Followup to: Crisis of Faith
I thought this comment from "Jo" deserved a bump to the front page:
I went through the same thing. My family is made up mostly of preachers, and I was the first to openly state my lack of belief. They are a member of a fairly tolerant sect, and I still get along well with everyone. You might have some serious trouble if you're a Southern Baptist or something similar, but things may go swimmingly if you're a Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.
They're bound to worry about your soul, and be prepared for them to try to convince you that you're in eternal jeopardy because of this, but if your husband is really that special and you've raised your daughters to be caring and thoughtful, that will trump religious dogma every time.
Best of luck to you.
"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?"