Your Religious Heritage

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Paternal were Catholic.
Maternal were a combo of Episcopal and Catholic.
 
Adam95 said:
True indeed. It probably seems strange to me just because my dad’s family, who are adamant about their faith, would never attend a church that they did not agree with. I often find myself trying to explain to them why some mass attending Catholics they know are so hypocritical. They see it as proof that Catholicism is off base.
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I understand why it would seem strange to you then. Peace!
 
spedteacherita said:
My mother and father both grew up in homes where very little church activity happened. My father’s mother came from a Scottish background but there was only a Congregational church in the area and that became the focal point of social and religious activities. My dad’s father was not involved in a church although I have a link (in my genealogy research) that his mother was active in a Lutheran church in their area. Mind you this was Northern Michigan in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. My mother’s family were not committed Christians involved in any church. Mom became a Christian thru a televised Billy Graham Crusade and started to be active in the local Baptist Church until my dad became angry about the amount of time she spent there - even accusing her of going because she loved the pastor. She never went back to church as she promised herself that she would only go to church when Dad did.

We children (7 of us) rode a Sunday School bus to church and had wonderful Sunday School teachers but, for me, I was a very anxious child and the yelling and raising of voice in the sermon always scared me. When we moved up to where my father grew up (where I live now) we attended the same Congregational Church my grandmother did as a young girl. I did not like it and would not become baptized because that meant becoming a member of that church. I could not become a member at that church feeling as I did, not understanding the reality of what baptism truly was.

As a young adult, I followed my oldest sister (who had married a Lutheran) to the local LCMS church. I went thru the member’s class twice because I had never heard the message so clearly given as to how much Christ loved us- so much that He died on that Cross taking my sins and the sins of everyone with Him on that cross. It was such an easy step to become baptized and then to experience the sacrament of Holy Communion. What a freeing experience!!

As to how my family thought? I think they didn’t really have too many issues - of course the baptism was not immersion and we had some family “debates” for many years and then the debate of communion being either the True Presence or done in memory of Christ. We learned to accept each other as the years went by. At this time out of the 7, I have 2 siblings going to fundamental non-denominational churches, one going to Free Methodist, one who is a fundamentalist but is ill with agoraphobia, 2 not involved with any church and, then myself as the only Lutheran. How’s that for background and a mixture ----

Can’t wait to read others’ experiences.

God bless, all!

Rita
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Rita, that is quite a background indeed! I’ve thus far enjoyed reading all of our different experiences too. So nice to do so without huge debate too. Just sharing family experiences and traditions. Thanks OP for the thread. Indeed God bless all!
 
On my mother’s side, my grandfather and grandmother were both Pentecostal ministers by the time I was born. They and my mother and her siblings did prison ministry and sung in the church.

I believe my grandfather said that his mother was a Methodist but I’m not sure how religious they were. My grandmother’s family belonged to the Church of the Nazarene. My grandmother’s brother still attends the local Nazarene Church. His second wife had two children, one of them is a practicing Catholic.

My father’s side of the family seems to have been less religious, as far as I can tell. His father never really went to church, and his mother went to several different churches over the years including Baptist and Methodist. There is some connection to a country Methodist church in our area (they used to have a lot of their family reunions over there).

My mom’s family ended up in what at the time was a Pentecostal Church of God congregation and my dad joined when he met her and became a minister as well. By the time I was born, this church was a non-denominational Pentecostal church, and this is the church I was dedicated and baptized in.
 
My sister and I were baptized Catholic. Out of the two of us, I am the only one who is currently practicing the faith.

Our parents were Catholic converts to the faith. They married in the Catholic church. My Mom was an Evangelical Lutheran. ELCA. Her parents belonged to the ELCA, too.

One of my cousins from my Mom’s side of my family told me that my Great-grandparents ended up switching over to a Pentecostal church from a Lutheran church. I guess that my cousin’s Father ended up doing the same thing. She didn’t attend the Lutheran church either, but switched over to a Methodist church.

My Dad had attended a Pentecostal church before he converted.

Some of the family members on my Dad’s side, converted to Catholicism, too. My Dad’s Mom had remarried after my Grandfather died, and she had remarried a Catholic and had converted to Catholicism.

So, some of my immediate family members were Catholic converts on my Dad’s side, and some stayed with the Lutheran church on my Mom’s side, while some went over to other Protestant denominations on my Mom’s side.

Some of my other cousins are currently LDS, and other Protestant denominations, too, on my Dad’s side of the family.

So, I guess that you can say that it is totally mixed, on both sides of my family. 🙂
 
My Mother’s side of the family was Lutheran dating back to at least 1804 in what is now Northern Poland (Pommerania at that time). My Dad’s family was more of a mix, although my Paternal grandfather’s line was mostly Lutheran, dating from the Palatine refugees of 1709. My Paternal grandmother was the daughter of a Baptist preacher, and her line is mostly Episcopalian before that.

Mom’s family settled in Wisconsin and were (and mostly are) WELS Lutherans (except the various intermarriages with Catholics). The churches of Dad’s Lutheran ancestors became what is now the ELCA branch of Lutheranism.

My decision to join an LCMS congregation was met with some dismay by the WELS relatives, although WELS doesn’t have a large presence in the South except for Florida and Texas. If I should ever enter the Catholic or Orthodox church it would be difficult for that side of the family. My Dad’s side of the family probably wouldn’t care - at this point, most are of the “nones.”
 
Catholic
Catholic
Catholic
Catholic

:D:p

I’m the first one of my immediate family to leave the Church in decades. My second cousin left the church about thirty years ago, but he came back. His kids did not.
 
I like these threads.

Thanks for sharing all.

Mom’s side, Catholic, I think way back. Though with a couple uncles parting ways officially, I think most don’t practice.

Dad’s side, I think Catholic for both of his parents. His Dad, my grandfather, died when Dad was 4, Grandma never remarried and raised 4 kids.

Before Dad and Mom met, Dad was in the Christian Brothers for a spell, so I assume he attended Church as a kid.

I don’t think his siblings, my uncles and an aunt from that side, go to Church at all. My Aunt’s been in London for years, maybe she is CoE.

One uncle on my Mom’s side is really into heritage and such, and has built a huge family tree. Would be interesting to follow up and look at the history of the family.

I did learn by accident through a non-relative (with my last name, so probably really a distant one) about a huge reunion for all people with my last name in Nova Scotia a few years back (where the first of my family would have landed).

I think one of my uncles went.
 
mm Methodist with LDS and Native influence.
mf Anglican gone Methodist
fm Irish Catholic runs strong! 😃
ff German, not practicing any religion.
 
Catholic all sides as far as all family knowledge is concerned. I have sometimes thought that probably the last non-Catholic ancestors I had worshipped oak trees and painted their faces blue. 🙂
 
My maternal family (both sides) has probably been Orthodox Christian since the Christianization of Asia Minor, my Father’s side of the family is Irish Catholic, and I think that my Grandmother hinted that my Grandfather’s paternal family might have been Protestant Czechs and not Catholic ones (but I don’t care either way since they’ve been estranged from my family for probably close to 75-odd years now).

We’re not very diverse religiously or ethnically.
 
Brought up by secularists who claim to be Christian. I can’t really consider my parents Christian considering they never taught me about God nor did we ever go to church. Though my mother claims to be Catholic and my Dad claims to be Presbyterian.
 
IgnatianPhilo said:
Brought up by secularists who claim to be Christian. I can’t really consider my parents Christian considering they never taught me about God nor did we ever go to church. Though my mother claims to be Catholic and my Dad claims to be Presbyterian.
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I don’t know what the Presbyterians claim about who is and is not Presbyterian. But if your mother was baptized in a Catholic church or received into the CC, I do just think it is important to note that the Catholic Church claims and considers your mother to be Catholic too. So I don’t know but maybe that could be why she makes the same claim.
 
JustaServant said:
What is it?
Not the denomination or church you attend now, but the religious affiliation your family is connected to and you were raised in. Your parents or grandparents.
Both sides of my family were Catholic. But I have a feeling my mothers side might have been Orthodox or even Jewish in the past.
What was your family’s reaction when you cut yourself off from that heritage?
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I suppose you’re asking everyone…

In my case my family was Baptist (American Baptist Convention)… My Grandmother was Brethren… (Unitas Fratrum) from Switzerland.

I didn’t really “cut” myself off from that heritage…but became a Baha’i over forty years ago… Married another Baha’i and found out her heritage was also Brethren.👍
 
Baptized Lutheran, my mother’s family has a long Lutheran history in Norway, but I was brought up with no religion.
 
My family are Irish Catholic pretty much all the way back, except for one of my grandmothers who was the daughter of a Baptist minister. I’m told that her family wouldn’t speak to her much when she married a Catholic and converted, and I imagine that must have been pretty hard for her.

I’m not in contact with my family, so they don’t know that I left the church, but I had a cousin who did when I was younger and it caused a big kerfuffle. So, it’s probably just as well.
 
I am the child of Baptist parents who were foreign missionaries to Honduras. My mother seemed to have more problems with my conversion to Catholicism than my dad. I know that my dad’s family had been Baptist for several generations. I think my mother’s parents were Methodist.

Stan
 
100% Catholic on both sides of my family. Irish, German, and Bohemian:)
 
My mom’s side is heavily Catholic, at some point most were Ukrainian Orthodox, but I think 99% of them are now Roman Catholic - I’ve mostly lost touch since she passed in '98. Facebook “friends” mostly lol. I heard from some relatives that once upon a time (pre 1850’s) the family was Jewish but converted because of persecution. Not sure how true that was, but it was possible in that they were from Poland/Ukraine.

My Dad’s side? Not sure, but definitely Protestant. I think it’s probably been 25 years since I’ve seen my dad go to church. His current girlfriend is Buddhist so I’m not sure where he currently sits religiously. My grandma and great-aunt were apparently quite religious, but in my lifetime I never saw them attend church. My great-grandmother was very Protestant and would preach to anyone who’d listen (and some who wouldn’t lol). She was very devout and had very strong beliefs that could not be swayed. She lived to be 100, she was born in the late 1880’s so she was pretty set in her ways.
 
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