Hi there! I, too, was raised in a “religious” home. My family is Roman Catholic. I was baptized as Catholic and I attended three Catholic schools from grade one until now. I’m 17 and I’m a self-proclaimed Buddhist. When I was like 14 or so, I was very active in our church. I joined the choir and even read the liturgy every Sunday mass. But as I grew older and wiser, I just knew at age 16 that Roman Catholic is not the right religion for me. I drastically stopped going to church. I only go when my relatives force me to but I usually don’t go inside the church anymore. I just stay outside, so they let me be.

I, personally, have a lot of doubts in the Catholic church. They teach love and acceptance but don’t actually show it to the LGBT community. They discriminate people because of being “gay”. So what? In their Bible, there’s even a gay couple… Also, there was an unwed teen mom in our country who baptized her child, and guess what the priest told her? “What you did was worldly. You allowed yourself to sleep with a man who is not your husband? Have you no shame?”. That’s only a few.

However the idea of Buddhism shook my family and relatives. They thought that I was only rebelling (for I am a problem child) and that Buddhism is a dumb religion. It’s a very hard transition for me. Imagine not being able to express myself at my own house. I even need to “sneak out” just to go to a temple. Fyi, the “nearest” temple is far far away from my home. But I did’t care of what they think. I set up my own altar and light incense. I meditate sometimes to bring me inner peace. But still, my “Catholic” relatives feel that I’m joking. And say things like “Buddha is just fat. Not worth to be worshiped” and I’m like… Woah you don’t even know his story and how Buddhism works.

And I believe that each one of us has the right to choose his/her own religion. Being raised in a Catholic or Christian home doesn’t mean you have to be one. We are free to believe in what we believe in. 🙂