Atheists/agnostics, why did you become atheist/agnostic

[Anonymous]

I grew up going to church and attending Sunday School. I didn't grow up "with religion" though. An hour and a half on Sunday, and saying Grace (repeating a phrase, basically) was about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized that religion is completely manmade.

I mean really when you think about it, what on earth makes Islam, Christianity, Judaism (etc) more plausible than Greek gods and mythology, or ancient Egyptian? Or why is monotheism any more plausible than polytheism?

The stories, the concepts of an afterlife, and so on are not any more believable (and in many cases, obviously borrowed and built upon).

People create and tell stories to have a sense of order. To structure what they feel is chaotic in the universe. Which is fine... but it's just a story in the absence of (or before) scientific understanding. Or to give comfort. But it's all completely manmade.

This. Why would it be true that homo sapiens only discover the true religion in the last 2000-4000 years when they've been around on Earth for hundreds of thousands of years worshipping sun gods, moon gods, sea gods, animal gods. Who is to judge that Christians have the right idea but that Buddhists and Hindus don't?

Like others I studied history and learned about sales of indulgences, married popes and creation of saints and all manner of hypocrisy (as summarized by Martin Luther). Once you've learned all this, belief in religion seemed pretty close to belief in the tooth fairy.

Yet there are people who know all this and still believe in god. Maybe not the god of the Bible or of the Catholic church, but still a supreme being.

There are people whose partners beat them yet they don't leave. There are people who stay in careers they hate for the money. People have lots of reasons for maintaining the status quo, even if it doesn't make much sense or is actively harmful.

In the case of religion, staying with it, despite doubts or active pain, can still provide the comforts of community and a sense of social approval.

[Anonymous]

"I don't want to start and blasphemous rumors but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor and when I die I expect to find him laughing."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I don't want to start and blasphemous rumors but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor and when I die I expect to find him laughing."

This assumes that there is a god and that he's evil.

[Anonymous]

I was raised Christian, but religion wasn’t a large part of my life. I was baptized and we went to church on holidays, but even then not every year or every religious holiday. Usually I went with a friend’s family. We didn’t have a home church.

I married a man of a different religion, but he didn’t practice.

We are both atheist now. We believe in science.

I honestly don’t know how anyone with an education beyond high school can be devout religious with all that is known about the world and our beginnings now. I think the majority of educated people that maintain their religion do it for the culture, tradition, and fellowship- but they know the actual teachings are nothing more than stories and folklore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I don't want to start and blasphemous rumors but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor and when I die I expect to find him laughing."

This assumes that there is a god and that he's evil.

DP - Your answer demonstrates you have no appreciation for 80s music.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I don't want to start and blasphemous rumors but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor and when I die I expect to find him laughing."

Hannibal Lechter: "If one does what God does often enough, one will become as God is."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I don't want to start and blasphemous rumors but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor and when I die I expect to find him laughing."

This assumes that there is a god and that he's evil.

DP - Your answer demonstrates you have no appreciation for 80s music.

your answer demonstrates that you can't imagine that DP may be familiar with the '80s music as well as the sentiment of the person who wrote the music

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Christian, but religion wasn’t a large part of my life. I was baptized and we went to church on holidays, but even then not every year or every religious holiday. Usually I went with a friend’s family. We didn’t have a home church.

I married a man of a different religion, but he didn’t practice.

We are both atheist now. We believe in science.

I honestly don’t know how anyone with an education beyond high school can be devout religious with all that is known about the world and our beginnings now. I think the majority of educated people that maintain their religion do it for the culture, tradition, and fellowship- but they know the actual teachings are nothing more than stories and folklore.

But still they teach it to their children as if it were real and not just stories and folklore? Maybe that's the case with some of them, but I think others actually believe it - or at least parts of it.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know, OP, why aren’t you a Buddhist or a Sufi or a Jainist?

I was not raised with any religion, and as soon as I was old enough to figure out that every religion said theirs was the correct one and all others were wrong, I knew I would never belong to one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know, OP, why aren’t you a Buddhist or a Sufi or a Jainist?

I was not raised with any religion, and as soon as I was old enough to figure out that every religion said theirs was the correct one and all others were wrong, I knew I would never belong to one.

Hinduism doesn't say that.
Non Hindu

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a religious home and went to church and sunday school for as long as I can remember. However, I never had any belief. I remember being a very small child and asking my parents about how things like walking on water and noah's arc could happen. I asked about why we had to follow some rules in the bible but not others. The answers I got never made any sense to me so, I never believed it even though I grew up around very religious people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never really bought into it. It always just sounded like bullshit to me.

Same!

Me, too. Though I love my religion's traditions and rituals, and definitely feel part of the cultural community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never really bought into it. It always just sounded like bullshit to me.

Same!

Me, too. Though I love my religion's traditions and rituals, and definitely feel part of the cultural community.

So what do you say to people when they ask you what your religion is or where you go to church?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never really bought into it. It always just sounded like bullshit to me.

Same!

Me, too. Though I love my religion's traditions and rituals, and definitely feel part of the cultural community.

So what do you say to people when they ask you what your religion is or where you go to church?

Different poster, I say that we're not church people.