Why are you an atheist?

[Tiberius]

I count "strong" atheism as how certain you are that God doesn't exist. Whether God can be known or not is down to agnosticism.

[LukeMC]

My atheism began around the age of 9 or 10 when I asked my mother if I'd spend eternity in heaven if I behaved. She said yes and I cried. The idea of immortality was scary to me. Eternity would mean that when I existed in heaven for longer than I could even imagine, I'd still have forever in front of me. Forever. I came downstais crying on several occasions whilst thinking about this. Christianity was all I knew though- I was convinced that there were no alternatives.

Then came Religious Education lessons in high school. After learning about the huge amount of religions and how all religious people believe that theirs is true, I came to the conclusion that they're probably all equally garbage. Including christianity.

So I rejected religion because I didn't want to believe in it (not good reasoning).
Then came the internet. I learned and learned and learned, and now see that atheism is not only the least traumatising option, but the most logical too (emphisis on logical- I don't base my arguments on emotion anymore).

Unless you wanted the short answer.
Why are you an atheist? Because it is the logical choice.

[Rob-C]

I was brought up in a house that didn't really mention religion. My immediate family never went to church, but if I happened to be at my grandparents on a Sunday, I would go. I can't remember any details of those attendances except that I got irrationally angry at not being able to put a coin in the kitty.

Eventually, myself and my brother became old enough to watch ourselves and were given the choice of whether to go or not. These always ended up with us staying home to sleep.

Religion was never really mentioned in the house. I remember there being copies of The Bible in the bookshelf, but not knowing what it was. I think I thought it was just another novel, or fiction in general. It never struck me (at that young age) to ask.

For a couple of years in primary school I was obliged to take a small "Scripture" session weekly. This involved a person from a local church coming into the classroom, handing out colourful leaflets and talking. All I remember from these lessons was learning how to pronounce "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and a passing wonder as to why, after a while, it stopped happening.

From then to the final year of high school, I never really thought about it. Dad would brush against something faintly religious in our irregular talks on philosophy, skepticism and the paranormal, but that's it.

I still remember when I realised that I was an atheist. It was towards the end of my final year at high school, and I was sitting in my Classical History class. We were due to start the Roman Religion topic, so the teacher was asking us some introductory questions about our own beliefs.

We (me and the other half dozen students) were asked if we believed in God. I sat up fast. It was like someone had just hit me with a fish. I only had to think for a second. No. I didn't. When I said so, the others including the teacher were almost shocked. Even more so when I had the same reaction to whether I thought souls existed. This led to a conversation into whether I'd tell any hypothetical children of mine if Santa existed and then my being called a bad person and hellbound for saying that I wouldn't specifically say that he did.

After that, I just considered myself an atheist, even putting it on the dogtags I got during my short military service.

I've just spent two months in the USA and ... Wow. Seriously. It really is srs bsns there. I made no secret of my lack of religion to the people I was staying with and I get the feeling I was lucky to meet such laid back people. During my holiday I bought and devoured TGD. And have now opened a Pandora's Box which has resulted in me buying Harris and Nietzsche*. I intend on getting more on my return home.

*I also have quite a library of atheist websites to keep me busy too.

--Rob

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Looking at heading of this thread ,it occurs to me that the next time a believer has the impertinence to ask me ;'Why are you an atheist?", a rational response would be "Why are you a believer?"

All I've said is "I don't believe" ,surely not a complex idea,it's self explanatory. I'M not not the one with the belief system handed down over a few thousand years from a bunch of bronze age Middle Eastern goat herders--AND unsupported by ANY evidence whatsoever. ( I will of course make some modifications for Mormons)

[Rob-C]

Padraic:

In my limited experience in answering that question it seems that a lot of the time, those asking it are genuinely interested in why I don't believe.

I.E it's not a lead in to some hostile conversion attempt, but mere curiosity/incredulence -- similar to the reasons why I ask why believers believe.

I imagine that it the situation is different each time either question is asked, but that's what I've learnt.

--Rob

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

I imagine that it the situation is different each time either question is asked, but that's what I've learnt.

I guess our experiences are different I've met perhaps one believer who was simply curious. ( a Passionist priest who was also my friend.) All others turned out to have an agenda. For that reason,apart from on internet forums,I decline to discuss my beliefs or lack of them,with strangers. That's all I usually say when asked, without rancour, unless they persist.


I don't want to give the impression this is anything approaching a regular occurrence. It isn't,it's rare. Australia isn't America.Religion is not an issue with most people.I tend not to associate with people for whom it is due to mutual loathing. The rare door knockers and street preachers get short shrift. The only people to whom I'm intentionally rude are Scientologists who get in my face.

[LEDO]

I'm an atheist because I am cheaper than a Jew.

[Overmars]

I'm an atheist because I refuse to consider something as being true without solid evidence. I was raised as a Christian Orthodox by my parents who still are religious, at about the age of 14 I started to question some things that I learned in religion class: If this God is so merciful and good than why do innocent people suffer? Why doesn't God punish all the evil people in this world? If destiny exists and it's something that I can't change than why will I go to hell if my destiny is, for example, to be a criminal? and a lot more. Another thing I hate about religion is praying: it gives you the false feeling that you are doing something although the only thing you are doing is to mumble some empty words and hope for the best. Then I slowly detached myself from religion and I embraced atheism.

[LEDO]

Face it, Christianity doesn't pass the bullshit test. God, who knew we werer going to send, send himself down to earth to be sacrificed for the sin he knew we were going to do, because he made us imperfect. This is to save us from hell, which he created, which he could do at any time without the charade. I tell Christians who attempt to convert me, if I was going to believe in god, I wouldn't believe in your god, because I know for a fact your god is bullshit.

[Purple Rabbit]

Why I am an atheist? My body simply can't handle theism. I must be a strange artifact of evolutionary contingency.

Boy, am I a lousy believer. I especially suck in the blind faith department and in the total submission department and the combination is lethal to my low treshold built in balooney detection unit. My nervous system can't handle unsubstantiated bullshit. My stomach protests when all kinds of rituals, uniforms and queer behaviour is used to give credulence to opaque drooling of zombielike nitwits copying words from ancient goat shephards to proselytize their religious blabla. I get a severe rash from communion wafers and holy sacraments. My stomach ulcer protests when phoney bilble belt TV priests ramble on for hours to end in a plea for my money. My kneecaps fall off when, often without any forewarning, religious leaders appear in my newspaper to comment on society as if they were experts of some sort. I have to stay in the can for days with my diarrhea after having direct contact with claims of the afterlife. Should I go further? I sometimes wonder how I've survived so far. It may be that I am missing some crucial gen on my DNA that enables believers to believe contrary amply provided evidence. But hey, are you offended when I wanna feel part of the human race?