Your Stories of Atheism Part 2

A while back, I asked you guys to send in your stories of how you came to identify as an atheist. You sent me in so many stories and they keep literally pouring in. If you missed part 1, you can head over there and read it now.

Here is the second instalment.

This one was sent in by someone who wants to remain anonymous about how he or she was raised as a Moonie:

I was raised as a moonie. This was very hard, being such right wing, conservative religion, with a very backward theology. This is not the best of environments to be gay. “Dung-eating dogs” etc. I never really had a problem from others as I kept it quiet. Wanting to “deal” with it myself. But as a result of an adolescence of self-hatred I left the church. I search around to find a purpose (which I found in science) and realised that there is so much hatred in the name of god, in the world. I didn’t want to be part of that world, so it love in a much nicer one now.

Here’s a story about a Southern Baptist upbringing from Malcolm:

I was born in a Southern Baptist family that went to church regularly, my mother was my sunday school teacher. Somewhere in my teenage years, I just found the story of the bible, as unconvincing, as the story of Santa Clause. I don’t what actually cause my disbelief, I wasn’t mistreated by my parents or pastor, I had a pretty easy life growing up. At some point though my mind just started screaming at me that “this is bullshit.” It may have been the self evaluation that people in Greek times believed in their gods, just as my friends and family believed in the one they claim as the source of everything, yet they laughed about mythology because, “those people were stupid.” Something there just didn’t add up for me. I still have a sense of wonder and awe at existence and consciousness, which one may term loosely as “spirituality” I guess, but I’m not sure where that leaves me in the realm of beliefs.

And lastly, here’s a story about atheism that can be attributed to Richard Dawkins, sent in by Eddie:

My parents attempted to turn me into a Catholic. They failed. I dithered around what *faith* might mean to me for years. I, like many, confused being civilised with being religious. Luckily I read Richard Dawkins'”The God Delusion

“. I am now comfortable with what my life is; I live this life now, paying no heed to primitive promises of *after-life*. That one book is transformative in its intelligence and insight. I wish it was compulsory reading in schools. I am comfortable with my fellow humans and despair the destruction wreaked by so-called *religions*. If you can, please encourage more people to read The God Delusion

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If you want to send me your story, head over to the submission form and I’ll share it with my readers.