I was raised in a Christian family and have always believed in Christianity. Later, I converted to Taoism and learned some Taoist magic. Now I want to dedicate myself to Zeus, the Father of Satan. In the devotion ritual book, should I write "former Christian" or "former Taoist"? I take the devotion ritual very seriously. Could you please explain this to me?
Discussion
Active TranslatorTaoism isn't really a religion. It's a philosophy, which may or may not have religious elements depending on what exactly you studied (certain regional variants honor deities while others don't, some believe in a metaphysical soul while others don't, it's not a monolith).
For the most part, there's nothing there to directly rebuke, as opposed to christianity.
Do the ex-christian version, and simply don't engage in Taoist practices anymore (or rather, filter them critically, through the lens of what you learn as a Zevist).
Active HelperAt the end of the day, this detail does not matter. The important part is to renounce the falsehood of the past, whatever that may be. That is why in this (now updated) dedication ritual, we also have the option of "none/empty". That is how I did the dedication ritual back in 2020, and so did many others before and after me before the update.
You have asked the same thing before in Chinese, see my reply there: