Did Atheists have rough childhood ?

Question

I find that a large number of Atheists are just a bunch of
disgruntled people. Why is that ? The majority of the ones
that I know personally are in a rage. Mainly because they
have found no substance in there lives. So this emptiness
resides. You can tell by the words that they use, when
speaking of The Almighty. A friend of mine, is the exact
same way. He has had 3 marriages, and a fantasy
lifestyle. He lost everything !! Now he is a has been and
a reject, to society. So he blames Christians for his
problems. Funny right. He claimed his Atheistic mentality,
came from a university. That is where he learned how to
think in that manner. And I keep asking him, what if
the lessons you learned were false. Guess what ?
He said nothing...... Many of you have had major traumas
in your lives. Is that the reason why, you are an Atheist ?
Thinking where was God, when that horrible thing, happened
to me. Best answer wins. ~~~

You are a pretty lady Poppy P.
But I am so glad, that you, are not
my mother. Because, I know for
sure, my life would be a tragedy.

Answer 1

You, kind Sir, are pathetic.
.

Answer 2

Sorry to upset your theory, but I had a good childhood and rarely rage about anything. I smile and joke with people around me and always try to resolve problems with a friendly attitude. I have a very fulfilling live and a good family.

I don't know about your friend but that story seems a bit strange, and missing quite a few details, but it does seem atypical.

The reason that I'm an atheist is because while I was a christian I started looking at the evidence for creationism, in short I found that creationism is based on a poor understanding of science (to put it in the best light). I then started to examine the evidence for other bible stories and found none. Even the so called "more evidence for Jesus than Caesar" turned out to be vastly over rated. Given that there is no evidence, then there is no god. No trauma, no horrible event, no blaming an imaginary being.

Answer 3

Actually I totally disagree with you, I could not have had a better upbringing, my parents are hard working and have always provided my brothers and I with all the love and care we could have asked for. We were supported and encouraged but never pressured and never made to feel we were a disappointment to them. I have a lot to thank my parents for. My upbringing has nothing to do with the fact I am not interested in religion, for a start the hypocrisy I have seen with my own eyes is astounding, people (church elders etc) telling the congregation they have to do one thing but then finding out that the elders themselves are not actually doing that. The fact that we were supposed to "love one another" yet the congregation was split by rows and bitchiness. I am certainly not non-religious because of the traumas in my life, anything that has come my way I have over come on my own strength, and grown from that. I really hate that certain religions will profess to be Christian, or Catholic etc (just as examples, not pointing fingers at either faith) and then feel they have the right to come on here and slate other people's beliefs, to me that behaviour and attitude just shows how far from being Christian, or Catholic (for example) they really are.

Answer 4

I always find it strange that people who believe should be so interested in those who don't. I don't think the reverse is true. I would say I am agnostic. I was christened and confirmed, my children have been christened and I was married in a church.

I like the sense of community and, in general terms, the lifestyle promoted by the church: peace, kindness, helping others etc, but I cannot hand on heart say that I truly believe that God created the world in 7 days!

As for those who say that they don't believe in Evolution, well, I just can't begin to imagine how anyone could doubt what is a scientific fact.

I love churches, the architecture and the link with the past, but that's all. How can there be a God when there is so much hatred and nastiness in the world - I suppose that's the work of a little red devil hey?? If there is a God, he can't be a very nice one if he allows wars, where babies are blown apart, to happen in his name.

Finally, I had a very happy childhood in a warm loving family. My father was raised an Irish Catholic, my mother and Irish protestant - In the south of England. It's not upbringing, it's just the power of rational thought. I don't not believe, I just don't believe..

Answer 5

Oh jeez... such generalizations.... i should ignore this, but i won't... because i may be able to enlighten the situation without being too big of a jerk...

Some people raise their children to NOT believe in Santa Clause. Do they have crappy childhoods because of this? Not ALL of them do. Maybe some or many do but who's to say where the disgruntled behaviour came from... child abuse, poor health, low self esteem... it just can't be narrowed down to one thing. Consider the fact that there are plenty of disgruntled Christians, Muslems and Jews in the world, also. To say all athiests are disgruntled is a generalization. When you make claims like this, you come across as "uneducated"

Try to stay away from generalizations or from even saying Most ___s are ___s because it is nearly impossible to connect the dots. Take a logic course at a university. Seriously.

Answer 6

It depends what you mean by rough...
I think much of what you will be referring to is perhaps the journey of self discovery that would seem alien to a person brought up in a religion and who constantly refers to the bible for guidance and truth.
I was brought up a Christian and attended all the obligatory schools, meeting, celebrations, sermons, services, fellowships... and so on. I even gave it a proper bash at the age of 13 and tried to ask Jesus into my heart but with all my might I couldn't pretend that I heard a voice that wasn't there and so it has been obvious to me since then that I have no faith. I'm not missing it, I simply never had it. From my point of view this is a good thing because my conviction is such that I 100% believe that anyone with religion is fooling themselves for whatever reason they have, be it belonging, fear, guidence, structure... etc
The transition from questioning and curiosity to what you call atheism was slightly disorientating because I realised that not everything the adults in my life told me was true and that they have the capacity to be so very wrong. Then you realise that it's not just them but even celebrities, royalty, faceless song writers who all before had seemed like they knew everything, suddenly I had to think for myself and yes it was strange but it was quite remarkable when I realise the information that my young mind processed and dealt with. I have a very strong sence of character and Im not bitter about religion, I just find it hard to understand how if a 13 year old girl can work it out for herself, why can't everyone? It's selfish, yes, but I'm afraid that it how my mind thinks - it's like trying to tell someone how to tense a muscle that they haven't used before. You just keep showing them and saying, "no like this"....
So no, my childhood wasn't rough and I have to say you sound very ignorant when you ask questions like this.... I think the person you call a friend might not want you as a friend if you speak of him like that. All the best anyway, at least you're trying to understand.

Answer 7

Funny, but the only other atheists I've met have been intelligent, pleasant, law abiding professionals. I think our childhoods are pretty average. The only angry ones are irritated by religious fruitcakes that make idiot assumptions about them.

I'm an atheist because I study religion a lot. You see how they are just a set of myths related to, or derived from, each other. It's difficult to believe in a god when you realise that when the people in the past died out, so did their gods, and they thought they were all-powerful super beings too.

Some useful, actual, facts about atheists...

40 times less likely to end up in prison than the average American.
More likely to have a degree and have a professional job.
Less likely to divorce than a Christian.
On average, higher IQ than a religious person.
Less likely to support torture to get info from suspects than any religious denomination (recent survey).
Atheist doctors are more likely to perform charity work than their religious colleagues.
Less likely to have an abortion.

I can reference every single one of these.

.

Answer 8

I'll be honest, I have no faith personally and believe there is no God. I do not blame anything for my problems other than their cause (which is usually me). I was Christened and went to a roman catholic school, sent to church on religious days the works. I lost faith when I read the bible, it does not in my opinion (important point that, it's my opinion I am not seeking argument) hold up there are too many inconsistencies and contradictions. These I took to my priest in naivety and he could not properly answer my questions.
I looked at the people I encountered who kept their faith like a weapon lashing out at any whose thoughts did not match their own, the faith seemed secondary compared to the feelings of inclusion and security. They could not question and could not accept me questioning. In the end I thought deeply about what they needed their faith for and it appeared to me to be an emotional crutch forgiving the bad things they did and providing comfort for their death, giving them a sense of immortality, it created illusions.
After seeing these hollowed out creatures repeating the words (not the teachings) of a flawed book, desperately clutching their beliefs how could I believe any longer.

My apologies if I offend but this is my experience. The question was asked and I answered.

Answer 9

My grandmother took me to church every sunday for most of my childhood and I felt nothing. I have never been traumatised as a child or really suffered in a way thats made me question God's absence, I;ve just grown to accept that he isn't there. This isn't a bad thing of course, its simply a fact. I happen to think I;ve had a damn good upbringing, and I'm quite happy with my life without God in it. If anything, I;ve always found it too be the other way around. I have several friends who have turned to God following a tragedy in their lives, being suckered in by peer pressure and false promises which have only resulted in them getting hurt more.
Most of the truly hardline Christians I know are the ones who resent Atheists because they believe Atheists are "missing something from their lives", when in fact its simply a case that most christians are too closed minded to accept that they live their lives without worshipping fictional beings who live in clouds. A life without God is not bad, because its honest. It allows you be actually accept trauma and get over it by figuring out that these things happen. it nature, and not some stupid *** "divine plan" which makes no sense to anyone with sanity. Acceptance is important to get over things, and belief in fictional beings doesn't help you accept things. It only helps you to blame Satan or deny the event happened because in the end God will make everything alright.
I've never questioned whether there was a god. I've always just known there wasn;t and that hasn't affected me at all. I've still built a good life for myself and still consider myself to be a good person. Thats not something that god givers you. Thats something you earn yourself. Its human, and nothing more.

Answer 10

Christians always seem puzzled because of the way that somw of us react to them. Well, your question is a shining example of the kinds of questions we get thrown at us all of the time.
Religion seems to be the worst things that happened to some of us when we were children.
Your friend sounds as made up as the ridiculous crap that a troll named Francine comes up with all of the time.
I survived sex abuse as a child, and although there are residual facets, that pop up sometimes, I am basically a sound, and happy individual. I am married/with two grown children, and three grandchildren.
Usually, during any given time of the day, the only ''rage'' I suffer, is when some ''good christian'' ambushes me, and insults, and then expects me to be ''happy' about it.

Keep your religion, keep your god, and keep you sanctimonius attitude.

Answer 11

My childhood could not have been more idyllic. Sure, we weren't rich, but we had everything we needed. We went to church every Sunday. I took religion classes once a week. I've had incredible opportunities in life. I will have my Master's degree at the end of the month. I've experienced one major tragedy in life and came through it just fine. Other than being rich from birth, I don't think my life could have been any smoother, so far.

I just never caught on to the God thing. It makes zero sense to me and has since at least 2nd grade when I first realized people expected me to actually BELIEVE these Jesus stories.

*shrug*

Your personal experience with atheists may be a function of the type of people you hang out with.