I was born in catholic family and was baptized and sent to church as a kid. I very soon found it to be rather boring and brain washing and proclaimed myself an atheist before I was of full age. I simply did not need the god hypothesis to explain the world around me.
Can you expand? I'm an atheist as well and that aligns pretty well with what I remember from when my parents would take me to the church as a teenager. For context, they're catholics.
100% atheism. Was raised some kind of protestant I forget which one, and derived tremendous spiritual and psychological relief when I realized all of that was absolute nonsense at the age of 9. I knew I was gay at the time and wouldn't come out until I was 18 or so, but my life just got a lot easier when I removed religion completely. I also recall discovering increased moral agency -- as a Christian I had been taught I could simply confess whatever and it would be forgiven (an idea I found laughable), and that the objective basis for making moral judgements comes directly from god (another idea I found laughable). As an atheist I was suddenly responsible for making my own moral judgements and conclusions (I had to decide upon my own objective basis for making moral judgements), and forgiveness was something I had to work towards myself (as in I had to forgive myself for things, which is not easy, but is incredibly rewarding) versus simply getting it for free from some nonexistent deity. All in all, was an incredibly positive change in my life, and I do believe there can be a weird sort of spirituality to 100% atheism that people don't really acknowledge.
Wish that I were a religious person masquerading as an Atheist if you like. Only I know what I am, thank you. And I am NOT religious. And most days I find the idea of God absurd. But as they say, there are not Atheist in foxholes.
I am an atheist. I have been since college. That said, I never attempt to convert people because of course since there's no god, there's no heaven or hell to worry about. I don't care what religion you ascribe to, as long as you respect my choice I'll respect yours.
Up until 10-12 I was relatively religious I guess as that was how I'd been raised... sort of. Well, my mother and her side of the family were religious. My dad wasn't. When we drive 30+ miles on Sunday to go to church (before we moved when I was 9) my dad would sit in the car while the rest of us went in.
The first revelation (excuse the pun) I had was that these religious people around me (teachers, nuns, priests and so on) didn't had some direct line to God. They were flawed as any of the rest of us. This came at about age 10 largely due to being blamed for something I didn't do.
Of course the mantra is that "people are flawed", "God works in mysterious ways" and other such platitudes but in my case the foundations were already crumbling. I basically rejected organized religion by age 11-12 and never looked back.
At this time and for awhile afterwards I took the "sitting on the fence" approach and described myself as agnostic (as many do I think). Basically this is a cop out though. It's simply not taking a position. But I guess not everyone needs to take a position but agnostic is basically saying "I don't care (one way or the other)" (although some would phrase this more along the lines of simply not knowing).
But some time later I eventually gave this up and essentially became a hardline atheist. Personally, I find the notion of a divine being--any divine being--to be ridiculous and simply the byproduct of the human fallacy to see patterns in randomness ("I prayed for rain today and it rained therefore there is a God. Last month I prayed for rain and there was no rain so I guess God Has A Plan [tm].").
Not that I don't think religion is useful. It's really a form of community and moral enforcement. Some people need to be told what to do. Others simply need to fit in somewhere (we all do in different ways). Yet others find comfort in the idea that when you die you simply cease to exist (which is something we're not well-equipped to comprehend). I get all that.
I grew up in a non-religious household. I have a science career track. I study a good amount of science. I didn't know much about religions. When I was young, I consider myself an atheist. I enjoy reading history. Sometimes, I end up reading some religious material.
I'm reaching the middle of my life. I gradually transition into religious beliefs. It's somewhat an awkward and unexpected journey. There's so much mystery in life. When you were young, you think you understand a lot. You can study anything. But you'd slowly find yourself clueless. No book can describe the experience of having and raising children.
I'm not sure if I'd go back to atheism towards the end of my life. I did meet people who go that route. It's kind of interesting to see. Maybe, we just bounce around.
My parents come from different religious backgrounds, my father was raised as a Lutheran while my mother as a Kardecist. Neither cared a lot about their religions, so while they tried to give me the general notions of their religions I was free to make my own mind.
So, having no pressure to follow my parents beliefs, and founding no logic reason or need for the existence of a God, I found myself an Atheist.
I can't believe on it because I can't find any logical reason to do so.
Also, knowing how much evil was done in the name of religion I came to have a strong opinion against the notion of faith. I really think religious faith, that is, believing without proof, is a disease that must be eradicated. No good that came from it justifies all the bad things that came along.
I really don't understand why some people have to turn to atheism when not participating in organised religion is quite easy enough. This is what the article implies, church membership as opposed to faith. Why even bother to deny something that others believe without proof and needlessly argue about it? Maybe it makes them happy, more secure. Vocal atheists usually annoy me more than christian evanghelists, mostly because of the negative message.
Atheist christian, I guess. Grew up in a denominational "peace church," Church of The Brethren, where quiet, non-self-aggrandizing service to others was emphasized over theistic dogma and attention-grabbing displays of piety. One hymn I remember had the refrain, "they will know we are Christians by our love," and not by "us" proclaiming it so.
I opted not to be baptized because I didn't agree with everything I had to say to be baptized, mostly around divinity and existence of supernatural beings, and that statement of mine was met with kind acceptance.
A lot of my behavior towards other people was shaped by that church and that attitude, and I try to think about what it means to also give someone your shirt when they are asking for a coat. Also, about "what you do to the least of your brethren you do to me," not because Jesus, but because we live together on this speck of dirt for a very short, and sometimes, very rough amount of time, and I believe we make it better for everyone by treating those with less or nothing with dignity and respect.
I'm an atheist insofar as I don't believe in gods or demons or afterlife beyond chemical decomposition, but I have difficulty identifying with those who proclaim their atheism loudly, much as I look askance on anyone who makes a big deal about their peculiar beliefs about the unknowable. I'm quite horrified by religious extremism, but I'm not going to begrudge anyone their spiritual or communal sanctuary.
I was born in catholic family and was baptized and sent to church as a kid. I very soon found it to be rather boring and brain washing and proclaimed myself an atheist before I was of full age. I simply did not need the god hypothesis to explain the world around me.
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