[quote name='Magehart']Religion is an ideology not a tangible object. You can change your beliefs if you truly want to. Nobody genetically inherits their beliefs. It can be thrust upon you by your parents but by the age of 18 you should be able to think for yourselves as to whether you believe it or not.
So enlighten me as to why you cannot convert? Lets say from your religion to becoming a Deist.[/quote]I did not say that I am incapable of converting. I said that I am incapable of choosing to convert. I'm not sure to what degree that affects your point about religion being something you should judge a person/candidate on.
If I were to convert to something - we'll use your example of deism - I would not simply be able to choose it. I would require a reason to become a deist. Empirical evidence of some sort, a spiritual awakening, a miracle (though that would be very not-deist)... whatever. Now, I can choose to seek certain things out, true, and I suppose I can choose to ignore them if I find them (a partial concession here - score a half point for you). But what I can't do is decide that I'm going to become a deist without them. If I have seen, felt, and experienced absolutely nothing in my life to convince me that there is some some sort of creator god out there that has since left its creations to their own devices, then no amount choosing is gonna turn me into a deist or anything else. Well, except maybe for a particularly attractive Latvian Orthodox nun, but that's a whole 'nother story.
Dammit, why couldn't you have picked "Latvian Orthodox" instead of "deist"? The jokes write themselves are already written for that one!
