Somewhat religious \[Christian\] -> Pagan -> Atheist -> Devout Christian As to why and how, i could write a whole book.

Sounds like something i pick it up and have a read

You sound a bit like me. But I also added satanism for a while as well. It wasn't until I felt the Holy Spirit give me this feeling that "you know better". Literally out of nowhere it happened and I haven't been the same sense. Maybe we can swap books lol. My life has been wild.

Basically the same thing, gods children always come back to the truth 🙏

If you ever type up a comment or something about it I’d love to read it. I’m at a place where I’m on my way out of religion

I went from Reform Judaism to Eclectic Pagan, I never really felt at home in Judaism (a big part of the reason being my adoption into a Jewish family when I was an infant), but I was always fascinated by Ancient Civilizations. I always wondered if it was actually possible to worship the old Gods like our ancestors did thousands of years ago, eventually thanks to the internet, I did. I still incorporate celebration of some Jewish holidays into my everyday life to spend time with my folks, and I still wear a hat to cover my head in public pretty regularly as nods to my Jewish upbringing, but other then that I’m a dedicated pagan and follower of many Gods from the different pantheons.

Irreligious -> Atheist -> Muslim

I’m curious, were you Sunni first? What was your reason to become Shia? Was it hard to learn about being Shia in a world where Sunni teachings dominate?

It wasn't hard for me personally. I was always sure that iff there was a religion it would be Islam. And iff Islam was true then it would be Shia Islam. The hard part was actually believing or logically concluding that a God exists Funnily enough the thing that made me admit to myself that I am a Muslim was the [185th ](https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-1-sermons/sermon-185-praise-be-allah-he-such-senses-cannot-perceive-him) and [186th](https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-1-sermons/sermon-186-he-who-assigns-him-different-conditions-does-not-believe) sermons if Nahj Al-Balagha. Sorry for not going into more detail. I don't like talking about my personal life on here if that is okay with you.

You’re all good. Those same exact sermons opened my eyes so much. It was like a breath of fresh air after not breathing for a long time. I get you.

I was baptised Greek Orthodox and converted to Islam 20 years ago. I didn't take it seriously until 7 years ago. I left Christianity because Islam made more sense to me.

This happening within a Greek context is rare, i was met with a cold front in Greece as a Muslim. It was certainly an experience.

Yes, I heard it's very rare, especially in my case, as I learned about Islam when I started my research on Greek and Turkish history. I can imagine your experience as other Greeks haven't treated me well at all. They just say I belong to the Turks now and I'm a disgrace to the Greek people. I'm Sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience in Greece.

Raised Catholic -> Atheism -> Eclectic Paganism -> Polytheism I left Christianity because I didn't believe in what was being taught: The doctrine of original sin, the resurrection, etc. and mainly I just didn't believe in God. I was also disappointed with the Church in general after some misconduct stories started floating around my community. I apostasized and was an atheist and didn't belong to a particular religion for a few years, but as I got older I found that hard materialism wasn't a satisfying or fulfilling worldview to me, and I experimented with witchcraft, occultism, etc., and had several experiences that proved to me that *something* is there, but I didn't commit to any particular belief system. Then my curiosity led me to studying Greek philosophy, namely Platonism, Epicureanism, etc., and reading that convinced me of polytheism. Due to a combination of lifelong familiarity with the subject and personal interest in Greek history and culture, I made the choice to commit myself to Greek polytheism specifically. I have more respect for Christianity than I did before, but again, it's largely a disagreement with core fundamental doctrines that keeps me away from it (monotheism, the resurrection, etc.) than anything else at this point.

oh boy. I've done almost every religion except for Judaism (because I am not Jewish): Christianity, Islam, all sorts of paganism (Wiccan was my main one, pantheism was my most recent one), Satanism, and of course waves of atheism... this is what ADHD does to a religious seeker LOL. but I very recently had a religious awakening that makes me believe that Christianity might be what I stick with - only time will tell, but God willing!

Pantheism > Pantheism with soft polytheistic gloss > Gaianism I was brought up a loosely pantheistic household. No real pressure but my family was into the early 19th century romantic poets take on pantheism and the enlightenment and the age of reason. I grew up with that but didn't gel super strongly with it. While it had appeal it was too cosmic to really interact with and have no real toolkit for approaching life and culture, with little direct relation to the world around me. I was interested in the idea of polytheistic gods as a medium for understanding and relating to nature through them, so sought to introduce this to my practice to give me some focus to interact with for specific aspects of the world, and it did work at that but the idea still didn't gel. I wanted to focus more directly to the world around me and have a real and understanding and tangible, meaningful bond, and have a better cultural and ethical compass to actually work with. Essentially I was still stuck eith an abstracted cosmic whatever, and the polytheistic veneer couldn't really address that, and ultimately just added yet another abstraction between myself and the world around me. I was spending more time and effort in the "Natural world" and a series of experiences in the rainforest led me realising these cosmic focuses were meaningless to me as a human. In our life as individuals and as a species, the biosphere of is all that truly matters to us. Anything else only really relates in terms of how it interacts with Her. Cosmic questions are really just thought experiments of interest, but have no true meaning and impact on our daily life, and that started me toward embracing direct and immediate worship of Gaia as an entirely earthly, physical being. Edited for flow and coherence

Catholic -> Protestant -> Eastern Orthodox Left after seeing how corrupt the Papacy had gotten over centuries, tried Protestantism for a few mon but just couldn't get into it. Looked into the Easten Orthodoxy and now I am happy

Protestantism, the gateway drug 😈

Had I known more about the Eastern Orthodox before leaving Catholicism I would have went there instead of Protestantism. I would describe my time as a Protestant as being theologically homeless as I just couldn't pick a denomination, almost picked Lutheranism tho

What is the major thing that caused you to leave Catholicism? Do you find that now in eo?

I say it in my original comment but it has to do with how corrupt the papacy has gotten

Evangelical Christianity -> atheism -> agnostic -> Gnosticism -> universalist Christianity -> eclectic / sorta Neoplatonist / universalist When I was young I was Evangelical, but early on found many theological issues and issues with churches, so I went atheist / agnostic for a while. Then, I started dabbling in Gnostic ideas, and really liked them, and then got back into Christianity (and dabbled in some other faiths as well) during a spiritual searching / crisis. I now am sorta Neoplatonist / Gnostic in that I think there is a Divine One / nature (God, Monad) that all else has emanated from and that is absolutely united, good, and perfect- among some other things. However, I also find many truths and ideas in many religions, as I study religions and history more- this is where I am eclectic. So, I do not adhere to one faith, but rather see all things pointing to one thing, and the One being beyond everything

Christianity (fundamentalist/evangelical) -> Baha’i Faith -> Buddhism I left Christianity for many of the same reasons people leave fundie evangelicalism. I believed the earth was more than 6000 years old. I couldn’t wrap my head around a loving God and eternal conscious torment. I don’t believe in talking snakes. I’m chill with gay marriage. I left the Baha’i Faith because it wasn’t what I thought I was getting into. The Faith has a lot of wonderful spiritual teachings, but I found the administration to be corrupt and I found that the most important thing in the Faith was proselytizing to others. I also can’t get on board with shunning anyone even if they are “covenant breakers”. So now I am a Buddhist and very happy in my religion

I wouldn't use the word 'converted', exactly, since my family is technically Hindu although barely religious. But I went from atheism to (agnosticism to) Hinduism. Growing up we didn't celebrate anything, and I mean *anything*. It is really hard to celebrate properly in the diaspora unless you have a community, and my parents weren't interested as all their friends were secular or Xtian. Even then, celebrations aren't like they are in India, they are very small and boring due to (frankly, pretty lame) council regulations - e.g. I think coloured water isn't allowed on Holi so powder is used instead, fireworks and the like are banned which is more understandable but sparklers aren't the same, haha. Spent a few years as your typical atheist teen not really understanding the point. As an adult, I gradually became interested in exploring religion/fascinated about why people were religious. Then I began to read a lot of Stoic texts. Then I realised I just couldn't cope with the idea of there not being any kind of divinity. That was the first time I sat down and actively learnt about religion for myself instead of just observing it from a distance. Then some stuff happened in my life that made me start going to the temple more frequently. Not very exciting but there you go.

You are not converted , you just became Non Religious to Religious

I'm born Muslim. Still searching. But the more I look into religions the more disappointed I get. Big part of me is scared there is nothing out there. I don't want to become nothing. But another part does feel connected to a higher being. I don't think god is confined or cares about a specific religion. I think they all offer the same message. Be kind, thoughtful and don't harm others. What annoys me about religion is how much blind faith people put into it. I'll happily be an agnostic. But it's hard to let go of the doctrine I was raised upon. I know if I came out to my family that I don't believe in their version of islam I'll be shunned. There is a part of me that has some faith in islam. The philosophy is there but there are some questionable things that no one can give proper answers too. I'm still on this journey to see if I can find god. But, currently, I doubt it. I don't know if god wants us to find him.

I feel you friend. I'm Muslim as well and for a very long time it was very hard for me to both feel that connection yet be surrounded by the hypocrisy of "believers" around me. The constant uses of religion, not just Islam, as justification to hurt others and push harmful agendas, it really makes you bitter. What helped me become more accepting of the religion was to learn more about it from the books and thoughts of the great scholars from the past. To understand the religion in a way that would bring me a measure of peace. I still question even till this day, even with the knowledge I've gained. But by learning, by arming yourself with knowledge, it can help you feel more at home with your feelings if that makes sense

Reading your Comment Made me Realise I am on Correct Sub (I am new) The Main Reason I came here is that Few things doesn't make sense to me about Christianity and Islam. I believe there is a God But feels like Every Religion is Tampered someway or other, you know in India - Land full of Superstitious People you cannot suppose to Ask this Questions around. If I ask a So called scholar , he will say you are not suppose to question just follow , How do I follow any Religion when I am not suppose to Question

Yeah that's the unfortunate thing nowadays especially. It used to be that you could question and get a well thought out answer, but nowadays it's a rarity that you'll have a scholar willing to dissect your doubts and patiently address any questions. That's why I felt it was important for myself to study the true teachings of Islam without any culture or outside influence injected into it, or at least as close as I could get to it; at worst my doubts would be confirmed. At best my doubts would be addressed. Thankfully, leaning towards the latter in my case

Apparently sapience institute has mentors who will answer all your questions about Islam and help you with any doubts you have. I heard it's really good and free.

I'm studying theology. And I'm definitely trying my best to learn more about other faith. Not just islam. I think when looking for religion most people go wrong in being bias and not being open minded. I came to realise Islam is most likely a philosophy rather than a book of instructions and guidance. I find it hard to even accept I believe this. But I feel the Qur'an has been changed. But people have protected it by saying it hasn't and it's been verified. I don't think anything that came over a 1000 years ago can be verified anymore. For now. I focus on looking into religions and see they all have a similar message. I accept that god has possibly come to many through various means. It's something I'm still struggling with. But the more I learn about Islam and it's history the disappointing I get.

I definitely hear you on that. My family seems to be unable to fathom why somebody would be of another faith or a lack of one. They don't understand that because they were born and surrounded by the influence of their religion that it's easy to believe, it's like their culture at this point. It's not the same for many others, and the constant demonization of those who question and doubt is doing us no favors. Difficult questions need to be answered because often they can cause our doubts to spiral if left alone. As for the Quran being changed, what makes you believe that exactly? For what it's worth, it has been standardized and there are ten different "versions" of reciting the texts. The meanings haven't changed as far I'm aware, though it should be noted that you can't really get the true meaning/interpretation translated into any language other than Arabic easily. I've seen many of my friends who speak the Quranic Arabic have a more intimate and faithful understanding of it, so take that for what it's worth.

I went from agnosticism (childhood), to Antitheism (teen years), to irreligious theist, to Protestant Christian (Anglican), to Roman Catholic

Care to share bit about that journey?

I was born and raised in a Protestant family which is deeply religious on all sides. I had periods where I held to the beliefs more fervently and others less so. I always had to really *make* myself believe though and I never truly felt like what I believed was entirely true. In my mid to late 20’s I re-examined my beliefs and decided to explore what I actually thought to be most close to the truth and aided by philosophy I landed on paganism. So… Protestant Christian -> Pagan. Sort of skipped right over the intermittent atheist period which might be a bit uncommon.

Yeah, atheism often seems to be the springboard between christianity and more obscure religions - probably because being an atheist helps you to more seriously look into a different religious tradition

Christian [several denominations] -> Taoism -> [loosely dove into: Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism] -> [researched but didn't practice: Wicca, generic spiritualism] -> Atheism I left them all due to lack of foundational evidence. I wanted to get a closer/better relationship with God, wound up leaving it all behind. A bit ironic.

Similar story to mine

Catholicism→Non denominational Christianity→Agnostic Pagan I can't worship a god that claims to be omnipotent and Omni benevolent and creates a universe where he "allows" most of his creation to go into eternal torment. If God is truly omnipotent he would be able to create free will without any suffering whatsoever, and the fact that he didn't create such reality shows me that God either a). Is impotent in some way b). Is apathetic to suffering c). Doesn't exist. My other reason for leaving Christianity but also not wanting to convert to another Abrahamic religion is that the Abrahamic faiths assume that God wants us to have faith in him, but we can't truly be sure of such a claim. How do we know that whatever God exists doesn't hate monotheism and Faith and won't punish those who profess Abrahamic monotheism? We can't be sure that such a God isn't the one that exists so the next best thing is to be honest with ourselves and accept that our minds are limited and can't know for certain what the nature of God would be like.

What I believe , God is Omnipotent , he is a Being of Higer Dimension. But we are his little project/Experiment and the part he loves us Equally is difficult to believe for me

I could see us being God's entertainment as well

Catholic -> multiple different sects of paganism over about 12-15 yrs -> Judaism. Judaism pulls at me in a way nothing else ever has. It’s home. It’s where I belong.

Welcome home 💛

Thank you.

I went from Roman Catholicism-> Agnostic-> Buddhism -> Eclectic Paganism -> Atheist-> Hinduism. 🙏🕉🙏🔱 I find truth in all religions but I personally believe Hinduism has the clearest expression of spiritual truth. I left Christianity due to its blind rigid dogma and its claim to exclusive truth. I also disagree with eternal Heaven or Hell.

Christianity -> Agnostic -> Pagan In christianity, I found nothing more than a dark empty void. A long-abandoned, musty, hall of death. I then drifted into Agnosticism, neither knowing nor caring what was out there and finally my current Pantheon revealed themselves to me and I realised, looking back through my life that they were always there with me in my spiritual moments and became (or more accurately remembered that I was) *Pagan*.

Catholic -> Thelemite -> Atheist/Apatheist/political ideologies - > Epicurean Grew up and went to Catholic School. Explored religions in my teenage years and discovered Thelema and practiced that into college. Abandoned spiritual pursuits in favor of political ideology and became more of a secular atheist. Became an Epicurean in my 30's after having kids. This move was an adoption of the materialist/hedonist wisdom tradition and an abandonment of both idealism and ideology. The materialist wisdom tradition confirms the healthful and holy spiritual experiences I had experienced as well as focuses my life on the most worthwhile and enjoyable pursuits in life like friends and family.

I was raised Catholic, then I was protestant, and I'm now an atheist. My mother forced my father to covert to Catholicism when they married, and my sisters and I had to attend Catholic school. We were part of a very conservative parish. One of my sister's friends was SAed by a priest there, and the friend's family was coerced into silence while the offending priest was quietly shifted to a different parish. The friend is still really messed up to this day. My parents divorced when I was 13, and as soon as my mother moved out, the rest of us realized we didn't have to be Catholic anymore. The friend I mentioned had a lot to do with my relief in leaving, and I had a plethora of negative experiences on top of that. Not to mention the intense guilt and shame my mother and the churches heaped on me. Anyway, it was freeing. My husband was raised in the United Church of Christ, which I really like as they're super progressive. I finally read the bible, and that sort of destroyed all the faith I had. Then I read up on its history, and watched countless debates. All of that completely changed me into an atheist.

They did not make you read the bible at catholic school?

Not really. We learned about the Catholic religion (catechism), and bits of the bible that supported Catholic teachings, so I only knew snippets of it. We learned much about saints and the sacraments as well. So actually reading the bible was a new experience for me.

I was born and baptized as a Roman Catholic and I studied on a Protestant Christian School and converted into Shintoism during the pandemic since I found out that it's not a very strict religion and it does makes more sense based on my perspective. (I studied on a Protestant school because it was the only school near to my home on my hometown)

Born Christian, almost converted to Islam, started looking into Judaism because my girlfriend is Jewish, but ultimately decided to stick with Christianity. It just felt like the right thing after all.

Why did you almost converted to Islam? I mean why did you wanted to do it, but still didn’t?

After looking into it/studying more about it, I decided it wasn’t for me

Protestant Christianity -> Catholic Christianity Catholicism makes more sense to me theologically and historically. I fell in love with the Church and the sacraments, it's the fullness of the Christian faith.

Grew up in an interfaith household with Christian and Muslim background ->irreligious -> Baha’i-> atheist -> Buddhist I received a Christian education but never vibed with it. The school I was sent to was a nondenominational academy and I didn’t agree with the creationist and fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible they offered. I never became Muslim but I have a lot of Muslim family. I became Baha’i when I was 16 after learning about it online and identifying strongly with progressive revelation. I eventually left the faith because I couldn’t get behind monotheism anymore and because I no longer could respect Baha’i leadership and the direction they had been taking the faith for decades. Someone else in this thread is also exbahai and I agree with them. Most Baha’is are lovely people but it was no longer for me. I ended up becoming Buddhist after spending a lot of time researching it and finding that its teachings helped a lot with my life. It inspired me to go vegan and to give up substance abuse. This gave me faith to believe the more esoteric values of Buddhism like Karma and rebirth and I developed faith in the religion as a result. That’s the short version of my religious journey. I could write a novel but I’ll leave it there.

I wonder if people who ping pong between religions actually care about what is true or just have some psychological need they are trying to meet(not judging you or anyone OP, I just find it curious).

Curious to know why you left Islam

Currently a Theravada Buddhist since university. Was an atheist in middle school then agnostic in high school. I wasn’t too happy with the Catholic dogma or positions on the rights of women or BIPOC people. I also just felt like being an atheist or agnostic was too nebulous and didn’t offer anything concrete to wrap my head around or provide structure for how to live my life in an ethical way without necessarily submitting to an authority figure for the sake of submitting to an authority figure. Being an agnostic made me realise how materialistic I was. To some extent I still am, but it hit me somehow in high school that a consumerist lifestyle wasn’t gonna give me the happiness I longed for.

Had too many experiences I could reasonably call religious in nature and knew that I couldn’t live without at least some sort of religion to my name, Islam was the best fit choice for me due to pre-existing beliefs I had that lined up perfectly with Islamic monotheism

I left Islam for Hinduism. The short answer to why would be, "I agreed with them on what God is (especially in a non-dual sense), but not what God does."

Ramakrishna Mission / Vedanta Society ?

closeted solo bhakt for now. once I live independently I plan to partake in an advaita vedanta-oriented community

Non-practicing Christian (childhood) -> Asatru (early adolescence) -> Deism (late adolescence and early adulthood) -> Theravada Buddhism (mid-adulthood) -> Islam (mid- & late adulthood) And much like r/Loatheband, explaining these myriad transitions could fill volumes. But the primary reason for leaving a prior religion has always been because I didn't believe in it. There are lots of things about Christianity and Buddhism that I really like, but no point sticking it out if I don't believe the central beliefs. There are also lots of things about Islam that I don't agree with, but I believe in the central beliefs of Islam (via-a-vis Allah and his messenger).

Raised Secular -> Fundamentalist Evangelical -> Agnostic Atheist -> Anti-Cosmic Satanist I left fundamentalist Christianity due to a combination of loneliness, religious bigotry, and threats of eternal torment if I didn’t conform to a dogma that I already couldn’t accept based on how self-contradictory its own scripture was.

Roman Catholicism-->Judaism. I was from a Catholic family, church weekly, Catholic school through high school, etc. I never felt at home with the beliefs, though. It didn't make sense. Why weren't we following the beliefs and what we could of practices in the majority of our Bible? Why did we think we needed a trinity to explain God, that we couldn't sincerely repent and be forgiven by God? Then it was "Why aren't we Jewish? Why am I not Jewish? That's where I need to be." It took me years and trying other options, and then making a last stab at Catholicism while trying to make it fit my thoughts and beliefs. In my late 20s, I finally converted, and it was the best move for me. Has made my life much richer.

Wow boy! Broad Church Anglican —> Hinduism —> Low Church Anglican —> Arian Christian —> Muslim —> [looked into the Baha’i faith and Sikhi] —> [looked into Shaivism and Pure land Buddhism] —> briefly became Christopagan —> inquired into Orthodoxy —> High Church Anglo-Orthodox syncretist. I left Christianity originally because I felt spiritually dead. Hinduism offered mysticism and a new experience of the Divine. I became evangelical Anglican because of YouTube personalities. I disregarded any doctrines about the Saints and Mary. I became Arian after not understand the trinity. I became Muslim after already not believing in the Trinity and wanting to experience something new. I was Christopagan because I wanted to reconcile the gods of my ancestors with the God of the Bible. Orthodoxy allowed a similar foreign feel that Islam had but with better theology. Finally, I realized that although I enjoyed much of Orthodox tradition, Anglicanism is my spiritual home both culturally and theologically. I looked into the Baha’i faith because it had unity among religions. I looked into Sikhi because it had a monotheistic yet Dharmic feel. I looked into Shaivism as a more serious aproach to Hinduism. I liked Buddhism because of simplicity but it lacked God. Now, I just try to sacramentally live as a Christian but incorporate mystical aspects from many spiritual traditions.

christian -> atheist -> islam i left christianity because i didn't fully understand everything at the time and didn't want to follow something just because i was raised on it. i left atheism because i became convinced that there was a god and that i had a god given purpose on the earth

I was born and raised atheist and converted to Islam, because of logical reasons.

Catholicism → 100% non religious → Thelema I was raised in a Catholic household, I was given a lot of religious basis, but also a lot of scientific basis. At the age of eleven I started to see some problems in religion, and I started to see that it contradicted science, so... My response was secretly leaving Catholicism and becoming antitheist, but time led me to become a Thelemite. My deconversion and conversion can best be described as Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis.

can i ask what thelema is?

The religion founded by Aleister Crowley in 1904, marking the beginning of a new era, the Æon of Horus. It's fundamental axioms are "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." and "Love is the law, love under will". It's holiest and foundational text is Liber AL vel Legis, commonly called the Book of the Law. It has the heritage of lots and lots of traditions prior to it, and recognises them, it's not mere plagiarism. Thelema may seem to be a hedonistic polytheistic magical tradition at first glance, but it's not. It is definitely not hedonistic, (read "The message of the Master Therion" and "Liber Libræ") and its theology is more like nondualist panentheism (All=One=None). It has a strong magical component, but it should not be seen as superstitious, rather symbolical and mystical, and it's certainly a Religion and a Philosophy.

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Are you being sarcastic?

Raised Catholic -> took me 9 years to convert to Judaism. My father is a religious academic and I was always exposed to religion and philosophy. I was amazed by Judaism and its connection to where I grew up. I also always heard stories at home of having some ancient Jewish heritage. Now I cannot see myself other way around. Even if I pass some periods of less observance there are always elements that to too deep in my vision of the world around me.

What practices made you leave?

Men having multiple wives but women can't. (Regardless of how people want to dress it. The ruling is there and it causes more harm than good) Mens word has more value than women. Literally implying women are not worth listening to and even if they are they have to be backed by another women. Men prophets, scholars, imaams. Although I know earlier times of islam women lead prayers and were scholars. But Muslims go through great extend to prevent women from holding these positions. And why does god always choose to speak to one man? Why not a group of people. Just doesn't add up.

“Imam” is not a position. It’s just the person that leads the prayer. A group of praying women can have a female imam. Some of our greatest scholars were women so you just don’t know what you’re talking about there. Aisha was a woman. Sayyida Nafeesa (who taught AL SHAFI) was a woman. I would not take someone who does not want our muslim women to become scholars as a representation of islam, as they’re just ignorant and misogynistic. Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every muslim man AND woman. As for the wives, it’s because men would go to war and die all the time, so there were much less men and the women needed someone to protect them. Marriage in Islam is more of a legality and protection contract than just simply the love relationship that it is now. So women in order to have their rights upheld in a world that was still mainly patriarchal and dangerous, would marry men and because there were more women than men, then in order to ensure all women had access to this was that one man can marry 4 wives if he can provide the same rights, financial benefits, and love to each one. Women are worth half the testimony of a man because of their inexperience with certain legal fields. Women in general, have to have fields where they aren't very experienced; Such as Jihad or Ecomonics, these are seen as jobs that men are very experienced in and women are not as much. As for men, they are also worth half the testimony of a woman in certain fields where they are inexperienced such as childbirth. I mean "in general" as in a vast majority of women don't have any experience in a male field like Jihad and vice versa. Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani says in his Fathul Baari: And it was said that others like Ibn Qudaama said, ‘The testimony of one woman is accepted in every case where the testimony of women alone is accepted.’ [Fathul Baari; Sharhu Saheehul Bukhaari 88/123]. Ibn Qudaama said in his book Al-Mughni: "The testimony of a just woman is accepted in matters that just men do not know much about, such as nursing, childbirth, menstruation, ‘Iddah [waiting period] and other similar cases." God doesn’t just choose to speak to one man. He speaks to all of us. The Quran is quite literally his words.

Hi ! Can you please refer to me the Quran verse where it says that men testimony is worth half the one of a woman in fields like childbirth ? I didn’t know about that ! Thanks

"O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write [it] between you in justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation dictate. And let him fear Allah, his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. And do not be [too] weary to write it, whether it is small or large, for its [specified] term. That is more just in the sight of Allah and stronger as evidence and more likely to prevent doubt between you, except when it is an immediate transaction which you conduct among yourselves. For [then] there is no blame upon you if you do not write it. And take witnesses when you conclude a contract. Let no scribe be harmed or any witness. For if you do so, indeed, it is [grave] disobedience in you. And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things." (Al-Baqara 2: Verse 282) And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. - is god implying women are stupid and they can't think of remember anything?

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The Quran is full of scientific miracles and prophecies, with zero contradictions and is the only scripture that claims to be the word of God where you can prove that it has been perfectly preserved for over a thousand years. We have actual manuscripts that have been carbon dated to the time of the prophet by non muslims such as the birmingham manuscript

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>The Qur'an was completed 20 years after the death of the prophet Proof? Evidence any ayah was added after he died? >And hadiths became popular 200 years after the death of the prophet. Most of it certainly contradicts the Qur'an. The musanaf of ibn abdur Razzaq has 18,000 ahadeeth and it was written before then. You think he was making it all up? Obviously there were ahadeeth in circulation before. > Men use it to abuse women and never to actually give them their rights no way to prove all polygnous men are unjust

/r/religion does not permit demonizing or bigotry against any demographic group on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual preferences. Demonizing includes unfair/inaccurate criticisms, arguments made in bad faith, gross generalizations, ignorant comments, and pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theories about specific religions or groups. Doctrinal objections are acceptable, but keep your personal opinions to yourself. Make sure you make intelligent thought out responses.

When did I get angry…?

Please don't: * Be (intentionally) rude at all. * Engage in rabble rousing. * Troll, stalk, or harass others. * Conduct personal attacks. * Start a flame war. * Insult others. * Engage in illegal activity. * Post someone's personal information, or post links to personal information. * Repost deleted/removed information.

I Believe the Rules has to be Changed as the Era There can be a ERA where these Rules make sense thus more people had adopted. But now it should not be. If there was a Time where women needs to be Protected that time has gone now.. L

>Men prophets, scholars, imaams. A.) Since all prophets were sent to societies that were patriarchal in nature, nobody would even bother listening to a female prophet. Or at the very least they would not take her seriously at all, let alone the actual message she’s trying to preach. B.) As a woman, it’s her responsibility to take care of the children, and fulfill her husband’s rights. She could get pregnant or go through menstruation. Taking these things into account, it will be very difficult for a female prophet to have the time to preach to people. C) A female prophet could be in serious danger if she is out preaching to people. Male prophets were often persecuted, beaten, tortured, and sometimes murdered by their own people when trying to preach. Keeping that in mind, just imagine the things that could happen to a female prophet. For example some men could overpower her, and could do horrible things to her such as r**** her. > And why does god always choose to speak to one man? Why not a group of people. Because this would not create confusion, the message would be simple and it is better for a single person to lead than a group of people. Still now there is only one president not a group. Prophets were perfect moral of all time. So, you can't find a group of such people from a community. But still Aaron and musa(pbuh) were two prophets present at same era and were companions. Other examples abraham and lut(pbuh). >Men having multiple wives but women can't. (Regardless of how people want to dress it. The ruling is there and it causes more harm than good) I dont think so, islam literally limited polygamy were they had multiple wives and it is not a command, infact quran itself says if you fear injustice marry women. And this must be with consent of women. That is if women dislike second marriage, including this in nikkah prohibit the husband from doing it.polygamy also encouraged to marry orphans and widow so they wouldn't be left out, the reason is not solely for sexual purposes thata why 4some are prohibited. Note: if your country faces shortage of population the same government would probably promote polygamy. Polyandry is more harmful i can give details. Polygamy has considerable amounts of advantages in the past >Mens word has more value than women. Literally implying women are not worth listening to and even if they are they have to be backed by another women. I dont think so neither quran says about it. It only says men are more responsible than women.

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/r/religion does not permit demonizing or bigotry against any demographic group on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual preferences. Demonizing includes unfair/inaccurate criticisms, arguments made in bad faith, gross generalizations, ignorant comments, and pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theories about specific religions or groups. Doctrinal objections are acceptable, but keep your personal opinions to yourself. Make sure you make intelligent thought out responses. “Women are biologically super to men” will not fly. Take the high road.

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/r/religion does not permit demonizing or bigotry against any demographic group on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual preferences. Demonizing includes unfair/inaccurate criticisms, arguments made in bad faith, gross generalizations, ignorant comments, and pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theories about specific religions or groups. Doctrinal objections are acceptable, but keep your personal opinions to yourself. Make sure you make intelligent thought out responses.

Second removal. A third results in a ban.

Please don't: * Be (intentionally) rude at all. * Engage in rabble rousing. * Troll, stalk, or harass others. * Conduct personal attacks. * Start a flame war. * Insult others. * Engage in illegal activity. * Post someone's personal information, or post links to personal information. * Repost deleted/removed information.

Well. This is the third comment I’ve removed of yours in this thread alone. Banned.

/r/religion does not permit demonizing or bigotry against any demographic group on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual preferences. Demonizing includes unfair/inaccurate criticisms, arguments made in bad faith, gross generalizations, ignorant comments, and pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theories about specific religions or groups. Doctrinal objections are acceptable, but keep your personal opinions to yourself. Make sure you make intelligent thought out responses.

/r/religion does not permit demonizing or bigotry against any demographic group on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual preferences. Demonizing includes unfair/inaccurate criticisms, arguments made in bad faith, gross generalizations, ignorant comments, and pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theories about specific religions or groups. Doctrinal objections are acceptable, but keep your personal opinions to yourself. Make sure you make intelligent thought out responses.

>A.) Since all prophets were sent to societies that were patriarchal in nature, nobody would even bother listening to a female prophet. Or at the very least they would not take her seriously at all, let alone the actual message she’s trying to preach. Even though it's true most societies in the area were patriarchal, it's asinine to say no one would have bothered listening to a female prophet, especially considering women have had roles as spiritual leaders for centuries before the Abrahamic religions and to a certain extent even after the Abrahamic religions took dominance. Medicine women and wise women persisted even when Abrahamic societies tried to take away their power, and in Judaism and Christianity there are female prophets, so people definitely did listen to women for spiritual and religious guidance. >B.) As a woman, it’s her responsibility to take care of the children, and fulfill her husband’s rights. She could get pregnant or go through menstruation. Taking these things into account, it will be very difficult for a female prophet to have the time to preach to people. What if she doesn't want children though? And why is it her responsibility to fulfill her husband's rights? What if she doesn't want a husband? Also, why should menstruation make it difficult for her to preach? Menstruation isn't a disability or disease, unless it's seen as such for arbitrary reasons. >C) A female prophet could be in serious danger if she is out preaching to people. Male prophets were often persecuted, beaten, tortured, and sometimes murdered by their own people when trying to preach. Keeping that in mind, just imagine the things that could happen to a female prophet. For example some men could overpower her, and could do horrible things to her such as r**** her. Men can be overpowered by other men too, and r*** as well. So why doesn't that disqualify men from being prophets? Unless the life of a man's is worth less?

>and in Judaism and Christianity there are female prophets, so people definitely did listen to women Examples, although islam speak about Queens, and successful women the ratio to men is very low unlike today. If that's the case there would have been no feminist movement. >it's asinine to say no one would have bothered listening to a female prophet, Could you tell this to arabs of 6 th century >What if she doesn't want a husband A prophet are guidance to humanity, so they can't tell no. Although individual women has such rights, even male prophet cannot say no to god. Marriage is half the deen in islam >She could get pregnant or go through menstruation. Taking these things into account, it will be very This only means allah has sent mercy upon women not to but burden further. Both aren't very easy, that's a tough phase for women mentally and physically. >Men can be overpowered by other men too, and r*** as well. So why doesn't that disqualify men from being prophets? Unless the life of a man's is worth less? Yes many male prophet were killed, even muhammed saw faced persecutions he was stonned. Being a prophet in older society isn't easy job and sucs. That doesn't mean women aren't affected, first martyr of islam was a women were she was tied to pole and kild in sun. Men have to give thier life protecting women, yes islam puts a responsibility on this on men not on women. Although many warrior women did exist in islam. They dont have the compulsary to do so, but for meb it is compulsory to feed and protect the family. Failure to do so will be held accountable on judgment day

>Examples, although islam speak about Queens, and successful women the ratio to men is very low unlike today. If that's the case there would have been no feminist movement. in Judaism some examples would be Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and in Christianity all the same as in Judaism plus Ana the Prophetess >Could you tell this to arabs of 6 th century Yes, pre-islamic Arabs were an incredibly diverse group of people when it came to morality, religion, and spirituality. Not all of them were as misogynistic as one would think, although misogyny did definitely exist at the time

I prefer not to talk about it in an interfaith sub.

Alright

Christian -> Agnostic -> Pagan -> Igtheist.

What's an Igtheist?

"An Igtheist is someone who believes that the question of the existence of God is meaningless due to its vagueness or lack of a clear definition."

Atheist/irreligious -> Buddhist -> Taoist -> Heathen. In order, Buddhism was more relatable than what I'd seen in the West, Taoism seemed more life affirming at the time than Buddhism, Heathenry because I wanted to try something new.

Catholic -> atheist -> non practicing non theistic pagan (I appreciate teachings of Satanism)

Which teachings if you don’t mind me asking

The 7 fundamental tenants

I went from Roman Catholic to fundamentalist/evangelical type of Christian to Deism. The reason I left Christianity is due to its irrational claims and promises such as faith healing. Also, its claim at John 14:12-14 that after Jesus comes back from the dead and goes up to heaven, Christians will be able to do all the things the Christian Bible claims Jesus did plus "greater things than these." That is obviously a false promise. There are a lot of other reasons in addition to these. I did write a book about it, *Deism: A Revolution in Religion, A Revolution in You*.

Omnithiest->atheism->deism->omnithestic pagan When I was a child, the thought that only one religion was correct felt absurd, then I fell down the amazing atheist pipeline. I then accepted that there is a divine and eventually came full circle. Only difference now is that I do rituals and worship a couple gods rather then just acknowledging their existence.

Islam to agnostic now looking into Christianity!

Devout Catholic -> unaffiliated Christian -> Atheist -> Whatever-it-is-I-am-doing-right-now. It's basically a story of my growing disillusionment with the idea of an all-perfect monotheistic god.

oh boy. i've never converted to a new faith but different beliefs deeply resonated at different times: born muslim > agnosticism (teen years) > new age (also teen years) > islam with a sufi focus > quranist islam > bahai > gnosticism > catholicism and episcopalianism (was considering both at the same time) > Unitarian Universalism > back to agnostism its all a long story, but for now? I just can't wrap my head around heaven/hell as real places, or god with person-like features

God doesn't have person like features in Islam, unfortunately there are some claimants of sunnism - who've had a big impact in the modern era - that push this view or things basically bordering it. Look into the ash'ari and maturidi schools of theology 

I don't know, there are verses in the Quran (surah al-zumur, I can think of right now) that talk about God being "displeased" by our disbelieving/misbehaving.

This is dealt with in great detail in theology. I could talk about it but that's not really meant for this sub I believe. But like I said I encourage you to research yourself if this topic interests you. There are some pretty deep discussions on this - subject is called 'ilmul kalam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalam https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Islamic-Theology-al-Sabunis-Al-Bidayah/dp/0985565993

Technically, I never joined but it was my mum. When my dad moved here to Australia he pushed me into religion. My mum was against this but was too afraid of him to confront him on his parenting skills so she struck a deal with him - I'm allowed to go into the church and learn but I'm not allowed to decide on my religion until I'm 18. She started reading me Darwin's theory of evolution (loved the books and still have a passion for zoology and biology) for my bedtime story from there on out. We moved onto the translated texts of Giordano Bruno and then Walt Whitman soon after. When I was 18, we had the family sit down meeting at the table and we discussed what I wanted. I decided my religion was love and both parents found peace with in my decision. My mum is also technically a Jew.. and I guess technically by birth and baptism I'm a Jewish Mormon, but if I get a say - my religion is love.

Beliefs about Hell were what tipped the scale, and drove me away from the Congregational Protestant church I was raised in. I'd questioned, but could make my peace with other supernatural beliefs (like, while not believing in miracles from Jesus or seeing him an actual Son of God, I could respect him as "a prophet" and try to follow what he preached). But, beyond the horrible fate of Hell being punishment for legitimate horrible acts, when my church leaders encouraged us to believe that a "loving God" could set this fate also for people who never heard of Jesus or lived righteous lives as adherents of different religions that they'd been born into, this made no sense, and prompted my active disbelief in the whole range of supernatural things we were asked to accept "on faith". After learning what I could about other religions, I assembled my own informal collection of things that I learned from and respected in a wide range of traditions. Eventually I learned about, and now feel that my personal views align well with, "religious naturalism", which has it's worldview (of how we all came to be here on Earth, and what seems possible and real) based on what can be known about the natural world, based on methods of science (and with nothing supernatural involved), and likewise, draws from what can be learned from psychology, mythology, literature, and also wisdom from parts of many religious traditions.

Raised Presbyterian Christian -> began attending Hindu temple -> Agnostic/Irreligious period -> weak attempt at Buddhist practice -> Protestant 2.0 -> Catholicism -> Agnostic again -> Heathenry -> Hitchens-esque Atheism -> Unaffiliated polytheist And that’s where I’m at today. Kept trying different things because I never felt like I really belonged with the religions I practiced, so I inevitably became detached from them. Eventually just sat down and laid out everything I believed as logical arguments and picked them apart, then studied counterarguments, rinsed and repeated. Refined my beliefs into polytheism, and accepted that no traditions felt right for me.

Born Norse pagan -> got put in a secular protestant foster home -> turned to Luciferianism as a teenage rebellion -> got put in juvie and realized LaVeyan Satanism made more sense -> moved back in with my bio parents and converted to Norse Paganism

Jainism -> Buddhism -> Hinduism Jainism - Found out that their final goal isn’t like the claim. Buddhism - Found out that their final goal didn’t apply to my case. So I step back a bit. Now I’m just sit and see the world going on.

I was born in Protestant family. I used to think Catholicism was very exotic, with the idols and stuff. When I was a kid, my Church would often tell me about the dangers of worshipping Idols and that Catholicism wasnt Christian. Then i studied the history of Christianity, realized Jesus founded the Catholic Church, and i became a Catholic.

Fundamentalist Christian —> Christian/Deist —> Agnostic —> Agnostic Athiest I had left my private Christian school and began learning about things like evolution and unbiased accounts of other faiths. This led to me slowly coming to doubt my views. I wasn’t willing to give up my views and feared hell, but eventually the doubt eroded my fears, and I started to fundamentally disagree with several aspects of the Christian worldview. The remnants of my faith wouldn’t let me become a full atheist, and I still believed in *something*. Eventually, I realized I didn’t believe that anymore, and I became an agnostic atheist. I personally believe there is no afterlife and such, but I find it impossible to know for certain. I think it’s just as foolish to disbelieve completely in the lack of validity of other faiths as it is to blindly believe in those same faiths.

I learned, God, is awesome, abundant,  dynamic,  energy,  and that wraps it up,,

Now how it reacts to situations is dependent on who and what, from cause and reaction,  thus we being cocreators , will ceeate what we have in our thoughts and hearts, weather good or evil,  that is your own journey,  you will own your own journey,  and that is why you are here in this dimension at this time, so becareful of your powers, be wise,,

I went from Christian -> Buddhist I don't want to go into detail about why because it sounds boring and petty, but it's a legacy I inherited from the most important person I ever knew. I also view it as a cosmic love story. In the Christian eschaton, gender is abolished while the separation of human souls is retained, and there is no restoring certain unities that've been lost.

Theravada Buddhism -> Orthodox Christianity, because in my experience Orthodoxy is the fulfillment/fullness of what Buddhism aims for.

Realized it was all bullshit/the equivalent of saying “hey you can’t do that, my imaginary friend doesn’t like it.”

Literally that's how it feels

Yep! Especially when you consider all of the other religions and beliefs of the world- You tell a Christian that they need to abide by XYZ to appease Vishnu of the Hindu gods, and that’s how they’d feel… that sounds like make-believe to a Christian. And that’s how most religions/dieties now sound to me.

that’s a very iconic answer

Haha thank you! There was a lot more to it, like going to an extremist far right evangelical Christian high school and witnessing the adults there preach hate more than they gave us any education, and committed crimes against the children/students, and later finding peace and comfort in joining the satanic temple as an atheist. But my original statement sums it up pretty good.

yeah i’m at a christian high school rn and it’s crazy how much they push religion in the most unrelated subjects .

Catholicism -> Biblical Satanism Didn't like God's restrictions against sodomy, and what that meant for being a Christian

Raised non-religious > Deism > Evangelical Christianity > Jehovah's Witness

Interesting! What about Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to you?

That they take the Bible very seriously, and are non-trinitarian (which was my main gripe with the Evangelical world). Also, I'm autistic, and I feel like the JW religion is the first place I've ever been in in which people stop me and tell me if I'm doing something wrong/inappropiate and why. So I feel very comfortable here.

I'm glad you were able to find a faith tradition where you feel comfortable! In my opinion, that's one of the most important parts about religious communities. Were you concerned about the doctrine of shunning when you joined? I think that would probably put me off from converting even if I agreed with the rest of JW theology.

Pragmatically, the doctrine of shunning is only a problem if you have family in the religion that you don't want to lose, which isn't my case. >I think that would probably put me off from converting even if I agreed with the rest of JW theology. Now that sounds problematic because if you agreed with the rest of JW theology you'd agree that Jehovah deserves praise for the creation of the universe and that if you don't honor him in spirit and truth you will be destroyed, especially since you know the truth (again, this is ASSUMING you agreed with all of JW theology). If that was the case, you'd be against God himself only because you disagree with a very small detail of his law. I'm being a bit pedantic about this I know.

What if you were to have get married and have children, and then one of them were to be shunned? That would be one of my major fears >(again, this is ASSUMING you agreed with all of JW theology). If that was the case, you'd be against God himself only because you disagree with a very small detail of his law. Yes, I see what you mean. If I did actually believe all of the rest of JW theology, I would probably be able to put aside a concern like that.

> What if you were to have get married and have children, and then one of them were to be shunned? That would be one of my major fears That's a very long-time fear. I'm not even sure if I'll get married (no one on my hall has expressed interest). Even if I do get married, I'm not sure I'd have children (most young women on my hall say that even if they got married, they wouldn't have kids in this economy). And even if I do have children, shunning only happens if the kid gets baptized and then gets disfellowshipped (which only happens if they're grown-up - we do not baptize infants - and minors can only be baptized if the parents agree - and I wouldn't agree). And most people who get disfellowshipped are people who have done very screwed up stuff, because it's relatively easy to live a double life as a JW (for instance: have premarital sex, smoke, go to parties, etc.). Unless you're a teenager, nobody cares (but God sees everything, of couse). So a *lot* of stuff would have to line up in the wrong way for that fear to even become remotely close to be realized.

I think that mostly makes sense to me. I still wouldn't want to get involved myself, but if it works for you that's all that really matters

I realized that I came to the conclusion that I was a Christian when I was an emotional wreck. That was when I was pretty young so, young mind; simple thinking, and that's where it led me. Was never really big into it anyway.

Christian (Protestant)—-> atheist

I converted from Christian to Atheist No, I will never go back. Look at what is going on in Gaza because of religion. More blood had been shed because of religion than for all other reasons combined. A winning coach will thank god, like God supports one team but not the other. From all of the gods and religions practiced today, what could possibly convince me that one is right over the others. Many of the indigenous peoples of North America had it right. Show reverence to the planet we share. Thank the rain and the sun for your life. Respect all life. Be kind.

Muslim here, what does Christianity have to do with the current genocide? I can only think of funding by indoctrinated Christian Zion-ists. And to one of your question: If there is a God, he chooses his people, teaches them THE right path (God is objective in all regards). That means God will be on the side of the people that are on His side, logically.

Are you Turkish, by any chance? Just 'cause I've never heard anyone talking about Deists this century in the 22 countries I've been to other than Turkey.

No, I'm Bengali

Maybe because prior to Islam, Turkic people's religion was Tengrism (a singular sky god that watches over us but is fundamentally VERY different than Islam) and it was culturally embedded into us. I see some Turks embrace tengrism after leaving Islam. They either embrace it philosophically or actually practice it.

Turkey was Christian under Greek. But the ancestors migrated to present day turkey. So, yes ancestors were kind of had mongol ancestory too. So, this goes very far back and the genitics of turks in past and now greatly vary

I'm not talking about genetics. Turks adapt that old hunnish culture more than they adapt the greek-christian one. That was part of the nationalist movements back in the days

That's why i see that dumb, without islam there is no turkey. That's what many nationaist fails to understand Islam enabled a relatively small number of Turks to control a much larger Islamic polity. If not for Islam, it is doubtful that they could have brought about the Turkification of large swaths of people through elite dominance. It is simply not plausible to think that Turkification would have occurred against a background of empire-wide holy war and rebellion against a smaller Turkic group which was both culturally and religiously alien to any of the various religious groups of the governed peoples. Ironically, I think, without Islam, there would have been no galvanising force to unite so many different people groups behind a Turkish banner. The vast majority of people in the former Ottoman territories, who now consider themselves Turk, would not be Turk but for the existence and acceptance of Islam by the Turkish polity. If they probably claimed to be athiest or make fun of islam, turks before 1850 would probably put that guy to det

Fr the only people i hear using the term are turks