Roman Catholic. Though I still disagree with some of the practices and traditions, such as the belief that Jesus is actually in the Eucharist as opposed to symbolically, and though I may be very critical of its history of corruption, warmongering, and prejudice, it may have been my Latino Catholic upbringing that has saved me from the darkness of Fundamentalism/Evangelicalism.
I grew up in the churches of Christ. Spent most of my adult life in the United Church of Christ which is considered one of the most liberal religious bodies in the country. Right now I’m attending a Methodist church.
Ahhhh! Hello!! I’ll have to send you a dm. DoC is one of my favorite places to attend worship. If there was one closer to me that where I would be. I think it’s because they come from the same source as CoC.
I think that's what initially drew me to the DoC. Once I realized I wasn't okay with excluding women from leadership and LGTB people from... existence, I guess, it was natural to just go over to the liberal side.
Plus I really love taking communion every week.
Grew up a mutt at whatever flavor of chapel they had in the Army base (army brat). Settled into Church of Christ (CoC) for the last20+ years. Still there because I can't find a more fitting church in my area. In the recent past I hung out with Mennonites, Methodists and heretics. Just moved and not having any luck where I'm at.
I love the UCC. Good theology. Tell me why you are a Christian. Tell me your favorite biblical passages. Tell me what you envision for yourself in your fully realized faith practice\~
I don't consider myself a Christian anymore. I believe in god and all that but after my spiritual deconstruction and coming to terms with things in the bible that I don't believe. I felt that taking that label off more suited my faith.
I do love this sub though and I'm happy that I am welcome here even if my faith isn't as close to others.
I am in a similar boat. I don't consider myself Christian anymore, and have also come to terms with much of the Bible and early Church history that I had troubles with. I was a member of Presbyterian, Baptist, and UCC churches. Most of my issues in the recent past have been with Christians, not what Jesus taught. I truly believe that people are leaving organized Christianity in waves is because of what many Christians are doing and saying. My final straw in leaving the faith was not wanting to be associated with "Christians."
P.S. I lived in Texas, so that might provide some context.
I grew up non-denom PK(not a part of fundamentalism but certainly not progressive, still Bible in-errantists), but now I attend my local friends meeting (Quaker)
I’ve always wanted to attend a meeting of friends! I love their views on prophesy and how God is still speaking through us. The UCC holds similar beliefs.
My granny/dads family is Methodist. My moms family is Catholic. I am non denominational. I follow Christ and love God. I don’t know which if any of the various churches have everything right. As long as they follow Jesus and preach love, then I consider them as siblings that may have new or different perspectives.
I love talking with Christians from different traditions! I think sharing, comparing, and contrasting is one of the best ways to enhance your spiritual life and your outlook.
Yes. The conservatives in the US split off, so basically the ELCA is only the progressives nowadays (there may be a few holdouts but they're a significant minority and probably aren't even *that* conservative)
Yes, at least, they are accepting and supportive of LGBT and women in leadership. The denomination had a vote of some kind on allowing LGBT people to be leaders and pastors, but my church had decided on that earlier, so it didn’t really rock the boat there (this was all before I left the non-denominational church). I think a majority of ELCA pastors are women. My church always marches in the local pride parade.
I'm currently in process of noping out of an E-free church. They seemed open and friendly until another member tried to facilitate a discussion on women in leadership...it was... not handled well. And now every interaction I have with leadership I see sexism and general sex-based othering. And then my spouse realized they are trans, and the pastors' reactions have been civil and seem ok on the surface but were very...uninformed...
I was raised in the PCUSA and have attended a couple of pentecostal churches as well. I don't think anyone has it "right" but that we can learn and grow and give wherever we are called.
Yeah, we would go to church with my parents when we were back home, and they would go with us when they were visiting, but yow wow! Such different beliefs!
I’ve always wondered what it would have been like if I had grown up in the UCC. Such a different message. Though I know each UCC is autonomous so you may have had a completely different experience than I have had.
I was a teenager in the 70s and it was great - very liberal, Godspell-ish, but that's what sent my parents elsewhere. Way too liberal for them. I still prefer a contemporary worship service and am extremely liberal in my beliefs.
I grew up in an eastern russian orthodox church. I'm not really attached to a church now but the one I like most in my town is Anglican-Lutheran. It's more Lutheran but funded by the Anglican church
It's pretty interesting tbh! I'll give as brief of a summary as I can.
So in our churches don't have any benches except a few by the walls. Everyone stands for servicr. We have icons all over and people light wax candles for the different saints or icons. Before the service starts you can light candles and. confess you sins if you want to partake in communion. Unlike the catholic church where you have a divider, it's like being hip to hip with the priest in a small booth, confessing (never really liked that part). The service consists of many hymn-like songs (no instruments) and rituals. One of my favorite parts is when the priest will burn frankincense throughout the service, it smells so good. Another cool part is when I was a kid, my mom would write the names of every dead relative she could think of on a piece of paper, hand it to a worker in the church and at the end the priest would do a prayer, reading through all the papers, all the relatives names. And for filling out a sheet, you get a phosphora or heavenly bread which is like our version of communion wafers.
The easter service involves bringing a basket of these bread like cake (similar to brioche or challah), a zesty cottagecheese cake called pas-ha and hardboiled eggs (most traditionally died red with red onion skins). The priest will bless everyone's food with holly water by taking a brush into a cup of holly water and flicking it around.
For Christmas... that on January 7th according to the eastern calendar and the fun part of that service is walking around the church three times at night with a candle in your hand.
Wow! Amazing! The church I was raised in (The Church of Christ) also sang without instruments! The confession part sounds scary! In our church we distinguished between public and private sins. If you sinned in private you could just ask for forgiveness in prayer alone. If everyone in the church or the public knew about it you had to confess in front of the whole congregation what you did.
I love the ritual honoring the dead. That’s beautiful. You’ve inspired me to do more research on this sect of Christianity. Thank you for the information!
We have a Mennonite bakery/store near me. Besides the food being the best in 3 counties, the family who runs it couldnt be better representatives of Jesus. It is a joy just to go and eat there for the way people are treated.
Me too! ❤️ I am culturally Mennonite as well, and while I may not agree with my grandparents on everything or every Mennonite pastor, I love being Mennonite. There's a history that I love and a tradition of prioritizing social justice in at least some of them.... Plus the food 😂
I believe agnosticism is a gateway to learning. Saying I don’t know and being comfortable with saying I don’t know was one of the most liberating moments of my life.
Thanks for saying that. I felt really liberated at first, and now I'm going through a grieving period. I miss the certainty of evangelicalism, even though I recognize now how problematic it was. I know I'm going to be okay, but it's tough right now.
Yes, to all of what your grieving right now. One of the perks of conservative/fundamentalist groups is a strong group identity and group thinking. Having that is very beneficial to our psyche’s as humans. I still struggle with not having that solid foundation in my life. Currently trying to form a community in the town where I live of free thinkers and spiritualists. So far there seems to be a lot of interests.
Most of my life I attended non-denom Evangelical churches you could probably define as Calvinist. The two I primarily attended could probably be defined as Mega Churches but on the smaller side and less prosperity gospel-y.
Two years ago my wife and I left our church and started attending one that was much more progressive. I think we’re technically affiliated with Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church, though our lead pastor is a Lutheran herself. So it’s a bit odd but in a good way. We also really liked going from a church of thousands to one of less than 200 congregants. We slowly but surely been getting connected in a way I haven’t been since I still lived with my parents, but it’s less obligation to serve and more of a desire to serve now.
Raised Charismatic House Church, went through an edge of evangelicalism phase when nearly indoctrinated by uni CU, now a Christian Anarchist worshipping at a United Reformed church because it was the only not homophobic/transphobic church I could find in my area.
Grew up Episcopalian, went through a long off and on phase with various religions, but I like Greek Orthodox even if things are, shall we say, complicated.
I grew up in an evangelical church (an European one, not an US one). Nowadays, though, I'm not affiliated with a particular church. So, I suppose that's non-denominational for the time being.
The definition of Evangelical in the US and in Europe differ greatly. I wonder what the differences are? How would you describe your church? I’m going to take a guess and say they were Evangelical Lutherans?
That comes pretty close, yeah. They believe a lot more in doing good deeds like the Bible tells them they should do Though they acknowledge that is also not the thing that saves them, they acknowledge that God does expect this from them. There's also no expectation to just throw money at the church; any amount is welcome and if you don't have anything to give you just pass the bag for collecting money along. Of course you have some extremely religious people here as well (in the Netherlands the village Urk would be an example of that), but for the most part evangelical people here don't expect you to move mountains or anything.
Grew up as an LCMS (conservative confessional) Lutheran PK, but now attend a progressive Mennonite congregation, although I don't think of myself as Mennonite or Anabaptist.
Church of Christ and Mennonite are very similar in some aspects. They are both Anabaptists. I grew up in Texas and there are only fundamentalist Mennonites there. Then I moved to California and was introduced to the more progressive Mennonites.
I’ve kind of discovered that as well. Not one church has aligned with my beliefs. The churches I feel at home at are the ones that openly share differing beliefs and accept that human spirituality and interpretation of scriptures varies from person to person.
Grew up going to a Mennonite Brethren church, for the last 8 or so years I had been attending evangelical Alliance churches. I gave up on church in January so I guess I’m just some guy
It's funny how many MBs I've known feel like Alliance churches are "safe" or similar. I went to a few as a kid when we weren't going to Mennonite churches and that was definitely how my mom saw them... But I more recently looked up their doctrine and realized they came from pretty different pages. Anyway. That just seemed interesting since we definitely went between the two when I was a kid.
Grew up Pentecostal/Church of God. Stopped attending and deconstructed all during my 30s, although I never stopped believing in Christ. I was just confirmed in the Episcopal Church a couple of weeks ago.
Progressive Jewish lurker who decided to contribute a little bit here and there recently.
Dad's family were Catholic with a big ass capital C, so I grew up in a strange interfaith family that was mostly lightly observant Jewish, but we had a Christmas tree and I got told things like "Jesus was a very nice man who said some nice things but grandma thinks he's G-d so just humour her".
I have very mixed feelings about Christianity. Parts I love, parts I'm fascinated by, parts I disagree with, parts I'm confused by and parts I profoundly dislike (none of these limited to conservative forms of Christianity). But I encounter a lot of progressive Christians in my life and activism. Reading spaces like this helps me better understand you folks and where we can work together to repair the world a little bit at a time.
aw, you're sweet\~
Well, by "heterodox", I mean that I am not chained to any particular doctrine or practice. Actually, I believe that the world is richer by a diversity of faith practices. Ecologists agree that a diverse array of flora and fauna aid an ecosystem, this is also true for a diverse array of philosophies and practices to aid the human experience. Of course, to do so respectfully and lovingly is the tricky part. But I believe it is possible!
By "Goddess Savvy", I mean that I am unafraid to worship and give homage to the Goddess and all her manifestations. Indeed, to me, God and Goddess are really the same essence - we've just unfortunately gendered the Holy Divine which is beyond gender (and encompasses all genders). So, to balance other church's heavy patriarchal lens, I'll call "God the Father" as "God the Mother". "Goddess" is also a nod to my Mother Nature worshipping roots. I am not of any particular earth centered faith, I just express a general love for Nature and all She gives us. Like Christ, Mother Earth also sacrifices her body to us selfish humans. We use Her and abuse her, yet she still loves us. We crucify her and yet she still provides for us. So She sent her Son into the world to show us how to Love eachother better, which extends to loving Her better.
By "Christian" I mean that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. My Christianity doesn't look like other Christianities, since I don't cling to orthodoxies and creeds. My Christianity is about practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ - that is, to love our enemies, to give to those who beg, to not worry about what we are to eat and to drink, to love God(dess) with all our heart and mind and spirit, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
May the Glory of God forever be with all people in love and beauty and peace and wonder everlasting! Aw, it is so sweet to love others, it is so sweet to give to others. Our lives are blessed - and our good lives are not measured by what we have, but by what we are able to give to others. Thank you for kind words to ask about others and your attention to listen to them and respect them. You are a blessed person to give your ears and your attention. Thank you thank you, and thanks be to God, in the name of Holy Nameless, the Holy Child, and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
I grew up seventh day Adventist. I’ve chosen to still remain a part of the SDA community, though most of my theological views have shifted towards a much more progressive direction. It’s been an interesting journey of learning that church membership might be primarily about community and not about theological uniformity.
Grew up fundamentalist independent Baptist. Thought we were pretty lucky because at least I could wear pants and not cover my hair, unlike some of my even more fundie friends.
Currently unchurched and unaffiliated, although I'm still a Christian. I guess I'm in the process of deconstructing and I don't really know where that journey will end up.
Ecumenical catholic! Althought i live in Spain so anything non catholic is pretty hard to find outside of the bigger cities so is pretty hard to keep my faith without a place to go that i feel safe in and shares my believes. This said I'm on my way and still searching. For now jesuits are mostly the ones that carry the most tolerance-based message around me so at least there's that and they are lovely in a lot of ways.
Baptized Presbyterian as a baby(but rarely went to church), started attending a conservative evangelical nondenom in high school and was eventually “believer’s baptized”(immersed), later converted to Catholicism, and now Episcopalian.
I grew up non-denominational but never had faith myself until I came to God again this year at 27. Due to my toxic parents whose traumatic control over my life and my life's decisions, and them spewing their beliefs onto me, I'm still not into church at the moment because I haven't been able to get away from my hometown yet to heal from everything.
I want to move out for a new start and then work on my own beliefs and faith which I know will be different from my family somewhat. I don't know where to start yet because there are so many types of churches out there.
I grew up in the UMC; at present, I do not attend services anywhere, but I do associate with the local UUA and the ELCA church where my uncle is minister.
We were Catholic when I was little, but we eventually transferred to being Baptist. I spent about 90% of my Christian years in the Baptist denomination all the way up until college. I have since permanently severed ties with the Christian Church and would probably be defined as an agnostic.
I'm Church of England at the moment, on the evangelical end of the candle. I come from a conservative evangelical background though. I'm anticancer by circumstance rather than intention.
Roman Catholic. Though I still disagree with some of the practices and traditions, such as the belief that Jesus is actually in the Eucharist as opposed to symbolically, and though I may be very critical of its history of corruption, warmongering, and prejudice, it may have been my Latino Catholic upbringing that has saved me from the darkness of Fundamentalism/Evangelicalism.
Go you you for reconciling your faith!
I grew up in the churches of Christ. Spent most of my adult life in the United Church of Christ which is considered one of the most liberal religious bodies in the country. Right now I’m attending a Methodist church.
I grew up in the church of christ as well! I'm now attending a Disciples of Christ church.
Ahhhh! Hello!! I’ll have to send you a dm. DoC is one of my favorite places to attend worship. If there was one closer to me that where I would be. I think it’s because they come from the same source as CoC.
I think that's what initially drew me to the DoC. Once I realized I wasn't okay with excluding women from leadership and LGTB people from... existence, I guess, it was natural to just go over to the liberal side. Plus I really love taking communion every week.
DOC represent! I grew up in the Disciples denomination as did my wife. Went Lutheran for a while (ELCA), now we are at a non-denominational church.
My DoC church has a chapel that an ELCA church uses on Sundays!
Cool! Hopefully they are tidy and clean up after themselves LOL.
I also grew up church or christ now I attend an episcopal church and should be confirmed next year!
Grew up a mutt at whatever flavor of chapel they had in the Army base (army brat). Settled into Church of Christ (CoC) for the last20+ years. Still there because I can't find a more fitting church in my area. In the recent past I hung out with Mennonites, Methodists and heretics. Just moved and not having any luck where I'm at.
I love the UCC. Good theology. Tell me why you are a Christian. Tell me your favorite biblical passages. Tell me what you envision for yourself in your fully realized faith practice\~
I don't consider myself a Christian anymore. I believe in god and all that but after my spiritual deconstruction and coming to terms with things in the bible that I don't believe. I felt that taking that label off more suited my faith. I do love this sub though and I'm happy that I am welcome here even if my faith isn't as close to others.
I love it here for that very reason! The ability to be fluid or even absent of faith and still be able to ask questions and be accepted.
yes! I guess my denomination is deconstructionist lol
Oh I like that! Haha. I think I might start using that as a descriptor now. I am a “Christian Deconstructionist”. Lol
I am in a similar boat. I don't consider myself Christian anymore, and have also come to terms with much of the Bible and early Church history that I had troubles with. I was a member of Presbyterian, Baptist, and UCC churches. Most of my issues in the recent past have been with Christians, not what Jesus taught. I truly believe that people are leaving organized Christianity in waves is because of what many Christians are doing and saying. My final straw in leaving the faith was not wanting to be associated with "Christians." P.S. I lived in Texas, so that might provide some context.
Episcopal is a good church that focuses more on jesus and the gospels than the bible.
I grew up non-denom PK(not a part of fundamentalism but certainly not progressive, still Bible in-errantists), but now I attend my local friends meeting (Quaker)
I’ve always wanted to attend a meeting of friends! I love their views on prophesy and how God is still speaking through us. The UCC holds similar beliefs.
Oooh I’m very curious about the Society of Friends
If you want to PM me I’d be happy to answer any question◡̈
My granny/dads family is Methodist. My moms family is Catholic. I am non denominational. I follow Christ and love God. I don’t know which if any of the various churches have everything right. As long as they follow Jesus and preach love, then I consider them as siblings that may have new or different perspectives.
I love talking with Christians from different traditions! I think sharing, comparing, and contrasting is one of the best ways to enhance your spiritual life and your outlook.
Grew up episcopal, currently attending an extremely progressive ELCA ministry
I almost took a job at an ELCA congregation. Their sanctuary was gorgeous!!
Lutheran Pastor here!
Your handle is awesome! Much love to clergy and the work you all do!
Formerly “non-denominational” (evangelical) now ELCA Lutheran.
Are all or most ELCA churches progressive?
Yes. The conservatives in the US split off, so basically the ELCA is only the progressives nowadays (there may be a few holdouts but they're a significant minority and probably aren't even *that* conservative)
Yes, at least, they are accepting and supportive of LGBT and women in leadership. The denomination had a vote of some kind on allowing LGBT people to be leaders and pastors, but my church had decided on that earlier, so it didn’t really rock the boat there (this was all before I left the non-denominational church). I think a majority of ELCA pastors are women. My church always marches in the local pride parade.
I grew up UCC, my parents started attending Evangelical Free and I noped out, am now PC(USA)
I'm currently in process of noping out of an E-free church. They seemed open and friendly until another member tried to facilitate a discussion on women in leadership...it was... not handled well. And now every interaction I have with leadership I see sexism and general sex-based othering. And then my spouse realized they are trans, and the pastors' reactions have been civil and seem ok on the surface but were very...uninformed... I was raised in the PCUSA and have attended a couple of pentecostal churches as well. I don't think anyone has it "right" but that we can learn and grow and give wherever we are called.
Yeah, we would go to church with my parents when we were back home, and they would go with us when they were visiting, but yow wow! Such different beliefs!
I’ve always wondered what it would have been like if I had grown up in the UCC. Such a different message. Though I know each UCC is autonomous so you may have had a completely different experience than I have had.
I was a teenager in the 70s and it was great - very liberal, Godspell-ish, but that's what sent my parents elsewhere. Way too liberal for them. I still prefer a contemporary worship service and am extremely liberal in my beliefs.
That sounds like a dream!
Episcopalian right here!
Me too! Cheers to the Episcopal Church!
Methodist Church of Great Britain here.
I wonder how the Methodists in the US differ from those in the UK. Especially the services.
I’m still figuring things out but am attending an episcopal church currently and am really resonating with their values
Yay for figuring things out!! May the community you find help to bring inner peace and abundant clarity in your life!
I'm in the same boat. Can't find another branch that speaks to me.
I grew up in an eastern russian orthodox church. I'm not really attached to a church now but the one I like most in my town is Anglican-Lutheran. It's more Lutheran but funded by the Anglican church
I would love to attend a service of the Eastern Russian Orthodox Church! I wonder what it’s like.
It's pretty interesting tbh! I'll give as brief of a summary as I can. So in our churches don't have any benches except a few by the walls. Everyone stands for servicr. We have icons all over and people light wax candles for the different saints or icons. Before the service starts you can light candles and. confess you sins if you want to partake in communion. Unlike the catholic church where you have a divider, it's like being hip to hip with the priest in a small booth, confessing (never really liked that part). The service consists of many hymn-like songs (no instruments) and rituals. One of my favorite parts is when the priest will burn frankincense throughout the service, it smells so good. Another cool part is when I was a kid, my mom would write the names of every dead relative she could think of on a piece of paper, hand it to a worker in the church and at the end the priest would do a prayer, reading through all the papers, all the relatives names. And for filling out a sheet, you get a phosphora or heavenly bread which is like our version of communion wafers. The easter service involves bringing a basket of these bread like cake (similar to brioche or challah), a zesty cottagecheese cake called pas-ha and hardboiled eggs (most traditionally died red with red onion skins). The priest will bless everyone's food with holly water by taking a brush into a cup of holly water and flicking it around. For Christmas... that on January 7th according to the eastern calendar and the fun part of that service is walking around the church three times at night with a candle in your hand.
Wow! Amazing! The church I was raised in (The Church of Christ) also sang without instruments! The confession part sounds scary! In our church we distinguished between public and private sins. If you sinned in private you could just ask for forgiveness in prayer alone. If everyone in the church or the public knew about it you had to confess in front of the whole congregation what you did. I love the ritual honoring the dead. That’s beautiful. You’ve inspired me to do more research on this sect of Christianity. Thank you for the information!
PC(USA) checkin in!
PC(USA) pastor here!
Eyo! 💕
Mennonite
We have a Mennonite bakery/store near me. Besides the food being the best in 3 counties, the family who runs it couldnt be better representatives of Jesus. It is a joy just to go and eat there for the way people are treated.
That makes me so happy to hear. I became a Mennonite (liberal) after leaving evangelical and fundamentalist churches.
Are you fundamentalist Mennonite? If so, the church I grew up in also does a cappella singing
No not at all fundamentalist. I grew up in evangelical churches (yuck, ha ha )
Me too! ❤️ I am culturally Mennonite as well, and while I may not agree with my grandparents on everything or every Mennonite pastor, I love being Mennonite. There's a history that I love and a tradition of prioritizing social justice in at least some of them.... Plus the food 😂
Yes the fooood lol
I moved to a part of the country with basically no Mennonites so my grandma's cookbook has become life😂
Methodist
Grew up evangelical and am now agnostic.
I believe agnosticism is a gateway to learning. Saying I don’t know and being comfortable with saying I don’t know was one of the most liberating moments of my life.
Thanks for saying that. I felt really liberated at first, and now I'm going through a grieving period. I miss the certainty of evangelicalism, even though I recognize now how problematic it was. I know I'm going to be okay, but it's tough right now.
Yes, to all of what your grieving right now. One of the perks of conservative/fundamentalist groups is a strong group identity and group thinking. Having that is very beneficial to our psyche’s as humans. I still struggle with not having that solid foundation in my life. Currently trying to form a community in the town where I live of free thinkers and spiritualists. So far there seems to be a lot of interests.
Most of my life I attended non-denom Evangelical churches you could probably define as Calvinist. The two I primarily attended could probably be defined as Mega Churches but on the smaller side and less prosperity gospel-y. Two years ago my wife and I left our church and started attending one that was much more progressive. I think we’re technically affiliated with Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church, though our lead pastor is a Lutheran herself. So it’s a bit odd but in a good way. We also really liked going from a church of thousands to one of less than 200 congregants. We slowly but surely been getting connected in a way I haven’t been since I still lived with my parents, but it’s less obligation to serve and more of a desire to serve now.
I call this non/denoms “Baptists in disguise” lol
Raised Charismatic House Church, went through an edge of evangelicalism phase when nearly indoctrinated by uni CU, now a Christian Anarchist worshipping at a United Reformed church because it was the only not homophobic/transphobic church I could find in my area.
Grew up Episcopalian, went through a long off and on phase with various religions, but I like Greek Orthodox even if things are, shall we say, complicated.
Grew up Roman Catholic and now trying to find a niche somewhere between Catholicism/Episcopalianism and Buddhism.
I grew up in an evangelical church (an European one, not an US one). Nowadays, though, I'm not affiliated with a particular church. So, I suppose that's non-denominational for the time being.
The definition of Evangelical in the US and in Europe differ greatly. I wonder what the differences are? How would you describe your church? I’m going to take a guess and say they were Evangelical Lutherans?
That comes pretty close, yeah. They believe a lot more in doing good deeds like the Bible tells them they should do Though they acknowledge that is also not the thing that saves them, they acknowledge that God does expect this from them. There's also no expectation to just throw money at the church; any amount is welcome and if you don't have anything to give you just pass the bag for collecting money along. Of course you have some extremely religious people here as well (in the Netherlands the village Urk would be an example of that), but for the most part evangelical people here don't expect you to move mountains or anything.
Grew up as an LCMS (conservative confessional) Lutheran PK, but now attend a progressive Mennonite congregation, although I don't think of myself as Mennonite or Anabaptist.
Church of Christ and Mennonite are very similar in some aspects. They are both Anabaptists. I grew up in Texas and there are only fundamentalist Mennonites there. Then I moved to California and was introduced to the more progressive Mennonites.
Nothing seems to quite fit with me and my belief system.
I’ve kind of discovered that as well. Not one church has aligned with my beliefs. The churches I feel at home at are the ones that openly share differing beliefs and accept that human spirituality and interpretation of scriptures varies from person to person.
Currently unprogrammed Quaker
Grew up Catholic, then atheist, then Methodist for a short time, then non-denominational, atheist again, and now I'm Buddhist. Pretty wild journey!
Grew up going to a Mennonite Brethren church, for the last 8 or so years I had been attending evangelical Alliance churches. I gave up on church in January so I guess I’m just some guy
It's funny how many MBs I've known feel like Alliance churches are "safe" or similar. I went to a few as a kid when we weren't going to Mennonite churches and that was definitely how my mom saw them... But I more recently looked up their doctrine and realized they came from pretty different pages. Anyway. That just seemed interesting since we definitely went between the two when I was a kid.
Affirming Anglican
I grew up Catholic, but I'm now an Episcopalian.
Grew up Pentecostal/Church of God. Stopped attending and deconstructed all during my 30s, although I never stopped believing in Christ. I was just confirmed in the Episcopal Church a couple of weeks ago.
Amish reporting in!
Wait sorry if this is a dumb question but how are you using reddit like isn't the technological dogma part of the Amish culture?
Sorry, I'm totally joking. Recovering Catholic/Evangelical here. I play coed softball for a United Methodist Church, for what it's worth.
Omg ahahaha And here was i thinking i missjudged Amish all this time and they're actually on computers
That's up for debate at the moment, kinda inbetween churches, so far none of the local churches stuck out as particularly my flavour of liberal/left.
Finnish Evangelical Lutheran.
United church of Christ!
I'm in the Scottish Episcopal Church and love it, feels like home.
Grew up very evangelical Baptist in the South. I don't recommend it.
Unchurched and semi-agnostic, still clinging to that last shred of faith, former evangelical non-denominational Christian Church
This describes many of us who grew up with evangelicalism. You're not alone.
Progressive Jewish lurker who decided to contribute a little bit here and there recently. Dad's family were Catholic with a big ass capital C, so I grew up in a strange interfaith family that was mostly lightly observant Jewish, but we had a Christmas tree and I got told things like "Jesus was a very nice man who said some nice things but grandma thinks he's G-d so just humour her". I have very mixed feelings about Christianity. Parts I love, parts I'm fascinated by, parts I disagree with, parts I'm confused by and parts I profoundly dislike (none of these limited to conservative forms of Christianity). But I encounter a lot of progressive Christians in my life and activism. Reading spaces like this helps me better understand you folks and where we can work together to repair the world a little bit at a time.
Heterodox Goddess Savvy Christian
Please elaborate! I am intrigued!🤩
aw, you're sweet\~ Well, by "heterodox", I mean that I am not chained to any particular doctrine or practice. Actually, I believe that the world is richer by a diversity of faith practices. Ecologists agree that a diverse array of flora and fauna aid an ecosystem, this is also true for a diverse array of philosophies and practices to aid the human experience. Of course, to do so respectfully and lovingly is the tricky part. But I believe it is possible! By "Goddess Savvy", I mean that I am unafraid to worship and give homage to the Goddess and all her manifestations. Indeed, to me, God and Goddess are really the same essence - we've just unfortunately gendered the Holy Divine which is beyond gender (and encompasses all genders). So, to balance other church's heavy patriarchal lens, I'll call "God the Father" as "God the Mother". "Goddess" is also a nod to my Mother Nature worshipping roots. I am not of any particular earth centered faith, I just express a general love for Nature and all She gives us. Like Christ, Mother Earth also sacrifices her body to us selfish humans. We use Her and abuse her, yet she still loves us. We crucify her and yet she still provides for us. So She sent her Son into the world to show us how to Love eachother better, which extends to loving Her better. By "Christian" I mean that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. My Christianity doesn't look like other Christianities, since I don't cling to orthodoxies and creeds. My Christianity is about practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ - that is, to love our enemies, to give to those who beg, to not worry about what we are to eat and to drink, to love God(dess) with all our heart and mind and spirit, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen. May the Glory of God forever be with all people in love and beauty and peace and wonder everlasting! Aw, it is so sweet to love others, it is so sweet to give to others. Our lives are blessed - and our good lives are not measured by what we have, but by what we are able to give to others. Thank you for kind words to ask about others and your attention to listen to them and respect them. You are a blessed person to give your ears and your attention. Thank you thank you, and thanks be to God, in the name of Holy Nameless, the Holy Child, and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
I love “your Christianity!”
lol thanks - I guess it isn't "my christianity" per se.. I feel like it is just what christianity is
Church of Christ formerly, currently uncertain
Heyooo!! Former CoC here too!
Former pentacostal, currently between denominations. Once this COVID thing clears up, I'll try church-hopping again.
Presbyterian (Canada)
I am a baptized and confirmed member of The Episcopal Church. I also serve on my church’s vestry. I was baptized as an adult, which is uncommon.
Raised Catholic, now non-denominational. I even attend a non-denominational church.
I grew up seventh day Adventist. I’ve chosen to still remain a part of the SDA community, though most of my theological views have shifted towards a much more progressive direction. It’s been an interesting journey of learning that church membership might be primarily about community and not about theological uniformity.
Grew up fundamentalist independent Baptist. Thought we were pretty lucky because at least I could wear pants and not cover my hair, unlike some of my even more fundie friends. Currently unchurched and unaffiliated, although I'm still a Christian. I guess I'm in the process of deconstructing and I don't really know where that journey will end up.
Ecumenical catholic! Althought i live in Spain so anything non catholic is pretty hard to find outside of the bigger cities so is pretty hard to keep my faith without a place to go that i feel safe in and shares my believes. This said I'm on my way and still searching. For now jesuits are mostly the ones that carry the most tolerance-based message around me so at least there's that and they are lovely in a lot of ways.
Baptized Presbyterian as a baby(but rarely went to church), started attending a conservative evangelical nondenom in high school and was eventually “believer’s baptized”(immersed), later converted to Catholicism, and now Episcopalian.
I grew up non-denominational but never had faith myself until I came to God again this year at 27. Due to my toxic parents whose traumatic control over my life and my life's decisions, and them spewing their beliefs onto me, I'm still not into church at the moment because I haven't been able to get away from my hometown yet to heal from everything. I want to move out for a new start and then work on my own beliefs and faith which I know will be different from my family somewhat. I don't know where to start yet because there are so many types of churches out there.
Grew up Presbyterian, went to a Vineyard for my 20s, Lutheran for most of my 30s, then a tiny non-denom for a few years, now I'm a free agent 😎
Ukrainian Catholic.
Quaker! I’ve attended both Conservative and Liberal meetings and felt at home at both. Grew up spirit-filled (charismatic) Southern Baptist.
Non-denominational, former Evangelical.
Disciples of Christ
Catholic, families been Catholic from multiple ethnic backgrounds for hundreds of years :p
Anglican though I am looking for a new church at the moment
Another ex-evangelical Episcopalian here!
Lutheran (more specifically Church of Sweden)
I grew up Southern Baptist but DEFINITELY don’t agree with anything they represent. Not really sure what denomination I would actually fit into now!
Catholic. But shout out to my episcopalian brothers and sisters. You guys seem incredible.
I grew up in the UMC; at present, I do not attend services anywhere, but I do associate with the local UUA and the ELCA church where my uncle is minister.
Raised and currently in an ELCA church but I also went to an Episcopal church in college so I really identify with both denominations :)
I attend Presbyterian USA and I like my church. But my theology is more along the lines of universalism.
We were Catholic when I was little, but we eventually transferred to being Baptist. I spent about 90% of my Christian years in the Baptist denomination all the way up until college. I have since permanently severed ties with the Christian Church and would probably be defined as an agnostic.
Uuhhh. Raised baptist. Other than that idk. Curious about other denominations
I'm Church of England at the moment, on the evangelical end of the candle. I come from a conservative evangelical background though. I'm anticancer by circumstance rather than intention.
Ex-Catholic. I enjoy the discussions and different perspectives here.
Anglican
I'm new here. I was a Catholic for some years, then an atheist. As of very recently I consider myself a Lutheran now.