Thomas, I would probably think it is safe to assume that the vast majority of atheists on this planet have the same deconversion story as you. I have read so many of them and found many things in common with them. The biggest thing in common being a gradual change from belief to non-belief usually by reading their holy books and asking good questions and NOT ignoring the answer you come to afterwards.
I have yet to read an atheist saying he went from hard belief to atheism *pop* in an instant.
My story is very familiar with yours, except that mine has Southern Baptists instead of Catholics. I too got really interested in parapsychology and the occult type stuff in my teen years, learning through experience that it is hogwash, and eventually landing on some kind of deistic/pantheistic type of belief. I will admit I had a small *pop* from that state to atheism when 9/11 happened. I remember it quite well actually. I was sitting down watching the news repeat the 9/11 event over and over holding my 2 month old son in my arms and it just *popped* like this:
"Stop kidding yourself..all of this "god" stuff is just made up..there is no god..its all in your imagination." is pretty much what I thought word for word...and I have been one ever since.
Turns out many more people had an experience like me as well on 9/11. The ones who were seriously doubting, or were almost atheist went atheistic on that day as well.
I like to think that, even though 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, there was something good that came out of it. Many fence sitters had their eyes opened that day. I like to use that date as the start of the modern atheist movement. sure, it had been going before, but that day gave it a shot of jet fuel in my opinion.
I have yet to read an atheist saying he went from hard belief to atheism *pop* in an instant.
My story is very familiar with yours, except that mine has Southern Baptists instead of Catholics. I too got really interested in parapsychology and the occult type stuff in my teen years, learning through experience that it is hogwash, and eventually landing on some kind of deistic/pantheistic type of belief. I will admit I had a small *pop* from that state to atheism when 9/11 happened. I remember it quite well actually. I was sitting down watching the news repeat the 9/11 event over and over holding my 2 month old son in my arms and it just *popped* like this:
"Stop kidding yourself..all of this "god" stuff is just made up..there is no god..its all in your imagination." is pretty much what I thought word for word...and I have been one ever since.
Turns out many more people had an experience like me as well on 9/11. The ones who were seriously doubting, or were almost atheist went atheistic on that day as well.
I like to think that, even though 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, there was something good that came out of it. Many fence sitters had their eyes opened that day. I like to use that date as the start of the modern atheist movement. sure, it had been going before, but that day gave it a shot of jet fuel in my opinion.
