I went straight from being Mormon (although I never could shake the doubts I wasn't supposed to have) into being atheist. . . It still seems like a rational transition to me, but I have not lost the need for some sort of established spiritual outlet.

I've looked into all sorts of religious approaches but I couldn't quite embrace them. I've gone to a friend's Christian church (a very casual, love-thy-neighbor-and-you're-doing-fine kind) out of desperation to find a social group in which to experience spirituality, but I feel like a liar for doing that.

I'm looking at pagan/druidry as the closest organization of my personal spiritual philosophy, but I was wondering what works for the rest of you. I've read all kinds of different things from the exmo crowd, from Catholicism to atheism, but I'm wondering why you each chose what you did.

That's my hardest thing about being exmo. I miss the sense of belonging to a community of faith, I miss having nice people to share life with, people who are trying to live a decent life and be supportive of each other.

I've spent 10 years trying out different things (I majored in religious studies and practiced each religion I studied)

to me all religions seem to work/not work about equally.

I live in the middle of nowhere, so don't worship/practice with anyone now. If I lived in a town I think I'd shop around for a community of people I feel at home with.
To me all the different religions are just like sort of babytalk for the Real Thing that humans aren't grown-up/smart enough to really know how to talk about.

Good Luck with your search!

What do you mean by the "Real Thing"?

Exactly the same one that worked before! Why, why, why did I ever join? My belief is in a God (higher power, Buddha, what works for you) who is kind, benevolent and wants us to live a life of happiness and bring joy to others- not through mindless acts of "service" and busywork as tscc kept us running around like idiots. I also don't believe in a punitive God either. So many things make SO much sense now. I have always had a simple belief in God and it boggles my mind that I ever thought that temple ceremonies and signs and tokens could possibly make a difference. I don't believe God is that small!

i understand what your saying i too miss all the people ,yet know i dont believe what i have been taught .i have lots of doubts on there being a god, yet feel there has to be some thing, as to what i dont know , i am now in the prosess of finding my own beliefs and am looking into all different aspects of religious beliefs .sadley i still find my self praying to a god im not sure of ,mormons realy brainwash you till you dont know your foot from your elbow i wish i never heard of them

meditation, Hinduism/Buddhism.

I'll try an overly short answer to start out.

In my teens and 20s, I was drawn to Buddhism, especially Zen, with side trips into Taoism. When I read Elaine Pagels' work I also became interested in trying to rediscover the Gnostic roots that to some extent seemed like a more historically valid approach to the "restoration" that it seemed to be was the underpinning for much of what I still found attractive about Mormonism, at least as I'd learned it. But as others point out, there really is not much of a social community (at least none I was drawn to) that centered on that.

I wound up a fairly active member of a couple of Reconstructionist Jewish communities during my marriage and it was fascinating to learn more about actual Judaism as opposed to the sort of misinformation and antisemitism that was part of my upbringing.

At present I'm not part of any religious community, and most of my interest in religion is more intellectual than anything I'd describe as spiritual. What feelings I have that resemble spirituality seem to be more related to moments of clarity when I think about what is coming to light in terms of physics and our developing understanding of the natural universe and what we can tell of what makes it work. Such ideas of the infinite are a lot greater than anything we humans seem to be capable of describing in mere words or dogma.

Snake handling.

Haha! Those snake handling guys crack me up. I actually blogged an article about it once after seeing a History channel program about those snake/faith dudes.

I've looked into the UU, but never made it to any meetings. It sounds like a Mormon Recovery version of universalism could actually help a lot of us out. Anyone else in Central California?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2012 08:04PM by rosemary.

Rosemary-I'm on the Central Coast. Moved here 2 months ago and still know no one.

Oh, I'm in the valley at the moment. :( Still, the coast ain't the worst place to be stuck! Are you in one of those small artsy towns? The coast is far more open minded than the central valley. We seem to be stuck in this highly judgmental, room-for-Christians-only bubble.

Belief (buzz word for atheists, sorry but I don't know a replacement word) in no God at all doesn't satisfy me or make me feel good, which results in me thinking there is an unknown presence who is there but not seen with the eyes. So, I believe in God, still pray and sometimes read the Bible. That seems to bring me some peace and comfort. Maybe someday I will go to a church. For now, though I do miss the community of a church, churches are not good for me at present.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2012 04:43PM by suckafoo.

Since leaving Mormonism I've read numerous Hindu and Buddhist texts. I read the Tao Te Ching a few times and am currently reading it again. I've read a new translation of the Bible also. I also read various more modern texts like A Course In Miracles and Conversations With God.

Honestly I think all of them have some good messages but they can all be just a little crazy, particularly the modern ones. The Tao, I think, is my favorite.

I believe in God, but I've taken an agnostic approach to defining what God might be. What if God is just a state of consciousness where a human is filled with love for others and can think rationally without being a jerk? I'm okay with that if that is what God is. And I think that would fit well with an atheistic or agnostic belief.

born again I guess. I figure just because I was deceived doesn't mean all are deceivers. But I did so with eyes open and I haven't gone all bonkers over another religion - once bitten twice shy.

still consider myself Christian. So, nondenomenational unchurched Christian who reads the Bible. I like the NIV.

I went from mormon to reading about angels etc, then to atheist. I now feel I have regained a form of Christian faith. I struggle with a lot of hate towards tbm, and I know I really shouldn't.

-S

Buddhism, Taoism, Existentialism, Humanism

Charlotte Joko Beck
Deng Ming Dao
Ayya Khema

"What we call a 'thought' is something that has already fallen one or more removes from the living reality of the Unborn." --Bankei

"Mindfulness will act like the brakes on a car. If you have no brakes on a car, it's obviously going to be very dangerous. Without mindfulness, life is very dangerous." --Ayya Khema

One of my own creation. It's the only thing that makes sense to me.

On facebook I've declared altruistic hedonism. I try to find a balance in life in providing help to others while seeking maximum joy for myself.

But, I too enjoy the social aspects within a religious group. I attend the Lutheran church (paid organist). Started attending based on their reconciling in christ program, accepting all regardless of race/gender/sexual orientation/sexual preference, etc. LGBT support was the main draw. I love the pastor and congregation. I find comfort in the ability to discuss what I don't believe as much as what I do believe.

Pantheism/atheism/Buddhism

They work together nicely.

I've been interested in mythology ever since I wrote a paper in elementary school comparing the deities from various cultures. I think some belief systems are really interesting because of the stories they teach. I don't think any of them are true, but they seem to come alive when I'm reading about them.

As for what happens after you die and all that, I figure we'll find out when we get there. That seems to be as it was intended, if anything was intended.

...then the Unitarian Universalists are a good place to park for at least a while. It's good for people willing to put the work into figuring out what they believe rather than those looking for someone to tell them what to believe.

My journey out of the TSCC is still very fresh (under a year), but for me, I've embraced what I suppose is pretty close to an atheist /humanist type of belief system.

I have a love and reverence for nature, so I'd like to eventually find a group to belong to that is active out in nature; some type of club. I've felt what could be described as "spiritual" moments while out hiking, camping, just enjoying nature and being outside.

I don't think you necessarily have to find a religious group in order to fill that spiritual need within yourself. I do think it's possible that discovering, or focusing, on those things that you enjoy most in life, and then finding groups of people to surround yourself with that enjoy the same things as you, can be just as satisfying and fulfilling. But I realize that may not work for everyone; it's simply something that I've discovered works for me.

"I'm looking at pagan/druidry as the closest organization of my personal spiritual philosophy,"

I went the Druidic Pagan route, myself. It certainly fits me much better than anything else I've found.

For me it's always been nature that made me feel anything godly. (Hence the peek into paganism) While I can be spiritual on my own, I do miss having a group like the "ward family". Unfortunately, I read that there aren't a whole lot of pagan/Wiccan/heathens because of the stigma.

And next month my husband and I are moving our family up into a small mountaintop community, so I'm not sure I will be able to find what I'm looking for. . . Although I will be living among oak trees hundreds of years old, so I'm going to be living my "religion" better than I ever was able to do as a Mormon!

Went straight from TBM to I Believe I Don't Give A S**t Whether I Believe Anything At All in about two weeks or less. Not atheist, not agnostic: how about Don'tCareistic?

all you need is love and to give love
smile, take care of yourself, rise above
the mediocrity of this world, flood
your mind with positive energy, don't judge
improve yourself, don't accept the snubs
and cattiness of bitter people, you're the one
who can be a light when others are ignored
love, love, love...

You might try the Gospel of Thomas.

3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you.

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

I became a Jedi! I have a lightsaber and I am cool with the force!

Actually, I found a real great assistance in Religious Science, also known as The United Centers for Spiritual Living. You mentioned that you are in CA, and there are a ton of them there! It has assisted me because I believe that ALL good books have truth to them. Its a form of a "new age" or "new thought" religion. The other reason I like it is that with the learning of all the great teachers of the past and present, the community is a loving, giving, open community. More than I ever felt in TSCC.

For 11 years, I have been switching between atheist and apatheist positions. I recently settled for an inner-directed form of Christian Deism.

I can keep my head, and my heart follows.

buddhism --the practical principles of living in the now such as meditation.

now i enjoy life, learn from my mistakes, move on, help others, all that completely free. no more shame or guilt about anything. i am who i am.

i don't believe in gods of any kind. they are pretty useless if you ask me.

I joined a non-denominational Christian church within weeks of resigning. I had no intent on joining any church, just drove past one and had a good feeling about it. So I said "what the fuck, why not". It was more out of curiosity than anything, so I showed up one Sunday and liked it.

I've been there three years now and I'm pretty happy with it. My husband loves it too. Kids dig it.