Faithless Children

[Green]

Hello All.

Having read more than a few religious conversion stories that involved heartache, extensive research, and slowly diminishing certainty in the person's outlook on life, I have begun to wonder how common my 'conversion' story is.

At about ten years old, without any sort of deliberation, guilt, reflection, or life changing events, I became an atheist. (I was raised as a Christian)

I am interested in the stories of other people who had the same sort of experience, that is, those who 'left the fold as lambs', or rejected the religion (or lack thereof) of their parents or society. Do you remember your reasons? Are you still whatever you converted to as a child? If not, how long did it last and how did you come to what be what you are now?

I am not sure that this is the correct forum for this, but it seemed more appropriate than Apologetics, as I am not really looking for much debate, but would not mind if the topic leads itself in that direction.

[hopelessromance]

I had a similar experience. I grew up Christian as well (Catholic to be exact).
Then early late elementary school/early highschool I just lost interest. I felt like the only reason I ever was Christian was for my parents and it was less of an important factor to me then.
So a few years went by and I was in a band and it was the end of grade 11. We kicked out our bass player and were bassless. I had moved away from my hometown but the guitar player hadn't. The town had recently built a skatepark and all the town kids there were there almost everyday.

So my guitar player called me one day and said that he had found us a new bass player that he met at the skatepark. So I met him and it turns out he's a 21 year old youth pastor. He may be 4 years older than us but he's a good bass player, can drive, and knows alot about religion and is really responsible.

Anyway. He was just at the park because he figured it would be a good place to meet some of the kids that he would be eventually helping out. Him and his wife had just moved there.

So. I talked a little with him and any questions I had he could answer. So I got moreand more interested and started to go to church with him on Sundays after band practice.

Now I go more regulalry but I still only go to the Catholic church on Christmas. ( to please my parents).

I now believe again and not just for the benefit of my parents.
This post is a little rushed as I'm at work and don't want to get fired.
I'll keep looking in though.

[XaositectCrayon]

about 8 I decided I didnt know
about 15 I decided there was a God but I couldnt know what it is
about 3 years ago I decided I didnt need a deity of any sort to help me find my soul.

[mentored1]

Hail and Well Met Green!

Raised a Catholic under the wings of grandparents who, I think, were trying to be sainted. About 14 or so I really wanted to know the meaning of my own existence and of existence in general. It couldn't have been just birth, taxes, and death could it? :wink: Well after a while of asking everyone at the Church and in my family - and many nights asking God - I got really mad at the fact that God wouldn't give me a clue.

Even though I was a born-again Christian in my early adulthood I once more faded away from it because the "silence of Heaven"... Nonetheless I still have failed to understand why God would not give some clue or revelation to a creature who honestly and desperately wanted to know. :shrug: Having been through it now I really don't need an answer, but I still wonder.

BTW, was there anything that led to or precipitated your atheistic transformation at 10 years old?

Take care

[Green]

I guess this sort of thing might be rarer than I thought. Thanks to all three of you for responding.




BTW, was there anything that led to or precipitated your atheistic transformation at 10 years old?




It seemed like it happened all at once. God (in whom I believed) and Santa Claus (in whom I never believed) seemed like the same sort of thing; a person who supposedly punished the bad and rewarded the good, but who was never actually visible and whose job was actually carried out by real people (parents for Santa Claus, the police for God). This brought to mind the many gods, goddesses, fairies, gnomes, etc. in books about mythology and fairy tales (these were my favorite kinds of books) who did pretty much what God did, but in whom apparently no one really believed; I figured God was just another one of them.

I actually used to think that everyone was except the children was in on the secret of God, that is, that he wasn't real. I thought that church, which I had attended since before I can remember, was about helping everyone else be good and reminding oneself to be good as well. I figured that God was like personification of a person's conscience, and that whenever the priest (I was Catholic) said "God", all the adults would know to translate that into "conscience" or something similar.

[mentored1]

Hail and well met Green


It seemed like it happened all at once. God (in whom I believed) and Santa Claus (in whom I never believed) seemed like the same sort of thing; a person who supposedly punished the bad and rewarded the good, but who was never actually visible and whose job was actually carried out by real people (parents for Santa Claus, the police for God). This brought to mind the many gods, goddesses, fairies, gnomes, etc. in books about mythology and fairy tales (these were my favorite kinds of books) who did pretty much what God did, but in whom apparently no one really believed; I figured God was just another one of them.

I actually used to think that everyone was except the children was in on the secret of God, that is, that he wasn't real. I thought that church, which I had attended since before I can remember, was about helping everyone else be good and reminding oneself to be good as well. I figured that God was like personification of a person's conscience, and that whenever the priest (I was Catholic) said "God", all the adults would know to translate that into "conscience" or something similar.

Interesting... That's a helluva deduction to make at 10 years old! :thumbs:

Reading your tale I wonder how much influence my adoration of fantasy and science fiction had on my questioning of God's existence. Probably a lot if your account here is to be taken seriously (which it is :wink:).

As a race we do personify our ideas quite readily don't we?

Take care

[meant2live]

As a teenager, I'm currently in that cliched state of confusion about religion.

I was raised a Christian by my parents and attended church for as long as I could remember, but I had never really thought about why I did it. As I got older, I began to notice some of the hypocrisy and corruption that exists within the church, and thought, "I don't want to be a part of this."

But, to reject the entire religion of Christianity on the basis of some peoples' actions seems unfair, so I've come to a point where I agree with the basis of Christianity but not so much with the people who practice it. As Ghandi said, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." There are points when I feel so depressed about how our church as a whole treats people who are not "one of us," (homosexuals, homeless/ poor people, etc.) that I feel ready to reject Christianity entirely.

I hesitate to call myself a Christian, but neither do I want to label myself an athiest. I guess the best label would be a 'doubting Christian.'

[zorathruster]

I am interested in the stories of other people who had the same sort of experience, that is, those who 'left the fold as lambs', or rejected the religion (or lack thereof) of their parents or society. Do you remember your reasons? Are you still whatever you converted to as a child? If not, how long did it last and how did you come to what be what you are now?



You may find this odd coming from a non-theist but you need to figure out the issues and weigh the benefits of participation verses the stigma of rejecting theology.

1. It is difficult to take a position that points toward the lack of basis for beliefs held by a majority of the people in your social group. How do you feel about taking a contrary position? How do you feel about being in a constant state of being confronted (even though you have valid repostes) about your positions?

2. Are you willing to accept frivolous justification and logically contradictory definitions if it allows you access to support groups and "Peace in the family".

3. Religion supports the status quo. How happy are you with current status quo and are you "accepting" of the direction of current society?

4. Pragmatically, religion has certain benefits, if you like them, don't reject it, go to the Tuesday night covered dish suppers, commune with people who are basically good, enjoy yourself, ignore all the rest of it. Rabbi Hillel once said, "What is repugnant to you, don't do that to your neighbor. All the rest of the Torah is commentary. Go study it."

5. Even if you do reject it, you are human and need "community". Where do you get your interactivity?

6. It doesn't matter whether you figured out its a bunch of bunk as a child, as a rebelious teen, or as an adult who actually read the works and assertions. What do you think and feel right now and how can you address your own needs and desires about community and socialization?

7 Can you make the effort to study philosophy without the guidance of a structured program? You need to figure out what is good and what is not good, that takes effort. Can you find goodness elsewhere or do you need the assistance of those who promote basically good ideas through a logically warped presentation?