I'm an atheist ama

will you ever tell your parents?

Do you still live with your parents?
If not, why do you feel compelled to go to church?
If so, do you aim to move out and what will you do religion-wise once that happens?

When you say you pray despite being an atheist, why? Do you go to church and just join in group prayers like the Hail Mary, Our Father etc. or do you genuinely pray to yourself? If so, why and what/who is it directed at?

You say you're an atheist-have you ever believed in God? If so, why did you stop believing?

I grew up as a Catholic, and I would say that I was religious up until my late-mid teens. I would attend church every week, join prayer groups, read the bible and such. I even remember considering priesthood as a vocation. So what the hell happened?

I studied religious studies at school which included looking at arguments against God's existence. Since I went Catholic School I could sense that our teachers were somewhat biased, even mimicking the voices of well-known thinkers like Dawkins etc, but even so I was still exposed to very direct and compelling arguments against religion.

At the same time I grew up with a very strong expectation of what a relationship with God could be like, an expectation that I felt wasn't being realised. I also became more suspicious of organised religion and how they profiteered from people's faith, including mine.

So over a period of around 9 months I went through a prolonged period of doubt until I finally admitted I lost my faith.

Thank you for sharing. I suspect many people will identify with your experiences and stance.

I had a really good friend who was a very committed Christian until she studied theology at university. She questioned everything she'd been taught about God and drifted away from church. It was a good few years later that she began to question why we even exist and the purpose of life. It was at this point that she realised that it's not about church or organised religion, it's all about having a relationship with a living God. She's now come full circle and is training for the ministry!

What do you think about the growth in membership numbers & influence of traditionalist and ultra-traditionalist catholic groups like Opus Dei, Society of Saint Pius X, Regnum Christi or The Legion?

I'm a lazy catholic.
My mother was raised in a brutal ultra-traditionalist catholic household with a medieval mindset, got disowned when she decided to marry an atheist.
Maternal grandmother is a member of Opus Dei, remains the same vicious fanatic who sees the devil and sin wherever she looks that she's been her whole adult life.

That's really interesting!

I do even wonder how my viewpoints might change in the future. Realistically, I would probably think the same by next year but in a decade from now you'd never know.

But I do think that even if I was to go back, my beliefs or practices will be slightly different. Would you say that your friend's current outlook on religion has some differences compared to before?

I used to be a catholic up until my late teens. My parents are highly religious so I still pray and go to church.

Interesting thread.

I used to be a Christian myself and ditched my faith for a multitude of reasons, including my genuine belief that science (which has considerably more evidence behind it) and religion are completely and totally incompatible.

As such, I find the suggestions by religious fundamentalists (i.e people who believe that absolutely everything in their holy book is unequivocal fact) to be absolutely ludicrous.

What are your thoughts on religious fundamentalism?

hey im actually in a similar positions to you (a different religion though)

do you ever worry about how them not knowing will work when you're older? like would they expect you to marry a Catholic, raised your children Catholic, etc. I do at least!

and last but not least, what is your popcorn preference?