I am faced with this almost everyday. Do I give up my church, my "faith", my security and move on to different, more logical things? I have put myself in a place where my life is controlled by the church. I am a secretary there, I teach Sunday School there, I clean there, I garden there... Where I live, you are defined by your religious affiliation. If you are an apostolic lutheran (which I have been falsely labeled), you are automatically a "Banger", if you are a pinestreet apostolic lutheran you are a "Bunner". These are labels that basically say that you believe in God, and everything else is wrong. I am a very insecure person, and ended up befriending some "bangers". I convinced myself that I had to join their church to make friends and was swept into it. Now I am there big labeled "CONVERT", even though I am Baptist/ leaning on the Presbyterian side. I cant dig myself out of this hole of faith that I dont even believe in. This isnt my religion, this isnt my faith. And I dont even know what to do, so it doesnt seem like I can help you.
But a hint:
Stick firm to what you believe in, not what you know or were taught.

Church is not fake you ignorent moron. But I do say if you want to explore then explore. God gave us the freedom of choice and if you want to explore something new it is your choice. I have tryed then I personally believe that my church is right for me but really it's your call.

church is fake you need to know REALLLLLLLLLL

Stop going to church its as simple as that. My granny used to tell me my whole life I was going to burn in hell if I didnt go to mass, one day I realized she was a lunatic and what she was saying was her own mad point of you so after that day I never went to church again.

And pretty doubtful.

But a good point made nonetheless.

quote:

Most atheists are just Christians without belief in the supernatural.

That's pretty deep.

Most everyone had great suggestions, but I have some more to add:

Experiencing the world outside of church involves more than just stopping the belief in god. It may also involve reframing your worldview. Lots of society's most basic values can be traced back to Christian dogma and are ingrained into most people's subconscious; such as absolutist morality, the "guilt" system, "with-us-or-against-us" thinking, etc. Most atheists are just Christians without belief in the supernatural.

My mother was a Jehovah witness... and I hated to go to the meetings(boring)... I think that it messed up my religious beliefs but you have to do what feels comfortable for you. Don't let people control your life. I don't go to church.. and its ok. Try different things... thats what I'm doing. Find something that fits your beliefs and your personality.

quote:

But I agree, for the most part, with everyone else. Just do what feels right. Try out Buddhism. Become a deist. Throw it all away and see how it's like being an atheist. Just experiment, and when you come to something that just seems to "fit", stick with it. You'll be all the more happier for it.

I agree

quote:

Your faith in God should never be discarded even if you want to try new things.

That doesn't sound like what I hear all the time, which is something along the lines of, "Without God life is nothing."

But I agree, for the most part, with everyone else. Just do what feels right. Try out Buddhism. Become a deist. Throw it all away and see how it's like being an atheist. Just experiment, and when you come to something that just seems to "fit", stick with it. You'll be all the more happier for it.

quote:

You don't have to separate church even if you want to grow up. Your faith in God should never be discarded even if you want to try new things.

Coming from someone who knows jack crap about religions....

You don't have to back off from your faith, you could do random internet searching for religion (religioustolerance.org is a great start) and move on from there. Just approach with an open mind and you're fine. I went through the same thing. And yes, I'm the anti-religion freak, but that has mostly to do with my personal expiriences with religion and not the researching itself.

quote:

I've grown up in church all of my life, but now that I'm growning up I want to experience the world from a different aspect. What should I do?

You don't have to separate church even if you want to grow up. Your faith in God should never be discarded even if you want to try new things.

Punk rock... now there's a good way to learn about different faiths.

There's a difference between expanding your religious horizons and being pointlessly rebellious. The unfortunate souls who don't realize this are the ones who make all the alternative faiths look bad.

you dont HAVE to stop going to church. just read stuff about the world that doesnt have a church veiw or doesnt criticize the church. and listen to punk rock...=). i suggest anti-flag.

Opps, I am soooooooooooo sorry, i just said your real name on here, I think if I remembered right. Can someone delete that post?

Stop going to Church and go HERE and read some stuff.

Embrace the world for what it is, there's so much beauty that goes unnoticed or ignored.

You could always ask your frienda who are in different religions or read about them.

Edit: What Aguagon said.

Curse you Auagon!

Stop going to church. Start going to synogauge or mosque. Take a class on comparative religion. Embrace the latest celebrity fad religion. Befriend a human secularist. Join a dangerous cult.

The possibilities are endless.