Dacey said 10 years, 11 months ago:

I’d love to read why! :)

I guess I’ll share my story while I’m at it:

Ever since I was a child I was forced into religion. I was baptized as a Catholic when I was a baby and I used to study in a Private Christian School. I’ve honestly never believed in a “God”. And I really don’t care either. I concentrate more on life than on people praising something that doesn’t exist. My stepsister calls me the “Apatheist” of the family (Apatheism).

I do love studying religion. Its so interesting to read how they were created, and how they adapt their lives to it.
-Islamic art is gorgeous.
-Christian history, all the wars and split ups from Rome are interesting.
-Hinduism, in my opinion, is one of the most mysterious religions.
-The philosophy of the Buddhism.
-Symbolism of Judaism

My family pretty much has a hard time accepting my beliefs. Also, it’s just the fact that this world is so messed up. How innocent people die, how there are people starving in Africa, how people suffer. Why would “God” want this to happen? I don’t believe in heaven or hell either. I believe in reincarnation and/or the “light” that you see when you die is the “light” that you see when you are being born.

Love-and-be-loved said 10 years, 11 months ago:

Ive been raised up thinking that there is no such thin is god. like one time when i was little i was walking with my mom and we passed a church with a whole bunch of people inside and she said somthing like “look at all those crazy people worshoping somthing thats not even there” thats how i was raised my entire life. and when stuff in my family started going crazy i relized there really is not god becuase why the hell would he let this stuff happen

Deleted User said 10 years, 11 months ago:

Well, I don’t really stamp myself as an atheist but in I suppose in the eye of Christianity then that’s what I am. Don’t really have an interesting story. I was christened as a baby but my parents told me that was only so when I was older I could get married in a church (jokes on them, I don’t plan on getting married let alone in a church).

Didn’t go to sunday school or a religious one (thankfully) but we did have weekly assemblies where one of the local vicar/priest guys would come along and tell us a story from the bible to teach us the morals of it or whatever. Used to do services in the church down the road at Christmas/Easter etc, and had to sing these really cheesy songs (some of them about Jesus and stuff, not hymns so I have no idea where they came from.)

I didn’t take much notice to be honest, I just let those that believed get on with it. There was a moment in Religious Ed class we had a sub and he told us to start reading chapters of the bible and when I refused to he ended up making me read it aloud in the class (along with a few other people) which I didn’t appreciate. Don’t mind if people believe if it helps them get through things but try to force it on me and I generally won’t be happy about it.

Deleted User said 10 years, 10 months ago:

Because I’m LOGICAL!

Swifting said 10 years, 10 months ago:

I was raised as a Catholic – that was until I was 14. At about 10 I realized I had more questions than my faith could answer.

From there on out it’s been me, some logic, and some facts.

Odie said 10 years, 10 months ago:

I’m an atheist because I was raised one. Now that I’ve been raised, and taught to critically examine the world and the contents of my own head, I see no reason to accept any religion as a plausible alternative explanation for anything.

Sentinel said 10 years, 10 months ago:

I grew up with an massive opposition to auhority. Also, I had a massive mental breakdown as a kid due to some whackjob sunday school teacher telling me I’d go to hell. After that, I went from being protestant to a deist, and from there I made the natural progression to an agnostic atheist.

TheStarsAreFalling said 10 years, 9 months ago:

I never was sure what to identify myself as. My father grew up Jewish, and my mother a Christian. Neither of them practiced a religion during my childhood. I went through an awkward phase where I tagged along with different friends to different places of worship. I really respect the community that religion can create, but I never found the right fit. One day my brother turned to me and said “I just don’t think I can fit a god into my perception of the Universe.” That’s when it really sunk in. I both hate and love the stigma surrounded by saying “I’m an atheist”. But, that’s my story.

thedoctorscompanion said 10 years, 9 months ago:

I guess my story is pretty simple. All of my life I have lived in a Hindu household and a result was taught to believe that things in the world were a certain way.My parents were had an on-and-off relationship with religion so they would transition between being crazy religious to pretending religion didn’t even exist.Because of this I never put to much thought into it I just kind of blindly believed. Until one day in seventh earth science where we were watching how the earth came to be. Typically I would half pay attention to these videos but that day this video capture my attention. Because reading in textbook and seeing were to totally different things.It made so much sense to me based on logic. This differed so much from what I had been taught to believe (that it took the combined effort of three gods to create the earth). I felt uninformed so I so I began to research and came to the conclusion that all religions in their fundamental were quite similar but that didn’t make them correct. The simple but might power of science made me an atheist.

Oblivisci said 10 years, 9 months ago:

I wasn’t raised an atheist, but nor was I raised a believer either. My country, France, is a secular one; and religion used to be a very private matter (that is unfortunately not the case any more, but that’s for another story). My parents really wanted me to choose for myself. So I’ve been to churches, mosques, temples, pagan places of worships, all sorts of things. Religions are fascinating to me. But… it’s not working. Seriously. Faith – I don’t have it. I don’t know how to get it. How do they do it? How can they believe? I’ve tried, and tried, and tried, but maybe my cold-fact brain gets in the way (also, I’m female, I don’t want to have kids, nor do I want to obey my husband, thank you very much – don’t even get me started on LGBT rights.)

And because I’m an atheist from a secular country where most people my age are also atheists, what happens in, let’s say, middle-east or in the American “bible belt” is both extremely entertaining and horrifying to me.

Deleted User said 10 years, 8 months ago:

I’m an atheist because of a personal event in my life that led me to question why any “loving” god would allow suffering. But that quickly evolved to me rejecting the commandment to love and forgive your enemies. I won’t accept that commandment from any organization, which is reason #2 why I left.

Deleted User said 10 years, 8 months ago:

Why am I an atheist?

During my little time on this planet, I’ve not once believed in God. Going to church was a bore, and praying was merely a dull chore. Admittedly I have done a few prayers in hope, but more so as a last resort, rather than actually believing.

Things such as “if there is, then help me now!” as well as “you must, for the goodness of life!” … *it’s normal to turn towards it as a last resort (I mean, it doesn’t really hurt).

I’ve seen plenty of need for Gods ’till this day. Beyond superior-beings that can answer our prayers and keep our world safe. I’ve seen plenty of need for them, but no need has been answered by them, and no sign has been seen, and as such, the thought just doesn’t seem right.
For me, believing in such a mystical life force is impossible. Probably because I cannot fathom the idea of a mad God that plants both seeds of darkness and light. I also do not wish to see into the eye of a God that is claimed as pure goodness, all the while is slightly evil.

I cannot believe that a puppeteer is weaving waves of life when I cannot feel the non-existent string that is supposedly attached to my soul. I am not a toy of another one’s imagination! If I am a toy of imagination, I am of my own!

By those thoughts am forced to believe that all that is done, is done by us.

Still, all religions are not connected to Gods, some are connected to spirituality and energy. I feel a stronger bond to those, but I do not in believe their visions either, for they see something I don’t … and thus I remain an atheist, a man who simply believes in the life he lives and nothing beyond it.

Dannizy said 10 years, 7 months ago:

Well, I’m bisexual. This whole uproar of whether God agrees with us gays or not made me think a lot. And I realized there’s absolutely no proof of God. Pointing at grass and asking who made it does not prove God made it. It just proves that we don’t know who made it.
Since life is only what we’ve created it to be, I think people just need something there to tell them what to do. Which is really understandable.
Besides, one’s good is another’s evil. ‘God’ did what he did for the better good. It doesn’t matter if we don’t agree – only he makes the rules and we must follow them.
I find that cruel, and I certainly won’t live under those conditions. No, thanks.
I don’t mind if someone believes in God. But it bothers me if they get mad at me and try to force their religion onto me!

Anyways, I just find the whole story of the Bible so unrealistic and crazy. Especially with no proof.

Jesmine said 10 years, 7 months ago:

I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school–the whole shebang. However, ever since I was little I always felt creeped out by the notion of some cosmic father watching my every move (same goes for Santa). Judging me. Policing my mind. Being overall possessive and controlling. I also didn’t understand why a God would be so wrathful towards the things he loved, thanks to bible study. When I got older I discovered the internet and found out there was an actual word for my doubts and people who thought the same. That being Atheism. I poked around, listened to other atheists, and read science articles. WAM BAM insta-atheist. Through education and interaction with other people. Just because you don’t know how something works doesn’t make it magic. Not to mention you should still be excited about finding out how it works because THE UNIVERSE IS AMAZING. What we know of it currently is absolutely amazing and frightening! But still very amazing!

Jess said 10 years, 7 months ago:

I don’t really have a specific reason, I just don’t believe in an ultimate power or god, or religion, I believe in natural evolution (not just of people, but the general growth of existence), and the power of people and animals (which solely belongs to them, not a higher power).

I also don’t agree with a lot of religious morals, but that didn’t help cause my original beliefs, but it contributes now.

ALSO, I see and have experienced tragedy and no god has ever helped in any way and people can try to justify all they want, but it’s not good enough, and I’m not interested in any reasoning.