Atheists, tell me, a Roman Catholic: why should I become an atheist?

[pocaracas]

Before I begin, I ask that you please avoid being hostile or anything.

Oh... well.... you shouldn't have said that!

I'm a Roman Catholic, but I feel like many people of faith immediately jump to degrading atheists as people, rather than trying to understand their mindset. I'm heavily confused right now, and am asking both Catholic and atheist sites for their mindsets. Obviously, Catholics are going to defend Catholicism, while atheists are going to defend atheism. I ask that you please be civil about it, as this could be life-changing for me.

Muslims are going to defend islam, Ancient Scandinavians would defend the Norse gods, etc, etc...

If you're confused, I suggest writing down your pros and cons... and then deciding what is important to you.

I've been questioning how to improve in my Roman Catholic faith lately...but this morning I came to the realization that I never really questioned my faith itself. I was lightly raised Catholic and recently took it upon myself to grow closer to God. Now, for probably the first time in my life, I feel like I'm genuinely considering atheism as a possibility.

That path makes little sense...
You start the day with wanting to get closer to god and then end it thinking that maybe that god doesn't really exist?

This "consider atheism as a possibility" sentence is weird.
Are you wanting to say that you are considering the possibility that there's no such thing as a god?
Well it is a valid possibility and should not be discarded lightly.

From what I understand, atheists do not accept the possibility of a supernatural being, and restrict themselves to our "natural" human thinking. Previously I thought that atheists are simply conditioned by society to the point where they are unable to "rationally" believe in a supernatural being...God doesn't allow us universally undeniable proof of his existence as a test of faith. Now, though, I feel like it's impossible to tell whether that mindset is correct, or whether atheists are correct in their focusing on our natural human mindsets. I do feel like I've felt something while praying throughout the past. 

I consider myself an atheist, and I think I accept the possibility of a supernatural being. Not that I regard it with a great degree of probability. But the possibility is definitely there.
That idea of being conditioned by society is a bit... nonsense. Or maybe it's my upbringing in a traditionally Catholic country, Portugal. My parents never pushed any religion down my throat. My grandmother, on the other hand, did try. But she didn't have that much access to me, so it never stuck.
Mass always seemed boring. Miracles always seemed like magic and the alleged omnipresence always seemed to be contrary to actual real life experience.
Which brought up the question: why do humans believe that god exists? Enter psychology and couple it with some anthropology and actual History and you realize that belief in such supernatural entities seems to have evolved with mankind and, perhaps, have developed due to some ignorance of the natural world, but also ignorance of faulty brain states - how would a human interpret a hallucination, some 10 thousand years ago? How about a bipolar individual?
Pick a neurological disorder - how would it have been interpreted way back then?

The other night, for example, I was planning on praying for about fifteen minutes, but felt oddly calm and ended up taking about an hour. Now I feel like that could have just been because I was comfortable, and my mind was "making things up" as I was more convinced in my faith.

Sounds like you were meditating...
Psychologically, what is the difference between praying and meditating?

Atheists, why do you reject the idea of God, and why should I? I know that your answers will include "there's no evidence" and all that, but please try to explain.

It's always neat to see the believer mindset in action.
I don't "reject the idea of God".
I merely observe that it has little to do with the reality where I live. But has a lot to do with the psychology of the people on this planet.

Finally, I like to accept as True that which is in accordance with the Real.
And the only way to determine what is real seems to be the method that gathers up evidence and presents it as a whole theory.
The evidence for the existence of a god is remarkably lacking. Where it could have excelled, miracles, it is often shadowed by dishonesty or plain ignorance... or very very hazy claims which could be interpreted as almost anything.

So, until there is some actual undisputed evidence for a being which would qualify as a god, I remain unconvinced.

How would I be intellectually honest with myself, if I accepted the concept of god as a good description of reality, when there is no palpable evidence for it?
I guess this is the dividing point - what do you value more? intellectual honesty or happiness?
I go for the former.

My happiness comes from listening to music, playing games, interacting with other people, laughing, overcoming obstacles, etc... No need for the promise of an afterlife.