I'm curious if there are any atheists here who at one time had denied evolution. I'd think that it's rarer for someone who denies evolution to change their views on religion than someone who doesn't. When my husband told me that he was a creationist who didn't believe in evolution, I thought "Oh when you were a kid?" Because he's a fairly smart guy. He didn't exactly fail biology. In fact he had the highest grade in the entire school in biology (he finished the year with higher than a perfect grade). So I was surprised when he told me that he didn't start believing in evolution until after we graduated. He said he knew the theory, but didn't agree with it until after he had (oddly enough) watched the movie Dogma. I thought that was an odd thing to change his mind, but apparently it allowed him to reconcile the idea of God and Evolution. Apparently for him it wasn't that the evidence wasn't good enough, but that it contradicted his religious beliefs at the time.
The idea of denying evolution seems to be something deeply embedded in the minds of people. But I also wonder if perhaps it's actually more likely (logical) people who deny evolution to turn to Atheism. I mean once you learn one thing you've believed is a lie, it seems like there might be some sort of rolling effect where you start questioning all of your beliefs. At the same time, those people tend to have deeply embedded beliefs that were instilled in them when they were young, so one thing might not be enough to get it all rolling.
I know when I turned to atheism it was a rolling effect of sorts. I never denied evolution, but I went from Catholic, to Protestant, to Non-Denominational before finally becoming an Atheist. And I know my husband's views of Christianity went from more fundamentalist ideas to more abstract ideas that weren't rooted in church or the bible.
Any Atheists here who used to deny evolution? If so, what changed your mind? Was it part of what made you a non-believer?
The idea of denying evolution seems to be something deeply embedded in the minds of people. But I also wonder if perhaps it's actually more likely (logical) people who deny evolution to turn to Atheism. I mean once you learn one thing you've believed is a lie, it seems like there might be some sort of rolling effect where you start questioning all of your beliefs. At the same time, those people tend to have deeply embedded beliefs that were instilled in them when they were young, so one thing might not be enough to get it all rolling.
I know when I turned to atheism it was a rolling effect of sorts. I never denied evolution, but I went from Catholic, to Protestant, to Non-Denominational before finally becoming an Atheist. And I know my husband's views of Christianity went from more fundamentalist ideas to more abstract ideas that weren't rooted in church or the bible.
Any Atheists here who used to deny evolution? If so, what changed your mind? Was it part of what made you a non-believer?
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
