Why are some people Atheists?

Question

Are they more logical? Were they introduced to religion in a negative light? Were they taught to disbelieve?

These questions do not only pertain to Atheism. Does religion come from the individual? the home? just by chance?

Answer 1

"Does religion come from the individual? the home? just by chance?"

I think it could be all of those, none, or even a combination. I didnt learn religion in my home. But as I got older, I was introduced to it, and fell into the religious dogma. As I grew older, chance took over, my life changed, and then so did my religion. I think, for me, it was my individual research and searching that got me where I am today.

Answer 2

All of the above. They are not necessarily more logical, some see religion in a negative light, some were taught to believe in other things. Remember that Atheism isn't really a lack of faith or disbelieving, it is just not believing in the existence a God or gods.

Ultimately religion should come from the individual, but individual reasons for having faith in religion vary greatly.

Answer 3

I think atheists are more logical in their thinking and think that religion of any kind is just not for them and they aren't interested. Some people become atheists because of all of the religions out there and how some get negative feedback form others of another religion to where they just get confused about which one is for them or which one they think is the right one and so they chose to stay away from it to be safe and more secure.
And, maybe some may have believed in a religion and then something happened or they were harrased or put down in some way to where they no longer prefer to have a religion.
Religion comes from all three: the individual,the home, and by chance
all at once and separately.
I mean, what your parent's religion is and what they want you to be associated with may not be for you or what you want and you might wish to explore until you find the religion that feels right to you.
I hope my answer helps you and have a nice day!!!!!!^_^

Answer 4

Yes, most of the time you'll find us to be more logical than average. And, for most of us, we were introduced to religion by our parents at an early age. And as we grew and learned more about the nature of our universe, we had many questions that religion couldn't answer with anything besides "just because god made it that way" type of answers. So the more we sought real answers, the further away we found ourselves from the myths we were taught as children. Until we finally decided to throw all of it out as a fairytale. Others of us had a tragedy that begged the question "why", to which no answer would come.

Answer 5

I am agnostic, but I went to Catholic school as a kid. I always felt that something was not quite right with religion. At first I thought it was just Christianity but when I got older and started doing research on religion, I found that there are problems with all organized religion. I like what I believe in to make sense, having faith is just another way of saying I don't know if it's true but I sure hope it is. That's not the way I was meant to live my life, just a personal choice is all. Logic really has little to do with that decision, logic can be used by both sides, it's the world of rational thought that choice to live in.

Answer 6

You are talking about atheists and religion and god. They are separate things. A true atheist does not believe in god - which may not have anything to do with any religion. Are you asking if people had a bad experience with religion and then become atheist or that they just dislike religions. Much different. Many of the people on this forum appear to dislike religion because it has been shoved down their throats. Some of the people on this forum do a lot of that shoving. So you need to refine your question and ask about atheism in regards to god or if you think some people just don't like religion.

Answer 7

I was raised Christian but I became Atheist as I grew up. It wasn't my upbringing putting religion in a negative light. My family was wonderful and of that brand of Christianity I miss seeing more of--"God instructs us what sin is so that we have guidelines to live by not so that we may judge others for that is God's province." Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the fashion anymore. I digress though.

I became rather agnostic when I started having questions about some of the things in the Bible as a teen. I started reading Biblical critical scholarship and became more deeply agnostic. Then I majored in Biology and went through pre-med and recently admitted to myself I really just don't believe it all. This is certainly not to say that everyone who studies science turns atheist, although I didn't meet to many hardcore literalists in my program, I know a number of my classmate were believers in a liberal sense. I stay open to the possiblity if any evidence comes in but I think the burden is on those that believe far out things that are contrary to our existing evidence to prove them.

Answer 8

I became atheist when I figured out that modern religion is no different than ancient religion. I was a big fan of Greek mythology when I was younger and one day I put two and two together. If the ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus and Athena but now see them as just myths, what makes belief in Yahweh or Allah any different?

I then became very interested in science and was exposed to the study of planets and biology and before long, I had a more accurate picture for how the universe worked. So for me, it was about education.

Try as she might, my mother was unable to get me to believe after a certain point. I just had too many questions that she couldn't answer to my satisfaction, so I stopped asking her and found out things on my own.

Answer 9

From what I understand, atheists simply don't think a divine being makes sense. Fairy tales and Easter bunnies can be just as realistic as any religion and there is no difference to them. Saying that the bible is proof is laughable to them and it's truly a laughable argument. Anyone can say that God wrote a book and that's about as believable to the unbelievers as saying Hercules wrote it.
Only when they experience a divine personal interaction does it make sense to even think about believing.
I am a Christian who is a friend of many atheists. No argument in the world can convince one of us to the other, but we are simply here for each other in case one of us decides to cross over.

In some cases, atheism comes from having atheist parents, but most of the cases I know about, these people were brought up in religious homes but found it hard to get with the system and ended up making their own decisions about God.

Answer 10

Some people are atheists only because some people are theists,

Theists make a claim based on faith that there is God/Gods whereas atheists don't share that belief and that is why they are atheists...okay!

Atheists aren't making any claim so they have nothing to prove, the onus of providing proof is on the person making the claim in this case theists must provide proof of God if they want to convince atheists.

As belief in God is based on faith it has no evidence or proof and it also follows that through faith anything can be believed God, The Celestial Teapot, The Invisible Pink Unicorn etc no matter how extraordinary because belief through faith is just a matter of choosing to believe, this is the big failing of faith and why faith alone is not a valid tool of knowledge.