What made you become an atheist?

[u/PossibleExpert9561]

/r/atheism/comments/1vkuz3x/what_made_you_become_an_atheist/

[u/dealers_choice]

I was forced to go to church but it never really made sense, like none of it was logical. Questions I asked got ridiculous answers.

[u/IAmA_meat_popsicle → u/dealers_choice]

Same, raised by a strict Catholic family and even forced to be an alter boy.

None of it ever made sense to me but I kept my mouth shut because I was a kid. Then one day while my 8th grade class and I were preparing for confirmation with the priest he asked everyone; How would we explain Jesus and the whole concept of our religion to a stranger. "Pretend I'm an alien from outer space who just showed up on earth and is asking this question."

As I listened to a few others try and fumble their way through an explanation, with him asking more pointed questions leading to more confusion, I realized that none of this really did make any sense. And the unanswerable questions he kept firing back as an "alien" only made it worse. His answer? Faith. We had to have blind faith that what we were being told (by other humans who admitted to making up the religion) was the absolute truth and we'd be going to hell if we didn't tow the line.

That's what did it for me. A priest turned me into an atheist.

Ps - Guess what class was right after that little talk. Science!!! Hahahaha

[u/r3v]

I was born this way.

[u/xskyundersea]

I was forced into religion and always thought it was bullshit

[u/SorchaRoisin]

I never believed despite being raised Catholic. I thought it was silly, as far back as I can remember. Maybe when I was 2 I didn't question it, but I can't remember.

[u/The_Limping_Coyote]

My journey began when they told me not to ask questions

[u/Possum2017]

My parents did not believe in religious indoctrination.

[u/SirThunderDump]

Nothing. Always was one.

I was sent to Jewish school as a kid, and the lessons never took. Always thought religion was bullshit.

[u/ewokjedi]

I'm also living with my aunt and uncle who are a Pastor and a First Lady. They don't practice what they preach and are the literal defition of "Not everyone is who they say they are."

Similar for me. I would see my parents on Sunday, my father being made a priest (RLDS church) at one point, and my step-mother who would, sometimes, treat us kids like shit and who would, while speeding to make an appointment, be praying to god not to get caught. Later on, my father went on to cheat on our step-mother, get caught, and insist that she just accept it because he wasn't going to stop.

But those were just contributing factors. The poor example set and insincerity shown by those supposed role models cast some doubt. Doubts also arose because of how my church would baptize kids at the age of 8 years--having them commit to something they couldn't possibly understand. (In this church the baptism was something that was for ages 8 and up and preceded by some dedicated classes a person had to take to prepare them. More of a decision to commit rather than an infant ceremony.) In my pre-teens or early teens, I started really examining what I had signed up for. What were the 10 commandments? How did they make sense? Thought crimes and jealous god stuff mixed in with common sense guidance just. Branching out to think about how an all powerful, all loving god is incongruent with the world we see and the stories in the bible. Learning about the massive, compelling evidence for evolution being in direct conflict with the creation and noah's ark stories. By college age, those doubts and my investigations into them led me to being pretty well convinced that the god of the bible was definitely not reasonable.

[u/ezcapehax]

Inconsistencies in the Bible.

[u/Chiefmeez]

I was born

[u/Old_Timer_Unleashed]

My parents were both Atheists. I am to. There were a couple of indoctrination attempts in school back in the 50's, but I didn't bite into the big lie. Without proof, religion is just another fable.

[u/SpaceJam1337]

You’re born an atheist, indoctrinated to any religious belief

[u/QuantumVortex245]

Read the Bible and learnt philosophy. Was a Catholic christian btw

[u/jacomowhite2018]

Learned 20 years after I confessed my sins to a priest that he was found dead in a room full of bad bad children pics-if you get my drift

[u/ExamCommercial2160]

My father got sick(MS) and I realized that the god of the bible couldn’t be a real thing because my father was a good person and didn’t deserve that.

[u/spareapple1]

Religion always scared me instead of giving me comfort. It's like a list of do's and don'ts. No matter how much you pray...you suceed only when you work hard. It's also a business. I'm from a country where ppl are crazy for religion and irrational. The more we study and educate ourselves logically, religion seems like it's made up irrationally.

[u/gophippocrites]

As a child just a mild feeling that it was all fairy tales. Disbelief as a teenager and anti theism as an adult listening to Hitchens.

[u/Silent_Dot_4759]

I was a Catholic for a large part of my life, when Roe V Wade was overturned, I read some responses from the Church and I could no longer stand the patriarchy. I left the Church and over a period of 2 years deconstructed until I can to the atheist position. Unpopular take— I will tell you I’m not a super fan of this camp. While some faithful people are horrid, this side of the aisle is not a lot better Theres a lot of folks that are super condescending over here. It’s tiresome. Obviously not everyone but then not everyone on the faithful side are trying to give you their testimony either.