Author Topic: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks  (Read 9318 times)

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Offline Caitshidhe

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Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« on: December 31, 2012, 10:29:13 am »
Most of us here were raised with one particular religion, which isn't in itself a good or bad thing. Some of us were raised with hardcore abusive fundamentalism, others in fairly devout families, and others still with the most liberal or token attachments to whatever faith their parents (or guardians) presented to them. And of those who were raised in religious households, most of THEM seem to have at some point abandoned it, sometimes for atheism or agnosticism, and sometimes for another system of belief.

But whether you ditched the religion you were born into, whether you were a child or an adolescent or an adult, it can be very hard to shed the habits of a lifetime, especially when you're raised from the cradle to believe certain things and have certain specific practices--to the point where those practices and habits become automatic with no real meaning behind them. And sometimes you may even feel uncomfortable stopping them, even though the gestures are a meaningless throwback to a faith you no longer (or maybe never even DID) ascribe to.

How many of you who grew up with religion and then left it have maintained--or even STILL maintain--some throwback or relic from that time? Is there some religious iconography you can't bear to part with? Do you find yourself sometimes starting to pray in some situations? Or something else?

I was never religious myself but was raised in a pretty religious environment. And for a long time I still kept doing things that were relics of it.

For one thing, I had a Saint Christopher medallion. Most Catholics--and I think a lot of other Christian denominations as well--are fans of St Christopher, who is the patron saint of travellers. Since my family travelled a looootttt, usually overseas, my mom made sure my brother and me both had one of these. (Having a saint medallion of some sort of supposed to give you the power or protection of that saint--hellooooo there Catholicism's pagan roots!) I wore one on a necklace pretty much nonstop until I was about nineteen, maybe even twenty. I never actually believed in any part of it, but my mom made me wear it when I was a kid and I just never took it off. Like, ever. I showered with it. If for some reason I couldn't wear it around my neck, then I'd just wear it somewhere under my clothes, like wrapped around my bra strap and tucked into a cup. I felt really weird and naked and strangely vulnerable without it, even though I didn't believe in it. The first time I went on a plane without it, I actually remember feeling apprehensive.

Another: being from a fairly old-school Catholic family, and being left-handed, there was always this weird, quiet stigma on me. But a stigma nonetheless. I was encouraged to do things with my right hand and for a while was told that I was being rude when I reached for something at dinner with my left. There's this big thing in some Catholic cultures for referring to all things bad and taboo as 'left-handed' so I developed a weird complex about it. I started think of my left hand as being 'bad' or 'evil'. I never made more than a token effort to stop using it but even to this day I still feel very distinct, different things towards my left and right hands. Not that I don't like my left hand or being a lefty (I think it's actually pretty cool), but just... it's like when you see a picture of someone who bullied you in school, it just makes you feel uncomfortable and maybe slightly bitter. Thanks, religion!

I also can't stand the thought of throwing away or shredding a bible. Though this might be just because I don't like the thought of destroying ANY books, because of what destruction of books represents.

So.

Does anyone else have any secret religious throwbacks?
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Offline R. U. Sirius

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2012, 12:03:15 pm »
I occasionally use the Lord's Prayer as a meditative focus, though I see it more as a way to remind myself that there's only so much of life I can control and not to get too worked up over the things I can't.

Not a religious throwback, but I've somewhat adopted the phrase "nothing personal" as a semi-mantra. Rather than its usual context (doing something bad to someone and not caring), I use it as a reminder not to take unpleasant things personally. They usually have nothing to do with me as a person; I was just the one they happened to happen to.
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Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2012, 12:09:03 pm »
This is kinda unrelated, but I really miss wearing crosses for fashion. I see all these super cute clothes with huge crosses on them, which is perfect for a goth or punk look, but everyone will think I'm some kind of fundie, or that I am trying to insult others.
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Offline R. U. Sirius

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2012, 12:10:55 pm »
Depends entirely on context. If you're deliberately going for a goth or punk look, I doubt anyone will mistake you for a fundie.
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Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2012, 12:14:01 pm »
Depends entirely on context. If you're deliberately going for a goth or punk look, I doubt anyone will mistake you for a fundie.

Well, most of the crosses I see are from Forever 21, which is a very christian company. I also don't want people to think I'm being insulting or trying to be all controversial.
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Offline Xander Zzyzx

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2012, 12:23:26 pm »
I do keep a cross on the wall of my house, even though I'm not a practicing Catholic. I also keep a Saint Christopher medallion in my car, since I travel a lot. Other than that I don't do much of anything else. I also don't consider those things to be secret, since I never actually renounced my faith, I just simply don't go to church anymore.

Offline Canadian Mojo

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2012, 12:41:02 pm »
About the closest I come to a religious throwback is using the lord's name in vain and that's just a product of cultural swearing norms.

Offline Caitshidhe

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2012, 12:54:18 pm »
I dunno that that one counts, since like you said, it's just a cultural swearing norm.

Depends entirely on context. If you're deliberately going for a goth or punk look, I doubt anyone will mistake you for a fundie.

Well, most of the crosses I see are from Forever 21, which is a very christian company. I also don't want people to think I'm being insulting or trying to be all controversial.

See, I specifically AVOID wearing stuff with crosses on it because I actively dislike religious iconography. (That's still religious, anyway. I don't wear ankhs or anything but I have no problems wearing them purely for fashion because mostly they've outlived their religious connotations.)
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Offline Vypernight

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2012, 01:03:56 pm »
I say, "Jesus Christ" a lot, usually when playing videogames or driving.
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Offline dpareja

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2012, 01:14:25 pm »
I don't know whether this counts as an actual throwback, but I still quite enjoy a lot of music inspired by Christianity.
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Offline Auggziliary

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2012, 01:28:14 pm »
I dunno that that one counts, since like you said, it's just a cultural swearing norm.

Depends entirely on context. If you're deliberately going for a goth or punk look, I doubt anyone will mistake you for a fundie.

Well, most of the crosses I see are from Forever 21, which is a very christian company. I also don't want people to think I'm being insulting or trying to be all controversial.

See, I specifically AVOID wearing stuff with crosses on it because I actively dislike religious iconography. (That's still religious, anyway. I don't wear ankhs or anything but I have no problems wearing them purely for fashion because mostly they've outlived their religious connotations.)

I've seen a lot of crosses and christian iconography in trendy Japanese fashion, but they're less than 1% christian so it doesn't have to connotation.
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Offline ThunderWulf

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Re: Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2012, 01:28:19 pm »
I say, "Jesus Christ" a lot, usually when playing videogames or driving.

I do a lot of that type of stuff. Like saying "I swear to god" before saying something sometimes.
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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2012, 01:36:35 pm »
I don't know whether this counts as an actual throwback, but I still quite enjoy a lot of music inspired by Christianity.

I enjoy Trans Siberian Orchestra despite the fact that most of their music is explicitly Christian, being adaptations of classical music. I also love "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I enjoy movies and documentaries about religious figures in general and Jesus in particular, but not if they're explicitly evangelistic. I prefer a critical look at the subject's life and teachings ("critical" here meaning "questioning"), like in "The Last Temptation of Christ."
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Offline Caitshidhe

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Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2012, 02:01:30 pm »
I've seen a lot of crosses and christian iconography in trendy Japanese fashion, but they're less than 1% christian so it doesn't have to connotation.

Aye, I've seen that a lot as well--still residually fascinated with Japanese and Korean cultures from my weeaboo days, another secret throwback--but it's a different cultural climate. Those symbols have no religious meaning in a country where almost nobody is Christian and it's almost solely a fashion statement, whereas in the US in particular wearing a cross on your clothing is generally seen as a proclamation of your faith.
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Re: Re: Your Secret Religious Throwbacks
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2012, 02:15:06 pm »
I say, "Jesus Christ" a lot, usually when playing videogames or driving.

I do a lot of that type of stuff. Like saying "I swear to god" before saying something sometimes.
I've got the whole slew of name in vain going myself, though I swear to god is slowly getting phased out for I swear to fuck... which is a lateral improvement at best.

That and bless you, never really got around to any of the other options, but then I'm not terribly stuck on removing god references from my vocabulary.