Is Your Heritage Or Ethnicity A Factor Within Your Belief System?


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Hello,

I was brought up by a Southern Pentecostal but in adolescence my burgeoning homosexuality caused me to question my Christian upbringing. Once I began my religious exploration I began to think of how the majority of the Bible was basically a collection of the myths and legends of the Hebrews, and that the genealogies of my European ancestors had been crudely grafted onto Biblical genealogies to retrofit them into the Biblical account of things. Before this, I had never given thought to what the native beliefs of my ancestors were. They had their own Pagan genealogies tracing descent from various gods and heroes rather than biblical patriarchs. (Christian monks just made the Europeans all descendants of Noah's son Japheth.) In any case, exploring the beliefs of my Welsh and Irish ancestors is what led me to begin practicing forms of Celtic Paganism (Celtic Witchcraft, Druidry, etc.) which is the path I have been following in one way or another for over 25 years. I am just curious to hear what impact heritage or ethnicity has had on the beliefs of other members, if any. (I am not interested in claims of racial superiority, etc.; that was not the intent of my post.)

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I have no clue to my family background. The limbs of the tree have broken off at various points through history, and anyone who might have been able to trace any line has long since passed.

Therefore, I need be only content for the moment and where my heritage takes my family now.

My book of faith is still being written, essentially.

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I am Scotch Irish and Cherokee, equal parts of all three, roughly speaking. It doesn't really factor into my traditional views of Druidry, although I will admit, I have adapted some Cherokee beliefs in with the Druidry that I practice. That is the wonder of eclectic belief systems, I suppose. I have heard others with the opinion that heritage is essential for certain pagan practices, such as Druidry and Witchcraft, but I tend to view such as hogwash myself. After all, there had to be a first at some time, eh?

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  • 2 weeks later...

The spiritual path that I have been following for the past 50+ years has nothing to do with my ethnicity. I have a very mixed ethnical background. Some of those who arrived in the island were Spanish "conquistadores" others came with a one way ticket from Africa. I am a Brown Spanish-English speaking Puerto Rican who converted to a form of Hinduism, who enjoys classical western music and listening to the sound of primitive drums. No my spiritual path has nothing to do with my ethnicity whatever it might be.

Hermano Luis

Morivivi Hermitage

Edited by emalpaiz
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  • 10 months later...

Ethnicity is not a factor in my belief system. I was born in Florida and raised in a family with its roots in the Deep South. I am a mixture of mainly Western European ancestries. But since I believe that my spirit is pre-existing and immortal, I think of my physical form more or less as clothing and not really important as far as my "true" self is concerned. I believe my spirit predates mankind itself, much less modern ethnicities.

Yours in Darkness,

Umbraedeus :vamp:

Edited by Umbraedeus
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  • 2 weeks later...

If you listen to these two presentations, you will find that most of us follow our family tradition, culture and customs and never really choose our Gods in a conscious way. That fact explains why so many theists are so ignorant of their own bible or holy books.

I was lucky that although born into Catholicism and going through some of the sacraments, my upbringing, or lack of it, produced a free thinker who actively chose to call myself and practice Gnostic Christianity.

Gnostic Christianity seems to suit my personality as well as it is the most moral tradition that I have yet to find and I think that religions should be all about our morals and not just the immoral inherited Gods, Yahweh and Allah, that most follow.

Regards

DL

 

 

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My personal heritage and ethnicity don't match the reconstructionist polytheistic religion I practice.  Being considered Hellenic was more about speaking the language and observing Greek religious and social customs than where and to whom a person was born; though birth and heritage determined things like citizenship in a polis and a host of rights and social obligations attached to that.  I'm of the opinion that holding an appropriate spiritual and cultural worldview is more important than heritage and ethnicity, though I will add that honoring one's ancestors is a very important part of my religious practice.      

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  • 3 weeks later...

We are all creatures stuck in the tar pits of space and time...even if only subconsciously, our families and their traditions, learnt during our formative years, will inevitably influence the belief system and worldview we develop as we mature....mom and dad are the first icons of God(dess) we worship and these old gods, for good or ill, cast their shadow over every view we have of Divinity afterward. Not an absolute but seems more or less like an inevitable...

Peace & love! -RR

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8 hours ago, RevRattlesnake said:

We are all creatures stuck in the tar pits of space and time...even if only subconsciously, our families and their traditions, learnt during our formative years, will inevitably influence the belief system and worldview we develop as we mature....mom and dad are the first icons of God(dess) we worship and these old gods, for good or ill, cast their shadow over every view we have of Divinity afterward. Not an absolute but seems more or less like an inevitable...

Peace & love! -RR

If that were true, would there be so many people who change their world outlooks, their philosophies and their religions?  It sounds good at first blush.  I have my doubts.

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I think at first blush it would appear to be false but when one looks closer one will find that changing religions is often more a reaction to and rebellion against parental worldviews and parents themselves than it is a rejection of the (insert religion name) spiritual/religious paradigm. To put it another way, it's not the god they're rejecting as much as it is the god they saw/see in their parents that they reject.

I grew up around close-minded, fundamentalist families with hyper-critical parents. Children would grow up and leave the church/denomination and either leave organized religion altogether or join a church with a diametrically different culture/theology. When I talked to them, they'd call themselves a "recovering catholic" or a progressive christian... but the problems they would cite were not, strictly speaking, problems with the church or faith...rather they were deep-seated  problem they had with their parents that bled into and colored the way they looked at the religion of their childhood. Even when folks reject the faith of their fathers (or mothers) it is often the family dynamic motivating  and steering it. Jmo.

Peace&Love -RR

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Ethnicity? No.

Heritage? Hmmmm... Maybe..... it no doubt had a great influence on me as a child, and I accepted the validity of the religious tenets I was taught... As an young adult, I discounted and discarded those beliefs, and assumed the attitude that what I had learned as a child was a lie perpetuated by others to control my behavior. I subsequently studied the religious beliefs of others and adopted and practiced some of the rites and beliefs of several different religions in succession. Now, however... Having been blessed with an epiphany where I was granted an intimate awareness and understanding of the nature of my Creator (and He is the God I was introduced to as a child), I don't know..... It may be that the education I received as a youth may have had an influence on how I perceived His presence, but it was my personal experience that eliminated any question (in my mind) of God's existence and determined the personal beliefs to which I now adhere.

Edited by Songster
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  • 3 months later...
On ‎08‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 7:21 AM, RevRattlesnake said:

We are all creatures stuck in the tar pits of space and time...even if only subconsciously, our families and their traditions, learnt during our formative years, will inevitably influence the belief system and worldview we develop as we mature....mom and dad are the first icons of God(dess) we worship and these old gods, for good or ill, cast their shadow over every view we have of Divinity afterward. Not an absolute but seems more or less like an inevitable...

Peace & love! -RR

Indeed, as shown by Dawkins' map.

Most inherit their gods without thought to their poor morals and that is why vile demiurges like Yahweh and Allah continue to be followed.

Regards

DL

 

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On ‎08‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 6:08 PM, RevRattlesnake said:

I think at first blush it would appear to be false but when one looks closer one will find that changing religions is often more a reaction to and rebellion against parental worldviews and parents themselves than it is a rejection of the (insert religion name) spiritual/religious paradigm. To put it another way, it's not the god they're rejecting as much as it is the god they saw/see in their parents that they reject.

I grew up around close-minded, fundamentalist families with hyper-critical parents. Children would grow up and leave the church/denomination and either leave organized religion altogether or join a church with a diametrically different culture/theology. When I talked to them, they'd call themselves a "recovering catholic" or a progressive christian... but the problems they would cite were not, strictly speaking, problems with the church or faith...rather they were deep-seated  problem they had with their parents that bled into and colored the way they looked at the religion of their childhood. Even when folks reject the faith of their fathers (or mothers) it is often the family dynamic motivating  and steering it. Jmo.

Peace&Love -RR

No argument as to those changing religion. That is one of the many factors.

Those who reject the religions religions altogether are likely refusing to sell their souls to Satan by bel;ieving in the supernatural and fantasy in their religions.

They, perhaps, recognize that gods are to serve men and not men kowtow to some imaginary god.

Regards

DL 

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