Hi all,
I was wondering if any of you have changed religions from what you were raised in. I come from a devout Catholic family and last January I was baptized by immersion in a nondenominational Christian church. I was attending the Catholic church only about 3-4 times a year for the past several years (although I did not let my parents know about it). Then I started attending this nondenominational Christian church and I felt a total change come over me and started questioning a lot of my earlier beliefs. I haven't told my parents or extended family because I suspect very highly they would freak out. I hate keeping the truth from them but I am scared. Also, I rent from them and I wouldn't be surprised if they threw us out. (They are very "anti-Protestant" and I grew up thinking Protestants were crazy and messed up. ) DH and my 2 boys also come to the new church (DH was raised Catholic too). Anyone here had a similar experience of changing religions?

My mom is just happy if I go to church, she stopped trying to get me to go to what I grew up in! I was raised in a very strict lutheran church which of course I rebelled as a teen and stopped going to church altogether

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

I am a SMALL town girl. I went to church where GENERATIONS of families grew up in. I loved being around the Pillars (silver hairs) in my congregation. They were what made up 90% of the church members! (all 50 of us!!) Church to these people was more of a social event more than a religious experience.

I was baptised there, confirmed there, married there, had my kids baptised there. It is all about tradition. Ask me what we stood for, what our beliefs were....I would answer "community" because we never had bible studies, Sunday School, etc. We had volunteer parents who woudl do a craft with us, but nothing structured. We, as kids, would just attend church with our parents...and to a child...that was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

As an married adult far away from home, living overseas, I missed the community aspect of church and the general overall feeling of doing something "right" with my life. (I was always told to do "the right thing and go to church on Sunday" so that was set in stone in my mind). I married a non practising mormon. His family is highly involved in the church but as a teen he rebelled against it. Becoming a father he wanted to get more involved with church again so we started going together. I liked a large part of their service but felt so unfamiliar and so out of place for other parts of it. Dh too. It had been so long for him that he too felt he wasn't the same person with the same beliefs. So....the search began.....

I was a confirmed member of the United Church of CANADA which you don't find too many of down here in the U.S so we started going to a non denomination church in P'cola. We fell in love with it and really started getting more involved: bible studies, couple groups, church functions, etc. I felt so at peace....AND THEN WE MOVED.

We arrived in OK and had to start the process all over again. Being traditionalists and somewhat conservative, we found it very hard fitting into a church service of the 21st century. It was foreign to both my dh and I to attend church with people worshipping so OPENNLY and so proudly and so emotionally. We were more used to hard wooden pews, quiet old people and maybe an out of tune organ and silver haired organists. Now we were dealing with full bands, choirs, digital lectures, movies, etc. It was QUITE the experience. We didn't know what to think at first but I think after attending two or three services we have found another church we have adapted to. Again, it's not conventional to us, but we're trying our best to fit in and to be honest, we both are adapting very well to the changes....and actually look forward to going each week ; as to the kids, which is super huge too!

WE move again in March so it will take us awhile to find yet ANOTHER church .... but we think now after doing this the non denominational route works best for the both of us because of our different upbringings.

Hey I live between Spiro and Keota in OK we are neighbors... I was raised Free Will Babtist but when I was older I went to a Non- Denominational shouting tongue talking rock music church(as others called it) lol alot of the people I went to church with were upset about it cause they didn't believe that way.. But I haven't been to church in a while now...just don't feel homie anymore.

I have not changed denominations but one of my best friends has. She was born and raised Catholic. Got married, had kids and continued to go to the catholic church for over 10 years. When it came tome for her children to take the "Classes" she couldn't bring herself to send them. Her parents are strong Catholic. But after a lot of thought and decision she and her family started coming to the church I attend with my family. They really enjoyed it. She has since become a member and they are very involved with happenings in our church. It was very difficult for her to tell her parents as they are so hard core Catholic. Well she told them and her mom told her she didn't care where they went to church as long as they went. That was 3 or 4 years ago. And she is still coming to my church. (United Methodist) much more laid back than Catholic.

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~Jill~

I was raised Catholic & am athiest now. My brother is lutheran, my other sister does not attend church but tried methodist for a while, and my other sister is unitarian. My mom just basically hoped we would go to church - didn't matter to her if we stayed catholic or not. Oddly enough, my aunt switched to baptist, and my mom said she was never the same. That she became a "holy roller" - whatever that meant to my mom, I'm not sure. I don't think it would be legal for your parents to throw you out due to this if you rent from them. You have a rental agreement/contract/lease, right? That would be religious discrimination & illegal here in Michigan.

I have not switched, but thought about it many, MANY times. I was raised Catholic and God keeps telling me to stay in the Catholic Church whenever I think of switching. Good thing, too, as my husband and I met at church. Through the annulment process before we got married, we wanted to switch, but, again, God kept telling us to stay. That is where he wants us.

As far as your parents, it is your life. I know it won't be easy. I am lucky. My mother converted to Catholicism from being a Southern Baptist. Both sets of grandparents had HUGE issues with that one! My parents just want us to be Christians - they don't care where we worship as long as it is a good Christian church and we are strong Christians. It is sort of ironic that most of mom's peers want their kids to be Catholic and very few are. My mother doesn't necessarily want us to be Catholic and we are.

I don't know how I would tell them if my shelter and my family's shelter was involved. That would be a hard thing to do in that case. Illegal or not, it is your family. Plus, with family, I would think you would NOT have a lease. You don't want to hide, but you need to do what is best to protect your family. Can you look for another place just in case?

We did have an "official" lease several years ago, which none of us ever bothered renewing or looking at again after we signed it. DH and have looked around for a new place several times due to other difficulties in our relationship with my parents, unrelated to religion. So I at least have an idea of some places and prices in the area. I would like to think that they would be glad that I was going to church and not really care about it...but they are very volatile, very unpredictable....not "bad" people, after all they have helped us out many times. They are my parents and I love them, but frankly they scare me like I am a little kid. i don't want to disappoint them, not JUST because of the rental situation, but because I just don't want them to be disappointed or mad at me.

for now, I don't see any way I would feel comfortable telling them. I am glad though to hear stories of other people who have switched. It was a hard decision and sometimes I wonder if I have "fully switched over". I still have questions about communion and a few other things too. But overall it makes more sense for me to be here.

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter

I was born, baptized, raised Lutheran. There I was told if I attended church I'd go to heaven. Read out of a catechism (sp?), was confirmed and became a member of the church. The catholic church burned and they couldn't have service there so another church let them use the building etc. (Very nice about it). Then I went to church with some friends and their's was TOTALLY 100% different. You could agree with the pastor and say "Amen" and what not during the service instead of sitting in a pew like a straight board. So I switched. Then dh and I got together and I said "Look, I've seen denominations seperate God's people. You say you are a Christian so let's go to a non denominational church." We did and have been there 5 yrs. We do children's ministry and help ANY WHERE needed. Our Pastor appreciates us and would do any thing for us but we need some thing more (we feel we have out grown this church, there are different deacons with different beliefs and the pastor is slipping health wise) and will move on eventually but only when the time comes.