I am 12, have spent half a year looking through my thoughts and pondering why I can't believe in god. I don't know why, but I may be just to speculative. My parents know I don't want to be Muslim because I have reasons but they still try to convince me. What should I do to let them accept me for who I am.

You're not too speculative, you're just young and haven't had the chance to acquire much knowledge yet. It probably means you're inquiring by nature, which is a good thing.

You probably can't believe in it because it doesn't make any sense and it's just a story people tell each others generation after generation with nothing real to show for it.

Have you always been an atheist, or did you only recently conclude you can't believe in God? I'm just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Welcome and have a good time!

(July 20, 2016 at 11:29 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote: You're not too speculative, you're just young and haven't had the chance to acquire much knowledge yet. It probably means you're inquiring by nature, which is a good thing.

You probably can't believe in it because it doesn't make any sense and it's just a story people tell each others generation after generation with nothing real to show for it.

Have you always been an atheist, or did you only recently conclude you can't believe in God? I'm just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Welcome and have a good time!

For over six months I've though this through, I've always loved speculating and find answers to questions but now I'm stumped because everyone believes in god but there is no proof or evidence for him.

(July 20, 2016 at 11:32 pm)ScienceAf Wrote:

(July 20, 2016 at 11:29 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote: You're not too speculative, you're just young and haven't had the chance to acquire much knowledge yet. It probably means you're inquiring by nature, which is a good thing.

You probably can't believe in it because it doesn't make any sense and it's just a story people tell each others generation after generation with nothing real to show for it.

Have you always been an atheist, or did you only recently conclude you can't believe in God? I'm just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Welcome and have a good time!

For over six months I've though this through, I've always loved speculating and find answers to questions but now I'm stumped because everyone believes in god but there is no proof or evidence for him.

There you go, what else do you need. There's no proof for it and it's such a ridiculous proposition it's almost certainly not true. 

The reasons for why everyone is so deluded about it are many and complex. There's no one answer to that, you learn about it as you go along, if you're interested in it. But there are some things that come to mind.

The world wasn't always as advanced technologically and culturally as it is now. So religion and God made a lot more sense to people in the past. The world used to be much more primitive than it is now. Religion evolved naturally in that environment, providing people with explanations for various apparently enigmatic things that happened in nature. People look for meaning everywhere, it's how we're wired(biologically). But how come we still believe in it, after all this time, even though we have much more knowledge on our hands now and the initial need for religion has been satisfied in numerous other ways since then? Probably because of the incredible power of indoctrination. Most people aren't so lucky to lose religion at twelve, like you and me(I was the same age as you are when I became an atheist, even though I still don't know whether you became one or always were one, so I'll just assume the former). Their parents and in some cases pretty much the whole society surrounding them believe in this thing that they're not supposed to question, just accept as fact. It's no wonder they stick with it even as they become adults and supposedly start thinking for themselves.

First up, welcome.

It's very difficult to advise people on what they should do as every situation is different.

Stand strong and be who you are. Don't let other people make up your mind for you but, if you're in danger then be careful with what you say and who you say it to.

Again. Welcome.

(July 20, 2016 at 11:44 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote:

(July 20, 2016 at 11:32 pm)ScienceAf Wrote: For over six months I've though this through, I've always loved speculating and find answers to questions but now I'm stumped because everyone believes in god but there is no proof or evidence for him.

There you go, what else do you need. There's no proof for it and it's such a ridiculous proposition it's almost certainly not true. 

The reasons for why everyone is so deluded about it are many and complex. There's no one answer to that, you learn about it as you go along, if you're interested in it. But there are some things that come to mind.

The world wasn't always as advanced technologically and culturally as it is now. So religion and God made a lot more sense to people in the past. The world used to be much more primitive than it is now. Religion evolved naturally in that environment, providing people with explanations for various apparently enigmatic things that happened in nature. People look for meaning everywhere, it's how we're wired(biologically). But how come we still believe in it, after all this time, even though we have much more knowledge on our hands now and the initial need for religion has been satisfied in numerous other ways since then? Probably because of the incredible power of indoctrination. Most people aren't so lucky to lose religion at twelve, like you and me(I was the same age as you are when I became an atheist, even though I still don't know whether you became one or always were one, so I'll just assume the former). Their parents and in some cases pretty much the whole society surrounding them believe in this thing that they're not supposed to question, just accept as fact. It's no wonder they stick with it even as they become adults and supposedly start thinking for themselves.

Thank you very much I hope I can use this as a way to tell my parents I am certain of my beliefs.

---

(July 20, 2016 at 11:51 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: First up, welcome.

It's very difficult to advise people on what they should do as every situation is different.

Stand strong and be who you are.  Don't let other people make up your mind for you but, if you're in danger then be careful with what you say and who you say it to.

Again.  Welcome.

Thank You.

(July 20, 2016 at 11:56 pm)ScienceAf Wrote:

(July 20, 2016 at 11:44 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote: There you go, what else do you need. There's no proof for it and it's such a ridiculous proposition it's almost certainly not true. 

The reasons for why everyone is so deluded about it are many and complex. There's no one answer to that, you learn about it as you go along, if you're interested in it. But there are some things that come to mind.

The world wasn't always as advanced technologically and culturally as it is now. So religion and God made a lot more sense to people in the past. The world used to be much more primitive than it is now. Religion evolved naturally in that environment, providing people with explanations for various apparently enigmatic things that happened in nature. People look for meaning everywhere, it's how we're wired(biologically). But how come we still believe in it, after all this time, even though we have much more knowledge on our hands now and the initial need for religion has been satisfied in numerous other ways since then? Probably because of the incredible power of indoctrination. Most people aren't so lucky to lose religion at twelve, like you and me(I was the same age as you are when I became an atheist, even though I still don't know whether you became one or always were one, so I'll just assume the former). Their parents and in some cases pretty much the whole society surrounding them believe in this thing that they're not supposed to question, just accept as fact. It's no wonder they stick with it even as they become adults and supposedly start thinking for themselves.

Thank you very much I hope I can use this as a way to tell my parents I am certain of my beliefs.

Just take care not to alienate them. If they seem like they'll be able to accept you for who you are, then talk to them about it and tell them what you're thinking. I'm sure they won't hold it against you, no matter how religious they are. It all depends on how they react. If they react badly and immediately try to tell you that what you're thinking is bad and isn't allowed, or anything like that, it's probably best that you keep your atheism to yourself going forward -  as far as your family or anyone else that might react badly to it is concerned. But if your family is more progressive than that and it seems likely that they won't mind your stance on religion too much, then there's probably nothing to fear. You know your parents best. So think it through and make a decision about which course of action would suit your situation the best.

The reason we're cautioning you here is, again, a little too complex to just casually insert in conversation. Would you mind telling us where you're from, as in which country or side of the world, or anything like that? Or, if you're not comfortable with that, maybe just tell us what kind of society you live in so that we might be better able to help you with your problem.

(July 21, 2016 at 12:03 am)Excited Penguin Wrote:

(July 20, 2016 at 11:56 pm)ScienceAf Wrote: Thank you very much I hope I can use this as a way to tell my parents I am certain of my beliefs.

Just take care not to alienate them. If they seem like they'll be able to accept you for who you are, then talk to them about it and tell them what you're thinking. I'm sure they won't hold it against you, no matter how religious they are. It all depends on how they react. If they react badly and immediately try to tell you that what you're thinking is bad and isn't allowed, or anything like that, it's probably best that you keep your atheism to yourself going forward -  as far as your family or anyone else that might react badly to it is concerned. But if your family is more progressive than that and it seems likely that they won't mind your stance on religion too much, then there's probably nothing to fear. You know your parents best. So think it through and make a decision about which course of action would suit your situation the best.

The reason we're cautioning you here is, again, a little too complex to just casually insert in conversation. Would you mind telling us where you're from, as in which country or side of the world, or anything like that? Or, if you're not comfortable with that, maybe just tell us what kind of society you live in so that we might be better able to help you with your problem.

America, in a melting pot but no one in my family has defected in anyway from the religion expect this one dude who married a chinese christian and his family didn't go to his wedding.

(July 21, 2016 at 12:17 am)ScienceAf Wrote:

(July 21, 2016 at 12:03 am)Excited Penguin Wrote: Just take care not to alienate them. If they seem like they'll be able to accept you for who you are, then talk to them about it and tell them what you're thinking. I'm sure they won't hold it against you, no matter how religious they are. It all depends on how they react. If they react badly and immediately try to tell you that what you're thinking is bad and isn't allowed, or anything like that, it's probably best that you keep your atheism to yourself going forward -  as far as your family or anyone else that might react badly to it is concerned. But if your family is more progressive than that and it seems likely that they won't mind your stance on religion too much, then there's probably nothing to fear. You know your parents best. So think it through and make a decision about which course of action would suit your situation the best.

The reason we're cautioning you here is, again, a little too complex to just casually insert in conversation. Would you mind telling us where you're from, as in which country or side of the world, or anything like that? Or, if you're not comfortable with that, maybe just tell us what kind of society you live in so that we might be better able to help you with your problem.

America, in a melting pot but no one in my family has defected in anyway from the religion expect this one dude who married a chinese christian and his family didn't go to his wedding.

K, go ahead and tell them all about it and tell us what happened.

Now I don't know whether to congratulate you or commiserate with you on your geographical location.

(July 21, 2016 at 12:20 am)Excited Penguin Wrote:

(July 21, 2016 at 12:17 am)ScienceAf Wrote: America, in a melting pot but no one in my family has defected in anyway from the religion expect this one dude who married a chinese christian and his family didn't go to his wedding.

K, go ahead and tell them all about it and tell us what happened.

Now I don't know whether to congratulate you or commiserate with you on your geographical location.

See ya tomorrow or late at night.