Did you lose your religion while walking to church
On a miserable, wintery day?
Did it fizzle out slowly, till one day you looked,
And your faith had all melted away?
Did it leave all at once, in an argument, maybe,
The reverse of the “road to Damascus”?
I suspect there are millions of stories to tell…
If only somebody would ask us.
No, not my own poll–Greta Christina is asking. But if you only get your own readers, you get a biased sample, of course, so spread the word–even amongst those who don’t generally read FtB. Yes, there are those who don’t read FtB.
Lost mine on the road to Nantucket.
I’m not quite sure when I lost my faith. When I was eight years old I was sent to an Anglican summer camp where we did all kinds of fun things including attend chapel every morning where we heard lectures about the history of the church. I was quite taken by the theater of it all, and after the summer told my mom I’d like to be confirmed. She got in touch with the bishop, who said I was too young. They didn’t confirm children until the age of twelve or thirteen, when presumably a child has learned to consider things as an adult. This surprises me to this day. They actually wanted me to be conscious of the decision I would be making.
By the time I was thirteen, I was a solid atheist. I don’t know what changed me. I don’t remember any event. Probably just the accumulation of goofy stories and implausible assumptions was what did it. By then I was sure that Jesus Christ had all the reality of Santa Claus. It may have taken a year or two more before I dropped all belief in the sky faerie and the value of prayer. But nothing they were telling me in church made any sense at all. It just sounded stupid.
Some years later I caught myself watching a native American Indian ceremony with great reverence, until I realized that it was just a different brand of silly nonsense. Why was I giving it reverence when I gave no respect to my own culture’s nonsense? Since by that time Christianity was beyond belief, I had no choice but to scorn the Indian beliefs as well. And that’s been the story with everything I’ve encountered since, from Sufism to the many varieties of woo.
Needless to say, mom was not happy. She rather resented the bishop missing his chance to grab me.
Y’know, I once knew a man from Nantucket…
This entry is quite interesting, and though it would be almost embarrassing for me to ask you to explain when and why you became an atheist – because I do not feel entirely 100% comfortable asking you to devote an entry just to appease my curiosity…I am going to ask anyways.
I am always fascinated by why people believe the things they do, and the opposite. What circumstances made them turn to or away from a deity, and how friends, loved ones, etc have reacted to such a decision.
That is all.
Just a Girl, I actually have a page written with my story. It’s supposed to be linked to a tab at the top, but a glitch removed it. When I get a chance, I’ll put it back up; if you see an “about” button, or a “FAQ” or some such, It will have the answer to your question.