Question

[BrokenQuill92]

For those of us who never believed but were raised in religious households why do you think religion never stuck? (Not that some of its effects didn't) just the belief in god(s)?

[pocaracas]

Good genes?

[Nine]

For those of us who never believed but were raised in religious households why do you think religion never stuck? (Not that some of its effects didn't) just the belief in god(s)?

My household wasn't very religious but both my parents believed. It just wasn't a subject that mattered at all or was even discussed. We had bible stories, church events and little things like that.

I think the reason it never stuck on me is my parents were more superstitious than anything else. Ghosts, demons, psychic powers, luck, omens and god, all those kinds of things were all taken half seriously as a thing to be concerned with just in case. I was always suspicious of all of it, I wanted to know for sure. If there were powers I wanted them if there were monsters/ghosts/demons I wanted them gone.

So.. I spent a lot of time as a kid finding anything I could about everything supernatural. I was already skeptical about the whole thing and the more I heard the more I called bullshit on all of it. I think I crossed off God in my head when I was in primary school (I was 8-9). We had prayer and hymns at school every day and I felt like I was being tricked or manipulated with the idea. Plus I called bullshit that prayers weren't answered because *insert multitude of bullshit excuses here*.

[Minimalist]

Triple-digit I.Q.

Religion is for the dumb.

[KUSA]

I never felt anything. While others were having an orgasm from the holy spirit I just shook my head wondering what the hell was going on.

Prayer never worked any better than random chance. I usually came into money when I didn't tithe. The bible never made sense.

One day I met a genuine Atheist that set me straight. It didn't take long because I really never believed. I just forced myself to pretend to believe. At this point I took on the task of doing some real research. It's so easy to poke holes in religion or anything else that is fake.

You know I always felt awkward and stupid when I prayed even as a young child. I could never do it around other people even christians. I felt embarrassed to do it.

[Rahul]

I can't really tell. My parents are well educated. While my brother and I both tested very high on our school mandated IQ tests in grade school, he scored quite a bit higher than I did. But he's first born so that's usually the case.

They are all religious and I gradually turned into an atheist from age 25-31.

It's one of the things that troubles me. Education and intelligence are no sure proof against religion.

How did I escape? I'm not really sure. I think I was just intellectually honest enough with myself to admit when I didn't have proof, when I was just assuming things, and admitting when I was wrong.

My brother has always had a huge ego, where I had low self-esteem growing up. Maybe that distrust in my own opinions gave me the mental honesty to navigate my way out of it. But his ego prevented him from admitting he had been duped with a bunch of bullshit.

[SteelCurtain]

I would attribute it to a combination of higher than average IQ and a predisposition towards critical thinking. 132 when I was in 5th grade. I got put into the "gifted" program with much better teachers and a STEM focused education. Plus I went to a de-regulated high school in FL where 92% of my graduating class went to college, 75% to four year colleges. I then went to a college that only offers Bachelors of Science degrees.

My family is staunchly religious. My mother and father raised us all up in the church. I remember always being skeptical. I think at some age when I was very young I accepted the whole god thing, but I don't remember believing. I have always questioned everything, especially tradition. That certainly wasn't something my parents taught me, so I don't know where it came from.

[truthBtold]

I stop believing the day I was told the tooth fairy, santa, and jesus were made up..

[Crossless2.0]

You know I always felt awkward and stupid when I prayed even as a young child. I could never do it around other people even christians. I felt embarrassed to do it.

I felt the same way. The clincher for me came when I was 13-14 and was in church one day. The congregation was reciting the Apostles' Creed and (maybe for the first time) I really listened to what was being proclaimed. In a minute I realized that (a) I hardly believed a word of it and (b) I felt embarrassed for the adults around me who could say such silly things with straight faces.

[Laza]

“Catholic, which I was until I reached the age of reason” George Carlin

This pretty much describes me, only i was an ortodox christian. I never really felt anything special about it, and when i started reading the bible i stopped believing it completely, i was maybe 14 or 15.