Former atheist

[Whateverist]

I'd just like to point out that, having been indoctrinated in a religion prior to becoming an atheist makes it easier to abandon atheism in favor of a return to religion. I think being indoctrinated when you are young likely does change the brain in ways that make seemingly fantastic things more readily credible than for those who have never really believed. Does this imply that the belief in what is seemingly fantastic is less credible? I don't know that it does. It is just a different way of thinking. One could say that the perpetual atheist is unnaturally biased against believing in such things, as much as one could say that the former believer is unnaturally biased toward believing such things. There is no "correct state" for an individual to have.

One would say the perpetual atheist is unbiased. It is the indoctrination that introduces bias.

I myself became an atheist in my youth, though I won't pretend it was a self-consciously rational decision — I was not knowledgably skeptical, nor schooled in the rational reasons for disbelief. At the age of 17, I converted to an atheistic religion, Taoism. Despite having been raised Christian, I have never returned to Christianity, but religion has always held great interest for me; looking around my apartment, you'll note religious icons and art from multiple religions. For a long time, I had a classic portrait of Christ over my bed, even though I was definitely not Christian. Religion is just more "accessible" to me because the concepts and ideas are in a way 'live' inside me, they have import that a different person may not feel or even understand. After my conversion to Taoism, over 30 years, I found myself gravitating more and more towards a form of theistic Hinduism. Was that conversion made more likely by prior religious beliefs? I suspect it was. If I had never believed in a god in my formative years, I likely would find the concept of a god alien. Is it a problem that I have this bias?

Yes.

Am I less sane and rational because of it?

Certainly less rational. Unevidenced belief is not rational.

I don't think so, nor do I think that someone who lacks this bias can claim any inherent superiority on that account. It's just different; not better or worse.

It is worse because it is less rational; holding non-rational beliefs weakens one's defenses against other non-rational beliefs.

To no one's surprise I agree entirely with Rasetsu on this one. Everyone holds irrational beliefs; it is just the way we're wired. Reason and analytic thought are part of the post processing of our experience, but our experience is what it is. There is no need to fight against the onslaught of irrational ideas.

Likewise, everyone requires programming or else we'd be like wild children raised by wolves and unable to relate culturally to our own kind. Programming is also a given and parts of it will be based on irrational things like feelings.

Embrace your inner animal. Be the irrational being you are and do all the post processing reason you like. In the end we're all compost.