I’m a Christian Impostor

How a simple visa application led me to a religious identity crisis

Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash

Growing up, I never thought I’d have a religious identity crisis.

I was raised in the Christian church — specifically Presbyterian and Methodist, although don’t ask me what the difference is because I honestly have no idea.

My parents never shoved God or Christianity down my throat, and they are a far cry from Bible thumpers. They live their lives in quiet Christian obedience and are good people.

I obviously knew about other religions when I was younger, and I learned about their history and basic beliefs while in school. But I never thought they’d apply to me, because I’d always identified as a Christian, simply because that was all I knew.

Now that I’m a “grown-up” — or more of one than I was — I’m realizing more and more that my beliefs don’t strictly align to Christianity — or to any one religion, for that matter.

This realization fully struck me in the face this week when I was filling out a visa application for my upcoming trip to Asia.

The impostor

There was a section in the visa form, under the Name, Birth Date, and Nationality sections that asked for “Religion.” It gave me pause. Not only was I…