I am not a strong follower of any religion. I am not a complete clod nor totally insensitive to wonder and awe, either. I was interested to hear that some people, probably Westerners, feel that several of the principles of Buddhism are more of a set of ideas of human psychology than religion. I have some books by scientists that focus on unanswered questions and impulses about our lives that support having a religion. I realize and respect those who have acquired their religious practices from parents or schooling and continue as much for social and family reasons as for theological ones.
I practice 10 minutes of mediation and I think it has been very valuable for my mind, my body and my attitudes. I have read some of Needleman's "Lost Christianity" and other sources that connect meditation and prayer to Christian practice but I have heard that India, China and Japan have beliefs and practices that are valuable and of interest to many Westerners. As I looked into Buddhist ideas and books like "Buddhism or Bust" by Garfinkel and "Buddhist Practice on Western Ground" by Aronson, I found that several Eastern thinkers and philosophers have said that they felt that the essential self is a myth.
Several TED talks have explored the findings that the "soul" or "essence" or "self" has not been located in the brain or body. In thinking about my own experience of life and changes and continuities in that life, I can understand and sympathize with the idea of a personal set of characteristics and impulses that have stayed with me or been associated with me by others.
Despite not finding any single center or essence, I think we all experience statements or actions by someone that seem very "out of character". As an older person, I am aware that I am not the same as I was years ago. So, aging as well as new knowledge or new convictions can stimulate changes that seem very different from what has been typical for a person. When I watched the movie "A Beautiful Mind", the scene where Nash checks his impression/opinion with another observer struck me deeply. I always suspected that if my adult mentally-ill daughter could see her way to doing such checking, she would have an effective tool to help her thinking and her life.
So, if we are smart, we will expect new and different aspects of ourselves and those we know but at the same time, we expect and experience a kind of continuity in human personalities and choices.
