Brainwashed or genuine?

[Silver Guard]

Mistake in title, should be "Brainwashed or genuine"

I don't think a believer is genuine unless he came to his belief by his own accord. The problem with this is that no one ever does. Without outside influences no man or woman would ever become Christain/Jew/Muslim just out of some whim. You may notice that there are no extreme firey displays of God's supremacy in this day and age, no burning cities, no great floods...

Quite simply the majority of religious people are brainwashed, brought into their religion through repeated utterations of how holy God is, and how Jesus looks after them, over and over through their childhood. Its simply how it is.

This poll is just to make sure, out of personal curiosity, rather then any doubt in the matter.

Note: Transferring from one religion to another does not go under the category of rejecting your religion, you are still religious no matter what religion (minus deist, which should go under agnostic, sorry about the generalisation). Any conversions before 15 years of age go under the other categories. Eg if you loose your belief at 8 (like me) you are atheist with _______ parents.

[Dayman]

Born and raised Catholic, both parents were lapsed Catholics, my mother was not churchgoing but still a believer, my father was angry at god. I go to Catholic school, parents break up, I live with my mother, who tools around with new age crap and becomes born again. She has a brief period of believing before slowly coming into what she is now, a Christian in name only. My father believes in Native American gods now that he's found out that he's a 60th Chippewa.

Anyways, on to me, I was a devout Catholic boy until sophomore year of high school (15 years old), when I started loosing faith in the doctrine of the Church. I had a few discussions, and decided that I was a non-denominational Christian. I had no belief in the saints, Mary, transubstantiation, etc. Then I stopped believing in the trinity. Then, by the end of high school, I was decidedly deist. I figured, something must have created everything, but there was still a doubt. I left high school, and attended my last Mass, hopefully my last for all time (unless my brother marries in one, but that isn't likely).

Over the summer, just as I was getting ready to leave for school, my mother came to talk to me. She wanted to tell me a few things, asking me if I accepted Jesus, and that I would go to church and "not join a cult" (irony is delicious). I told her there that I was agnostic. God was not an issue we could know, and that I didn't follow Christianity anymore. Tears were shed, blah blah blah, we moved on. I go to school, start learning philosophy, start reading, become atheist, had a bit of a swing as an antitheist, and now I've settled as a weak atheist. I know that I'm going to stay here, since this is the only time I've felt satisfied about this question. The question of god really isn't that interesting to me anymore, there are other questions now.

[Medicus]

My father believes in Native American gods now that he's found out that he's a 60th Chippewa.

Uh... sure. No offense Boeing, but is your Dad right in the head?

I'm agnostic. My mother believes in a God strongly. I do not know about my father.

Pretty much.

I'm-a throw my card in this pile.

[Dayman]

Uh... sure. No offense Boeing, but is your Dad right in the head?

No. He's bipolar and manic-depressive, has anger issues, and is an alcoholic. Which is why I've talked to him once in 3 years.

[Medicus]

No. He's bipolar and manic-depressive, has anger issues, and is an alcoholic. Which is why I've talked to him once in 3 years.

Oh ****. I feel like a ****. (Infer from that what you will.)

What encouraged him to find Native American religion?

[Dayman]

Oh ****. I feel like a ****. (Infer from that what you will.)

Based on your background, I can guess . It's cool, I've said worse things about him.

What encouraged him to find Native American religion?

He's 1/60th Chippewa. So he was walking through the woods (this is 100% serious), and he heard the drums of his "ancestors" (1/60th of them), and now speaks to the "wood ghost" daily. Now, tells me that he prays for me everyday (which=nothing), and asked me if I pray for him (I told him no, obviously.) And now he thinks that I only don't believe in the Christian god (which is wrong), and is waiting for me to "hear the drums".

[removeduser_487563287433]

I'm agnostic. My mother believes in a God strongly. I do not know about my father.

[removeduser_426582376423734]

I'm agnostic. My mother believes in a God strongly. I do not know about my father.

Pretty much.

[Commintern]

hmmm the poll is not realy effective sadly, if you ask me.

First of all it lacks some possiblities. I was raised in a secular home, but NOT an atheistic home. However, you just put it under the categories "atheist parents" and "religious parents". Anyway, I think your hypothesis is lacking, although I now notice you actually disproved it yourself. So you do realise that there is no completely "genioune" (genioune by your definition) cause things will affect you during your childhood, you can't avoid it.

[Tankbuster]

I rejected my religion last year! Just after I was 15, really.
I don't know if my parents are religious, really. They kind of avoid to talk about it. I think that, deep down, they are agnostic, but they don't want to see the consequences of their stance (i.e. they can't hold on to God anymore).

[Zenith Darksea]

Actually I converted to my religion post-15 years of age and I have atheist parents, though obviously I couldn't select both.

[Sebdeas]

My parents aren't religious and they wanted me to choose for myself.
I'm Agnostic, my parents are probably as well.

[finneys13]

Would have voted 'Atheist with agnostic parents', if I could.

[Archaon]

Would have voted 'Atheist with agnostic parents', if I could.

me too

[Silver Guard]

Actually I converted to my religion post-15 years of age and I have atheist parents, though obviously I couldn't select both.

Actually that's because I wasn't expecting such a response. I'm honestly surprised. Though for the purposes of this the earlier of the two is more important, as it shows the genuinity.

Would have voted 'Atheist with agnostic parents', if I could.

Your parents can be classed as a-theistic. They are not religious for the purposes of this poll.

[Nellup]

I'm atheist with a strongly Christian mother and agnostic father.

[Irishman]

Genuine, I lost my faith around 14 (maybe 15 or 16 I can't remember the exact year) while raised by Christian parents.

[Silver Guard]

First of all it lacks some possiblities. I was raised in a secular home, but NOT an atheistic home. However, you just put it under the categories "atheist parents" and "religious parents". Anyway, I think your hypothesis is lacking, although I now notice you actually disproved it yourself. So you do realise that there is no completely "genioune" (genioune by your definition) cause things will affect you during your childhood, you can't avoid it.

The poll should have read non-religious instead of atheist, apologies

[Zenith Darksea]

Actually I should point out that it is quite wrong to see people who have been raised in a particular religion as not being genuine. As you can probably tell, I converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity (at the age of 18), much to the surprise of my atheist family. You see, it does happen! As such, I have joined a church in which there is a strong emphasis on the family and family traditions, a principle family tradition being Orthodox Christianity. It is seen as very much a part of the Greek identity to be Orthodox, and as such it is bizarre, but true, that there are Greeks who will agree that they are Orthodox and say that they don't believe in God.

However, to say that someone is not 'genuine' because their religion runs in their family is unfair. I know a large number of extremely devout Orthodox Christians from Orthodox families. When I have spoken about this specific subject with my Orthodox friends, they have told me that, while they do come from Orthodox families, they have nonetheless (and sometimes quite recently) discovered Orthodox Christianity on a personal level as well. That positive, personal decision is not in any way incompatible with a tradition of religion running in a family.

[Sleeper]

Religious with agnostic parents is missing.
By your OP's reasoning Atheists with Atheist parents are as brainwashed as religious people.