Write a story where a character is exploring their religious or spiritual identity.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 59 stories

“Flashbulb memories” by J L

Submitted to Contest #132

In what I believe to be my first waking memory, I’m watching a scene unfold in two vignettes. The first one contains my mother, who’s slamming the front door as she leaves our home. I can’t see her face or hear her voice, but I know it’s my mother because she was gone for a while thereafter. The second vignette contains my father, wedged between my sister and I in an embrace. We’re sitting on a sofa and crying into his figure, a consequential response to my mother’s grand exit. Oddly, my vantage point in this memory is askew. I have no rec...

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“And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them ” by Ruby Urlocker

Submitted to Contest #132

* The title is a quotation from William Shakespeare. Elise tucked the two kids into bed. They were 5 and 7 now, and after a year of babysitting for them they still had the old habit of sleeping in the same bed. They both had angelic blonde hair falling into their faces. A boy and a girl, though in the darkness of the room it was hard to tell them apart. “Do you believe in God?” June's wide, blue eyes opened. Elise had thought she was asleep. She chuckled. “I don't really know, honey.” “Why not?” June frowned. ...

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“Genesis 51” by Janet Change Balda

Submitted to Contest #132

In the beginning, God opened his arms to the little girl and her single mother. They found Him in the basement of a Chinese church, where for the first time they didn’t feel like strangers in this foreign land they’d just arrived in. They could speak their own tongue and eat their own food, and it was safe. The girl saw her mother laugh and it made her laugh, too, because she thought her mother had forgotten how to do that. Her mother was glowing with a joyful light, and the girl wanted her to have that all the time. But when they returned h...

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“Lighthouse to Identity” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #132

Lighthouse to Identity “What would Jesus Do?” For much of his adult life William Skulpski thought he had based his reaction to the challenges facing him on that premise. However, one of William’s biggest challenges, the essential tremor that had plagued him throughout his pre-teen years into his rapidly-advancing adulth...

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“Meg's Heritage” by Andi Saunders

Submitted to Contest #132

A cold hole filled Meg’s belly and despite the delicious food she struggled to eat much that morning, realising for the first time at ten years old that something was vacant from her life. A rhythmic, unified “Krishnarpanam” emanated from grandpa with his contrasting brown skin and white hair down and everyone down to the baby clinging at mothers blouse. It penetrated Meg’s ears as she perched on the rattan seat soundlessly and beheld all that was in front of her; the cinnamon aromas warming her nostrils, genuine smiles and laughter an...

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“Who to Believe” by Samantha Shaffer

Submitted to Contest #132

A young red haired woman walks up to a podium to thunderous applause. She adjusted the mic and waited for the crowd to settle. She cleared her throat and began to speak. “Welcome everyone. Thank you for being here today. We have gathered in this auditorium to talk about who to believe. Who can we listen to for spiritual truth? What system holds the truth we seek? Is there a right answer to any of these questions? Yes, there is a right answer, but the answer is for the individual not for the masses. Wha...

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“Grandpa's Gun” by Liam F

Submitted to Contest #132

I think the very worst part about it was His judgmental stare. Nothing had even been confessed yet, mentally or verbally, but I could feel the statue of Jesus on me. His permanently bloodied hands and aching face were stuck looking down on me with pure contempt. Desperate pleading. Several minutes had passed me and my mind was still focused primarily on the man above me. He wasn’t going to look away first, I guess. All of this stemmed from a strange type of guilt. My parents were strong and avowed atheists. For all th...

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“The Snort” by Barb Leedom

Submitted to Contest #132

The Snort After attending churches, synagogues, temples, prayer meetings, healing sessions, and gala ...

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“The Maybe of Faith” by Mary Burns

Submitted to Contest #132

THE MAYBE OF FAITH By Mary P. Burns mary.p.burns1@gmail.com (This story concerns itself with the murder of a young woman, whose body left in a field is part of the setting; it also addresses cancer and the main character's mother's death from it) Trout Almandine scrambled up into the old oak tree, her toes finding familiar notches, her bare feet balancing easily on broad rough branches. She glanced over her shoulder as the blue-and-white patrol car rumbled onto the edge of the wooded area and stopped, its siren dying. Hunching do...

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“I Meditate in the Woods” by Rob Jonasson

Submitted to Contest #132

Christianity has persevered just over 2,000 years. Prophesied by John the Baptist, to arrive imminently, Jesus started preaching about his Father and called forward Apostles. Since then, we, the faithful, have endured every deceit that evil could derive to knock us back and prevent the prophesied Second Coming. Despite countless setbacks, Christianity has become the predominant religion in the Western World built on the collective faith of millions of true believers in the return of Jesus the Christ to redeem the fallen. I am one of them and...

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“ULTIMATE SHARE” by Day Parker

Submitted to Contest #132

ULTIMATE SHARE 10-year old Jonathan walked solemnly by his father’s side. They were going to see and hear the man called Jesus. His message was so different than what Jonathan was being taught at school. He did not hear about the kingdom of God or about eternal life at school. Only sacrifices and feasts. This man’s message was all about the kingdom of God, eternal life and how God did not want sacrifices. He wanted faith in Jesus and trust in Him. Yet he was a Jew, and was schooled just like Jonathan. ...

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“Seek” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #132

“I’ve got you! Just hold on! Hold on!” He pushed the water with one arm, and prayed it’d propel them to the riverbank a little faster than possible. The woman in his other arm coughed and struggled to breathe as water spilled over her face. He thought he could feel her kicking, occasionally–trying to help, he hoped–as they approached the muddy ledge. “Here,” he panted, when they finally reached the bank, “hold on… Can you?” He pressed her hands to the cool grass and held onto her until her feet found purchase in the slippery mudbank. He pu...

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“Bruised by Denial” by Hudson Lille Venn

Submitted to Contest #132

Nearly every year, I run into the basement, scrambling for some pretty sheets of construction paper and crayons to make a reasonably acceptable Christmas card for my grandparents. Winter 2010 was no different, except this year I decided to spice up the cards a bit. I had drawn nearly the same Christmas tree on green or red paper every year, and I wanted to do something new. I was an angsty thirteen, didn’t believe in God, and was in a hurry for some inspiration. So this year, I used yellow paper instead, I drew a candle, and I wrote “Merry C...

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“Existentialist ” by Lisa Turlo

Submitted to Contest #132

1965 I wanted to be a saint when I was little. I watched a movie about Saint Bernadette, and I was up for the challenge. It was my greatest ambition at age five to be canonized. I did not understand the concept of martyrdom. I imagined myself performing miracles, healing the sick with a touch of my pure, sweet, intensely good hand. I could see the Pope bending down to me to look into my eyes and marvel at my virtue. I was unlike any other child in the world. I had an inner light, a goodness that came directly from God. I wore a beautiful win...

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Write a story where a character is exploring their religious or spiritual identity.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 59 stories

“Flashbulb memories” by J L

“And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them ” by Ruby Urlocker

“Genesis 51” by Janet Change Balda

“Lighthouse to Identity” by Bob Faszczewski

“Meg's Heritage” by Andi Saunders

“Who to Believe” by Samantha Shaffer

“Grandpa's Gun” by Liam F

“The Snort” by Barb Leedom

“The Maybe of Faith” by Mary Burns

“I Meditate in the Woods” by Rob Jonasson

“ULTIMATE SHARE” by Day Parker

“Seek” by Melissa Woods

“Bruised by Denial” by Hudson Lille Venn

“Existentialist ” by Lisa Turlo

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character saying “Are you there, God? It’s me…”

Write a story about a couple with fundamentally different beliefs.

End your story with a character saying “Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.” (sarcastically or not).

Write a story about a teenager whose family is moving.

Contest #132

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

127

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: