Have you lost your faith? Why? Have you found faith in your life?

no, my faith ith right were it'th alwayth been, on the front of my head

I left the Catholic Church years ago. I did not like the way women were treated in the church and the elevated status of the priests. The doctrine/dogma was toxic to me, so I left. Besides, I went thru a divorce and re-married and refused to go thru all the BS involved to get me out of the "sinner" category. (annulment)

I left the Methodist Church when they became obsessed with whether or not to be an "inclusive" church. Plus the new pastor was certifiably nuts - after I left, she embezzeled $20K from the church.

After my husband died, I looked around for comfort and reasoning for it all. I became interested in Buddhism and consider the 8-Fold Path to be my "new commandments". I find Allan Watts to be fascinating.

I am about to take instructional classes in Universalist Unitarianism and will see how things go . . .

I stopped considering the possibility of religion when I was around 10 years old as it became clear, in light of the word around me, just how absurd they were. Through my teens I gave consideration to a wider range of religious thought, but eventually they all become irrational, or they become meaningless in their obscurity. In the end, the elegance of the natural world, all by itself, trumps every spin ever put on it.

I was first a Catholic, then a Cafeteria Catholic, then became a UU seven years ago.

This is where I'm staying.

Now I don't have to leave my intellect and education outside the church
--like some religions where people have to remove their shoes before entering!

UU's are Humanists, Buddhists, Pagans, Liberal Christians, etc. Many come from a Jewish background. We are united not by a creed or dogma, but form a beloved community affirming seven principles:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml
http://www.uua.org/aboutus/index.shtml

I left Catholicism because it drove me...literally...crazy. Then I was a Methodist, but left when they replaced a good minister with a looney. Became a UU in the 80s and will never be anything else.

mags,
I became a UU in Providence RI but have been a member here in Blacksburg VA for nearly 5 years.
My current congregation has a somewhat atypical history as it was first formed around fifty years ago as a fellowship of humanists (non-theists) but later decided to affiliate with UUA and, over time, acquired a more typical UU mix that includes but is not limited to humanists.

I learnt the history of religion. People dont know the vast majority of how religion has changed and evolved. That was when I failed a crisis of faith.

what do ""instructions" in the UU way consist of? I just showed up one day, and after awhile, I signed the book.

Some UU churches have "journey to membership" or "new to UU" classes.

I think most do.

I'm attracted to mysticism, but would I make a good mystic?

I'm attracted to cynicism, but would I make a good cynic?

I'm attracted to women...

... but I KNOW I wouldn't make a good woman.

I use to be Christian for a few years, I slowly started to realize that all my prayers weren't going anywhere so I slowly transformed my belief from God to belief in myself. Now I basically believe that everything is a calculated chance. I also believe in the power of actions. All actions in this world create reactions, and by acting we shape the world around us based on those actions. I believe that that is a truth that most can agree with despite what you may in believe.

I'm an odd one in that I worked my final path out of faith via theology. I was in my early twenties. I was, in retrospect, already long at point for getting a clue, but was at the intense part. I followed Hans Kung and then Cardinal Ratzinger, on their back and forth arguments in the National Catholic Reporter - this was in the mid sixties (what, I had nothing else to do?).

One day, I just said to myself the equivalent of.. this is all a giant construct.

I was a well tethered in faith child, so my way out was rather grinding. Yes, I read Merton's Seven Story Mountain. I think the day I left, that I don't remember exactly, was a good run off the ski lift.

"...One day, I just said to myself the equivalent of.. this is all a giant construct..."

As did I

"...I slowly started to realize that all my prayers weren't going anywhere..."

I found that realization to be like talking on the phone only to discover that there is no one on the other end.