Atheists please answer: How did you 'become' an Atheist?

Question

PEACE&LOVE

The Dude: I was hoping your story had some truth to it.

Alex: Yahoo answers! now that is interesting!

memelalou: cute avatar

berlytea: I wish you all the best. PEACE&LOVE

Thank you for all the answers.

Answer 1

After hearing u say that " Atheists r the nicest people in the world "
( I started loving Muslims too, after u said that u r one ! )

Answer 2

Don't know if I'm an atheist or not. What, really, is an atheist? If I don't believe in an individual Supreme Being, but recognise that there are powerful mysteries underlying the universe and life that we can never understand, am I an atheist?

Most people who would be defined by a "religious" person as atheist would never admit it, partly because of the criticism they would receive and partly because they are not certain if they are or are not. Note that even Mother Teresa, we found out only recently, had serious doubts about her faith.

So, it's a very good, but very difficult, question in that I think a universal definition of atheist is hard to pin down.

Answer 3

Everyone of us is born an atheist. Our parents and culture start indoctrinating us in religion when we are children.

For me, the concept of a god was not possible. I was 4 years old the first time I was taken to a worship service and knew I could not believe in something so far-fetched. I quietly attended church to please my parents until I was age 17, then stopped. I never told my parents I was atheist, but over the years they discovered I am. My father is dead, but my Christian mother accepts me as I am and as long as I am a good citizen, she is happy. She's a wonderful mother.

In grade school, studying other religions helped me very much. I was young but had a vague concept that every culture needs some binding force, since morality was stolen by religions during human evolution. Here in the USA, rule of law is better because our government is neutral, or should be, on matters of religion. Everyone is free to believe, worship or to not believe.

So, I have been an atheist all of my life. Having a scientist father and literary mother helped, even though they didn't know :-)

Answer 4

I'm 22 now, and back when I was 8, going to a Catholic school, attending church, and having religion around me for most of the day, I started to question it. No one influenced me to think this way, I just started to think critically about it.

By the time I was 12 I announced to my mother that I didn't believe in god. She said it was fine, and after all of the years not knowing, she confessed that she herself is an atheist. She never once stopped me or my siblings from attending church, praying, or believing in any religion.

After that I started researching, I didn't fully understand the status around being an atheist back then, but I know I was horrifyingly looked down upon by my religious peers. Especially my grandparents and teachers.

I honestly do not see how or why people need any supernatural being(s) to feel secure. It's like a security blanket. As well, I have a set of humanitarian rules, nothing holy. Don't kill people, be nice, don't steal, etc,...

Most atheists don't turn to a "faithless" life because it is cool. It is carefully thought out, as we are often degraded and mentally abused for our non-belief.

Answer 5

I was raised with religion. I was very active in the church. When I was about 15 I started to ask a bunch of questions about the stories in the bible and I kept hearing the same answer; "You just have to have faith". Well that didn't sit well with me. I have to have proof. I don't believe in the tooth fairy or Santa clause because there is no proof. Over the years I realized I did not believe in god and finally took on the label atheist.

Answer 6

>Atheists please answer: How did you 'become' an Atheist?

I've always been an atheist. Initially, of course, I was just an implicit atheist, that is to say as a very young child I didn't have any concept of what God or atheism meant. I then made the transition from implicit atheism (not understanding enough to believe in God) to explicit atheism (understanding why God probably does not exist) without any other phase inbetween, and have remained an explicit atheist ever since. In that sense, I became an atheist the same moment I became a thinking being, which was well before I was born.

Answer 7

In Japan, Shinto and Zen Buddhism main religion. Parents not religious, I not religious. Come USA, my lover grandson of pastor, he find flaws in Bible when 7 year old become atheist by age 11. He study world religion in college and on own. He know more of Japanese religion than I do. He tell me much and I see he is right. Logic is why we atheists. Some Chrissians try say everyone rules by emotion, atheist have bad luck with some church. Not true at all.

Answer 8

i saw the movie Contact.
and when i saw all the constant manipulation of religion in that movie.. it made me ask a question of religion.. then another...and another...and another. and soon.. i was very confused. i had believed for 27 yrs.
so , needless to say.. it was a hard time. but the more questions i asked... the closer i got to what i think is common sense...and when you look at the BIG picture of all religions past and present.. its started to seem so obvious how ....crazy..religions are
. and now 12 years later.... i treat people as i want to be treated. i am kind and giving. i am polite to others. i dont wait for a holiday to be nice to people. and i try to be a better man everyday.

Answer 9

It all started when I was in an expedition to the south pole. As the ironclad was pushing through the ice surrounding Antarctica, I looked out at the open ocean behind us and had an epiphany. I rea..

ahh, I'm just kidding, nothing really happened for me to become an atheist.

Answer 10

well I was beaten and abused in every way..my entire childhood until I had to run away from home at the legal age of 18-yes I had to RUN AWAY.I went to church during that time from 5-18 I prayed even in the face of all of that.One day my Grandmother went into a coma-she awoke and she was let to suffer for a year -A YEAR, before she finally found peace in death.No loving and caring lord would let all that happen to me and then take the one person that ever cared truly for me, in such a manner.There is no god there is only us and we are expendible.

Answer 11

I was raised in the church and week after week I kept hearing things that didn't match up with the real world. I began reading the Bible seriously and again what I read had no correlation to the real world. By the time I was 15 I realized it was a garbage and dumped it.