Hey atheists, when did you lose you faith?

Question

if ever

your faith

Answer 1

From late high school to early college, 18-21 or so. It wasn't an instant deconversion. As I learned more and more about religion and human belief, I realized that religion is just organized superstition.

Answer 2

To me, its interesting that most religions recruit from birth. If you get them young, you can mold the way they think about a subject, and you will probably have them for life out of fear and habit.
Confirmation class, for me, was the beginning of the end of my religious life. Up till then, I was quite the believer. When fully exposed to the things I had to agree with, I began to question if it was the truth or not. Funny enough, in a class with all of my friends, I was told I either confirmed that I agreed with the church and promised to never change my mind (a strong expectation for a 13 year old) or I disagreed and everyone moved on without me. Of course I agreed, I didn't want to be the only one who didn't (I was 13 and peer pressure is strong at that age).
It wasn't a flick of the switch for me though. It was a long and scary process, full of self doubt, guilt, fear and loneliness. I had been conditioned for a long time and it was hard to get past. Honestly, it would have been easier to stay with my church and the faith, but it wouldn't have been right for me. I refused to believe something that didn't make any sense. I prefer the truth and real debate to blind faith and obedience.
Churches can be nice places with nice people who have nice intentions. Nice isn't enough for me.

No regrets, it just doesn't work for me now that I am a reasoning adult.

Answer 3

Even in elementary school I was having my doubts. But having no recourse or access to other knowledge (it was a Roman Catholic school), I faked my way though the ceremonies.

In HS, I had more access to knowledge, and other ways of looking at the world. I expanded my horizons.

It was in college that I decided I was an atheist. Not only that, but I also became a secular humanist who believed in the Buddhist ideals of avoiding conflict or harm to another person, and becoming a vegetarian for many years.

I dropped the vegetarian part a few years ago when started running marathons. But I still keep all the other cherished ideals from above.

Giving up a structured religion gave me a sense of freedom.

Its interesting to note that some Christians tell me they have a sense of freedom AFTER converting to Christianity. Life is wonderful and weird! =)

Rob

Answer 4

I was raised 'as a christian' (my family went to church - occasionally, and of course the society I grew up in was a 'christian' one to the core) but I was never a true believer until my teenage years. then I was 'born again' and bought into the whole jesus mythology. this lasted for a while - and it was great! I finally knew what was going on in the world. there was one truth. I and my friends were right, and all the other non-believers were wrong. we had singing and prayer meetings and the bible and everything. it was heady stuff.

then one morning I woke up and realized I just didn't believe any of it any more. I remember this very clearly. I still loved what jesus stood for - for forgiveness, love and understanding, for treating your fellow man as if you were the servant rather than the master - but I was darn sure the whole water-into-wine, walking-on-water, getting-up-from-the-grave stuff was hokum, tooth-fairy childish nonsense.

I wasn't sure about God, so I was an agnostic for a while. then I went to college, Read some books by dead people, and learned a lot of interesting stuff (in between drinking, playing pool and getting laid.) I came out the other end an enlightened atheist, and I've never looked back.

Answer 5

This question makes no sense. Atheists, are very religious people. They have lots of faith. Atheisism is a religion. Think about it for a minute. All they have is belief. No facts, just belief; they have faith that there is no God. They have no proof. They often say they do just like some hard line classical religious people do--but they don't. They often claim that Evolution is the truth. There is no SCIENTIFIC way to prove this. In order to prove Evolution or the Big Bang you would have had to be there when it happened and have recorded it.

Yes, my friend atheists are very religious people. Some are violently so.

Answer 6

Well since I now consider 'faith' to be an absurd idea, I don't know that I ever actually had any of it. I think all I had was some bad ideas put into my head by people trying to brainwash me.

Answer 7

I never really had it. I always thought that everyone knew it was all fairy tales, until I realized in Sunday School that some people--including my parents and grandparents--actually believed it and that I was one of those "non-believers" they were always ranting about. Insert personal crisis for several years.

I learned what "atheist" actually meant in my early teens and got the balls to call myself that at around 18-19, I guess.

Answer 8

Started questioning when I was around 19 or so. Considered myself atheist by the time I was around 25.

Answer 9

14 - 17

Answer 10

Roughly 1980.