Religion your choice or are you forced

[DerBear]

Hi thier guys i was wondering is your religion your choice or are you forced inot your religion by your family.

if you aqre forced into it by your family please tell any stories you wish to share on the matter.

also if you are forced into religon by family what are the concequinces if you refuse to follow that religion

or if you do not have a religion like me just say so

[Iceman]

My choice. We used to go to church but haven't been in over 5 years. None of us have, so it's not really prominent in my household.

[Sage]

Plenty of people who have had beliefs nailed into their heads from birth like to believe they follow them completely out of their own choice. You're not going to get any clear or objective answers from most people.

[Kahn]

When I was a child, I was forced to go to church. It seemed right to me, but that was because it was basically drilled into my head. After my parents separation, I simply stopped practicing.

[User Deleted]

When I was like five my mom made me go to church. I wasn't forced to listen, but I guess eventually I just did. I am beginning to loose faith more recently though.

[Jess]

well before I officially became an atheist I went to church and believed in God...kinda. I was skeptic but the church I went to wasn't like some, I quite enjoyed going to church, but we weren't forced to go. Our friends, all Chinese, went, so we went. But now I don't believe in God. I don't go to church. Mom's okay with me being atheist. It's my choice.

[embers]

My parents are very liberal, so I get a choice, thankfully. If I were still in Pakistan, though, I'd be getting sharp intakes of breath if not fucking punches in the face for declaring myself an unbeliever.

[somethingrandom]

Well, my family is a mixed rainbow of sorts. My dad was raised as a catholic, and now an atheist, and my mom's side of the family was a mix of different levels of jewish religiousness. So I was raised as a jewish person, and i'm pretty free to pick my own religion. Frankly, i have no idea if there is a god, and will probably never have any clue. I dont follow god, nor do i follow any of the magical things that he said, but i'm jewish because of my ancestry. My forefathers survived the holocaust, the inquisition, the exodus in egypt, the syrians, the romans, the catholics, and celebrated rosh hashanah and purim and sukkot and channukah and pesakh and matzot and so on. So that's why i'm jewish and always will be.

[Cobalt]

I'm basically free to pick my own religion I believe in god and all and know whats good and whats bad just don't really believe in the bible since to me it was written by man and not god himself but I'll still go to church with my family on sundays when they go except when I'm with my mom I kinda have to pretend I believe since shes somewhat religious even though she rarely goes to church herself.

[Magus]

I have to act like a devout Muslim all year long and to believe in Evil Eyes, Envious Thoughts and Djinns.

[The Joker]

I wasn't forced so much as I was taught to believe it was true at a young age...until I came to my own wits and saw too many contradictions in the Christian religion, last year.

[MadManWithaBox]

Im catholic, I chose to be confirmed, and I'm 18 now, and I choose to go to church twice a week, wear the cross. So yeah, my choice.

[RoseyCadaver]

My mom doesn't use the word force,she says "suggest" :).But hey I could have a gun to my head like some countries that actually force it.

[AnnaxSanity]

You can't force or choose a religion. You don't choose because you can't wake up one morning and just decide to believe in God and then quit. And you can't really force someone to believe anything.

People are going to believe whatever they have been convinced of, some people are just easier to convince than others.

[scuba steve]

during my childhood I was brought to church and taught to be Catholic by my granny up until I was around 5. I didn't really know any better. But my parents are very liberal despite being both being raised either Catholic or Protestant and I think they told her to stop.

[Crocbait230]

My parents force me to go to church
I'm not repulsed by it and i like the 10 commandments except for a few
I'm not religious i think of myself as atheist/ scientific christian (no god/ but there is, in your mind)

[tav18]

Or I Could say i was raised to be a christian, my parents never forced me to.

[Genghis Khan]

My parents are Atheists too. However as a cultural thing they made me go through the whole learning Namaz (Muslim prayer) and reading the entire Qur'an in Arabic [which serves no purpose whatsoever because I can't understand a fucking word of it], and afterwards they let me decide for myself. However, I represent probably 0.000000000000000000000000000000000001 of the Pakistani population. Most people from my country, if not force their children, scare them with the most disturbing stories of having to drink boiling water and be dragged across red hot burning rocks in hell just before being whipped. Sickening.

[Korashk]

Oh, look at all the people thinking you can choose what to believe.

[Genghis Khan]

Oh, look at all the people thinking you can choose what to believe.

Why can't they, or in this case, we?

[Korashk]

Why can't they, or in this case, we?
In a broad sense, the world is deterministic. In a more specific sense, a person can't just all of a sudden choose to believe things that they did not previously believe in without some sort of mitigating factor.

[AladdinSane]

Well my Dad is a vicar and I go to church, but to be honest, it's just made me all the more skeptical! I'm an agnostic personally and don't really care very much at all for the whole organised religion thing, I've nothing against people who are religious though.

[Genghis Khan]

In a broad sense, the world is deterministic. In a more specific sense, a person can't just all of a sudden choose to believe things that they did not previously believe in without some sort of mitigating factor.

That doesn't somehow mean it holds as much solidarity as race where any attempts to change your race will automatically fail. Just because it is difficult to change a religious belief without some sort of mitigation doesn't mean it is inexecutable. Hence the choice remains there.

[Korashk]

That doesn't somehow mean it holds as much solidarity as race where any attempts to change your race will automatically fail.
Can't choose =/= Can't change.
Likewise, Can Change =/= Chose to change.

[Genghis Khan]

Can Change =/= Chose to change.

So you're saying just because people can change doesn't mean they can choose to change?

[Korashk]

So you're saying just because people can change doesn't mean they can choose to change?
Exactly.

[Genghis Khan]

Exactly.

Why?

[Korashk]

Why?
Deterministic universe, ultimately.

More spefically because that's not how how people's brains work. Could you just one day decide to stop being an atheist and decide to believe in a god, and actually believe? Could you just one day decide to stop holding your political positions and adopt ones diametrically opposed, and actually hold them? The answer is: not without some sort of mitigating factor.

[Genghis Khan]

Could you just one day decide to stop being an atheist and decide to believe in a god, and actually believe?

If anyone could give me a good enough reason to other than all that hocus pocus about burning in hell, maybe even prove it through science then why wouldn't I? If you can give people a good enough reason not to believe in something and go about the right way telling them, you can make them choose. At least, I've been able to successfully make a few Muslims see the other point of view and in some cases actually turn them to atheism. I won't use the word convert for the purpose of not looking like a militant prick. But yeah.

Could you just one day decide to stop holding your political positions and adopt ones diametrically opposed, and actually hold them? The answer is: not without some sort of mitigating factor.

I cannot actually speak for that because as far as my relationship with politics goes I'm strictly objective, I'm not opinionated as far as that is concerned.

Why is it that the requirement of a mitigating factor makes it impossible for people to choose. Sure, you'd much rather stick to your initial views unless someone comes and completely annihilates you in a debate, but even then, I don't think that suddenly changes the fact that people can choose.

[Korashk]

If anyone could give me a good enough reason to other than all that hocus pocus about burning in hell, maybe even prove it through science then why wouldn't I?
That would be the mitigating factor of you becoming convinced. I don't know how you interpret the words, but choosing and being convinced are two mutually exclusive concepts when it comes to belief from my perspective.

If you can give people a good enough reason not to believe in something and go about the right way telling them, you can make them choose.

Why is it that the requirement of a mitigating factor makes it impossible for people to choose.
Because choice implies free will. Without some fort of outside influence or realization nobody ever has or will seriously change their positions.

[RoseyCadaver]

I just think it's wrong,and more then likely,at least in my parents case,it did the exact opposite.They tried there very best to brain wash me with all this Catholicism(sadly they achieved a little)and now I'm like the only child (I have three brothers)who is agnostic/almost atheist.

Just comes to show.

[Genghis Khan]

That would be the mitigating factor of you becoming convinced. I don't know how you interpret the words, but choosing and being convinced are two mutually exclusive concepts when it comes to belief from my perspective.

I did slightly misunderstand the concept of the mitigating factor not allowing you to choose before you posted this further elaborating your point.

But even if a fundamentalist Christian were to be given facts and proved completely wrong about their faith based position that does not guarantee that they will change. So even with the mitigating factor you can have people stick to their religious beliefs because they choose to do so. That's at least how, I interpret it, especially after having a debate with a Christian on why Christianity is correct and science isn't and hearing them say 'well I still choose to be a Christian'. It is their free will that's letting them decide where they want to be regardless of how convincing the opposing argument is.

[Korashk]

I did slightly misunderstand the concept of the mitigating factor not allowing you to choose before you posted this further elaborating your point.
I probably could have been more clear.

But even if a fundamentalist Christian were to be given facts and proved completely wrong about their faith based position that does not guarantee that they will change. So even with the mitigating factor you can have people stick to their religious beliefs because they choose to do so.
Now you're assuming that because reasoning and evidence can convince you, it should be enough to convince anyone, so if it doesn't then whomever it doesn't convince must be exercising free will to believe in the face of conflicting evidence and logic. Not the case.

[Genghis Khan]

Now you're assuming that because reasoning and evidence can convince you, it should be enough to convince anyone, so if it doesn't then whomever it doesn't convince must be exercising free will to believe in the face of conflicting evidence and logic. Not the case.

No. What I'm advocating is despite the undeniable proof of certain theories that conflict with religious explanations people still have the free will to pick what they want to believe, even if the evidence has been presented in front of them and they understand it. But I do see your point about choosing and being convinced, the two concepts being mutually exclusive and the mitigating factor. This is just my perspective.

[Korashk]

You're missing the bigger part though. Free will is an illusion meant to make people feel good.

[Spock]

iam niether i like my religion andd my family has been practicing it for..........a long long time i i dont want to stop practiceing it

[Continuum]

Forced. I keep my beliefs, so as to provide camouflage. People here are gravely intolerant for irreligion.

[Iris]

forced into orthodox judaism. We learn everything in detail and i can tell all you jewish ppl on vt that if u dig hard enough you realize judaism, and every other religion, is ridiculous and doesnt make sense. its simply the product of human weakness. i'm an atheist if you havent guessed. i still have to act religious or else i'll get kicked out of school and shunned by everyone. my shrink said that having to constantly lie about who i am is a huge reason for my depression and is actively traumatizing me :( i hate religion so much by now

[Black Eight]

What I don't like about this thread is that there are people here that believe that they were able to follow whatever religion they believe, but actually were indoctrinated into their parents' religion at birth. And when given free reign over their lives, they go to whatever religion they were forced to follow and believe that is their choice.

[DarkHorses]

There was a time when I felt forced into my religion, and I stopped believing for awhile. I think a lot of it was rebellion, because I hated the fact that my family probably wouldn't accept me being anything but Christian. But I realized that I do believe, and it is my choice. I could stop believing at any moment that I wanted to, and I proved that before. I don't believe anyone is brainwashed by religion, because we all reach a point where we are old enough to decide on our own and to really think things through. If people are brainwashed by everything their parents believe then we would all be exactly like our parents. Eventually we become independent, and we're able to make those decisions on our own. If you feel forced now, it won't always be that way.

[Black Eight]

Daylight: That's not what I'm saying. Parents don't brainwash their children. Sorry if that's what it sounded like. I guess what I meant was that some people don't even question their religion because that's the way they were brought up and don't know any better so they blindly follow whatever religion their parents taught them.