Why are you the religion you are?

[benetint]

If you are at all religious that is! My family are catholic and I have recently started attending church. I feel the services very comforting and I find I always want to try and be a better person after going. But there's so much in the Catholic Church I worry about, particularly if I'm going to start taking my children. So I didn't know whether I should explore other options too? I just wanted to know then really, are you a particular religion because you we're born into it? Or did you spend time finding a denomination that is in line with your beliefs/morals? Thanks so much

I'm CofE now, but was brought up in an atheist, non-churchgoing family. I'm the only one of my family that has ever voluntarily been inside a church apart from going to a funeral or wedding.

I started going to church with Guides, and carried on going as a teenage rebellion. Then stopped, and gradually resumed my family's reflex atheism. Many years later God tapped on my shoulder, and wouldn't stop tapping. I walked into my local CofE church and that was, more or less, that. My reasons for staying are somewhat similar to Tuo's - I like liturgy, and I like the middle way the CofE walks between Catholicism and Calvinism.

It's interesting (and quite telling) that the vast majority of people either follow the religion they were born into (perhaps a slightly different denomination) or have become atheist.

Says a lot.

This has been so interesting, thanks so much!

Looks like most people who replied are of a Christian background, I am Muslim, and chose this religion at the expense of pretty much everything else in my life at the time about 10 years ago. I did that because I believed, and believe it to be the truth. That seems to be the bottom line for me, but beyond being Muslim I made other choices according to what felt most comfortable to me, such as which mosque to attend, which Islamic scholars to listen to etc etc.
Although I wasn't raised as a Christian, Christianity would be have the most obvious choice for me, based on my school, friends etc. But I never really got the theological aspects of it so never really got into it.
I wish you all the best in your journey to finding what is right for you and family OP.