Anyway, I was raised Catholic, but a very special kind of Catholic they call a "pew warmer". We went to church on holidays, and I participated in the youth group because that's what all my friends were doing. Eventually, I stopped seeing those friends for one reason or another, and decided I didn't care about religion.
I don't really have much of an opinion on Catholicism, or Christianity in general. The way I see it, it works for some people, so there must be some merit to it. It just doesn't work for me.
I think Catholicism and Paganism, even if they can't admit it, share a few things. Already mentioned was the similar love for ritual. But also, even though Catholics are monotheistic, they do revere more entities than just god, such as the saints, and the Virgin Mary. This is why a lot of indiginous polytheistic type people were able to make an easier transition into Christianity, and religions like Santeria formed. Catholics would of course be offended by the notion that their praying to the saints makes them at all similar to Pagans, but that's the way I interpret it whee  

[MaddLlama]

Greeneyed_falcon

Considering many people who convert to neopaganism, are attracted by its all-embracing manner, why then would people harbour negetivity towards whichever religion they left?

I think the line of thinking is this: "Paganism is tolerant and accepts me as I am, therefore it is good. Christianity is intolerant, and doesn't accept me at all, therefore it is not worthy of tolerance"

The paradox of being intolerant of intolerance xd There's a good quote, from a comedian named Tom Lehrer, I remember that illustrates it best: "There are people in the world who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that."  

[Funa Spectrum]

I was raised in a loosely Christian family. My father is Presbytarian, and my mother put emphasis on the church as a community rather than a place for worship - if I remember correctly, she's agnostic.

I must've hit a need for spirituality along with puberty, and Christianity was the closest thing. I wasn't a model Christian - I reinterpreted the bible to fit my beliefs, and I think I was looking into astral projection and reincarnation theories during this time, but I became more involved in the church and Jesus. The change from Christian to Pagan was very gradual, thanks to the internet and random books stolen off my aunts. I still think Jesus is a great teacher, and I love the Christians that are full of Yahweh's love (and/or vice versa) and so cheerful.

There's very few similarities between the religions now. I don't have a relationship with a deity, and the community I have is relaxed and somewhat experimental, but I still have my faith in an enjoyable afterlife, and my morals haven't changed.  

[Greeneyed_falcon]

MaddLlama

First, I have to say that it's incredibly refreshing to see a number of Pagans who aren't immature Christian-haters. I encounter that a lot, and it drives me freakin batty. I find that a lot of the time the tolerance and "all-embracing" attitude of Paganism doesn't extend to Abrahamic religions for some people.

I concur, but then the older I get the less I meet the immature Christian-bashers, so I think its mainly an age thing. You see it with new agnostics and aetheists when they are teenagers too.. so it isn't purely pagan converts. Personally, I think a lot of the basic intruction of pretty much every religion has serious merit. Every religion I have come across recommends tolerence, respect and abstinence for sins (usually theft, adultry, greed etc etc). I defy anybody who is anti Christian (only picked them because I am most familiar with the new testament) to point me the passage where Jesus says "and ye shall go forth and basheth all those who are not the precise religious group liketh to ye".

MaddLlama

I think Catholicism and Paganism, even if they can't admit it, share a few things. Already mentioned was the similar love for ritual. But also, even though Catholics are monotheistic, they do revere more entities than just god, such as the saints, and the Virgin Mary. This is why a lot of indiginous polytheistic type people were able to make an easier transition into Christianity, and religions like Santeria formed. Catholics would of course be offended by the notion that their praying to the saints makes them at all similar to Pagans, but that's the way I interpret it whee

Amen  

[patch99329]

What was your religion before you chose to walk a Neopagan or alternative religious path?

Meh. Agnostic I suppose smile My whole family were 'kind of christian' but nobody practices lol.

How do you reconcile with your previous religion? How do you feel towards it?

I don't hate christianity and more or less than before. It's just another religeon at the end of the day.

What similarities, if any, can you see between what your old religious practice was and what your new one is?

For me personally, it's just prayer thats similar. I prayed then, I pray now.