What was your religion before to be non-believer?

[Kilgore Trout]

I was a member of The Orthodox Church of Pimping before becoming an atheist.

 

[9Westy9]

I was a member of The Orthodox Church of Pimping before becoming an atheist.

Haven't heard of that one. Any good?

 

[C.E.O]

Like the majority of Arabs, I was born and bred as a Muslim, until I realized there isn't such divine books, and now I'm non-religious.

 

[lunakilo]

I was baptized as a child and became a member of the church of Denmark so I suppose I was technically Lutheran. We never went to church though and can't remember a single religious conversation in my house while I was growing up.

At age 13 when it was time to be confirmed I actually told my mother that I didn't want to since I didn't believe in God. She told me that it was my decision to make. But then my grandmother told me that she was looking forward to my confirmation and I really didn't want to disappoint her so I ended up being confirmed anyway.

I stayed a member of the church for many years simply because leaving it required me to fill in a form
Plus I figured the money I paid in church taxes for the most part was used to help people.

I left the church 3 years ago after an episode where I got very angry at a priest. He argued that since 80% of the danish population were members of 'his' church 80% of the population had the same opinion as he did. He was a racist ******* and I became so angry that he would use my membership of the church as an argument that he was right that I filled in the form and left the church the next day.

I don't think I can actually claim to have been anything other than an atheist at any time in my life.

 

[Splarnst]

I was a Catholic.

Specifically, an indult traditionalist Catholic. Those don't exist anymore. (No more indult.)

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

I was bapitised and Catholic until I realized that 18 meaningless string of words (I baptise thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost) and the sprinkling of a little H20 on my head could not have possible change anything, both physically and spiritually.

 

[Vega]

Never had one. Though I did used to say I had "my own beliefs" in grade school and even wore a cross at one point, that was more for social acceptance I guess. Kinda silly now that I think about it.

 

[Viker]

Judaism, Baptist, Evangelical, various pagan stuff then college and the inevitable conclusion.

 

[Majikthise]

Raised Protestant, came of age in the 80s when all the religious family values crap was going down. Walked along a beach at 2 or 3am one night and yelled at the sky for a while. Good thing nobody saw me, they would have had me commited. Don't remember what I was on about but I never got any answers and no lightning stikes. The absurdity of my actions must have tirggered something in my mind and I decided the whole god thing was just foolishness.
I've never related this story to anyone before.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

I guess I was never really religious, although my parents are practicing Hindus. They never forced me to believe one way or the other about god. I would take part in Hindu festivals mainly because they are fun. But during recital one time I had some doubts about the motives of god and I asked my dad. He tried answering as much as he could. After a while he started getting annoyed and told me "Thats how it is. You cannot ask any more questions." I remember that incident clearly as the starting point of my atheism which I suspect was dormant until that point.

 

[C.E.O]

Raised Protestant, came of age in the 80s when all the religious family values crap was going down. Walked along a beach at 2 or 3am one night and yelled at the sky for a while. Good thing nobody saw me, they would have had me commited. Don't remember what I was on about but I never got any answers and no lightning stikes. The absurdity of my actions must have tirggered something in my mind and I decided the whole god thing was just foolishness.
I've never related this story to anyone before.

And you took this decision at 80s ... Amazing.
How brave and honest you are.

 

[RaviAuto]

What was your religion before to be non-believer?

When you said "that's enough with my religion, I will not accept it anymore".
Did you decide to search out another religions or you directly became a non-believer.

Please Care to elaborate. Although I know it's a personal experience and unique way to every body, but maybe it helps others to save their times and efforts.

Thanks.

Really interesting post.....................

 

[Majikthise]

And you took this decision at 80s ... Amazing.
How brave and honest you are.

Hahaha!!
No, I'm only 46. I was a teen in the 1980s. I decided I was an atheist in the early 1990s.

 

[rageoftyrael]

Christian. Can't remember what specific branch.

 

[rageoftyrael]

i was a christian. never really bought into it, but didn't really think about it till i hit 18. then i decided i was an agnostic, and now i consider myself an agnostic atheist.

 

[MissDiscerner]

I grew up Catholic and after many faith problems was confirmed in 2008. But the faith crisis came back, and I took knowledge of the CC scandals... and I gave up this year. Now I'm a non-monotheist seeker. The pure materialism is not for me...

 

[InfidelRiot]

What was your religion before to be non-believer?

When you said "that's enough with my religion, I will not accept it anymore".
Did you decide to search out another religions or you directly became a non-believer.

Please Care to elaborate. Although I know it's a personal experience and unique way to every body, but maybe it helps others to save their times and efforts.

Thanks.

I was born and raised Catholic before I became a non-believer.

 

[mycorrhiza]

I was a Christian until the age of 16 or 17, prayed every day but rarely went to church. Then I actually read the Bible and I found the OT God to be highly unpleasant and I decided that I could not worship this God, even though I did like Jesus' teachings. If someone had introduced me to Gnosticism at this point, that's probably where I would have ended up, but I didn't find out about that concept until just recently.

I wasn't ready to let go of a God, though, so I turned to deism and a year later I gave up on a transcendental God and became an atheist before discovering naturalistic / monist physical pantheism.

 

[Nobody]

I have always been atheist.

My parents sort of attempted to raise me Christian (they weren't that religious), but apparently I was a very annoying skeptical child who never believed anything I was told... (So this Santa guy comes down the chimney and brings presents? Ok I'm making a trap.) I'm amazed I survived to adulthood, how I didn't accidentally kill myself or frustrate my parents enough to strangle me I''ll never know.

In my teens/early 20s I explored many religions, read the Bible which disgusted me, looked into some eastern religions which didn't appeal to me, got into various forms of European paganism and magical practices which I thoroughly enjoyed but never actually managed to take that seriously (I did try).

Now while I think the probability of any god(s) existing is so microscopic that it is inconsequential, I am still open to proof, and I'm firmly convinced that religion has done far more harm than good to the world.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

It was something based on hallucinations. Just monotheism I guess...