[Serious] For former Christians only, why did you leave your faith?

[Angrboda]

There is a sense in which situations in which abuse is easier or more tolerated preferentially attracts abusers. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario.

[Objectivist]

It's terrible to think how many lives have been destroyed.  What do you think causes it, the rules about celibacy?  I mean sex is an important part of human life and to deny that must be part of the reason there is so much of that going on.

Lots of people go without sex - pedophilia isn't a side effect.  I think they had a preexisting condition.  It may be that people with a deeply internalized shame, and an appropriately thematic world view, are compelled to become priests.  To square things with the almighty, as it were.

That makes the most sense.  There's also the fact that they are in positions of authority and can somewhat control them to keep them quiet.

[Macoleco]

When I turned around 19 years old praying did nothing for me. I felt nothing. I felt I was talking to a wall. This, and all the unanswered questions regarding god and religion lead me to question my beliefs. After watching debates of Richard Dawkins and the likes, and asking myself questions such as why I believe in Christianity and not Islam, I stopped believing.

It’s a weird process

[arewethereyet]

I didn't choose to be part of a religion. It was chosen for me by family. I played along till I could just walk away.

Fine, I'll take a religion class every semester because I have to in order to graduate...kinda thing.

As for belief, I tried but it just didn't take.

[brewer]

I don't think I had any actual "faith" to begin with. Most of it was programming/indoctrination from the start, which never made sense to me once I came of age. When the leaders of 'faith' couldn't answer the questions I had, or provide valid reasons for belief, I quit.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I stopped believing because the wafting stench of bullshit overcame my fear of apostasy.

[brewer]

I stopped believing because the wafting stench of bullshit overcame my fear of apostasy.

Without the fuckin heritics their religion wouldn't mean as much.

Still waiting for my 'thank you'.

[LinuxGal]

Let's not forget that there used to be purgatory where you would be sent to suffer enough to cleanse those sins off that weren't already cleared by your local priest or were a little too bad to just pray away.

Oh, and limbo for those poor unbaptized babies who died because they weren't able to get to a priest in time.

Venial sins would send one to Purgatory, mortal sins to eternal Hell.  And, yes, a big about-face on the Limbo of the Infants here recently.

[tjdisc]

I left Catholicism when I came to true knowledge and relationship with Christ.

[LadyForCamus]

I left Catholicism when I came to true knowledge and relationship with Christ.

How did you do that?