deconversion

What was/is it like for you as a deconverted Xtian to leave behind the culture of your former belief? Do you ever find yourself humming worship songs or getting sentimental about xtian authors? What do you miss the most - culturally speaking? What do you miss the least?

I miss friends the most. My life revolved around the church and I never learned how to make friends in other settings. I struggle with that.

I don't listen to christian music anymore and, in truth, I find it irritating when I hear it because they are singing about things that I never experienced or things I don't consider true any more.

I miss going to church the least. It doesn't bother me a bit. I enjoy having my weekends to myself. In fact there's a web site that has a slogan I love: Stay home Sunday. Save 10%!

TA - I agree - NOT going to church twice on Sundays and at least once during the week is very liberating... all this extra time! I've never heard of the website you mention - but will look it up asap. Christian music can be very annoying. It also can put me in the emotional state I remember being in during worship services - which is a weird place to revisit emotionally.

What do I miss the most? The drama of a well-done Mass, especially at Christmas and Easter, when they pull out all the stops. Other than that, there really isn't much I miss. Even when I was still a Christian, I found most contemporary evangelical Christian music insipid and most evangelical Christian authors the same. Back in the 1980's I remember reading a book about mediocrity in the "Christian" arts, I can't remember if it was written by Franky or Francis Schaeffer, but I thought he was really hitting the nail on the head. When you compare all the great art and music that was composed centuries ago with some of the stuff coming out today, yeech.