Non-theists, convene!

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Aslan

rainy
Nov 12, 2006
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Who are the atheists, agnostics, and non-religious people here? As a relatively new and first-gen atheist, I'm always interested in others stories. Were you raised in a believing home or an areligious one? Have you ever been harassed by believers (family, friends, or others) for your beliefs?

I thought that since there was a thread calling out the religious people, we could have our own thread. :wlae:

http://forum.purseblog.com/general-discussion/anyone-religious-69343.html?highlight=religious
 
My mother was an atheist, my dad never talked about it, and I don't believe either. My husband keeps an open mind, but is not a religious person. He is, however, a kind and upstanding person, and I'll take that over religion any day.
 
Okay, I quickly pushed the button and I didn't share my background! I was raised in a very strict Christian household. I went to church three times a week, and I was homeschooled from pre-K through high school for religious reasons. When I attended college, I picked up an interest in philosophy and religious inquiry. Simply, I found that my reasons for being a theist didn't hold up under the scrutiny that I placed many of my beliefs under at that time.

My mother was horrified, initially, but she is comforted by the fact that she can still pray for my soul.
 
I am an atheist. My parents were never particularly religious, though my mother still feels she fails in some way because I don't believe.

My dh was raised RCA in a very conservative congregation, but he is very liberal in his beliefs. He is more spiritual than religious, though he still counts himself as a Christian.

I highly recommend the newer publications "The God Delusion" and "Letter to a Christian Nation". Even if you don't take them totally seriously, they give good food for thought.
 
I am an atheist. I was raised in a Roman Catholic home where I was forced to go to church, and take these charming little church classes. I always have conversations with my Mom that kind of go like this:

Mom: "You have to thank God for the fact that you have a roof over your head and food to eat."
Me:"But I don't believe in God, remember?
Mom: "There are children in Africa who are roofless and starving. You must thank god."
Me::hrmm:
 
I'm an agnostic spiritualist.

From wiki: the view that there may or may not be a God(s), while maintaining a general personal belief in a spiritual aspect of reality, particularly without distinct religious basis, or adherence to any established doctrine or dogma.
 
Complete athiest. No believe in Gods of any kind, no belief in the afterlife, and I don't have a 'personal' God or spirituality. I guess I'm a hard-core Darwinian (the scientist in me I guess).
I have been to church maybe 5-10 in my life and that was grandparents taking me.
Mom grew up in a religious home, Dad didn't. Dad is now very religious.
To each his own is the motto in my immediate and extended family. I guess my extended family (Mom's side) is very very very religious....but it's a topic we just don't really discuss. When dinner starts I bow my head for prayer, but don't really say or do anything....I do it because it's their house!

I go to a Catholic university....so I'm not very vocal about my beliefs....but instead I prefer to avoid religious conversations with most people there.
I do for some reason have a strange fascination with churches & mosques.....the architecture and history!
 
I would not say that I was raised in a religious home, but we went to church every Sunday. It was not until I was in college that I began to question religion in general. I have come to the belief that people use religion as a excuse, or that some use religion as a means to prey upon the weak. To each is own. I leave the conversation when it turns to such matters.
 
me! i was agnostic for ages but i've decided i'm atheist now. i can't bring myself to believe in a deity, it seems completely illogical to me. my parents belong to the church (we have a state church in finland) but we only go to christenings, funerals, confirmations and weddings. my youngest brother almost didn't get confirmed (he actually took the whole thing seriously rather than me and my other brother who just thought of it as something you have to do, and a fun camp, and of course the gifts) but after a stern talking to from my grandfather he did anyway. i'm thinking of leaving the church (my uncle did) at some point but i'm not sure.. i'd still like the option of getting married in a church if i wanted to (or rather, if my potential future husband would like to), or to be a godparent if someone wanted me to be one without having to attend confirmation school again (minus all the fun of the camp you go to when you're 14-15) :wtf:

my main problem with religion (other than not being able to justify believing in a deity) is that it's so often used as an excuse to do all kinds of things i don't agree with.

i can't say i've ever had a problem with religious people (in real life anyway) but that's probably because i don't really know very many. i suspect my mother told her parents not to discuss religion with me or my brothers because i only found out last year that my grandmother spent a lot of time with pentecostalists after she left home at 16 (she had an evil stepmother) and my younger cousins have all heard stories about it.
 
I'm an agnostic spiritualist.

From wiki: the view that there may or may not be a God(s), while maintaining a general personal belief in a spiritual aspect of reality, particularly without distinct religious basis, or adherence to any established doctrine or dogma.

That pretty much covers me.

After my mom died I guess I felt comfortable expressing my own religious views not believing although I still wonder!?!:shrugs: I have had too many weird things happen to me to not believe in anything...
 
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