I decided to take God and organized religion seriously, and to reject the secular life which in my teens had looked attractive because it allowed me to act in any way that I wanted.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was a God-fearing child, innocent and physically attractive.
When I was young, I was religious.
I grew up in a religious community, and like everyone, I went through a period of doubt and later made a conscious choice to embrace the faith of my childhood.
It was during my time at secondary school that I abandoned religion.
Growing up, the way that I looked was very important to me. I was always trying to impress people, and when I grew my beard there was a certain freedom, a separation, getting past this the way I looked, identify myself as a spiritual seeker.
Had I been more religious in my youth, I might have become a pastor, for it was the pastoral role I'd sought.
As long as I did the good things associated with religion, I thought I was in good shape spiritually, too.
Because of my faith and my imagination, I was able to enjoy my childhood, even though it was tough.
I had a lot of very religious influences - Christian religious.
It was only after 20 years of being dunked in the religious culture that I got caught up in 'religion.' I had no exposure to Christianity as a child. I was not raised in a Christian home. I became spiritually hungry in high school.