Do we choose what we believe?

Well, I pondered this profound question yesterday for a little bit and I hate to be a neutral ground person but the answer is both yes and no. *Sam avoids people throwing things at her*

We have the option to choose what we believe in several areas. We can have our own set of moral codes, values and beliefs. I set a higher standard for myself than my younger brother does when it comes to school because I believe I have to strive to be better than I am to get the post secondary education I want without being promptly drowned in student loans. This is my own belief, others would simply float through school and get into a random post secondary. Lucky them.

We can also choose a faith to follow. Some may argue with me on this but I am not really up for a religious debate right now so just read and follow along mmk? There are several faiths out there, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism, Shinto even Wicca. My family is filled with atheists, so I have definately seen that side before. I prefer to think of myself as an agnostic. I accept that there could be a higher power out there, but I am skeptical that there is. I also do not agree with several aspects of some faiths. And trust me, it's not because I am an outside viewer who has no idea what she is talking about. There are devout Christians in my family among the many atheists, and I also go to a youth group, have been to many church functions and yes, even I used to go to Sunday School sometimes.

Now, to end my bit of explaining and partial rambling, here's why I am standing on the neutral ground with this question. You are taught morals by your parents, friends, family, society etc. All outside voices that are telling you from birth what is right, and what is wrong. Your values begin inside of you as a root that grows from the values of your parents. Don`t take this as bad! I'm just saying that you really don`t define your own values until you`ve hit at least puberty. Your intial values mainly stem from your parents and the way you were raised. Not dissing the moms and dads out there. And, depending on your family, you are raised to believe a certain religion from the moment you take a breathe on God, Allah, Gai, Krishna's fine green and blue earth. My parents believe that I have the right to choose my own path, so they have guided me but left the options of values and religion open to me.

So, to wrap it all up, a person can choose what they believe but, the said person can only do so if they are strong (or anti-social) enough to resist the pressure of parentals and society.