Were You Born Into Christian Homes?

[dB-Paradox]

Of those who deconverted, were you born into strong Christian homes, or did you come to Christ through a friend or something similar?

 

I would say I was born into a Christian home, though it may not have been very strong at first. But while still young (as a toddler/young child) my home life was quite centered around Christianity. I'd still consider myself a Christian, but not as evangelical as I once was. I've also opened up to new ideas.

 

Anyway, I'm just asking the question to see how many ex-Christians came from a Christian background.

[Rhia]

Mine is a VERY complicated background, and I can't even give a straight answer to that question - as odd as that may seem.

 

My birth family were a bit odd - my mom was a mix of Xn, neo-pagan, and LDS. My step-dad was an Atheist who believed in UFOs, ghosts, and that a black hole crashed into Earth, who is now a "take what you like and leave the rest" Xn.

 

My foster family were Pentecostal - that's where I received most of my religious training.

 

And I converted my adopted family to AoG before deconverting myself. So yeah, I'm a bit of a strange case. Then again: aren't we all?

[Zaramon]

Me.

 

My earliest recolletion is of my mom telling me of how Cheesesause drank vingar while he was stretched out on the cross.

 

Always look on the bright side of life. Yup. Born on the fundy side.

[Ouroboros]

Very strong Christian home.

 

Parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, you name it, and several generations back. I suspect I'm the first non-believer.

[decafaholic]

I was 4th generation Assemblies of God.

 

Just typing that sentence and reading it made me wonder how on earth I turned out half-way normal.

[sharkindeepwater]

Baptist, baby. Church every week.

 

Agnostic father, but a quiet one who was raised with Christian parents and, perhaps, trusted a bit too well.

 

We've all... become far more liberal in faith, I believe.

[OpheliaGinger]

Fundamentalist parents and grandparents.

[R. S. Martin]

Christian back to infinity. Mennonite on all sides except for a slight complication for a few generations (at the great-grandparent level) until they got back on track again. Actually, there's some obscurity that I'm not sure of what denomination one great-grandmother was born into but she was raised Mennonite.

[Guest M_H]

Born into an irreligious family.

 

Early conversion of mom into evangelical christianity (when I was 4; Calvary Chapel). Grew up fundie from then on.

 

Lots and lots of questions starting at 11, but generally just going along with the flow.

 

Didnt care much from high school till 28.

 

At 28ish started really questioning it, and about 2 years later was fully clear.

[Vomit Comet]

My mom was a lapsed Catholic who dabbled for a few years in mainline/liberal Protestantism before getting into some weird Japanese new age sect, and my dad was more or less an agnostic in all but name. His dad was a regular old California farmer who converted to fundamentalism when my dad was a small kid (and much to my grandmother's chagrin), and then grandpa went nuts (we're talking in and out of the state hospital) and that church exploited him for all their money and they went hungry. Needless to say, my dad was anything but pleased when I came home one night as a 15 year old and announcing I had become "born again." My mom didn't like it either.

 

So no, not raised in a fundie household at all.

[babysealclubber]

Strong Christians as far back as whenever. Mennonite Brethren denomination, most recently.

[Andy]

Very strong Christian home.

 

Parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, you name it, and several generations back. I suspect I'm the first non-believer.

My family was sort of like this. Not that they were fundies, some were actually fairly liberal. Just very religious.

[Kyle]

Baptist mom, methodist dad, baptist grandfather peacher. I was in it up to here

[Neon Genesis]

I was raised in a fundie home. Both my parents are members of the COC and my sister is the only liberal Christian in the family I know of. My grandparents on both sides of the family are COC although my grandma on my dad's side belongs to a COC that uses musical instruments whereas my grandmother on my mother's side belongs to a non-instrumental COC. Most all of our relatives are either COC members or belong to some other fundie church. My mother actually wasn't raised COC. Her family attended an Independent Christian Church before converting to the COC when she was a teen. I'm pretty sure I'm also the first atheist in the family unless there's some ancestor of mine I'm unaware of or something.

[Skeptic]

My parents are fundies and practically my entire family is xian. I was indoctrinated from the time I was born, pretty much. Infant baptism, Sunday school, VBS, you know the deal.

[florduh]

I had an ultra religious father and mother who went along, considering herself a Christian too. Went to church a minimum of three times a week.

 

It never took. I didn't fall for the scam until many years later at work. It was total immersion at that place, including Christian broadcasts playing on the radio constantly.

 

I like to think we all have weak moments . . .

[Vomit Comet]

When I was a Christian teenager I used to envy my friends that came from Christian homes. I was constantly telling them that they had no idea how fortunate they were, which probably really grated on a few of them.

 

Now, after being a member here at ex-Christian, I realize how incredibly fucking lucky I was compared to many of you. Good Lord, if one of you told me "you didn't miss much" it would be the fucking understatement of the month.

[Vendredie]

I was born sort-of Baptist. There were phases we'd go to church every Sunday, and my parents would like it if I went to a youth group once in a while, but ATM we haven't been to church at all in almost 4 years and the "faithful" in the family goes back and forth between my mom and my sister.

 

My mom's side of the family is mostly non-religious, and my grandmother even says she doesn't believe in Jesus. "They could have stuck any man up there and said he was the son of god!" But my grandparents sent my mom to an Xian school anyway, because they really didn't like the idea of her going to Dayton public schools even in the 1970's. My dad comes from a Christian family, but went to a bunch of churches when he was a kid and hates Baptist churches.

 

So yeah... mostly CINO's. I'm the one most interested in religion at all, and I'm a pagan-ish atheist.

[gypsy79]

Definitely born into a strong Christian home. All my immediate and extended family members are very fundy Southern Baptists and there are many preachers in the family. My first time going to church was at the ripe old age of 7 days (and it only took that long because I was born on a Sunday!). We went to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night for as long as I can remember. Always went to Sunday School and Training Union/Discipleship Training too. Sparks and Awanas when I was a kid. Youth group as a teenager. Bible camp. Door to door proselytizing. Special prayer meetings. Harvest Festivals to replace Halloween. Sunrise services on Easter. On and on. Ack!!!

[GraphicsGuy]

Both grandfathers and my father and an uncle were pastors.

 

My parents are much more liberal Xians now.

 

Rest of my extended family are all still fairly ingrained in the cult...

[godlessgrrl]

Born into a vaguely xian-flavored home - dad never talked about religion and seems to think the whole idea is silly, so I tend to peg him as an atheist or agnostic, but I don't know for sure. Mom came from an Episcopalian background but wasn't attending for most of my childhood - I'd say she was on some kind of intense spiritual seeking thing, but it took her a long time to focus on anything in particular. In my teens she found Jeebus and was born again. So when I was little I didn't have much religious education or exposure, but when I got older there was more because of mom.

 

Mom's family also had born-agains from the Jesus Movement of the 1970's. Dad's family was quiet about religion but I know there were some Christian Scientists a couple of generations back.

 

That's about the size of it, anyway.

[pattylt]

OK, I know the faith was different, but the "fundamentalism" is the same...

Orthodox Judaism. Kosher, Mikva baths, no work on Sabbath, etc. I was the first to marry outside the faith and the only atheist (unless some aren't telling). Historically, I think we have been Jewish since Abraham. At least that is what the Rabbi says <snort>.

[Amethyst]

I was born into a very religious family.

[Seeker630]

I was a cradle Roman Catholic. Very strict. 8 years Catholic school, altar boy, rosaries, novenas, confession almost every Saturday-----the lot. I am now 59 years old, and as far as I know I'm the only atheist in the bunch, although I have a cousin who identifies as Unitarian Universalist, (technically I qualify too), and others who left Catholicism for other Christian denominations. My brother and sister I would classify as pantheistic and deistic. There are a number of the older cousins that are still devout Catholics. My Mom is still alive, and she is still Catholic, although she was always way more liberal about things than the rest of them. My Dad's side, from my Grandfather on back into the 1700's at least were all Protestant of one kind or another, mostly Methodist, Salvation Army and Baptist. It was my Dad's father who converted to Catholicism so he could marry Grandma in 1915. It was nearly scandalous at the time. She never spoke of my Grandpa's family around us kids. He died before I was born.

 

I didn't know anything about the Protestant connection until I embarked upon a genealogical study of my Dad's family 4 years ago. Different generation back then. In my Grandparent's time, certain things like different religions were not openly discussed in front of the family, and certainly not in front of the children. I am learning now from older cousins that my grandmother had a real case of the ass for anyone who was not Catholic. I never knew that when she was alive, as it was something she never talked about in my presence. I have also discovered that she had a Sister in Law, my Great Aunt, who had died from an attempt at a self-induced abortion. No one else alive in the family now had any idea.

[hereticzero]

Southern Baptist preacher's kid! Sang in the choir, fought in the parking lot.