What made you become an atheist?

[J.D.]

It was a gradual process most likely influenced from the good example of my atheist wife. There is no turning back now. I feel completely comfortable and happy. No longer pretending to believe or trying to believe that none sense.

[Whateverist]

My father was very religious but fortunately for me he was in the navy and not home a lot. My mother was a believer but didn't read the bible, didn't talk about it a lot and didn't take us to church when he was away.

I picked up only a sketchy knowledge of Christianity and the bible. I had no notion of god as anything other than Jesus. My self made concept of Jesus was that he was all knowing and morally perfect. In any situation I thought he would always do what's best. Somehow I knew there were people who did not believe in God and I thought they were the worst sort of ingrates.

My highest desire was to become a person who would be good company for Jesus in heaven. I thought he'd be lonely because so many people just wanted to worship Him and I could not imagine that would be welcome. To be worthy, to my mind, meant figuring out what was best morally in every situation and then choosing that. Following rules wouldn't enable you to become good company for Jesus but thinking for yourself and standing behind your choices could make you worthy. I used to imagine what Jesus would do in a situation but I never tried to follow a set of rules.

So this lasted until early grade school and then it started seeming pretty unlikely that there would be any after life and as much as I wanted to meet this guy Jesus his existence just felt less and less likely. I remember being 10 when I decided once and for all that I was done with religion. I would have liked for it to turn out otherwise but there was no way I could believe it was so.

Since then I've been an agnostic atheist. I probably have less anger toward religion than most atheists because I was never really duped by anyone other than myself (with a little initial help from my parents). My wife was raised religion free and is happily atheist.

[Mrs Chuff]

Confused mixture of Agnostic and CofE unbringing..I always questioned religion from an early age but was fobbed off by parents and teachers alike..as I have got older from my experience of the world, my own children's questioning, my interest in nature, science and astromony I have drawn the only intelligent conclusion.... that there are no gods. The full force of this hit home when I nearly died having my son, I was on life support for 3 days...and as expected there was no white light, no voices of loved ones passed...a serious amount of nothing, if the machines had been switched off I would have ceased to be and actually that's just fine by me...I don't need any invisible friend to hold my hand or tell me everything will be ok ' on the other side', I am happy with my one life and intend to do as much with it as possible

[Ace Otana]

For me, atheism sits better with me than Christianity ever did. I was constantly trying to fit Christianity into a mold of logic which did not work, and i realized that and gave up.

Your turn.

Born atheist. Remained atheist seeing as religion couldn't back up it's claims. Noticed just how baseless and stupid religion is as I became wiser. Now, like then I have completely dismissed religion as total nonsense. The greatest bullshit story ever told.

[BethK]

I realized one day that I had been for a long, long, time, and was trying WAY too hard to try to keep myself suspending disbelief. It was my (then) Wiccan husband who questioned my Hindu beliefs, and got me to say, "You know, I don't believe this ridiculous stuff either". Then, a couple of years later, he followed me into admitting he's an atheist too.

We deconverted each other!

[Handprint]

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We deconverted each other!

[RW_9]

In reference to the responses of others: everyone is born an atheist. No child develops his own beliefs about religion without someone manipulating or indoctrinating him. All of us were born that way, it's just that some of us were trained away from it as children.

[Handprint]

In reference to the responses of others: everyone is born an atheist. No child develops his own beliefs about religion without someone manipulating or indoctrinating him. All of us were born that way, it's just that some of us were trained away from it as children.

I disagree that people are born that way (I suspect you mean that ever since someone can remember they've not believed in something religious/spiritual/supernatural) only because religion is so widespread. I think it's something people have made up to explain the world. So, if that's true, its a part of the human story, one that can only be overcome if they know about evolution and how the world works in scientific terms.

I am reading about native american religion at the moment.

Small tribes, making up their own shit.

[RW_9]

I didn't mean "ever since they can remember." I meant all humans are born without religion, but many are raised from birth to believe in one. So for many, ever since they "can remember" they have believed in a religion of some sort - but that is due to their parents. Would it be possible for someone to develop on their own with some set of superstitions? Of course. I am just stating the obvious that humans aren't born hardwired with a religion in their conscious system.

[Handprint]

I didn't mean "ever since they can remember." I meant all humans are born without religion, but many are raised from birth to believe in one. So for many, ever since they "can remember" they have believed in a religion of some sort - but that is due to their parents. Would it be possible for someone to develop on their own with some set of superstitions? Of course. I am just stating the obvious that humans aren't born hardwired with a religion in their conscious system.

Just as we aren't born hardwired with words. But here's an interesting study.

I took Psychology of Deaf people last semester.

and, apparently they did a study where, they put a group of deaf kids together that knew no sign language, and they developed some home signs. (meaning crude gestures) to communicate.

Then they put some new deaf kids in there, and they took the home sign and made it into something halfway between a full sign language and home sign.

Then they added more kids, and these new kids actually created a new sign language. A new language, complete with complex grammar.

What i am saying is, nor are we hardwired with words or a language but we create it nontheless.