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[quote=Anonymous]This thread is for atheists to tell their deconversion stories.  Anyone offended should not read or participate.  And I ask atheists to be as respectful as you can when telling your story.

I will start with my own:

Raised a Catholic, I don't think I have ever genuinely believed in the literal stories of the bible.  Even as a kid they seemed to me to be tough to accept.  Once I got older and learned what allegory was I could let go the constant questioning of facts... and I came to accept my Catholicism as a social construct rather than a religious one.  I was Catholic, as were all my family and most of my friends.  I continued to attend mass regularly and never spoke of the doubts I had about the faith.  It was something I wanted to keep secret because I didn't want to "not belong"...

But then in college I studied lots of things, including a few world religion classes, and that helped me understand the role of religion in the world - and I realized that I did not need it, and that I should not pretend to believe if I did not. I realized also there were other non-believers and  that being honest about my non-belief did not make me an outcast.

So I just stopped.  Kinda just like that.

I didn't have a deist phase, or a "spiritual" phase, or anything similar.  There were no traumatic events that happened to me personally turning me away from the church.  It wasn't a big deal at all.  To my slight surprise, it didn't bother many people in my family, and it is not an issue we ever discuss.  I just don't go with them to church.

Bottom line: once I learned that non-belief was a legitimate option, I embraced it thoroughly.  It did take the testimony of others to get me to understand that.  That's why it will be helpful for others to hear yours now.

Again, not trying to offend any believers.  This is my story of my religious journey - in this case OUT of religion - and I just wish to share it in the religion forum. [/quote]

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