Atheists: have you ever had a religious experience and what did you make of it?

[Tonus]

I'd love to try out the God helmet to see what Drich an Lec's world is like.

I don't think it's that difficult to imagine, but maybe it's because I was a fundamentalist Christian (who was quite sure that he was not a fundie).

Our minds use biases and other cognitive tricks to help us to function from day-to-day, but some of those can hinder our ability to view important topics critically. You can see the same from rabid sports fanatics or people with a very black/white political orientation. Some religions add a factor that has a very big effect: the infallibility of god and his book(s). You cannot simply change your mind about such things just because they don't make sense or seem suspicious; you will first try your damnedest to make it fit the beliefs, even to the extent of contorting logic until it is unrecognizable. As long as the core belief isn't upset, you'd be amazed at what you would be willing to accept.

Once you are free of it, you might feel bewildered that you ever expressed such ideas because now they seem outrageous.