I have made a decision that would change the rest of my life. I have abandoned the Christian faith in favor of becoming a Sikh. Some questions about Christianity were left unanswered especially who got into heaven and who didn't, who went to hell, and the christian God. This and with the sheer coincidence that I was assigned to do a project on Sikhism made me study it more in depth. With more studying, I came to the conclusion that Sikhism was more in line of what I believe and answered my unanswered questions. Two months later, I proclaimed my abandoning of the christian faith to become a Sikh. My life will change from now on as I will have to deal with new challenges especially being in the USA. My father is a devout catholic and I am afraid that he is not so accepting of my change of faith. I am saying this because I think you people on here as close friends, people I can talk to without intolerance. If any of you can help me in my challenge, I would really appreciate it.
I don't know too much about the Sikh faith, but I'm not against this change. I am glad you are doing what you feel is best for you, and I hope it turns out well.
lol. Youths are so impressionable. Now I'm a theist, but I seriously can't find the purpose in switching from a faith you've been raised in to one that you've encountered. Maybe you take some of their political or philosophical positions and find them appealing, but I sincerely doubt that you actually believe whatever you're branding yourself as. You have no reason to. I'd wager that, like so many youths, you're obsessing over how society sees you, and want to claim a 'unique' identity; in this case by labeling yourself a Sikh. It's an act of rebellion, clearly, and even if you don't want to hear that, it's true. I myself cling to a religious title because of the way it makes people see me (though, it's entirely for the opposite purpose). That's not inherently wrong. Just recognize (and really, I'm sure you do know, deep down) that it's an act. You're putting on a show for other people. Or rather, you're putting on a show for other people to see. Well, in any case, your 'new faith' is just as indefensible as your previous one. No organized religion can stand up against logical assault. If you expect to be labeled a rational person, you'll need to abandon your 'faith' altogether.
Why of all religions would you want to change to Sikhism? One it's equally as silly as any other religion, two it's so culturally ingrained that you would have to change your life style and probably end up alienating some of your friends, and three, in a similar vain, you have to do a lot of stupid shit to call yourself truly Sikh like. Never cut your hair Never shave your beard Give up eating meat Wear a turban all the time Carry a Kirpan with you everywhere Learn to speak Punjabi Not have sex before marriage And a bunch of other stuff. Also you would probably be limiting yourself to the types of women who would be with you to just Sikh girls. I live with a Sikh family and hang out with a lot of Sikh dudes and they have never been with a girl that wasn't Sikh. Just saying.
Because it's not actually about religion, it's about making a statement and standing out from the crowd. Sikhism is sufficiently different from Christianity to separate him from the herd, and plus he did a project on it. I imagine that, much like Western "Buddhists", he'll kick the parts he doesn't like to the curb.
Good luck getting through airport security if you always have to carry a ceremonial dagger. However having a reason to carry a dagger everywhere is pretty cool. That's one of the only cool things about this list though, aside from learning a new language. Still if you feel this is truly for you and do please spend time thinking about and researching this thoroughly (as you should with any change in your beliefs/lifestyle as big as this) then I wish you luck and I hope you find it to bring you some peace in life.
Believing in something doesn't mean that you have to live by the rules of the religion. You can believe in the gods, but find the rules you have to live by bullshit. Not every religion is the same, and not everyone's interpretation of religion is the same either.
The maternal side of my family is Sikh, I can vouch for this. You should take this into consideration.
Yeah, I think Jesus actually says in the bible that everyone should carry a sword at some point. So people do selectively ignore gobbets of their religion all the time. Kali's on the money with this though.
I didn't know you were an atheist Kali! Welcome to rationality! Little sad that you feel you have to keep a facade. Luckily my parents and family aren't particularly religious so it was never a problem for me to declare my lack of belief in any gods. To OP, good luck. All I'd say is to read through the available material before pledging yourself to a religion.
Lol, it's just when someone says their religion (catholicism) can't stand up to logical scrutiny and that no religion is better than another you'd think they'd be an atheist. How you can be a theist after those concessions boggles the mind.
And to think most of you would be supporting my change. Thank you to the people who have supported my change. I switched because my beliefs are very similar to the beliefs of Sikhism, mainly regarding God. I know the difficulties of being a Sikh in the USA, but I am willing to take those challenges. I am not going to be an orthodox Sikh, but I am going to uphold the 5 K's. Right now, all I can uphold is the Kesh because of my financial position. I don't plan on learning Punjabi because I will try and find an english translation of the Guru Granth Sahib. I might learn it later in life. Also Kali, yes I did a project on it. But I didn't choose it because of my parents. If it weren't for that project, I would have never heard of Sikhism and remained a Christian. I love my parents and I know it was hard for them to know that I am not christian anymore, but I didn't convert to spite them. My beliefs were conflicting with some things with Christianity and those things were answered by Sikhism. I converted because of my beliefs, not my parents.
You were actually expecting people on the internet support a change that doesn't affect them in the slightest? That's kind of naive.
Well some places would have been better but ya know how this forum is regarding religion. I am glad that the OP has found something that makes sense to him though.
