# Were you always an atheist/agnostic? Or..



## regimes

... were you raised with a religion but later decided to become atheist/agnostic?

For the sake of discussion I'm curious. 

Better question for those who were raised with a religion and then became atheist/agnostic, how did your parents/family/friends take it?


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## GoFlyers

I was raised a Catholic. Forced to go to church, forced to go to CCD and do all that Sacraments nonsense. Once I started thinking for myself I hated everything about it. During high school was when I got out of going to church. It probably bothered my parents that I didn't go to church with them. They would give me **** every now and then about it too. They lack the ability to understand why I have certain beliefs and thoughts.


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## persona non grata

I was raised Catholic. I developed issues with the Catholic Church as a middle schooler (while attending a Catholic school). When I was 14 I told my mom I didn't want to be confirmed because I didn't approve of the Catholic Church, even though I considered myself a Christian. I guess I was basically a Protestant without a denomination at the time. She talked me into going through with it though, and I was confirmed with St. Benedict as my patron. 

Later I went about looking for the "real" church that was teaching what God really approved of. But I couldn't find it. In Catholic school I was told a story about a fireman who said "Jesus if you're real, give me your pain". He supposedly spent the next several hours in agony and had his faith affirmed. I wanted desperately to know if Christianity/Catholicism was true, so I tried it out. But Jesus didn't give me any pain. So I looked for the "right" Christian sect, the one that just made logical sense (I had been told that Catholicism "made sense" and when I felt it didn't I was trying to use that to find the right religion.)

I couldn't figure out what was right though. I bought a book called "Why Christianity Makes Sense" from a now closed bookstore, and read it. But the arguments it used were just wrong. I looked at different denominations, but it really wasn't clear whether Calvinists or Lutherans were right, whether intercessory prayers were legitimate, which parts of the Bible were metaphorical, etc. I couldn't even figure out which version of the Bible was the best, or whether non Christians could be saved ("baptism by desire," a Catholic belief I wasn't inclined to shake because it felt ethical).

I called myself agnostic for awhile (didn't want to use the word atheist because I thought it would make me evil). The truth was though that in looking for a god, I came to realize that I'd never had a strong reason to believe in one in the first place. Soon after graduating high school I was working at a charity event and one of the other participants was a girl from the same school who was a year younger. We were walking around Miami Beach giving meals to the homeless. The fact that she was an atheist was mentioned and it kind of surprised me to hear it laid out like that. I was still kind of afraid of the label, but she was someone who worked to help other people above and beyond what I was doing. I really couldn't see her as "bad" as I saw the word, which was the only thing that was separating me from the label. I decided that if the description was good enough for her then I certainly wasn't above it. Later in the day a homeless guy shook my hand when I gave him his meal. He said "Gracia Jesus!" and I liked that he was happy, but I didn't see what Jesus had to do with it.

I never "came out" to my family. I've openly given my opinion whenever religion came up, but I never had a moment that I basically told them that I "officially" reject Catholicism. It's kind of a compromise. My grandmother was distraught over my uncle leaving the Church and although my parents aren't religious my mom is active in her CCW (council of Catholic women) and becomes more religious when she's dealing with problems. I figured that it would be easier for everyone if I just slipped into become a standard nonobservant Catholic. It's remarkably common, being Catholic is really an ethnicity more than anything for a lot of people.

Sorry about the text wall.


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## Meli24R

I was raised by nonreligious parents. I actually don't know if my dad believes in a god or not. He went to church as a child with his parents, but stopped when he was a teen because he couldn't believe any of it. I assume he's agnostic. My mother seems to swing back and forth from being an agnostic to being a theist (although she doesn't believe in the christian god) 
As a child, I don't think I gave it much thought whether or not there was a god and afterlife even though my mother told me that there was.
From the ages 12 to 17, I was more exposed to religion and different ideas. For awhile, I believed that there was some sort of higher entity and afterlife. I believed in ghosts, spirits, psychics and mediums too. I didn't start really critically thinking about all of this until around the age of 18.


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## danberado

In the world of internet, I'd welcome seeing more text walls. It terrifies me just how much the internet destroys people's attention spans.


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## Pennywise

I was raised as a Catholic. Luckily my parents weren't strict Catholics though. They did take me to a Catholic school and took us to Church for holidays, but other than that, they didn't discuss religion with us much. I became an atheist when I was about 13 or 14, but then changed my mind and became an agnostic when I was 17.


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## SPC

i was raised in a very strict evangelical family. i attended missionary-run schools from the ages of 11-16. that was where i lost faith. going to missionary school really beats the religion out of you. prior to that i really tried to believe in a benvolent loving god. i really really did.


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## komorikun

My mom was not religious and my dad is a definite atheist. We went to the Unitarian Universalist (very liberal and open minded) church a few times. My dad would say the word "Christian" like it was swear word. I don't agree with a lot of his politics (especially since he has gone bonkers in old age with conspiracy theories, among other things) but I feel no need for a religion.


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## Charizard

I was raised mostly non-religious. My family didn't say grace, didn't pray, no church or sunday school. I _did_ go to a bible study for about 6-8 months when I was 12- my parents had decided that learning about the bible was important, if only to better understand important cultural things.

As a little kid, I didn't care about god. As an adult I'm agnostic.

As an adolescent I kind of struggled. I _wanted_ god to exist, very badly. I would beg and plead "God, if you exist- please tell me! show me! give me _anything_". I wanted that moral authority to exist, to bring some kind of order to the chaos of existence. In the end, the inconsistencies and outright impossibilities in the bible gnawed on my resolve to believe and I accepted the inevitable- it was time to grow up.


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## Knowbody

GREAT. I just wrote about 2 long paragraphs and my stupid browser/mouse/keyboard decided to erase everything. Awesome

anyway. To sum it up really quick. I was raised a christian, became agnostic at around 18-19 but didn't consider myself an atheist until I was about 20-21. Mainly because I knew that I didn't have all the answers and that claiming to be an atheist _(or claiming any religion)_ was a declaration that you did infact have the answers. That changed when I realized every religious person was basically an atheist to just about every God/religion in existence from past and present with the exception of the particular God that they currently subscribe to. That made me more comfortable with identifying myself as an atheist. The only difference between me and religious people is that I go one step further. I'm atheist on the topic of man made religion, I don't believe any of them are true, however as a honest person I'm agnostic in regards of the POSSIBILITY of an higher force, energy, or explanation out there that we do not yet have a proper understanding of. However I can acknowledge that my agnosticism for it is purely speculation only and isn't founded on any type of evidence.

FYI, I'm totally fascinated by Buddhism though, some may say this is hypocritical but I don't really consider it a religion. It's more of a philosophy.


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## jadeyXx13

I was raised as a christian i was christened and then sent to about two christian schools yet decided to become an athiest because i found it hard to believe that there could be a God out there ..haha prietty simple story there


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## fredbloggs02

I spent 7 years in a Jesuit school before I knew what I was. I never gave religion much thought then, save towards the end when I made myself unpopular talking to myself about it.. Well, to other people though that was similar to talking to yourself. The teachers there diddn't like me, I was so disassociated from my surroundings, dreaming constantly I'd never have prepared for anything, I'd lose things constantly and forget to do the simplest things. A part of me has always been switched off like that, or so I'm told, not sure how far I believe that anyway. I've never understood why I stood out like that, why I was always on another planet all the time or what that even meant, though other people could point that out without hesitation lol. That diddn't go down too well in a place like that anyhow, I was drawn attention to perniciously quite a bit. It really embarrassed me to be that way, and I'd be the sort of child who'd recoil to cry at myself, not at people, which happened twice. Whenever anything impinged on me I'd get internally sick and start breaking the rules through necessity. Strict discipline, tight rules, people answer for their responsibilities there and I was in trouble a lot. I think in the end, making someone like me answer for themselves must have really frustrated the way things worked there, especially because in my case, I was the centre of attention without anything you could condemn as "evil" or "malicious" plausibly with a straight face. There was even a day of the week for "shoe inspection." Those who failed it usually the most delinquent types(for want of a sentimental description) were bellowed at from an inch of their brow untill they cried of turned pale...

Still, that isn't representative of everywhere or even religion so, I don't let one bad experience cloud everything.


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## Double Indemnity

No, I haven't always been agnostic. I was raised Lutheran. My parents took me to church off and on. My best friend was Southern Baptist so I went to church with her during my childhood (camp, lock-ins, vacation bible school, etc). In high school/college I didn't want any part of religion because I wanted to do all the "bad" things and didn't want to be a hypocrite. That's sort of when I knew that religion wasn't for me. My body/mind wanted certain things that the bible said wasn't right to do. I didn't feel those things were wrong. I knew I was/am a moral person and that's enough for me. When I met my husband who is agnostic he made it easier for me. He reads a lot of books about philosophy and the bible so I've learned a lot from him. My family doesn't know that I'm agnostic, but they know I don't attend church.


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## LynnNBoys

I was raised Lutheran. My mom brought us to Sunday School and church almost every week. My dad would sometimes go, sometimes not. (Then he was out of the picture around the time I was 12.) I was baptized and confirmed. I went to church summer camps, I joined the youth choir, and did the youth group activities. I believed what I was told.

The summer I was 17, the youth choir director was at a religious camp with our youth group in Colorado. I couldn't go that year but I went the year before. He was struck and killed by lightning while hiking in the mountains with a group of kids. He was only 26. It deeply affected me and made me begin to question things.

in college, I took a philosophy class and learned to question things further. My now husband took a video editing class and made a video about how religion was made to control the masses. He doesn't believe in church or religion, but still believes in a higher being. By the end of college, I was agnostic. Then I finally identified as an atheist sometime in my early 20s.

I've told my brother and he doesn't care. I don't really have meaningful conversations with my father, so don't care what he thinks. He might even be agnostic, not sure. My mom. I can't bear the thought of hurting my mom. I haven't told her yet. I evade any conversation about church and religion. I'm not sure about any of hubby's family. One SIL goes to church and sends her kids to religious classes, but the rest seem to just be non-religious. I'm not sure how they'd feel about it. I would hope they wouldn't treat me differently.


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## Dark Alchemist

Raised catholic. Managed to see through what they told me in my early teen years, haven't looked back since.


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## EagerMinnow84

I was a "Catholic" when I was in school but I always had doubts. I never asked questions in class because everyone believed and I didn't want to be bothered by questions. I never had pressures to believe though, thankfully.


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## ugh1979

Atheist for as long as I can remember. I was reading books on cosmology and natural history from an early age so the notion of God never made any logical sense to me.

One of my grandmothers did convince my mother to send me and my sister to Sunday school a few times in the early eighties but if anything that just left me with a distrust of religion, as what I was told there contradicted what I was learning elsewhere.

I think it probably also left me with a distrust of authority as it was my parents and grandparents, who a child should be able to trust, that sent me there and exposed me to the nonsense. However it was them that bought me the science books as well so it was all very contradictory and not good for a child.


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## LittlePhantomBlue

Raised as Southern Baptist. I was a Doubting Thomas to begin with, so it didn't take long for me to go from questioning the rationality of my parents' religion to flat out leaving it behind. 
Cut to me in middle school when I started getting my paws on big fancy science books, and that's when I began to wonder why I even entertained the thought of religion.


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## freud

My mother is in a charismatic church and it was hell for me. She took me with her to Africa and Eastern Europe to crusade. I lived with her and 80 other people in a commune and yeah when we were finally settling in a normal environment, she joined a church which had really dictatorial structures with lot of social pressure and so forth. Big part of my SA development. In the age of 15 i managed to detach from it and first i was full of hatred but after some time i kinda managed to find my own way and my own believes. But the dogmas which they imprinted into my mind and the traumatic experiences will probably never fade.


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## steffie

My mother was raised Catholic, my father raised Protestant. They taught me and my sister right from wrong, all the good morals, but they never believed that you had to go to church to have belief in god, and never forced religion upon us. My sister and I were all about dinosaurs and sciencey stuff when we were kids (science is ftw guys) and I grew up just not caring about religion. I never believed there was god, and now as I'm an adult - I don't see any need for it.


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## minimized

Tried it, didn't work, glad to be done with it.

I don't think my mom can grasp it, though it's not like I care to talk to anyone about it.


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## Glacial

My parents would only attend church on special occasions and seemed to passively believe in the Christian God. For most of my younger years (child-late teens), I actually choose to be in the Christian faith (to a much higher degree than my parents). I took it very seriously and believed in the Christian God without a doubt. I studied the Bible extensively and wanted to understand and follow it exactly.

Not until a couple years ago, did I begin to adopt atheistic views. I was talking to someone who opened my mind to science and the absurdity of religion. I resisted and had many many mind-wars with myself until I realized, I can no longer be a part of a religion--it is not logical, science supports it in no way, it does not mesh with modernized worldviews etc. Slowly my religous side unraveled. I feel I initially sought comfort through religion as a coping mechanism as it was really all I had growing up and growing up was rough for me (I was looking for something solid to cling to).


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## Jonners

I was atheist from a very young age, not sure when. I still remember the day I was sat in a school assembly and suddenly realised that the stories I was hearing were just all nonsense and that heaven was not above the clouds (the generally accepted theory in class at the time) because that was just daft, the sky was above the clouds and if heaven was there we would see it.

I told a friend my views and his response still echoes in my mind over 30 years later - "sshhhh, don't say that, you will get into trouble"

Says it all really. Kids fear speaking their own mind as the crazy adults will tell them off for questioning religion.


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## anonymous soul

I was raised in a devout southern baptist family..

I believe I am a spiritual person, and as a child I plunged into christianity without a single doubt. I got "saved" out of fear when I was maybe 9 or 10 ... and shortly after that I began questioning. 

I drove my parents nuts with my questions that they couldn't answer ... and easily saw the "incomplete" aspects of christianity (or any manmade religion). Then in my early teens I learned more about other religions and views....and became very interested in understanding life and its mysteries. 

..and I have been searching ever since


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## Knokternul

I was raised in a Laotian Buddhist family, and my parents are very religious. 

My father was (and still is) constantly pushing his beliefs on me, and I ended up resenting ALL religions. I'm the type who doesn't like other people pushing their values, ideas, faith, etc. to other people, and that's what I hated most about every religion. 

I became an "atheist" when I was 14. 
But then some things started to happen and I started believing in the supernatural, but I still refused to follow a religion. (I was pretty stubborn)
When I was 15, my World Religions teacher taught our class about agnosticism and atheism. That's when I figured out I was actually agnostic. 

Now I'm a very spiritual person, and I no longer have a hatred toward religions. I am more open-minded and respectful, but I still choose not to follow a religion because I accept them all.


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## The Silent 1

Knokternul said:


> I was raised in a Laotian Buddhist family, and my parents are very religious.
> 
> My father was (and still is) constantly pushing his beliefs on me, and I ended up resenting ALL religions. I'm the type who doesn't like other people pushing their values, ideas, faith, etc. to other people, and that's what I hated most about every religion.
> 
> I became an "atheist" when I was 14.
> But then some things started to happen and I started believing in the supernatural, but I still refused to follow a religion. (I was pretty stubborn)
> *When I was 15, my World Religions teacher taught our class about agnosticism and atheism. That's when I figured out I was actually agnostic. *
> 
> Now I'm a very spiritual person, and I no longer have a hatred toward religions. I am more open-minded and respectful, but I still choose not to follow a religion because I accept them all.


Well, its my understanding that agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive, since one is about what you believe and the other is about what you claim to "know". So I consider myself agnostic atheist since I don't believe, but am open to the idea and don't claim any certainty.


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## bluenotebooks

I grew up in a halfway religious home and actually went to a Lutheran school for a while. I tried really hard in my teen years to dedicate myself to the God of Christianity. I prayed and cried asking him to make my life better and take away my pain. The depression and anxiety I experienced throughout my teen years was close to unbearable. So I think I clung to religion out of desperation. It never really made much sense to me and always seemed kind of bizarre to me that adults actually believe this stuff. I experienced some guilt as I turned my back on religion but I am completely free of it now. My family has largely chosen to just ignore the fact that I am an atheist. It doesn't get talked about much, which is fine with me. My grandmother though, told me "If you get too far away from God He might try to take you out". I found this rather amusing.


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## theJdogg

I grew up protestant. In college, I continued to believe for 3 years. While on a walk one nice fall day, I had a bit of an epiphany and realized that nothing, not even Jesus, mattered. We are born alone, we die alone, and we live alone. We have no soul. There is no God. 
For a couple days, I was depressed but knew this was the truth. I feel like I'm a more complete person now.

My mom hates it but deals with it. We even joke about me going to hell. My dad agrees with me even though he was the one that dragged us to church every sunday. My siblings are also atheist or possibly agnostic.


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## Unsure1993

I was baptised but that's about it. My parents never really discussed any religious things with me until I was 11 when my mother made it clear she was an atheist. I still don't know what my father is.

Until I was about 14 though, I believed quite heavily in God. I went to a state school but for whatever reason I still participated in "religious education". Not everybody had to do this, there were ba'thai classes and parents could chose to have their kids not partake at all but most children just did the Christian stuff, it wasn't a big deal.

I turned my back when I finally got fed up with the pointless guilt that it made me feel over trivial things like masturbation and stuff.


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## Dionilda

i was raised catholic as a little girl, and my mom will say she is without hesitation even though she goes to a christian based service lol
i became agnostic at the age of 17, seemed like it just clicked. I don't have all the answers but thats ok.


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## tranquildream

I was raised as some sort of christian. I only went to sunday school when I was too young to remember it, and after that we never went to church. But we all believed in God. And then around 10 or 11 I started questioning the possibility of an afterlife and what reality is. So at the point I pretty much stopped believing, and then it was reinforced later with all the hypocrisy involved with christianity, and how flawed it all is. Also, how ****ed up the world is made an impact on me not believing that there was some god watching over everything. People thank God for the good things that happen, but then they somehow overlook all the bad that happens and don't contribute it to him? It just doesn't make sense lol.


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## olschool

i was raised baptist but every since iwas in the second grade - the religion never made much since to me-- much more interested in stars and planets and things like that - the answers that religion had didnt make much since to me


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## owlet4444

I was raised catholic, but my parents never really forced religion on my so much. The were mildly religious when it was convenient for them (like Christmas). But I went to a catholic elementary school and high school, so I got a good dose of indoctrination. In grade 10, during religion class, it slowly dawned on me that something wasn't adding up. I don't remember what triggered those thoughts but, over the course of a couple months, I became more and more suspicious. I was feeling like I was being lied to. I hadn't even heard of atheism, and finally, with some googling, I found others who backed my suspicions. 

I realized that there is no God, no after-life and the bible is not reality. 

I don't talk about it often with my parents, but I am aware how disgusted they are with me over it. 

Often I wish I was a theist, but I can't lie to myself.


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## Cornerstone

As a little child i was blissfully ignorant of anything to do with God. My parents are atheists or agnostics. But as was customary where i lived, i went to catholic school. The teachers there threatened us with hellfire and told us about God. I was never quite able to lose these childish concepts entirely. The strange thing is, if i have kids myself one day, i would like them to have some sort of religious education. I think people who never ask the question whether god exists or not are so shallow.


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## Glacial

Cornerstone said:


> As a little child i was blissfully ignorant of anything to do with God. My parents are atheists or agnostics. But as was customary where i lived, i went to catholic school. The teachers there threatened us with hellfire and told us about God. I was never quite able to lose these childish concepts entirely. The strange thing is, if i have kids myself one day, i would like them to have some sort of religious education. I think people who never ask the question whether god exists or not are so shallow.


I never understood why non-religious and atheist parents send, and pay for, their children to attend a Catholic school, if that is not what they believe (I am not saying Catholic school is bad--not the point of my statement).


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## Milco

I've been both baptised and confirmed in The National Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, but I can't say I ever believed in God.
I liked and believed in the the beauty of the humanist thoughts and values, but God and the miracles performed by Jesus were really no more real to me than the talking animals, fairies or trolls from other stories you're told as a kid.

My mum does believe there is 'something' greater than us out there somewhere, but I don't think she means the god from Christianity exactly, and I think for her, Christianity is more about the values as well.


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## Cornerstone

Saving Face said:


> I never understood why non-religious and atheist parents send, and pay for, their children to attend a Catholic school, if that is not what they believe (I am not saying Catholic school is bad--not the point of my statement).


Let's say they were crypto-agnostics, living in a still catholic community and from catholic families.


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## softshock11

I've had allot of belief and identity crisis 
I was raised Catholic. Baptized and First Communion is tradition in my family except My aunt who was a hippie and started following Hare Krishna. I like her, shes a little overbearing but really caring and nice to talk to.
I was influenced to believe in Catholicism to make the family happy...even though I loved and respected everything about Jesus and the Church I was always very skeptical and stopped believing.

In my teens I got interested in Buddhism became a Vegetarian but still wouldn't declare that I was religious I just wanted to something to represent my love of animals and peace.
For fun I read Wicca books but the farthest i ever got into that was learning tarot cards. Being geeky recently, I started learning about the occult and was disgusted and upset when I found out its relation to Masonry the Illuminati and people in the governments running our world. Its not an easy subject.

I declared to Agnostic for the past 5 years, had a dark moment where I felt strongly Atheist, 
but now I do believe in God in some way hard to explain, I've felt and seen that there is a force watching over us and finding harmony with God is really hard and we're not perfect.
I think the Bible is an incredible book that says allot of truthful things in a mysterious way and I get upset reading it.

I rarely visit church but when I do I go when its empty and observe in there and I let go of myself so i can find a feeling of peace, strength and hope that I often do find and miss it when I'm back out in the public.


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## luceo

Parents are atheist, which was naturally passed down to me. They never forced me to be atheist or anything; Religion was rarely discussed at all. Even at a young age I found religion a bit silly. It just didn't make sense. Stories of arks full of animals, resurrections, miracles, etc were reserved for cartoons and books, they didn't exist in my reality and so I didn't belive. As I got older, the only thing that changed was that I had evidence and research to back up my disbelief, plus the ability to better articulate it.

I know my sister explored Christianity for a while, before returning to atheism. Funnily enough, this was during her rebellious phase.

My extended family has some sort of quasi-agnostic Christian belief. They seem to believe in a higher being that is an approximation of the Christian god, but at the same time they don't actually do any of the things that the Christian god demands.


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## Grey Warden

My parents are Christians who don't take it very seriously. We went to church weekly when I was a child, and I managed to believe in it all until I reached 15 or so. I remember just taking it for granted, God was up there looking out for me. Eventually I started to wonder why life is so ****ty if I've got an omnipotent benefactor on my side, and I started questioning it. Significant exposure to science (especially evolutionary biology) confirmed my suspicions. We are alone down here. I'd really like to believe that I could spend eternity with my lost loved ones, but there's just no reason to think so. If the big G is up there, he seems to want to hide.


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## ktbare

I was raised as a Jehovah's witness. If being told the end of the worlds going to happen any minute constantly, and if I don't basically kiss gods arse and follow these strict rules I'm going to die a horrible long painful death isn't enough to be put off religion for good, I don't know what is. 

I'm only agnostic though, I'm not going to totally rule out the possibility of a god or greater being.


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## KelsKels

Im agnostic and my parents are VERY conservative and christian. My childhood was extremely controlled and strict. I wasnt even allowed to go trick or treat because Halloween is a "Devils holiday". So you can imagine..

For the longest time, as a child I believed in god and feared him. I thought I would go to hell for saying "Oh my god" or cursing at all. But when I became a teenager I just completely changed and went the opposite route. I got in alot of trouble and was arrested once. Since then Ive evened out, but I dont believe in Jesus or any religion. Im just opened minded and want to figure it out when I get there.

As for my parents, they let me do what I want for the most part. Its hard to talk to my mom without the conversation turning to god, but I just try to avoid it. They let me have my own opinion, but they dont approve.


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## evurgreen

My family is Roman Catholic. My dads half had me baptized. Soon after my mother and him split. She never practiced and didn't have the time for church while raising me anyways. So by the time I had been old enough to understand and make my own decisions I'd been athiest. My family doesn't mind, I don't mind religious people either. I respect others for their views(the majority of the time) as long as they respect mine.


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## Hamster

GoFlyers said:


> I was raised a Catholic. Forced to go to church, forced to go to CCD and do all that Sacraments nonsense. Once I started thinking for myself I hated everything about it. During high school was when I got out of going to church. It probably bothered my parents that I didn't go to church with them. They would give me **** every now and then about it too. They lack the ability to understand why I have certain beliefs and thoughts.


i think CCD purposely converts people out of their religion xD


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## Hamster

owlet4444 said:


> I was raised catholic, but my parents never really forced religion on my so much. The were mildly religious when it was convenient for them (like Christmas). But I went to a catholic elementary school and high school, so I got a good dose of indoctrination. In grade 10, during religion class, it slowly dawned on me that something wasn't adding up. I don't remember what triggered those thoughts but, over the course of a couple months, I became more and more suspicious. I was feeling like I was being lied to. I hadn't even heard of atheism, and finally, with some googling, I found others who backed my suspicions.
> 
> I realized that there is no God, no after-life and the bible is not reality.
> 
> I don't talk about it often with my parents, but I am aware how disgusted they are with me over it.
> 
> Often I wish I was a theist, but I can't lie to myself.


this explains how it happened to me too. i think it was the fear of god knowing everything you did and the confusion of bible versuses that got me to become an atheist. but before that, i tried out several other religions to see if there was another way to keep that faith (like what you said about theism). i think atheists and agnostics who were raised in a religion still miss that blind faith, but it's similar to miss being a kid again...or something like that.


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## Kim Ung-yong

regimes said:


> ... were you raised with a religion but later decided to become atheist/agnostic?
> 
> For the sake of discussion I'm curious.
> 
> Better question for those who were raised with a religion and then became atheist/agnostic, how did your parents/family/friends take it?


I was raised a Christian and at about the age of 11 (I think), I began to realize that religion and deities were all in the mind--and I stopped going to church. Around that time, I began to think more scientifically and logically. I have my own beliefs about how the human race came about and evolved into what we are now. And I don't think we're the only game in town.


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## ambergris

Saving Face said:


> I never understood why non-religious and atheist parents send, and pay for, their children to attend a Catholic school, if that is not what they believe (I am not saying Catholic school is bad--not the point of my statement).


It's not uncommon in the UK for non-believing middle-class parents to attend church purely to get their child into a faith school which produces better exam results than the other local schools. Catholic and Anglican schools are state-funded here, so it saves them having to fork out for private education. Faith schools are often seen as having better discipline than secular schools too.

I was brought up in an average British family where church is just for christenings, weddings, and funerals, and you would be seen as a bit strange if you went at any other time. (I was baptised Church of England in spite of the fact that my dad was an atheist and my mother a severely lapsed Catholic, which illustrates exactly how meaningless my christening was.) My junior school was quite keen on pushing Christianity, but while I liked Old Testament stories I found the Jesus stuff rather dull in comparison. When I was about ten I found out what an atheist was and decided that I wanted to be one because life was obviously too unfair for god to exist. It was something I thought about and questioned a lot as a teen, but I have basically been either an atheist or an agnostic for as long as I have been capable of rational thought.


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## Jess2

I was raised catholic, I guess. My parents didn't go to church, (except for weddings, baptisms and that sort of thing), so it was my grandparents taking my siblings and I. I went to a catholic school for the majority of my childhood and highschool, but i never really got into it. I cant pinpoint the spot where I decided that I didnt believe in god. I never discussed church and spiritualness with people, it was just something I did.


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## Brax

I've been an atheist or spiritual materialist off and on since I was about 12. My mother never wanted me to be anything but some form of Christian and preferably Baptist, but maybe not Catholic (she had a picture of the previous pope and it came up once). My dad didn't at all care for religion and faith. As of the last several years I settled on strict atheism. 

When I first thought I might be atheistic my mother's reaction was short and firm: "no, you are not". That was so with anything in my short range of religious interests throughout the years. She has told me more than once that she will always consider me a Christian, no matter what I say. This used to anger me and we had discussions about it. I don't think she does that anymore, though, because at one point she herself was thinking of becoming Muslim. I don't think she ever really cared about her faith, what little there was. I think she cared even less about her religion than most. That bothered me a great deal because she was so adamant that I adopt an even more serious form of Christianity than she ever felt the need to commit to. As she knew, I have serious issues with that particular religion whether lite or seriously religious. It would anger her when I described them in the most respectful terms and she would completely ignore me at that point, despite her having already disrespected my own religious identity.


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## offbyone

Simple question, but gave me interesting thoughts.

I was raised Catholic but it never really took and I hated participating in Church stuff. I stopped going before first communion and never looked back. I've self identified as an atheist pretty much since then.

But I think I just realized that I actually don't care anymore about that label. I just don't have a spiritual belief system, but I also don't need to define it past that anymore or consider it part of my personality.


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## BitterSweetMe

Raised Christian, but, I was always confused about the religion. It just got too questionable and frustrating to understand, I just caved in and decided to be an agnostic. The Christian life is not for me.


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## Eraque

I was raised Christian. Grandmother was Buddhist. We're all Chinese. My parents shy away from Caucasians, and the one Chinese church they went to dissolved- so no church. My parents either don't speak English, or don't think they speak it very well. I bargained with God when I was young and down with the flu- that was about it. 

I became an atheist in 8th grade. I was daydreaming (had a lot of alone time, hehe) and decided that millions of years of natural history superseded the millennia of human history, therefore humans were insignificant, religion was an extension of the human imagination, and so forth. I was/am idealistically forceful like that. I never really researched or thought too deeply on the matter.


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## Haunty

I was not raised religiously, my mom believes in god but is not religious. She told me about Jesus/God when I was a kid, and I believed it then, but that belief faded quickly as I got older. When I was about 20 I looked into it some more and read most of the Bible, which was interesting, but did not change my mind.


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## RobAlister

I was raised Christian and believed most of what I was told until my teen years when I started asking more and more questions and had doubts. I was unsure for awhile until I became an adult and started watching atheist videos on YouTube where I got a better understanding from their point of view and then things started making sense.


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## wmw87

i was not raised religious, nor was i ever baptized.


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## UltraShy

I've always been an atheist. I wasn't raised with religion, so I was never indoctrinated with any concept of g** or religion. My mother claims to be Catholic, but I know the bible better than she does (and it would indeed be hard to know less than me on that matter).

My father was Lutheran & converted to Catholicism such that he could marry my mother in 1950. Back in 1950 "mixed marriages" were frowned upon. That's a real history lesson, isn't it? Two substantially similar denominations were deemed a "mixed" marriage 61 years ago. (I'm guessing the mere thought of an interracial gay couple would have simply made heads explode back then.)

I've entirely rejected the concept of g** for as long as I was old enough to understand it. By 12 I stopped putting up an x-mas tree as I would not take part in a celebration of lies.

Many look upon me as that cranky militant atheist. Having your own government telling you you're officially WRONG every time you dare open your wallet might get the panties of a spiritual/religious person in a twist as well. I'm betting quite a few "g**-fearing" folks would have quite a hissy fit if their money said "In Satan We Trust." They might just get cranky & militant even.


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## GodlessVegan

I was raised as a Catholic but renounced my faith when I was in 8th grade. Part of the reason I left the church is because I am gay, which is frowned upon by the church. Mostly, I left because it seemed ridiculous for me to get down on my knees for some imaginary figure, in whom I've never believed in anyways. Also, the fact that priests rape children also repelled me from catholicism. My morals would never permit me to attend a church that allows the molestation of small children. Just awful...

After renouncing my faith, I soon persuaded my siblings and mother to renounce religion also. They were never religious in the first place so it was no problem


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## Dreamscape

I've never had a religion. At the earliest point I can remember as I child I asked my mom if I had a religion, and she told me Christian. I didn't accept that though, and I immediately began to question why from Day 1. On the few times I was taken to church by family I was very uncomfortable being there. Even with the tiny amount of understanding I had as a child it was still easy enough to simply tell other people I "wasn't religious" before I even learned the terms _agnostic_ or _atheist_. By the time I did learn them, I then began to consider myself an agnostic.

A couple years ago, after spending more time studying science and philosophy, I felt confident enough to consider myself an atheist. I think moving beyond that at this point in my life the most precise way of categorizing my stance is based in secular humanism.


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## Squiddle

My parents are hardcore Catholics, and tried to raise me to be one as well. I was a good little girl for a while, until about a year ago, when I really sat down and thought about this "faith." My mother drilled into my head that everything was pre-destined, and that god already had decided everything for us. That didn't sit too well with me, so I began to see more and more discrepancies with Catholocism and religion in general. Finally I decided that it was neither here nor there, and became agnostic. I have not yet told my parents, as they would probably condemn me. They do quite like to condemn things.


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## kev

Yes. Although my dad always told me "If anyone asks, just tell them you are lutheran." lol, I did this once or twice until I realized it was just silly. Now, I just tell people I am agnostic, or I am not sure.


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## topmid

i was raised a catholic and i was baptized but we never went to church or did anything religious at all. then through my own thoughts i decided that religion was created to control people. i believe that right and wrong is subjective and i don't want anybody telling me how to live my life.


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## Libertysfate

Hi all, I'm new to the forum so I'm just going to jump in.

I think I've always been agnostic but didn't officially declare it to myself until I was about 18. 

I grew up in a Buddhist-Christian household. My family is a mixture of Buddhist, Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans and Methodists. I was baptized as an infant in a Lutheran church too. 

I was force to go to church every Sunday and some weekdays from the age of 6 to 12, then at one church the minister (or pastor, I can't remember) said that we can worship anywhere, it didn't have to be in a church, and the a light bulb went off in my head. That, and I grew up learning those Bible stories and none of it made any sense to me. :sus Yes, even at that young of an age I was thinking, "Are you kidding me with this?" 

At 12, I quit all forms of church. The only time I stepped into one is for weddings and funerals, and if it happens to have beautiful artwork. 

I researched and tried other faiths and spirituality before I decided on Agnosticism. For me it's not the lack of belief, it's just that I don't believe all of anything, and a little bit of almost everything. Plus, I honestly don't care either way about a God/gods and afterlife. I live for the here and now.


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## Marc1980

I was most probably always an Atheist, the only thing that stopped me from declaring myself as such was a hope that there was something out there.
After attending a Church of England School and attending several different denominations of Churches there seemed to be one thing they all had in common;
Each one of them claimed to be teaching the true word of God whilst claiming that all the others weren't. 
Also It was paining me to see how much God seemed to be blessing and loving all these people while seemingly ignoring me. How could that be fair? And why on earth would I spend time and effort worshiping a being who didn't care for me?

I stopped visiting my last church In 2009 after being told that questioning the lead pastor of the church was 'disobedient' (such a word I would only use for ill behaved dogs, not grown people) and, more foolishly, real Christians shouldn't smoke.
I spent a while afterwards trying to delude myself into think there was some kind of a God and it wasn't until I started watching Youtube videos of Richard Dawkings and the amazing Christopher Hitchens that I finally accepted myself as a full blown Atheist.


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## Knowbody

I was raised a christian, then became the "Born again" Jesus is so awesome that I have to buy christian rap albums and wear I Heart Jesus T shirts when I was about 16.

Then I reached a point where I realized that my entire belief system could easily be destroyed by anyone with just a tad bit of common sense at around 17-18.

Been an atheist ever since.


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## Karuni

Both of my parents do believe in god, but they quit attending church after childhood and never made me go. I used to believe in god when I was younger, but it just faded more and more with age and knowledge. Kinda funny story how in 5th grade, we were read the story of Jesus' birth, and I asked, "Did that really happen?" Probably in about 5th grade, I quit saying the "under god" part of the Pledge of Allegiance too.
I "tried" church once by going to some Bible class thing with a friend for a while, but it felt so out of place and weird, I quit. 
I just lack any religious or spiritual beliefs.


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## bluepelican

I was raised a Christian, went to church twice a week, and spent 13 years in a private Christian school. As soon as I turned 18, I stopped going to church. Not because I stopped believing, but because I couldn't stand the hypocrisy and contrived behavior anymore. At some point after that, I completely stopped believing in any of it. Looking back, I'm not sure if I ever really did. I considered myself to be agnostic after that point.

Earlier this year, I started reading some Eastern philosophy and it completely changed the way I looked at everything. Discovering non-dualist philosophies, Advaita in particular, has maybe been the most positive thing in my life to date.


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## EagerMinnow84

fez said:


> My mother is a conservative witch basically, and I think she suspects that I'm not christian, but she's already told me she would disown anyone one of her children who admitted to such a thing - so I'm out of luck.


I could never understand this kind of behavior. She is essentially putting her god before her own children. "You don't believe in god? You are no longer by child!" It is twisted. It must be stressful to live in an environment like that. 

Threats of anything regarding a family member's atheism or agnosticsm is really sad. Threats of disownment, hell, anything. It is pathetic, really.

I hope you can soon go out on your own.


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## Reg Barclay

I was raised Roman Catholic, and thought of myself as such as a child due to the fact that thats what everyone around me told me I was. It wasnt until my freshamn year in highschool that I realized I was agnostic/atheistic in my universal outlook.


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## PickleNose

Great screen name! :haha

I remember seeing him for the first time and thinking "Damn! That's me!"


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## Reg Barclay

PickleNose said:


> Great screen name! :haha
> 
> I remember seeing him for the first time and thinking "Damn! That's me!"


Yeah I felt Star Trek was really getting in touch with their fan base with the introduction of Barclay as a character. I'm sure they knew so many of us could relate. :boogie


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## triumphtr79

Like many I was forced into religion at birth. I went to Roman Catholic school from pre-school until I graduated college at age 28. I began having doubts as soon as I was old enough to form strong opinions. During this time I flipped back and forth between going to church and being agnostic. 

Then I started to travel and saw life and the world in a whole new way. At that point there was no turning and I'm a firm atheist now. Well, I should say agnostic because no one can be 100% certain of anything.

I was already atheist by the time I went to college. I only attended because it was a good school and near my hometown. I had to bs on the papers I need to write in religious classes. I felt no need to argue which could jeopardize my grade. 

That's my story....


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## Jamovik

I wasn't really raised anything, but I ended up being a Christian till I was 10 or 11 then I started thinking...

Now I'm an atheist, although I prefer to label myself a humanist.


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## britisharrow

As a young man I hammered home whatever the Pope said and then had a breakdown and decided I'd been on some kind of auto-pilot and regret the things I said.


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## whiteraven4

Raised Jewish and I always tried to believe in god but was never able to. I've always been atheist even if I didn't realize it until I was 12/13.


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## mestizo1991

My mother attended a conservative pentecostal church but she was far less conservative than the other attendees while my father was a very convinced atheist. When I was 11 I was essentially kicked out of my church youth group for saying the I believed the theory of evolution was more accurate than the book of Genesis. After taking graduating high school and taking a logic class as part of my university curriculum I lost my last lingering belief in christianity. Now I like to consider myself pantheist but I usually answer to other people I am atheist to avoid looking like too much of an over intellectual jackass


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## Toad Licker

I wasn't raised in a religious family for quite a long time I was an athiest but as I've gotten older I am now what you'd call agnostic (though I don't really like that term).


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## Melinda

I was raised by a very conservative christian mom, with help from my even more conservative grandma. Around high school I started to question my faith. It dawned on me around age 16 that I was holding onto the christian label only to please the people in my life. I saw how divisive it could be and I realized that I didn't agree with a lot of what I was hearing/seeing. I looked elsewhere, for something that made sense to me (studied eastern religions, especially buddhism) but all of them smacked of the same divisiveness. The more I searched, the more I came to realize that I wasn't agnostic, I wasn't "spiritual", I wasn't confused: I was an atheist. I came out to my parents as an atheist at age 19 or so. My dad (a theist, but not a member of any organized religion) just shrugged and went on with his day, my mom is still trying to save my soul.


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## cafune

No, I wasn't always an atheist. I was raised a Hindu.

My parents weren't exactly pleased with me when I told them I didn't believe in god. And it's always raised up in an argument. Honestly, it's ridiculous... we'll be arguing about something completely unrelated to religion/god, and out of nowhere, my mom will say: "Oh, well, I forgot who I was speaking to... _You_ don't even believe in god." I usually don't even know what to say in response... My extended family members don't give me as hard a time but they do reprimand me from time to time... it's a pain.

My friends, well, they really couldn't care less. They're all of different religions themselves so I don't see why that'd be an issue anyways.


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## Darth Smittius

I was Catholic until I reached the age of reason.


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## Chrysalii

kind of. Religion was never forced.

My family is Christian, but my nuclear family never went to church. My dad never brought it up, and my mom feels that it's a personal thing (you find your own way to god). I don't think she ever expected me to give it up completely, and I honestly feel that if it was more forced it my transition to atheism would have been quicker. 
By having that philosophy I was allowed to change and mold it as new ideas and information came in. Like the swaying building being more stable than the rigid one. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I got rid of the god idea (or anything involving anything supernatural), but I rejected Christianity when I was about 10-12.

I'm grateful that it was never forced on me though. I can have these major disagreements on the very nature of reality without it even being mentioned.

The first nail in the coffin was thinking about heaven. If I go to hell and my mom goes to heaven is it really heaven? Her version of heaven has me in it, but it's not up to her. That was the first theological discussion I ever had with myself. It took so long because it was never a big deal to me.

My extended family is more strictly Christian though (not to fundamentalist extremes, but moreso than I was raised), but I never bring it up, and keep quiet when it does. I enjoy the listening to the conversation, even if I disagree. 

I was never baptized. I'm thankful that it was never forced.


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## huh

Religion was never really a big deal at my house growing up. Every once in a while my mom would get on a kick where she thought we had to go to church more often. It was never consistent. My beliefs about God actually didn't really change until I was 19 or so. My political views changed around the same time. 

It doesn't come up that often in conversation with my parents, but they understand my position on it. I don't think it really bothers them.


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## mcmuffinme

I went to a private Christian school. The school was awful, but I was loyal to my faith, and felt guilt when I did something I felt God would disapprove. The first years of my twenties I still considered myself Christian. I only relatively recently came to consider myself agnostic. 

I sometimes wonder if when I'm older I'll return to faith. I side with agnosticism now, and I feel like that wouldn't change because I genuinely find the idea of life being pointless to be more likely then the idea of the Bible being accurate. Still, I know I've changed my opinions before in life, even when I've felt strongly about them beforehand, so I feel I can't rule out the possibility of becoming a born-again Christian. I wonder what would be the thing to push me over that edge. 

I still very much like the philosophy of Jesus, and I'm still loyal to many tenants I learned from the Bible, only now I don't view them as god ordained, but merely as philosophy- a point of view. The perspective of Jesus, real or fictitious, follows in the traditions of civil disobedience and active resistance against oppression, and sincere commitment to the plight of the disadvantaged. His sentiments remind me of people like John Lennon, Buddha, Gandhi, MLK, and other historical figures that fought for the least of their brothers, so to speak. 

For those reasons I always get frustrated with atheist condescension toward religious people. There ARE religious people that are not fundamentalist; that are progressive, intelligent, and open-minded. Besides, everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt IMO, at least until they prove otherwise. Don't go looking for a fight- instead show them that you have principles and morals, and that you don't need a religion to tell you to treat others the way you would like to be treated.


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## ugh1979

Darth Smittius said:


> I was Catholic until I reached the age of reason.


:lol


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## ugh1979

Chrysalii said:


> The first nail in the coffin was thinking about heaven. If I go to hell and my mom goes to heaven is it really heaven? Her version of heaven has me in it, but it's not up to her. That was the first theological discussion I ever had with myself.


Another of the fallacies/logic problems that make heaven impossible IMO.

However many heaven believers just dismiss/ignore issues like that and say their God can do anything so you would be there in your mom's heaven.

I can't accept their 'solutions' like that for obvious reasons.


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## ugh1979

mcmuffinme said:


> I went to a private Christian school. The school was awful, but I was loyal to my faith, and felt guilt when I did something I felt God would disapprove. The first years of my twenties I still considered myself Christian. I only relatively recently came to consider myself agnostic.
> 
> I sometimes wonder if when I'm older I'll return to faith. I side with agnosticism now, and I feel like that wouldn't change because I genuinely find the idea of life being pointless to be more likely then the idea of the Bible being accurate. Still, I know I've changed my opinions before in life, even when I've felt strongly about them beforehand, so I feel I can't rule out the possibility of becoming a born-again Christian. I wonder what would be the thing to push me over that edge.


That's a shame you think life is pointless without there being an afterlife.

Maybe in time you will realise finite life does have a point.



> I still very much like the philosophy of Jesus, and I'm still loyal to many tenants I learned from the Bible, only now I don't view them as god ordained, but merely as philosophy- a point of view. The perspective of Jesus, real or fictitious, follows in the traditions of civil disobedience and active resistance against oppression, and sincere commitment to the plight of the disadvantaged. His sentiments remind me of people like John Lennon, Buddha, Gandhi, MLK, and other historical figures that fought for the least of their brothers, so to speak.
> 
> For those reasons I always get frustrated with atheist condescension toward religious people.


I don't see why that means theists should be given respect by atheists. The values are sound but it's not them that atheists have a problem with when it comes to religion.



> There ARE religious people that are not fundamentalist; that are progressive, intelligent, and open-minded.


In some unrelated subjects I agree. I believe people have spheres of intelligence rather than a single intelligence level, so people can be geniuses at some things while being idiots at others.

However, in terms of life's big questions (who we are, where did we come from, history of the universe etc) then no, there aren't any progressive intelligent open minded theists IMO. I just don't see how there can be. Anyone who confines themselves to one static archaic non-evolable theory is a fool and it is a very clear indication they aren't progressive, intelligent or open minded.



> Besides, everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt IMO, at least until they prove otherwise.


I strongly disagree when it comes to religion. Just as I don't give someone who believes in an invisible pink sky unicorn respect for their belief I don't give someone who believes in a god any respect. They are both just as poor evidence-less theories as each other.



> Don't go looking for a fight- instead show them that you have principles and morals, and that you don't need a religion to tell you to treat others the way you would like to be treated.


An atheist explaining to a theist that they have good principles and morals without the need for religion is often what can trigger a fight as it's confrontational to say someone's religion isn't actually required to achieve them.


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## mcmuffinme

> That's a shame you think life is pointless without there being an afterlife.
> 
> Maybe in time you will realise finite life does have a point.


I think life can be good for some people, and if I were to be an optimist I would say it is an adventure- a pointless adventure, but an adventure nonetheless. If everything were meaningless and random, I would be okay with that, and I think that's as much a possibility as their being a definite purpose to life.



> In some unrelated subjects I agree. I believe people have spheres of intelligence rather than a single intelligence level, so people can be geniuses at some things while being idiots at others.
> 
> However, in terms of life's big questions (who we are, where did we come from, history of the universe etc) then no, there aren't any progressive intelligent open minded theists IMO. I just don't see how there can be. Anyone who confines themselves to one static archaic non-evolable theory is a fool and it is a very clear indication they aren't progressive, intelligent or open minded.


My father is religious and believes in evolution, the big bang theory, and quantum mechanics. Religion doesn't stop him from using logic. The only mistake in logic is jumping to the conclusion of god, and he admits it is based in faith and not in logic. Outside of this one assumption- he and you probably have similar ideas when it comes to science.

I think you're assuming that religious people are necessarily restricted to what their scriptures say. This is not true. Most people ignore parts of the Bible that cause cognitive dissonance. Religion is very malleable, and because it is based on faith, maybe it is unfair to assume someone thinks they are being logical by being religious. Like my father, maybe they admit it has no scientific grounds, but they believe for whatever their reasons.



> I strongly disagree when it comes to religion. Just as I don't give someone who believes in an invisible pink sky unicorn respect for their belief I don't give someone who believes in a god any respect. They are both just as poor evidence-less theories as each other.


You don't have to have respect for their beliefs, but have respect for them as fellow human beings. It's just courteous is all I'm saying 



> An atheist explaining to a theist that they have good principles and morals without the need for religion is often what can trigger a fight as it's confrontational to say someone's religion isn't actually required to achieve them.


Sorry, I should have been more clear in what I meant. I would not suggest telling theists how moral you are, but ACTING with good ethics, and consideration for others. Lead by example, and demonstrate through your actions that you don't need religion to be a civilized person.


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## ugh1979

mcmuffinme said:


> I think life can be good for some people, and if I were to be an optimist I would say it is an adventure- a pointless adventure, but an adventure nonetheless. If everything were meaningless and random, I would be okay with that, and I think that's as much a possibility as their being a definite purpose to life.


Can you explain why there being an afterlife would make life have a point/purpose?



> My father is religious and believes in evolution, the big bang theory, and quantum mechanics. Religion doesn't stop him from using logic. The only mistake in logic is jumping to the conclusion of god, and he admits it is based in faith and not in logic. Outside of this one assumption- he and you probably have similar ideas when it comes to science.
> 
> I think you're assuming that religious people are necessarily restricted to what their scriptures say. This is not true. Most people ignore parts of the Bible that cause cognitive dissonance. Religion is very malleable, and because it is based on faith, maybe it is unfair to assume someone thinks they are being logical by being religious. Like my father, maybe they admit it has no scientific grounds, but they believe for whatever their reasons.


So what you are saying is that many theists know they are being illogical and even if they are well educated and not ignorant of much of the evidence that contradicts religion they still keep their blind faith.

That to me is not an example of an intelligent person. It has the hallmarks of a very confused indecisive person. Basically they want to have their cake and eat it! I can't respect that.



> You don't have to have respect for their beliefs, but have respect for them as fellow human beings. It's just courteous is all I'm saying


It can be hard to be courteous when discussing such topics. If someone tries to say they are Napoleon I'm going to call them mad, not respect their belief and not say anything just to be courteous.



> Sorry, I should have been more clear in what I meant. I would not suggest telling theists how moral you are, but ACTING with good ethics, and consideration for others. Lead by example, and demonstrate through your actions that you don't need religion to be a civilized person.


That's a given, but doesn't make much difference to the debate. For all someone else knows you are acting that way as you are a theist who fears god.


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## letisa

i was raised catholic. i'm baptized, i frequented catechism, i have done first-communion (sorry if the names are wrong, i don't know these religious terms in english) and everything. but ever since i was a kid i never fully agreed with religion.

i remember that in my childhood i believed god created the apes and apes evolved into humans, for example. it all made less and less sense to me, and when i was 13 i realized i was an atheist. i came out to mom and at the time she seemed ok, but talked to my dad, who is _overly_ religious. he asked me stuff like 'who taught you this? why are you like this now? you need to change'. i don't remember much what i answered and what happened, but i'm pretty sure he's forgotten about my atheism, as that was the only time i fully stated it in front of him. and i don't plan on reminding him of it again. mom accepts it a bit more, though she is clearly disappointed and bugs me at every opportunity possible. she is the only person in the family i feel comfortable to talk about this, along with my cousin, who is also an atheist.

admitting it at school was hard, i remember it was a fuss in class the day i said it. people came to me and asked 'is it true you dont believe in god? do your parents know?'. but that was at 8th grade and filled with stupid students, so whatever. but now i finished senior year and my current classmates were totally acceptable about it. my best friends have always been supportive and are also atheists, mostly. i was the first one of the group to admit it.


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## saram

I was raised in a strict Seventh Day Adventist home (this was in my moms home, my parents divorced when I was very young.) I can remember being very young and having problems with the things the Bible says and some of the things the church teaches (damnation of homosexuals, etc.) I remember asking questions and getting in trouble because you are suppose to love god and never question him. We went to church twice a week, prayed and had devotion everyday, I was baptised. For a long time I had a lot of guilt about my doubt in god and the church. When I was 14 I moved in with my dad who is not a very religious person although he is a Christian. He did not discourage my questions and when I decided that I didn't believe in god he did not judge me. My mom on the other hand did not take the news so well. She constantly told me I was going to hell, blah, blah, blah. She eventually became disillusioned with the church, and while she is still religious, she has quit telling me I am damned!


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## inerameia

I became an agnostic today... I actually can't believe I did. I honestly feel like I've lost my mind... maybe because I'm intimidated by this unexpected worldview change. I feel like it's not gonna last, but at the same time I really think I'm an agnostic. My thoughts have changed a lot. Like, why would a God of love allow suffering? Either he doesn't care thus is not a God of love or he doesn't exist. I have some other problems with the concept of the Christian God. Can't really remember what they were though. Oh, another is the control religion has on people... it just seems like it's driven by fear. I feared losing faith because I didn't want to go to hell... it all seems crooked IMO. And if the Christian God is real, why did he create us? To send most of us to hell? To suffer? To glorify him? That would seem egotistical to me... And what about people who've never heard of Jesus? Hell for them? Really? If not, then what's the point of spreading Christianity?

I never thought I would come to this point in my life, but I have to say I feel free... The tenants of Jesus are true, but I view them as philosophy.

Perhaps there is a God, but I don't know who he is. Or maybe there is no God. I doubt the latter more, but I can't say I know.


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## nullptr

Was raised it, but I always never believed in the "human" like god in the bible.


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## ugh1979

omofca said:


> I became an agnostic today... I actually can't believe I did. I honestly feel like I've lost my mind... maybe because I'm intimidated by this unexpected worldview change. I feel like it's not gonna last, but at the same time I really think I'm an agnostic. My thoughts have changed a lot. Like, why would a God of love allow suffering? Either he doesn't care thus is not a God of love or he doesn't exist. I have some other problems with the concept of the Christian God. Can't really remember what they were though. Oh, another is the control religion has on people... it just seems like it's driven by fear. I feared losing faith because I didn't want to go to hell... it all seems crooked IMO. And if the Christian God is real, why did he create us? To send most of us to hell? To suffer? To glorify him? That would seem egotistical to me... And what about people who've never heard of Jesus? Hell for them? Really? If not, then what's the point of spreading Christianity?
> 
> I never thought I would come to this point in my life, but I have to say I feel free... The tenants of Jesus are true, but I view them as philosophy.
> 
> Perhaps there is a God, but I don't know who he is. Or maybe there is no God. I doubt the latter more, but I can't say I know.


All valid questions which indicate the falsehood of Christianity.

Well done on freeing yourself from the shackles.

The wonders of the universe untainted by archaic dogma await you.


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## feverfew

I was raised in a very Christian household. I started questioning when I was about 16, but it really upset me. I would read alot of apologetic books and creationist (or "intelligent design") books to help give me more faith. I became more or less agnostic around age 20. Now I pride myself on being more scientifically minded, skeptical and rational.

I have had some pretty intense fights with the family about my lack of faith. I guess we kind of have an agree-to-disagree thing between us.

The funny thing is that the myth about nonbelievers is that they gladly give up their beliefs so that they can "sin without guilt" or because they hate God. But my loss of faith was a drawn out, painful experience.


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## Implicate

I've never held any belief in a higher power, despite having a Catholic family.

I remember one incident in particular, elementary school, first grade, announcing how silly it was to believe some man in the sky was leading your life when my peers were talking about church and beliefs. Not many of the kids spoke with me again after that.


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## uptheirons

I was brought up Christian, and started questioning things in high school. Then I became completely agnostic in my 20s.

I learned the hard way having "faith" and praying for things to happen doesn't do anything in life. If you really want something you have to go out and take it.


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## RobinBrowne

I was not raised in a religious family, but I was raised in a rather conservative town. I remember when my mom took us to the zoo in a nearby city, and some Hare Krishnas handed her some literature, which she passed to me. When I got home I looked at it carefully, and asked her "but what is this stuff?" She thought for a moment and said something very wise. She said, "Well... it's like Jesus, but in another language". So I got it!! This was some other country's or other people's religion! Though I was too young to understand it in those exact terms. 

So when I excitedly brought the pamphlets to my religious friend's house, and said "LOOK!! I have Jesus in another language! Isn't it wonderful?" And my friend's mom was stricken and said "Oh no! It's satan!!!" (etc). I remember looking at her blankly going. "But that's not so!" I knew in my heart that my mother had it right.

I still embraced Christianity until I was about 18. But I couldn't stand how Christians (at least where I was living) had such FEAR of EVERYTHING. Astrology. OF DEVIL. Other languages, cultures, history, etc etc OH NO. So I gave up Christianity. 

I love religion. I understand the sense of awe, the gratitude, blessings, awe, but I can't believe only one religion has all of this exclusively and none of the others do. I love the arcane pseudosciences like astrology and alchemy, runes and other kinds of divination (though I don't believe in reading entrails kind of thing, right). I see their place in history and in the scheme of things. 

So I consider myself an "atheist" but I am not a materialist. I believe there is something more to the world than we humans can presently understand, or that may be apprehended by "science" as we think of it now. 

I do NOT belive god is some angry white guy that lives in the sky and gives a sh!t how women wear their hair, you know? XD

R


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## marcv2013

I used to be a catholic. Mostly because my family was doing it. I went to a catholic middle school and then and there I founded out religion isn't for me. Some of the people seem crazy to me. Kinda like Republicans and Democrats can be. I need some facts to believe in something.


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## Nivea

Being able to believe is a good quality and i lost it.


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## Imprisoned Mind

I can't identify with a god who condones the slaughter of innocent animals. That's my main issue with god that I just can't get over.


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## fleur

I was raised, or at least my father _tried_ to raise me Christian, it wasn't without a great deal of difficulty. I used to cry and cry when I was forced to go to Church and Sunday School, especially when I'd rather be out riding my bike, playing with friends, eating an ice lolly on hot summer days than being cooped up in a Church, not to mention what was being taught to me didn't resonate. I think my mother finally talked him out of it because I remember I just stopped going. 
I'm more of a_ ''i love nature, earth, universe''_ kind of person and i recognise the oneness in that. 
I think I became agnostic when I was 16 years old, maybe 15.


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## emmelyn

My dad is an atheist from a Catholic family, and my mom is Jewish. I was raised somewhat Jewish ("somewhat" because I still celebrated Christmas with the Catholic side of my family, and never really knew that much of the Jewish religion) but never believed in God. In fact as a child when I did go to the church or the synagogue (it was very rare) I'd just sit there incredibly bored and think about how silly everyone else was. I was a very snobby child 

The only thing I got from religion wasn't theological belief and certainly not morality, but a cultural and historical heritage. I'm European, and my grandfather survived the Holocaust, so I'd heard many horror stories by the time I was eight or so.


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## CrimsonTrigger

I was not raised religious, but went to a catholic school for convenience up until 5th grade. I grew up believing in God because that was what I was taught, but when I began to think about things, I started to doubt it. I refer to myself as agnostic now.


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## retracekim

I was raised religious-started having doubts in my mid-teens. My dad took it well I guess, and my mom eventually got over it. I'm an agnostic atheist by the way.


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## dair

I was raised catholic and went through a lot of the practices they had. Then around 14 or 15 I realized that is didn't even really believe in god. I was mainly Christian just in case. So I just dropped it and became agnostic atheist. My dad was fine with it. My mom refuses to believe me.


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## Whywontyoutalktome

I always had doubts and questioned "Why." None of it made sense to me. I was raised to be religious, as most Black females are. (This common misconception irritates me.) Childhood religion wasn't hardcore but "coming out" as an atheist would NOT have gone over well, esp. with my grandmother so I never voiced these doubts. 

Once I moved out on my own for college I felt so liberated and "mentally" came out to myself as an "official" Atheist and started telling the people around me. My family back home doesn't know, but my friends here do.

Now I live about 5 hrs from my whole family so when I go home to visit my grandmother I always make sure to schedule my time off work so that i can't stay Sundays. evilevil I know lol) She's really proud of me and likes to take me to our church, which I grew up in, to show how I've grown and how well I'm doing. It wouldn't be torture going, and I still remember how to "do the religion dance" (when to stand up, sit down, what you do with the plate lol) but I'd rather not sit through the charade.


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## mardymoo

I'm agnostic so I've always been open minded about it.


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## Glass Child

Used to be part of the Lutheran Church. Eventually I couldn't handle it because I could never imagine people going to a hell for all eternity for being either gay or 'sinning'. It makes me laugh because pretty much everything is sinning to begin with. I changed to Athiest when I was 13 and it relaxed a lot of the ongoing mental torture I was dealing with. Ended up probably being one of the best decisions of my life.


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## TryingMara

No. I became much more involved with my faith during college, which propelled me to learn as much about it as possible. The more I learned, the less I believed. During my time student teaching and then subbing in Catholic schools, I encounted students' comments and questions on a variety of subjects that were problematic. I knew what I was supposed to say according to Church teaching, but I could not teach the students traditional views on homosexuality, roles of women, the priesthood, etc. The doubts and feelings of uneasiness soon turned into full blown unbelief. Frustration with religion in general grew. I think it can be interesting to talk about, but it's not something I want to participate in, in any way.


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## AwkwardEd

I have always been atheist. I enjoy learning about different cultures however, even if I don't agree with all of them.


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## Forwhatiamworth

I was raised a non denomination christian, went to church ever sunday, attended that kiowanas club(that is not how you spell it!!), did community services , but I always questioned god's existence. When I was like 8-years old my bible study teacher told us that the beauty of the lord was that a murderer could be saved by god and go to heaven. I was WHAT!!!???? Maybe I might get some crap for this, but if you are a serial rapist/murderer you will not go to "heaven". I always get mad when i here of an inmate who says they are doing 25 to life for murdering 3 people, but they have found god so they should get out for good behavior?? I wont even get started. I also found it hard to believe that the earth was created in a week and is only 8k years old, that made no sense to me. I kept going bc my mother is religious and really looks down upon people who are atheist, she calls them the devils worshipers(which is not true, people who don't believe in god are good people). I still haven't told her I don't believe in god, I stopped going to church after I graduated high school because I worked sundays(perfect way to get out of it). Also, as i have gotten older I realized a lot of the people I went to church with were hypocrites, don't get me wrong I met some amazing people which was what kept me going. My religous friends seem to think they hold some higher authority, they say gay marriage is the root of all evil and will ruin the human race right in front of people they know are homosexual, but of course they are christians and great people what they say is absolute. I have never seen myself as above people, i treat everyone the same and I don't use beliefs to slander others. I still volunteer at soup kitchens and donate to churches bc even though I don't believe in god, they do great stuff the community in a time of need. But no one knows I am agnostic, I get bad anxiety thinking about how awkward it would to tell someone I don't believe in god, simply because it frowned upon so bad i don't know what would happen. Science has also swayed my beliefs of the existence of god, there is simply no way the earth is only 8k old. Its nice to have a group to talk about this stuff with


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## Forwhatiamworth

TryingMara said:


> I knew what I was supposed to say according to Church teaching, but I could not teach the students traditional views on homosexuality, roles of women, the priesthood, etc. The doubts and feelings of uneasiness soon turned into full blown unbelief. Frustration with religion in general grew.


My thoughts and feelings exactly  You run into a road block when it comes to difficult subjects and you have to stop and think how you can answer a question that is appropriate and supports the beliefs of the church, then you sometimes find yourself lying.


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## cosmicslop

I was raised Catholic but had my baby's first steps in agnosticism and atheism when I was around 1 or 12 after the inevitable questions of why are we alive came up. And then I realized how corrupt organized religion can be around this time as well. Then I was an atheist.

Now at this age I consider myself an agnostic, but it's not because I think there's possible credence in any religion. Religions are just human interpretations of this higher power and I reject all of them. All I know is that I don't know or will never know if there's something that made everything. If I ever started to believe in God again, I'd be a deist.


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## Levibebop

No. I was forced to go to church during my early years, and I didn't really know what else to think.


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## ugh1979

artea said:


> I was raised a Muslim. Even when I was a Muslim, I didn't know how to offer my prayers, read the Quran or took part in any Islamic activities. Mostly because my parents aren't very religious either. But I still haven't told them. Islam orders killing of apostates and I don't want to die anytime soon. Not that my parents would kill me, I live in a crazy Islamic country. Some of my friends know, but I try not to tell most people.


Apostasy law is appalling and a serious violation of human rights.

Good on you though for at least being open with close friends despite the disgraceful tyranny your government has on its population.


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## regimes

i like that this thread is still going.
whoo!


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## soupbasket

I was raised Catholic. I started questioning things in grade school, but it wasn't until junior high when I started doubting the existence of a god, which eventually led to not believing in the existence of a god.


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## BeyondOsiris

I was raised as a Christian and was forced to attend church every Sunday up until my family stopped going when I was like 10. I was never into it though, and as time went on I drifted further and further away until I finally decided to cut off from it completely. My family is still religious even though they don't go to church, and they don't even know that I'm not religious and that I don't believe in god.


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## Gorefiend

I was raid by two Christian parents. One catholic, one protestant. None of them tried to force their views on me, and I always respected their religion.. When I was very young, I even believed in it. But as I grew older I just found it less believable. I've always been a skeptic, and I always valued Science highly.. I always felt as though the religious tales all seemed unlikely, and sometimes the stories would help discredit them (maybe they were never meant to be taken literal, though) because they sounded unrealistic. I also found it odd that we've seen no major religious events after the religions were properly established.. Yeah, well things like that crossed my mind when I was about 13-14, and it evolved from there.


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## LifeSuckz

I was raised as a Catholic for over 10 years. Later on I tried other religions and went to many different churches for another 10 years. I tried soul searching and reading the bible. Reading the bible just didn't make sense to me. I feel religions promote discrimination. Eventually I lost faith and became Agnostic.


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## kurtcobain

My parents are devout Christians, my dad is a theologian and was a pastor, so up until I was about 12 i LOVE God and Christianity. Then I started to realize that I wasn't completely for the Christian religion. I didnt like the idea of being against gays, against abortion etc etc. Also some Christians said that if you were a TRUE christian then the holy spirit would blah blah blah blah. and the holy spirit has not once talked to me. 

So i'm just lost :/ I want to believe in God, but I feel like there is nothing for me to believe in.


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## Shanai

I was raised by nonreligious parents. My dad was brought up Catholic but he is an atheist. My mum was brought up Christian (Anglican I think...) and she is sort of hippie-dippie spiritual now. She reads tarot cards and sees a clairvoyant every now and then. I think it is ridiculous and a scam, but whatever. When I was a kid I went to youth group and church with my friends. But there were many things I disagreed with. I think the biggest turn off was when they encouraged young girls to wear 'modest clothing' so as to not tempt young Christian boys. I was like I'll wear whatever the hell thank you very much. It is not my responsibility to keep the boys on track. Its my body and I'll do what I want with it... 
I've made my point.


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## AnxiousInFL

Haven't been able to read through all the posts on this thread yet, but I surely will. I went to a Christian school through high school graduation and was raised in a "solid" church along the way and didn't really have any major problems or disagreements with what I was taught until I went to college.

What really made me question my faith were when I found some ideas that had been forced into my worldview literally from birth such to be absolutely false:

1) The idea that Christians were in the minority and are persecuted and I needed to be "in the world, but not of it". Ironically when I started attending a large public university, the majority of people I met were raised to believe the same things I was. But few of these people were willing to even as much as be polite to the actual minority of people who were skeptics or had non-Christian religious beliefs. Now, 5-6 years removed from this initial eye-opening realization I know that the overwhelming majority of Americans (somewhere between 80-90% depending on which poll you look at) believe in God.

2) The idea that good people can go to hell for eternity is something I have always struggled with. It was a skeptic friend of mine who once said, "If God sends good people to hell forever for not believing in him, then this he is not good and not love like Bible says, and I don't want anything to do with this god." I find this statement so profound to this day. Today, I know that it is absurd to think that by believing that Jesus died and resurrected to life you are a part of some special group of people who are kept from going to hell. Just as it is absurd to believe that by being a martyr for Islam you will receive 70 virgins or whatever in the Islamic view of heaven.

I could make a much longer list of things that we are told to believe that just aren't true, and could raise many contradictions in religion, but I am tired and have to be up in 5 hours. I will try to post them later.

My final question/plea is this: with all the advances of science and technology that gives us access to information all over the world, why does "God" still rule our country and why do seemingly intelligent people still commit their time and resources to continuing the spread of the lies of the traditional church?


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## Brad

No, I was raised in a very conservative, christian household. I was also baptized and went through confirmation classes/was confirmed by the church. I was indoctrinated as a kid (like most religious people), growing up being told what to believe, forced to go to church every sunday, etc, and of course as a naive and gullible kid I believed whatever my parents/church told me. 

Ironically it was during confirmation classes and learning about the bible that I started to question my religion and actually look at things from a more rational perspective. Looking back I find it amazing that I actually believed in Christianity without even questioning anything or having any knowledge of what the bible actually said. Shows the power of propaganda, fear-mongering, and indoctrination at a young age.


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## spaceygirl

When I was younger, my family went to church but only as a social/family obligation sort of thing. Once we moved away, we never went to church and were never outwardly religious. My parents were both raised in christianity though (I don't even know the denomination, don't care, but my grampa was a Minister so thats...catholic maybe?) Mom has maintained a lot of the indoctrinations of her childhood though and says she believes in god, has admitted thats pretty much why cause of her upbringing (she's not a very critical thinker). 

Dad hates his religious childhood according to my mom and is now atheist, however my dad is also a pretty miserable and reserved person and never talks about his life so I have no idea. I would assume he's atheist or at least not religious. 

Anyways, other than being baptized and going to church with my relatives when I was younger and the odd god reference or my mom trying to get me to read some religiously influenced self-help book growing up, religion didn't play much a role in my life, and I never truly believed in god though when I was younger I just went along with it cause I thought that was what I was supposed to do (can a child really ever believe in a religion??). I tried reading the bible when I was younger, went to a bible camp because my friends did, and hated all of it. Remember one of the camp leaders saying you would go to hell if you didn't read the bible every day, and that scared me for awhile until I tried doing it and realized the bible was just awful and made me feel like sh** and then I actually started thinking for myself. 

Oh, I had a brief "wiccan" period nothing serious just had some fun with candles and incense and stuff  Not to disparage wiccans, I'll take that over christianity any day but just not for me.


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## spaceygirl

AnxiousInFL said:


> My final question/plea is this: with all the advances of science and technology that gives us access to information all over the world, why does "God" still rule our country and why do seemingly intelligent people still commit their time and resources to continuing the spread of the lies of the traditional church?


My thoughts have usually been its about loneliness & wanting to feeling like a part of a community and part of something "bigger" than a person as an individual. Also, power and control - religions are good at making powerless people feel like if they follow the rules (or at least appear to) then they have power when they really don't, while maintaining the real power in the hands of the few on top.


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## AnxiousInFL

spaceygirl said:


> My thoughts have usually been its about loneliness & wanting to feeling like a part of a community and part of something "bigger" than a person as an individual. Also, power and control - religions are good at making powerless people feel like if they follow the rules (or at least appear to) then they have power when they really don't, while maintaining the real power in the hands of the few on top.


This is true. It does seem to be a great lifestyle choice for many. But is it the best choice? The Eastern religions make much more sense as far practical life improvement without making you believe things that aren't true.


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## rocksteady82

I was raised Muslim, but have always been of a sceptical mindset. When I was in my early twenties, I became really devout and got involved with Sufism. 

Even then, I was riddled with questions that I couldn't find the answers to, and some of the teachings just couldn't be married together with my liberal nature. A few years ago, the faith sort of leeched away. 

I feel less cognitively dissonant when it comes to morality and ethics, but neither religion nor atheism has helped or hindered my issues with my anxiety/avoidance.

My family don't know I'm agnostic-atheist - I wouldn't fear for my life or anything like that, but it would cause a right royal ruckus. I don't want to have to deal with the fallout that a revelation like that would cause.


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## mfd

I was raised in a_ very_ religious house. My parents were Christian fundamentalists who moved the family across country to attend seminary. They didn't associate with anyone who wasn't Christian, and discouraged my sister and I from being friends with non-Christians, so the vast majority of our social sphere existed within that religious bubble.

My parents were really into spiritual warfare, and would routinely be asked to go to homes or buildings where they would pray through the place, with the intention of casting out demonic presences. I even witnessed a "demonic possession" and exorcism of my mother, though it was discovered years later she had a neurological disease that caused psychosis in it's early stages.

My sister and I had all sorts of rules and restrictions placed on what we were allowed to do, watch, or say, out of my parent's fear that we would "open doorways" that would enable demons to come in. Some of it was particularly absurd, like when a hairstyle was deemed to be demonic (and therefore I wasn't allowed to have it) because they believed I acted out more when my hair was that way.

Even though I was raised in that environment, I don't think I ever actually believed in the religion.

When I was around 6 or 7 years old, a new family moved in next door. They had a son my age, and he had never been to church. One day he asked me what we believe, and as I was explaining it to him I felt embarrassed, like I was caught in a lie. My throat was tight and I knew I was going red.

That moment stuck with my through the years, and led to some pretty intensive religious studies in my teens and early 20's. I taught myself Biblical Hebrew to read the Bible in it's original language, studied other religions, and studied the ancient beliefs of that region of the world.

At the end of all that I came to the conclusion that my lifelong doubts and questions were justified, as what I found convinced me the religion was not true.

My parents didn't take it very well. We had many, many theological arguments, and even to this day they still believe that deep down I "know Christianity to be the truth". They believe that about everybody - even people who die for other religions. It remains a volatile subject for us that we've learned to avoid discussing.


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## inerameia

I just became agnostic about two months ago. I was raised as a pious daily praying, weekly church-attending Protestant. I never really questioned religion because I thought that's what everyone believes. I just never thought much of it I guess. By the time I found out about other religions and atheists/agnostics I was thoroughly brainwashed. I became more fundamentalist in the later portion of my Christian life because I wanted to be as authentic a Christian as possible.

However as I began researching early Christianity more, more doubts and questions came. I couldn't deny the facts that none of the original manuscripts are preserved and the many different texts have many contradictions. This shook my belief that the Bible was infallible and inerrant as it is written. 

I ran into a lot of other problems too such as the problems of evil, suffering and hell. An example in my life was, what is the point of me suffering with these disorders? Or anyone for that matter... Then I thought of starving, poor fellow humans being exploited out of greed. Why would a loving and righteous God allow this needless suffering and despair? And what about the good people who haven't heard of Christ? 

I began to realize how malevolent Yahweh is in the Bible and how self-contradictory it's character is. It sent me into despair, but I've done a lot of research and I'm satisfied with where I'm at now. I can happily say I'm much better and freer without religion. It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and the world widened.

I told my grandmother about a week later. She was in distress and desperately tried to convert me back. She complained of how I believed strangers instead of family. I said logic and reason doesn't have an agenda except the truth. She took it personally too. She kept trying to get me change my mind. I got tired of it and openly criticized the Bible, Christianity and Yahweh. She was offended but I think she got the message later. She stopped trying to convert me directly, but she wants me to go to church. I guess she hopes I'll reconvert. I go to to make her feel better and because there's people and because I'm interested in the church logic. Occasionally she comments on how she wishes I would reconvert, but I just ignore. It's annoying, but she seems happier I guess than me not going to church. I haven't told my mother or father... I don't know when I will, I don't know if I'd even tell my mom...


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## actionzebra

I was raised in a Christian household and I'm Agnostic. I'm skeptical about the existence of God or gods, but I believe that anything is possible. When I told my Dad I was skeptical, he told me to believe in God "just to be safe", but that contradicts the concept of faith. My mother told me I sound like one of those people who gets sent to prison and becomes Muslim. Listed below are a few of the things that I constantly obsess over. 

1) If God does in fact exist, and is powerful and all-knowing, why he go through with creating Lucifer and why does he allow him to torment the rest of his creations?

2) Why doesn't God just show himself to everyone? You have no right to be upset if you only choose to speak or show yourself to "special" people.

3) Many people argue that everything has to be created from something, but they say that God has always been around and nothing created him. And at the same time, these people make fun of the Big Bang Theory.

4) The Bible has been around for many centuries and it has been altered many times to fit the nefarious agendas of sick individuals, so I refuse to put my trust in what is written in it.


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## Sage Sagan

KelsKels said:


> Im agnostic and my parents are VERY conservative and christian. My childhood was extremely controlled and strict. I wasnt even allowed to go trick or treat because Halloween is a "Devils holiday". So you can imagine..
> 
> For the longest time, as a child I believed in god and feared him. I thought I would go to hell for saying "Oh my god" or cursing at all. But when I became a teenager I just completely changed and went the opposite route. I got in alot of trouble and was arrested once. Since then Ive evened out, but I dont believe in Jesus or any religion. Im just opened minded and want to figure it out when I get there.
> 
> As for my parents, they let me do what I want for the most part. Its hard to talk to my mom without the conversation turning to god, but I just try to avoid it. They let me have my own opinion, but they dont approve.


I envy you. My childhood and teenage years were pretty similar, except my parents were insanely strict and controlling. It's nearly impossible for them to talk about anything else these days.


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## mistylake

No, I was actually a devoted christian (Protestant) until the age of 20. At least now I know enough of the Bible and Christianity to be bullsh*t-proof when believers try to shove their religion down my throat, which happens rather often since all my relatives are assiduous church-goers.


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## Beige

My parents were never religious, but they never really identified as "atheist/agnostic". I mean they are, but they rarely talk about it. They did take me to church/Sunday school when I was little, mosty to help me make friends as we lived in a very religious, small town. I claimed to believe in God, be a Christian, etc. until about half-way through Kindergarten. That's when I became self-aware realized that I didn't really believe any of it.


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## livefast3315

Brad5 said:


> No, I was raised in a very conservative, christian household. I was also baptized and went through confirmation classes/was confirmed by the church. I was indoctrinated as a kid (like most religious people), growing up being told what to believe, forced to go to church every sunday, etc, and of course as a naive and gullible kid I believed whatever my parents/church told me.
> 
> Ironically it was during confirmation classes and learning about the bible that I started to question my religion and actually look at things from a more rational perspective. Looking back I find it amazing that I actually believed in Christianity without even questioning anything or having any knowledge of what the bible actually said. Shows the power of propaganda, fear-mongering, and indoctrination at a young age.


Absolutely.

I was raised Catholic and sang in the church choir, attended catholic schools and all that. My family obviously forced their beliefs on me as a child. I just simply don't believe in the discrimination religion practices and pretty much everything with it...


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## iwannapullthetrigger

I'm an agnostic. I'm 16, so I still live with my family. They all believe in God. We all come from Muslim culture, but only my mom identifies as a Muslim. My dad still hates gays, and I'm one of those gay people. As much as I'd like God to love me for who I am, I believe He must hate me if He does exist. I'm in crisis day after painful years. I look across the world and I see disaster and calamity strike from every corner. We can't get a break. If their is a God, we were made to be destroyed in the end.


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## undercover latino

When i was about 9-10 years old my parents one day called me downstairs to talk with me, they sugar coated the religion with saying things like, i would meet a lot of cool people and get gifts and i would lead a beautiful life and only beautiful stuff happen to me. 

Since i was so young i thought all of that was true, so for the next couple of months i had to go to church every sunday even if i didn't want to, i started to hate going against my will, and even at that age some of the things they said didn't really make sense to me. 

I got baptized and then forgot about it, later when i was around 17 years old every time i got in discussions with my mother she would scream that the devil had to get out of me and wanted me to stop watching and doing stuff i liked (like watching horror movies and playing shooters on my pc/xbox) because that was the devils work, i started to rebel against the church since my mother has become a fanatic, giving a way a lot of money to that brain washing nonsense.

Now i hate religion with every fiber in my body since it actually caused me more trouble, so i am an atheist, a pretty mean one when my parents decide to come up with the christian/catholic bs of them.


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## eventhor1zon

I grew up Methodist Christian. My family aren't super religious, save for my grandparents, so it wasn't really pushed on me. I did go to Sunday school when I was a kid though, which was awkward mostly because most of the kids at the church we went to were Filipino and didn't speak much english, lol. The only person who really tried to push religion on me was my mom. I remember being a kid and her trying to explain things to me from the bible and me asking a bunch of questions because none of it made any sense to me... lol. Even as a kid, I was a cynic. That would really make her frustrated. She knows I am agnostic now, but doesn't make an issue out of it. I think its mainly because she believes I'm going to heaven no matter what because I was baptized or whatever, lol. I generally choose not to discuss religion with people. I used to, but it's just an unnecessary frustration for me, and I realized a long time ago that no matter what you say you really can't change people's minds. I live in Washington, and this year they passed a bill to make gay marriage legal, which I thought was great, but my cousin made the mistake of saying she was happy about it to my grandma and that really freaked her out. Come Christmas my grandpa wrote a letter to each member of the family telling us that it was a sign of the coming apocalypse and imploring us to all repent and accept Jesus before its too late. lol. To me its just a bunch of old world beliefs society is growing out of. I am a woman of science and would rather spend my time learning about how the universe works than arguing with people about something I know isn't true. I think being non-religious is very freeing. It allows you to entertain a host of possibilities that religion just does not allow and negates all of the anxieties people have about going to hell and all that nonsense. And most of all it frees you to think for yourself, ponder why things they are the way they are, and find your own meaning in life. Needless to say I am very glad I am not religious, lol.


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## Crystalline

Started doubting around 11, was angry at religion/god during my troubled teenage years, agnostic by the end of high school, tried to get back into belief after my brother died and found out it did jack **** for me  By around 2006 I simply didn't care, got more into the thinking behind it around 2009-present.


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## FeelNothing

I was born in a Muslim country but my parents were not religious so they never taught me anything about religion. I used to believe in some kind of God though, not the one described in religious books but something different that I had made up in my mind to comfort myself until I was around 16, then I became an atheist.


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## ItsEasierToRun

My primary school encouraged christianity and made everyone pray to 'god' before we could eat our lunch..
Even then, aged roughly 6, I thought "This is bull****! :roll"
So yes.. :b


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## wordscancutyoulikeglass

Still technically being raised Christian, and I haven't told my family yet. I'm a good enough liar that I don't think that I'll need too anytime soon.


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## laura024

I didn't go to church as a kid, but I used to go to summer vacation bible camp. Then I grew up and I learned to think for myself. Yay.


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