Followup to: Crisis of Faith
I thought this comment from "Jo" deserved a bump to the front page:
I feel for you. I was raised Catholic and was quite religious up to and through high school (people considered me "mature" in faith). As I matured intellectually, my faith became increasingly abstract, until at some point in college I realized it would all be simpler if Christianity were basically false. Unfortunately, at least in my experience, once you take seriously the idea that a religion is false, faith quickly becomes silly and there's no going back.
I am still struggling with how to inform those around me of my changed perspective. My family is of course Catholic, but my in-laws are Evangelical. My rather cowardly strategy so far is to slowly inform people, when the timing seems appropriate. I told my wife a couple years ago, and discovered she was struggling with similar questions. This was a fortunate coincidence, I guess. I've told some of my siblings, in confidence, and am just waiting for the right opportunity to tell my parents. My wife and I are still too worried about hurting her family by informing them.
So sorry, no advice, since I'm stuck with similar dilemma's as you are. But just thought to let you know you're not alone.
"So here I am having been raised in the Christian faith and trying not to freak out over the past few weeks because I've finally begun to wonder whether I believe things just because I was raised with them. Our family is surrounded by genuinely wonderful people who have poured their talents into us since we were teenagers, and our social structure and business rests on the tenets of what we believe. I've been trying to work out how I can 'clear the decks' and then rebuild with whatever is worth keeping, yet it's so foundational that it will affect my marriage (to a pretty special man) and my daughters who, of course, have also been raised to walk the Christian path.
Is there anyone who's been in this position - really, really invested in a faith and then walked away?"