Hello one and all,
I'm new to this site so bare with me... I am Terry, 34 years old from the UK and although I've never labelled myself as anything and when asked if of a denomination or atheist I've always replied "I'm nothing!" But I suppose if I have a gun to my head and had to make the call then I would being completely in the corner of atheism.
I've grown up all my life within an non religious environment with my parents always telling me to think for myself despite them not necessarily being religious but more the spiritual sort.
I think this has been a blessing in disguise as I've never been brain washed into following or believing in ridiculous things.
I can't for one moment give serious though to there being a god without chuckling to myself, even more so when you listen to religious hardliners! I watch them and think, "you have something seriously wrong going on up stairs in the old brain department!"
It makes me wonder if more people were brought up in this environment if the same results would occur as they have with myself? Or is this ironically an biological evolutionary problem in that some take certain heridetray traits that make them more susceptible to falling for fairy tails and invisible sky fairies?
I've talked to religious people before, and tend to find myself simply asking questions and not giving too much back as they can be touchy... but their answers are as ridiculous as they are humorous and/or perplexing.
It worries me that there actual grown people who devote their lives to this nonsense... i have no problems with people who wish for more after death as the though can be scary to some but what's on offer via religion is insane.
I would love to know how others think about religion who grew up without any religious influence.
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Welcome to AR, Terry.
I have never had any gods either. And, like, you, find belief in any of them quite perplexing. I suppose if I were to offer a reason for being as open about my lack of belief as many religions peeps are about their belief, it's because I find their insistence to insert their religion into others' lives unconscionable. It simply needs to be stopped and I choose to take part, albeit in small ways, in keeping them from doing so.
I grew up with very little religious influence.
I was mostly like you, did not really care, I labeled my self agnostic. I figured religion did not really effect me.
Then tRump got elected. In my confusion of how that was possible I read up on it, and realized religion played a big role in that. Getting people to vote on emotion rather than verified facts and the usual religion buttons like abortion etc. While I already knew before tRump it was a problem, I had no idea it was big enough to allow something like tRump.
I studied religions a bunch and looked up definition of atheist and god and realized I was an atheist for many years. While I already knew the bible was insane, when I read even more about the bible and various religions and their insanity, dark history and the many awful things they do even today, it made me a more "militant" atheist, in that I no longer just tolerate religion, but would like to see it go away and try, (almost impossible,) to show theist the error of their belief system. (Never violence on my part however.)
You should have been around during the Bush Admin. Evangelicals went gaga for him.
Welcome Terry!
I am new here as well. I was raised starting from preschool, in Christianity governed ideas that plagued my curriculum and social scene. In fact, more so than not, we were awarded for taking up spelling bees that were inclined to be religious based words...sort of ironic in the sense that most other spelling bees in normal school had no religious content. Having been as you said "brain washed" for numerous years, I grew up a devoted believer. However, in my teens, I started to question some ideals and hallmark (Old Testament) no no's with newer testament philosophies to which i was often chastised.
On into my twenties, I was accepted into a private protestant college for my undergrad work. Although I signed up for sociology, religion and the teaching of Christ was just as mush a part of the curriculum as were biology and mathematics. It was during these classes that I realized what a preposterous and dullard idea religion is. My mother being a "born again Christian" whatever that means lol, asked me "why did you lose your faith"? I said I finally got educated!! I did the big eyeroll and said "Mom, thou shalt not judge lest ye be judged" using her own moronic beliefs against her angered her more and we began debates that have unfortunately beget one failed attempt at love to another. Sad really. I guess I will proverbially go to hell, but I told her that Id rather end up in hell (if there is one) than to spend another wasted synapse on the thought that I can sin everyday but ask for forgiveness and be saved only to commit another sin??
A friend of mine told me this saying and i find it to be the most accurate to my feelings on the subject.
" There will always be good people that will do good things and evil people that will do evil things. But for a good person to do evil-that takes religion" FKB
So, in answer to your inquiry; I believe it is rearing that has a whole lot to do with individual belief systems, but learning later in life can also attribute to changing or altering those beliefs.
Drivenone1974 - some very interesting points there, and it's refreshing to hear from another's point of view!
I have been lucky to not have indoctrinated at any point in my life I believe as it has allowed me to use critical thinking to work out things for myself.
I've enjoyed debating recently with many sorts from headline religious people all the way to flat earth conspiracy believers... it's staggering to me that people can believe such moronic things.
I think this is why for so long I refused to accept any branding including atheist as in my mind at the time it gave credence to their beliefs and to me I think it's all utter drivel.
That said, I'm not one to force my beliefs on others.
I usually start asking people like this stuff like:
"Do you look both ways before you cross the street? Why?"
"Do you smell your food before you eat it if you suspect it might have spoiled? Why?
To find where their floor is on when they apply their own logic and reasoning based on real world physical evidence and experience. Instead of just taking it on faith or what some old dusty book and accompanying preacher tells them. Then work my way up from there. Rarely works though, they typically just get very agitated and end thee conversation/debate. Or try to move the conversation back to where they got their already prepared talking points.
Hello Terry. Welcome to the forum
I spent my childhood in the UK, though a couple of generations before you. We had religious assemblies every morning in school, and regular scripture classes. My earliest religious memory was that revolting hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (look up "All Things Dull and Ugly" to enjoy the Monty Python Version").
None of it made a lasting impression on me, except that I can still recite the names of the books of the bible in order, and I know a lot of hymns by heart. At home I got no religious indoctrination. My father had vague notions about there being "something out there." My mother was very superstitious, but apart from getting angry if I mocked religion, she showed no interest in it.
I guess I was lucky. Friends who were dosed with religion at home and church as well as at school are probably still stuck in the bible bog.
Algebe - Thank you for the welcome (along with everyone else for that matter, very kind of you all).
The assemblies are my earliest memories too, luckily as I think I mentioned in the opening post, I don't think I was ever fully aware of the actual content within... but yes, They were quite cringe worthy... I remember one now called "if I had a hammer". Haha how very tragic!
I'm very fond of Monty python especially the movies life of Brian and the holy grail so I shall seek that song out in a short while.
Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but from what you said regarding your homelife/parents, That perhaps they not enforcing religion or religious environment upon you did actually help you to develop your current view point?!
I find it intriguing that those who do not have it forced on them are either just spiritual or non believers.. I could be wrong though! Just an impression I am getting.
I certainly think that not being raised in a religious home certainly benefited me.
Randomhero1982
Wasn't "If I had a hammer" a Harry Belafonte song? The old hymns were ok, but I found the modern ones unbearable, especially the one about "putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee...."
You're right about home life being important to the formation of religious/non-religious ideas. My Dad vacillated between agnosticism and vague spiritual beliefs, but he never tried to impose his ideas on me. I remember going to friends' houses for tea and being shocked when everyone said grace. We had to say grace before school lunch, but that became a competition to see who could recite it fastest. I could say "For what we are about to receive may the good lord make us truly thankful amen" in 3 seconds.
Looking back, I think our teachers were very naive about the effect they thought they were having by making us join in their mithering and mumbling about god. How many kids really understood the words in the so-called Lord's Prayer that they made us recite every morning?
A sidenote on my previous post, we did sing if I had a hammer but the one that was deep rooted but could quite remember at the time was 'lord of the dance'... a quite awful song.
That's quite interesting regarding going to your friends house, I had a similar situation occur where my friend as a teenager at the time couldn't come out with us as he had to go to confession. I remember asking him about it and it really not making any logical sense.
I did once ask well if 'he's' a forgiving god then it shouldn't matter what you've done and you shouldn't need to confess or repent.
This was literally my train of thought growing up as a teenager and into my 20s... I would constantly ask questions regarding anything and everything.
I always found with theism that nothing ever added up or really made any sense.
It was my uncle who really said something that stuck once which was a little analogy, he said that your forced to love and grovel to god or go to hell... and how essentially he was one of the Krays brothers when they extorted people, in that if you give us money, nothing bad will happen to you.
It did make me laugh, but it did kind of ring true.
I agree, I don't think teachers have any idea of the impact they have with the garbage they spout.
Hello Randomhero1982,
New here also. I can relate to the matter of creationism in the school system, unfortunately. Where I live, (South Carolina), as of the time I was in secondary school, creationism was still being taught as fact, not theory, with evolution being taught as theory. As I had given up my beliefs long before, I openly questioned the material in school. But many in my environment are raised as I was and do not question what they were raised to believe. Moreover, I grew up in a household that was repressive and also shouldered religion, as a sort of catch-22 alleviating themselves of any wrongdoing. My older cousin, currently serving time in prison, swore faith had healed him a month before he was caught on videotape holding up a pumping station for the cash register. It was disheartening, none more so than my grandmother who he made a promise to in order to do better. The likelihood that he will not go back to prison when he gets out next year is unlikely, but I'll spare judgment for the time being.
I do know that of all the teachers I had growing up, the one that was willingly critical of religion on the whole was in junior high school, and I remember her well. She was the only teacher I felt was qualified to teach in her field based on the information she was providing (biology) and undermined the school system in many ways. Literally to her own detriment. She was fired after a student disclosed to their parents that they were being taught information concerning the Big Bang in a way that was inconsistent with the current school literature.
In hindsight, I envy her for being courageous enough to speak up in an environment where she was far and beyond her peers in her subject matter area and doing the right thing in undermining what we were being taught.