I am an artist, writer, photographer, former Peace Corps Volunteer, and retired educator. I'm 70 (as I write this at the beginning of Aug 2016), female, and an atheist.
I started to doubt my parents' strict Protestant religious beliefs when I was about 11 or 12. I was forced to sing in the choir, attend Sunday school and church, be confirmed, attend youth group, Bible study, vacation Bible school and church camp. Besides reading a chapter of the Bible before dinner every night, my family sat down to pray before we went on long drives or trips. My father put reflective tape on our car's bumper in the shape of crosses ---a sure-fire protection against auto accidents. Both parents were Sunday school teachers and my father was a church organist whose answer to everything was to "pray about it." Besides being unable to find sense in what I was taught about religion, I often say I was "all-churched-out" by the time I graduated from high school.
I had altruistic motives for joining the Peace Corps and did my best to make a difference at my Peace Corps site. However, I was also running away from home. College had opened my eyes to people and ideas that dismayed my parents. Although I never "came out" of the atheistic closet to my parents, by that time I had rejected many of my parents beliefs about everything, including religion. They wanted me to live at home so they could rein me back into their fold. I chose to live as far from home as possible.
Although I was about 25 before the women's movement was in full swing, even as a child I was rather independent. I see that independent streak in other non-believers, especially those who came from religious families. It makes sense that conformists would accept their family's religion without question or return to it after a period of doubt. More independent personalities aren't afraid to deviate from the family norm. I was the black-sheep of my family, often butting heads with what seemed silly or "just not right" to me. I seemed to have had a heightened "radar" for BS that I still have today.
One of my favorite authors is Mark Twain and I love the many things he had to say about religion. One of my favorites is:
“Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven.”
I started to doubt my parents' strict Protestant religious beliefs when I was about 11 or 12. I was forced to sing in the choir, attend Sunday school and church, be confirmed, attend youth group, Bible study, vacation Bible school and church camp. Besides reading a chapter of the Bible before dinner every night, my family sat down to pray before we went on long drives or trips. My father put reflective tape on our car's bumper in the shape of crosses ---a sure-fire protection against auto accidents. Both parents were Sunday school teachers and my father was a church organist whose answer to everything was to "pray about it." Besides being unable to find sense in what I was taught about religion, I often say I was "all-churched-out" by the time I graduated from high school.
I had altruistic motives for joining the Peace Corps and did my best to make a difference at my Peace Corps site. However, I was also running away from home. College had opened my eyes to people and ideas that dismayed my parents. Although I never "came out" of the atheistic closet to my parents, by that time I had rejected many of my parents beliefs about everything, including religion. They wanted me to live at home so they could rein me back into their fold. I chose to live as far from home as possible.
Although I was about 25 before the women's movement was in full swing, even as a child I was rather independent. I see that independent streak in other non-believers, especially those who came from religious families. It makes sense that conformists would accept their family's religion without question or return to it after a period of doubt. More independent personalities aren't afraid to deviate from the family norm. I was the black-sheep of my family, often butting heads with what seemed silly or "just not right" to me. I seemed to have had a heightened "radar" for BS that I still have today.
One of my favorite authors is Mark Twain and I love the many things he had to say about religion. One of my favorites is:
“Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven.”
“The problem with those who choose received Authority over fact and logic is how they choose which part of Authority to obey. The Bible famously contradicts itself at many points (I have never understood why any Christian would choose the Old Testament over the New), and the Koran can be read as a wonderfully compassionate and humanistic document. Which suggests that the problem of fundamentalism lies not with authority, but with ourselves.” ~Molly Ivins
![[Image: productimage-picture-old_farts_club_char...ber-43.gif]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.bangstickers.com%2Fstatic%2Fimages%2Fproductimage-picture-old_farts_club_charter_member-43.gif)
