(July 25, 2018 at 11:10 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: The other question would be whether the mere example of atheism, knowing that it was a possibility, influenced my becoming an atheist. It surely did. If it's near impossible to imagine living without some religion, the likelihood that one would do so is likely reduced.
If every attempt to learn whether anyone else had ever had doubts about religion, one would likely wonder what was wrong with them. It would seem like some kind of pathology. If one reached the point where you were pretty sure you'd never believe in a god, you might decide to keep that to yourself. But then you'd have to wonder if there were others in the same boat so that maybe you weren't really alone.
