I stumbled on this site by accident ( I was trying to find a recipe believe it or not.) and have spent hours reading threads here.
I was raised as a Roman Catholic with a Catholic mother and Protestant father. In the 40's, my parents weren't allowed to marry in the Catholic church unless they signed an agreement that all of their children would be raised as Catholic. From the age of 6, I attended catechism every Monday until I made my First Communion and finally my Confirmation at age 12. The final chapter of my Catholic experience was when the Tribunal allowed my ex husband to have our marriage annulled.
Although I was traumatized by those experiences, I've always felt spiritually connected until....in my search for answers (in the 50's and 60's the Roman Catholic church recited everything in latin) regarding the Bible, I was introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses through a distant cousin.
For over two years, I studied and asked questions, attended various meetings, studies and social gatherings. I found the studies pretty interesting and would have quite happily and most likely continued studying, but things began to appear insidious with this unyielding pressure to be baptized and I found myself losing my sense of spirituality. I was devastated by this sense of loss and the people I was studying with seemed surprised that this was happening to me. They were not curious as to why, but I knew it was because I was being made to feel unworthy, not unlike the Catholic rearing I'd had as a child. I had alienated my family and friends and felt very much alone.
I left them ten years ago, and have gradually become agnostic. The irony of discovering this site has not been lost on me and I'm delighted to have found you!
Thank you, one and all!
Toota