Atheists, What even made you change your mind on religion, or have you ahd those beliefs all along?

Question

I am just curious. Thanks to all who answer!

what EVENT (sorry sp)

Answer 1

After being raised in church and a Christian high school, I finally went to a big university and took REAL science classes. Finally everything made sense. Science, evolution in particular, explained everything so logically. I realized I didn't need to believe in God anymore.
Also, studying all of the different religions and history of religion, made me realize they were all the same with the same motives. Science and reality make a lot more sense.

Answer 2

I had my doubts as far back as I can remember (age 4-5) I remember asking a Sunday school teacher.. "If god made the universe where did he get the stuff to make it?" I don't remember the answer I simply remember not being satisfied and therefore asking the question again and again over the years...

As I was taught more and more about the bible I had a way of asking the really hard questions, such as "In today's measurements how big was Noah's ark?" I was given the answer "About 440 feet long 45 feet high and 75 feet wide." OK about the size of a 5 story office building near where I grew up... I could then visualize it which lead me to ask "If it's only the size of the Tisdale Office Building how is it possible to get 2 of every animal in the world into it.. Not to mention the extra 5 (making 7) of the clean (edible by the laws of Noah's religion) into it?"

As I learned more and did more research I came to believe that the bible and the story's there in are simply that stories, fairy tales... Therefore not to be believes as reality but taken as any other cautionary fairytale as a moral and ethical story... Stay on this path or the Big Bad Wolf will get you Red Riding Hood... No one honestly believes that Little Red Riding Hood was a real person she is simply a character in a cautionary fictional fairytale...

Answer 3

I´m really Agnostic, same thing, After being Catholic, raised in a Catholic school till I was 13 years old, went to my family religion, Jewish in a Orthodox school, and studding science, astronomy, and Darwin, I realized I was born Atheist, The bible is a nice history book, but still doesn't convince me, monotheism was invented to have control of the masses, on the bible days they needed a supreme being to keep the multitudes controlled, organized religion is the best business in the world, and religion is the cause of most wars, was then, it is now, more cruel than ever, and will be for ever, unless, God appears and shows himself, will never happen. The new Testament was written 300 years after Christ, in Latin, even if his language was Aramaic,and do believers really think that Adam and Eve where the first humans? Cain went away and married into another tribe, The divine trinity, Same God, 3 different persons? Nobody yet has given mi an explanation how that can be...I could go on for ever, but I think I made my point.

Answer 4

I dunno if i'm really atheist, I don't like deny God, but i really don't believe in him either. Does that make sense? I'm kinda agnostic I guess I have no real faith that he exists but i don't rule out the possibility. I suppose this is because I've never seen any real proof and I'm not the type of person who can believe in something just because other people tell me it's there or because there's a really old book that may or may not have been written by Jesus or god or whoever. if I had to pick one main event I guess I'd say like when i was 15 and my family moved me to a new house that I hated and didn’t know anyone there, then my little dog, who I loved more than the whole world ran away and I never saw him again. I prayed forever to get him back or at the very least know where he was or what happened to him and of course I got nothing. Then I started to think of all the people i know who claim God found them their soul mate, or saved their sick kid's lives or something and my cousin even lost her cat and she claims God told her in a dream that the cat would come home, then she did. That all made me think about why some people seem to be a higher priority to God. Why did she get her cat back when i had to lose my doggie forever with no explanation, or why some people never find their soulmate and die alone, or lose their kids. more importantly, what is god doing playing matchmaker while people are starving to death all over the place? I know people always just say that it's all part of god's elaborate plan and we just don't get it. I think that's just people's excuse to justify bad **** so they can keep on believing in something as great a concept as God. I'll admit it's a comforting thought, I don't really blame people for wanting it to be true, but I think we're beginning to fabricate our own reality. That’s just my honest and maybe a bit cynical opinion hope it helps. :)

Answer 5

My parents were both more on the non-religious side, not necessarily atheists, they just didn't put to much stock in religion. I was put into a Catholic grade school (I don't know WHAT my parents were thinking). I also was (and still am) an avid reader. Through books, I was introduced to other views. The way religion works, though, is that they get the ideas into your head when you are very young and don't know any better. It is drilled into them from day one and they don't want any other ideas to get into their heads. It is, by very definition, brainwashing. I also read the entire Bible and asked my first grade teacher why there was so much violence in it if Christianity is such a peaceful religion. She told me to stop asking stupid questions.

My reading extended to the point where I understood that even though "the Bible says so," much of what Christianity teaches is false. By age nine, I had made up my mind that I did not believe that God exists. I now have compiled an enormous amount of evidence against the validity of religion, and I am writing a book about it.

Answer 6

I was raised to become a priest. Religious mum, catholic schooling, alter boy, prayed every night before bed, went to church, communion, confirmation, confessional, etc. Did it all and blindly believed every word.
Then, when I was 16, still inocent of any sin, I had a tramatic motorcycle accident: 4 fractures of the skull, coma, semi-paralysis, brain surgery to remove blood clot. So I went to church and asked why. The pathetic answer I was given didn't satisfy me, so I researched.
The more I read about how the actual bible was compiled, the more I smelt a rotten fish. So I expanded my knowledge and read about the founding religions (the oldest ones). The more I read, the more I realised how they all "borrowed" from each other. The more inquisitive I became, the more I found out about the power and money associated with religion- all of them.
I finally found enough evidence to dismiss every religion in the world as an attempt by a man, or group of men, to thwart other greedy men. You'll notice only one religion is gentle and understanding of women, the rest speak of them as slaves or possessions- typical of an egoistic male!
Then I let go. I let go of all my preconceptions and ideology and led my life as morally as I could. Then something happened- a karmic revelation in my life.
Now I don't meditate, nor eat only vegetables, but Buddhism (which isn't a religion but a guide to life) made the most sense to me. It's a gentler version of all religions, without idol worshipping. It's just a theory on how to have a better life- and it's worked wonders with me!
Although I still do not believe there is a supreme being somewhere "out there" watching every move I make, I do believe in reincarnation, karma, and the power being nice gives me. There's no heaven nor hell, nor threats to put me in line- instead it advises to be wary of how you treat others, because that treatment will one day fall on you.

Answer 7

When I was younger I didn't really have a choice. I just blindly went along with what anyone wanted me to, I didn't know any better. And then as I got older I saw all these different versions of the same thing, and people killing each other over it.

There are so many things to look at and believe, so many ways 'god' can be discredited, I'm getting really tired of when I'm talking to people about religion they either fall back on the book for everything that they say, (which btw could be totally wrong and someone's joke) of tell me I'm going to hell. :( Sorry for the rant.

Answer 8

I'm not an atheist, but life isn't like the movies. Most people don't lost faith because of a certain event or whatnot. It is just a belief they have adopted, much like a religious person does believe in God.

Answer 9

There were a number of things... it's a very long story. In short, though, I found that there were many disparities between what I knew from my classes and what I was being told at church. Also there was a lot of hatred being taught in my religion, and I saw no need or reason to hate people just because they were different, or even doing the right thing!

Answer 10

I was raised catholic and there were just too many things that did not make sense and whenever there was a question people would refer you to the bible which is a book that has been written by man. How accurate can the bible be things get lost in translation all the time. I am just not buying any of it