Tell your story- do you know the Duggars or grow up fundie?

[Boogalou]

Welcome to both hagia sophia and sera! Happy to have you here!

[QAF_Rocks]

If you have questions, I can answer based on what it was like in our family. I'm also going to try and get my brother to register an account here so that he can give the male perspective on being raised QF and leaving.

It would be great to have a thread (or two) on the "Ask Me Anything" subforum!

http://freejinger.org/viewforum.php?f=16

[divadivine]

I grew up baptist, but I was always intrigued by the Catholic religion and Nuns. I was 8 and I wanted to be a Nun. Remember, I was baptist. I don't know of any baptist Nuns. Anyhow, I was a good little girl, always went to church, Sunday School, sang in the children's choir, knew all the books of the Bible, had my Bible with my name on it, and the whole nine yards. Then, I suddenly just stopped going to church. I don't really know why, but I think I just got tired of all the fake hypocrites. I didn't go to church, but I did attend a college that has some affiliation with the American Baptist Church- honestly, it's a very loose relationship, because the place was super liberal (still is) lots of support for Gay/Lesbian students, no mandatory chapel, fairly strong Greek system, condom machines in the bathrooms, etc.

Anyhow, fast forward to the late 90's. I had taught at one Catholic School and then transferred to another. I really liked the priest and the parish community. I decided to go through RCIA and I converted at Easter that year. I can honestly say I really love being Catholic. People ask me why I decided to become Catholic and I tell them "Because it was the first religion that made sense to me. No one was up there screaming at me, telling me I was going to Hell for being a sinner. I finally realized God wasn't out to get me, like I had felt during all those years in baptist church. I feel like the Catholic Church is a kinder, gentler church."

And in case you are wondering, I don't have any desire to be a nun any more.

[Rachel333]

I grew up homeschooled in NW Arkansas, so I knew lots of fundies and was often around the Duggars, though they aren't terribly active in the community. I feel like I talk about it too much, actually. It's really weird to see people you know discussed online. I have some sympathy for the fundies we snark on in that the first time I saw a family I know really well be snarked on at twop and here I was also really upset even though I didn't even particularly like that family. (I didn't feel that way about the Duggars because they made themselves so very public. I was actually kind of a jerk; I knew about Jackson's and Johannah's pregnancies before the media was informed, and I leaked the news on a few very small websites. Nothing really came of it, but I felt cool for having that information. :lol: )

I was raised as a conservative charismatic Christian (I used to speak in tongues :P ), possibly fundie-lite. I'm past that, but I'm not quite sure what I believe now.

[So Many Lies]

I dabbled in a number of bizarre things when I was young. Now I'm an agnostic.

I love fundies, quiver fulls and their ilk because I love to snark on the tryhard, fake, phony and lame individuals propping up their existances with their poor kids and broadcasting it on the internet.

[Hestia]

I was raised a fundamentalist charasmatic messianic. Which meant my family believed in creationism, literal bible, modesty, purity, arranged marriage, celebrated Jewish festivals instead of christian ones, kept kosher and shabbat etc, and spoke in tounges/cast out demons. I was a dogmatic believer until I was about 17 when I started to question. I started reading books and websites on the sly.

I left home in my first semester of University, and moved in with my (christian but deaf and busy) grandfather. However, my parents still had a key to his home, and despite me being 20 they would go through my room when we were both out to check that I was still being a good girl. I couldn't stand it anymore, and I broke of my engagement to my fundy fiance, then moved in with The Bastard the next year. (my partner, bless his good pagan heart). My family found out six months later. It has been a really hard emotional ride, but I've been getting there.

Now I identify as an agnostic, bi-sexual, feminist witch.

I love my family very much, and am lucky because we are on talking basis (even though it is strained) however I would never be able to even stay a night at their house.

It's been a journey.