Guest Furball Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Hi Everyone, I've been reading Will Storr's new book "The Unpersuadables" about people who cling to their beliefs when presented with conflicting evidence. That made me wonder, why do some people change their mind? I'm a journalism grad student and writing about this for my final "Religion & Journalism" paper. I'd love to get everyone's insight! -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? -What makes you different? -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? Thanks in advance. And you can read my own journey to atheism here: http://www.alternet.org/belief/how-i-went-being-southern-baptist-preachers-daughter-open-atheist -Lala -no -i live in reality -yes, i am not superstitious -no i don't believe in fairy tales Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Thanks in advance. And you can read my own journey to atheism here: http://www.alternet.org/belief/how-i-went-being-southern-baptist-preachers-daughter-open-atheist -Lala I read it. Impressive. Thanks for sharing. -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? Yes, absolutely. I moved to a bigger city before I went through the actual deconversion process. If you go looking for them here you can find atheist groups but the church buildings and faith groups are more prominent. -What makes you different? The same as some others said--a propensity for having to know how things really came to be and how we can know for sure. A curiosity that will not die, that will pursue the same burning question for decades if necessary. -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? Um, just what I said above. The need for solid evidence in the face of a religion that has no evidence to support its arguments and claims. Somehow, this was inborn because I was born into an environment where obedience to authority was valued above all else. I could not help thinking for myself and questioning authority; my brain did it for me. I don't remember anyone ever telling me in so many words but I'm sure if ever anyone told me that questioning authority was wrong, I would have asked, "Why?" And I would have expected a decent answer...Let's see, maybe they did tell me in all kinds of ways but the concept itself was so ludicrous to my mind that it never took hold. I really don't know. -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? No, my Christian friends and family wouldn't. They didn't and they refuse to. They will shun and excommunicate me first. There was nothing that led to the final move other than that I simply ran out of places to seek answers and concluded no answers exist for my burning questions. Oh let's see, I did go through all the reading for a graduate degree in theology that left me without answers for Christianity. On these forums and elsewhere, including university, I kept finding more and more natural explanations for what was supposedly proof of the supernatural. My biggest lifelong question regarded how the dead body of Jesus (physical) can possibly save souls (spirit) from hell (a spiritual place). Somehow, I knew instinctively even as a child that this just doesn't compute (matter is lower than spirit) but I was stuck in a culture where you have no alternative to accepting the faith if you wish for any kind of social life. So I trusted the bishop and my mother who promised that as we get older we'll understand. That was when at age 17 I accepted my church's believer's baptism because I truly wanted to do what was right. At age 40 I was no closer to understanding and it felt like I'd been lied to. The desire to do what is right has not left me. It forced me to deconvert. I would not live a lie, though sometimes I wonder in retrospect if that would not have been better. On the other hand, the burdens that rolled off my back and into the abyss when I came clean and honest really do make all the hassle and alienation worth while. The peace that passeth understanding cannot be surpassed. I am very happy to say that even the fear of hell finally lost its grip. I wish you all the best, Lala, as you pursue your studies and career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsman Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I was always a challenging child because I questioned everything. When I was 12 I was already stumping ordained ministers with tough questions. When I finally left, my mother was surprised. She said I was too smart for my own good. Jesus came for the poor, downtrodden and the stupid. He did not come for the wise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheerbliss Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi Everyone, I've been reading Will Storr's new book "The Unpersuadables" about people who cling to their beliefs when presented with conflicting evidence. That made me wonder, why do some people change their mind? I'm a journalism grad student and writing about this for my final "Religion & Journalism" paper. I'd love to get everyone's insight! -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? -What makes you different? -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? Thanks in advance. And you can read my own journey to atheism here: http://www.alternet.org/belief/how-i-went-being-southern-baptist-preachers-daughter-open-atheist -Lala 1. AFAIK, I'm the only atheist in my family. My older brother (deceased) may have been. 2. I'm not a very social person and never really fit in with my family or any congregation. I met some wonderful people at a church I went to, but I'd moved by the time I started digging into the roots of Christianity and figuring out it was based on myths and legends. So I didn't lose a bunch of friends when I became an atheist. My parents were upset, but they got over it. 3. For me, a couple: wanting the truth and being intense. I don't think anyone in my family read anything scholarly about the Bible, and certainly not anything critical of it. 4. Odd that you mention college. Two of the professors in my tiny department (mechanical engineering) were ordained ministers. Critical thinking and epistemology aren't taught in engineering school (at least, not mine) and engineers tend to believe in just as much woo as anyone else. (Jack Parsons, a founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, doomday preacher Harold Camping, and Osama bin Laden come to mind.) As for my family, my dad didn't like church and was on to a lot of the bunkum spouted by spiritual leaders. For reasons I've never understood, though, he was active in the Masons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? There are not many. In my local social circle I would be only one. -What makes you different? Not sure. Bothering to think? -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? I have always wanted to know why someone thinks what they think. When I was young I asked why a lot. I noticed that some people would become angry when trying to explain why they think what they think. I always found this puzzling. If you think something for no reason, then just say so. No need to get angry about being asked how or why you think something. But just asking people to explain themselves can cause them to become very angry even if I’m not saying I disagree with them. It also bothered me to see that if I can show someone obvious evidence that what they think is wrong, then they will become very mad and refuse to listen to anything I have to say. I’m not talking about religious beliefs. I’m talking about any minor thing. I always had a desire to know what is correct. I don’t want to prove my already held belief is correct unless there is some obvious proof. I didn’t want to be the person that gets mad when presented with new facts. I also think noticing how adamant people are that they are right when they are wrong bothered me. Some people can feel so absolutely sure they are right in the face of all logic and evidence. Being fully aware of this phenomenon made me not want to become like them. I don’t want to be the incorrect person who is absolutely sure of themselves. So to sum it up. I have a strong desire to know what is right and a strong desire to not be claiming I am right when I am wrong. -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? I really dislike wasting time on useless endeavors. If Christianity is true then I should devote nearly all of my time on the earth to Christianity so that I can have my happy afterlife which will grant me infinite time. My limited lifespan on the earth is like nothing compared to eternity. Any time not spent on trying to get myself and others into Heaven is a waste of time. However, if Christianity is false then I need to disregard it entirely because it is a waste of my precious limited time to be worrying about how to interpret Bible verses about how to please a non-existing god that someone else imagined up. I also needed to decide if I should to be trying to convert others to this time sucking activity. I was raised to be a Christian so it was the worldview I was given by my parents at the start. I held onto the belief so long because I wanted Heaven to be true so I didn't want to question it. I also worried about whether or not I would prefer to continue believing a delusion that would make me feel good, or a truth that might make me feel depressed. I decided to think it through until I reached a conclusion, even if that meant risking losing my belief in Heaven and afterlife. It is sort of ironic in a way. The appeal of Christianity to me was that it offered me eternity, but in reality it was using up my very limited time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWolf Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? At the moment, I am still unsure about what I truly believe in. I guess I would class as myself as agnostic or skeptic. I am unsure what my brother believes anymore, my parents are both religious - very openly so. I have quite a few friends who are atheist or agnostic, but we never really talk about it. Don't know about my hometown, I don't really socialise with my neighbours. What makes you different? Don't know. Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? Curiosity, an open mind. Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Not necessarily a life choice, but a lot of life experiences that were supposedly god's plan that made me quite low and angry. Also, just a lot of things some people I knew who were Christian and didn't act like one and ended up hurting me or someone else.Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice?Unsure about my family, I'm pretty sure they're set on believing in the Bible and dragging anyone into their beliefs. I'm still unsure about my brother, I think he's just as fed up about church as I am, but we never talk about it. There's a few friends I doubt would convert to another belief, but there are others that have more of an open mind, so I don't really know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoMuchKill Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? Yes, there doesn't seem to be many atheists around here. In my family, I have a few cousins who are probably going to end up being atheists. They're still pretty young, so I don't know for sure. My parents and a few other relatives are conservative evangelical Christians, unfortunately. The family members who aren't really into it still believe in God and Jesus, and would be upset if they found out I didn't. They still think it's bad to be an atheist. As far as friends...I don't really have any. -What makes you different? I question everything, and try to be rational about everything. -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? same as above. -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? No there wasn't a life choice. I just researched Christianity and found it to be completely false. My Christian family members are so attached to it I don't thing anything would make them consider leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outofeden Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 -Are you the only (or one of a few) atheist in your family, group of friends, and/or hometown? Don't think my brothers identify as atheists, but they are not believers. My dad was atheist/agnostic, my mom still is a Christian -What makes you different? I have a very different experience than my brothers because I was a true devout believer for so long, so my deconversion was far more significant to me, and I'm much more interested in free thought as a result -Is there a personality trait that makes you more likely to leave religion? I've always been a very academic/deep thinker so the emotional ties to the faith were very easily shed after encountering historical/scientific/logical evidence against the Bible's stories/claims. Though I had definitely had spiritual "experiences" I easily accepted that they were likely psychological rather than truly from God (expectation = experience, such as feeling God's presence in a service or his peace during prayer) -Was there a life choice (moving, career, college) that you made that led you to atheism? Would your Christian friends and family have made the same choice? The death of my atheist father. I had no desire to convert him on his deathbed, and after his passing it was a good time to examine under the hood of the faith, as I realized I didn't believe his soul was in hell. I think my Christian friends may either have clung closer to Christ in mourning or just told themselves God probably witnessed to him on their behalf while he was comatose, or God is just and just accept that God's decisions are righteous. I'm sure other Christians would interpret my conclusions to leave the faith as the result of anger/denial rather than rational thought and investigation of the validity of the Bible's claims. Because you don't leave the Church unless someone's hurt you or you're mad at God right??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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