Conversion to atheism was ...

[Wile E. Coyote]

In reading the commentary this week I realized that my own conversion to atheism was not too dissimilar from the mother of two who wrote Randi a letter.

I was brought up as a Methodist in a family that went to church weekly, said grace at every dinner, and attended various religious retreats. I was very active in my church youth group as a teenager, and most of my friends were from that crew.

I always held very liberal views about God, sometimes enough to get me in trouble with some of the more fanatic church members, and I always left open the possiblity that God was unique for each person or that he simply did not exist.

It wasn't until I started reading some of the comments on this forum that I actually took the last leap to atheism. However, it took a lot of logic and a few sacrifices on my part to make that jump.

I am still adjusting to this liberating viewpoint. I still use God's name at times (such as "God d*mn it" or "Thank God"), and I feel wrong sitting at a dinner table and not saying thanks to someone who is not present. My wife is wary of my conversion, and my mother does not know for fear of what it would do to her.

Gradually, I am removing the unreal from my life, having had it built into me from the start. What are some of your experiences or obstacles with conversion?

 

[Guest]

It hasn't been easy. For a while, I was pretty serious about god. But now I'm mostly all better.

 

[Samus]

I would not call myself an atheist. I'm an agnostic. I'm willing to believe God can exist, but I'm content to believe he doesn't. I go about my daily life as if he does not exist (i.e. I don't pray, I don't go to church, I don't thank him or ask him for anything).

Where my hardship occasionally comes in is apropos to organized religion. To me it's poison, and the older the religion, the worse it is. I think about the "church-state," where the church was the governmental authority, and how bad those states were and how far they lagged behind reality. I think about all the hatred that is spread in the name of God, by some chowder head on cable with a bad haircut that claims his beliefs are right, that he knows what God wants. Bleh, F him!

People who believe in God don't bother me, and neither do atheists. Those who are fanatics to their dogma bother me, because as soon as you accept one dogma as "right," that means everyone else is varying degrees of wrong. Who's to say one holy book is any more valid than another? If God does exist, is he really going to get bent out of shape that you're Catholic vs. Methodist vs. Jewish? As long as you leave your little corner of the world better than you found it, isn't that what really matters?

I didn't vote in the poll, because you didn't put an option for people like me (nor did you put a Planet X option, you have much to learn about this poll stuff).

 

[Kiri]

I wasn't brought up in any faith to a serious degree, but I was very interested in mythology (mythology=a religion in which you don't believe). I studied various religions with the aim of figuring out exactly what I wanted to believe about god, and eventually I decided that I didn't need to.
I still occasionally practice paganism for my own emotional satisfaction, but not because I believe there's a god that gives a damn if I do or not.

PS: I too was disappointed at the lack of a Planet X option.

 

[Yahzi]

Like Randi, I was always obessed with distinguishing fantasy from reality. I was briefly converted to Baptist for a few weeks at the age of 11, but left when I realized no-one could answer my questions.

My first encounter with religion (or indeed, any claim) is always: show me. And I never understood why I should believe any claim that couldn't be demonstrated.

 

[Kiri]

And I never understood why I should believe any claim that couldn't be demonstrated.

That's because we lack FAITH, my friend.

 

[AP's sock puppet]

It was sudden. I was riding a horse on the road to Damascus, and there was this blinding light...

 

[c4ts]

Excuse me, but how the hell do you convert ot atheism? Is there a Church of Atheism I can join or something?

 

[ArmchairPhysicist]

Huh?

I didn't convert to atheism, I was born without a belief in a deity, and never converted from atheism.

That's not a poll option, though...

 

[BroodingSkill]

Let's see here's my beliver/non-believer score card:


1.Believer as a child ( I had some church and Sunday school)
2.Non-Beliver also as a child ( I discovered Science and asked too may questions much to the dismay of teachers and school mates)
--this lasted through high school, including an argument I had with a biology teacher(who was a believer) over evolution. This was in the 1980's.
3.Out of College in the 90's, lost and confused I decided to try to believe in something. So I experimented. I did a lot of reseach into the Occult, Buddism, and Taoism. This lasted until about 2 years ago.
4.Big surprise now I'm a non-believer again. After coming to except that I'm a man without faith. I let go of all of what I had conditioned myself to believe or what society told me I should believe, with that I discovered the peace of mind I had always been looking for, now I embrace science and rational thought wholeheartedly, and I've never been happier.

 

[Mercutio]

I remember being scared at sunday school...looking through the soundproof window at my parents, and all those adults, and they would bow their heads in unison, and it really creeped me out. I remember Mormons coming to our house with a felt-board and little cutouts of bible stories, and thinking it was silly. I remember joining a church at our new town, really liking the people there and what they did, really respecting them, but not feeling a part of it. Then, a religious conversion, feeling truly moved by the holy spirit, not remembering how I got to the front of the church to witness, being baptised and really understanding and knowing that this was right. (as an aside, I have read in this forum, more than once, a claim that atheists cannot understand the Xian view--been there, done that, understand it completely. I do not deny the overwhelming power of the experience, but I see a slightly different explanation now.) The church I belonged to actively encouraged people to challenge and explore their beliefs--they had the courage of their convictions. And so I did.

The change to atheism (converted? hey, if rice can be converted, so can I) was very gradual, and I think the first time I actually used the term "atheist" to describe myself was at least 10 years later, in grad school. The more I learned about belief systems, the less was unexplained. Eventually, the evidence, and Occam's razor, won out. No regrets, no doubts. As Douglas Adams said, "I'll take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance every time."

The blessing of studying experimental psychology was that the very questions that were difficult (never believed creationism, never believed young-earth, those were easy decisions) were easily addressed--emotion, belief, consciousness--hey, that's my science now. I absolutely understand those who are religious, and I don't disparage them. The one caveat I give my students is not to define their religion negatively--i.e., "the things we don't know are the things god explains." That way, the more we learn, the less god there is. They can make their own decisions in their own time.

I have not hid my atheism since I came to that realization, and my children are, so far, growing up atheist (if they want to go to church, they have plenty of friends who will take them). They are, however, growing up moral, and good, and smart (and curious, and musical, and active, and many other things). They have learned about many religions, many cultures, many views. I thank my religious upbringing for some of my morality, and for some of my willingness to question. I really wish more religions valued questioning more.

I'm glad you started this thread, Wile--I had been meaning to start something like it for some time. Of course, it would also be kind of neat to see how the non-atheists arrived where they are, as well...

 

[Kashyapa]

I was raised an agnostic, as my parents didn't really have any beliefs. I added philosophical Buddhism in the vein of Thich Nhat Hanh and non-religious Zen when I was in high school, but I'm still in no way religious. That's sort of a funny story- I went to a Catholic high school, and walked in one day with my mantra beads around my wrist. My religion teacher (a very dogmatic, proper Catholic woman) asked me where I got my lovely rosary. I said," the nepalese import shop...and it's a Buddhist rosary." The entire administration had a cow, but they couldn't do anything about it. There was one parent that even tried to get me expelled from the school on the grounds that I was going to undermine the Catholic atmosphere. Eeek! A heathen evildoer! Hide the children!

 

[Ossai]

I was raised baptist, southern baptist. Talk about loads of garbage to overcome. I questioned everything when I was young and was pretty much encouraged by my parents, that is until I started questioning church. In high school I was pretty much an agnostic and because of that I only had one friend. I left as soon as possible, attended college in another state. I go back on holidays, sometimes.

Ossai

 

[Hypocolius]

What dwb said.

 

[thatguywhojuggles]

As a young child I hated church because it was boring.

When I turned 15, my parents told me I could decide for myself whether or not I wanted to go to church. From that moment on, I've only been a couple of times. Once was because my sister wanted me to videotape her daughter's babtism.

I can't stand the overwhelming and gastly odor of church women perfume.

 

[fishbob]

Kind of like Ossai, I remember from age 7 or 8, sitting in the Southern Baptist church and thinking quite often "well, that doesn't make sense", but keeping my thoughts to myself. Not much has changed over the years, except I don't keep it to myself quite as much.

 

[Kashyapa]

Church lady perfume is the worst. Eau de Dogma. Like sticking your face into a funeral bouquet and snorting some saccharine at the same time.

As a young child I hated church because it was boring.

When I turned 15, my parents told me I could decide for myself whether or not I wanted to go to church. From that moment on, I've only been a couple of times. Once was because my sister wanted me to videotape her daughter's babtism.

I can't stand the overwhelming and gastly odor of church women perfume.

 

[Darwin]

Actually I have wrestled with these subjects to a decent degree lately which has only encouraged me to keep my ground,position and get in grips with it.My interest in science,always growing had me observing and analyzing the whole picture and the origins and motivating factors with religion,and to gain and understanding of it´s difficulties.
Many of my relatives,less or more close carry strong beliefs towards christianity,I can perfectly live with that and while I consider myself to be open about my ideology I avoid discussing this with them because everyone knows how it is like to discuss these things with the pre-employed,so to speak.I do not want to offend anyone even though I have witnessed these groups expressing their supposed fundamental truth trough the use of a strong force-fear.What I think had some additional influence on me was this agressive stand that relig.society had against different views,having had interest in eastern philosophies,arts and alternative medicine etc. (which I question these days) It was hard to understand the logic of readily irrational unit low on rational thought and science taking shots at pseudoscience and other views.
Having studied alternating beliefs to a degree,I try to promote freedom of thought among all groups.
A world restricted by some precious method of thought can be a lonely one.

It is hard to say whether I should consider myself an atheist or agnostic.Somewhat funnily maybe,I hold agnostic idea out in case someone/something might be able to convince me of God´s existence by empirical methods-as even young children say "you cannot disprove it".This though,I highly doubt.




Voted for "painless".