Always Knew Religions Were Fiction

[FreeThinker]

Hi,

I grew up in a Catholic Elementary School and never ever believed that there was a god. However the constant pressure of having to conform to catholic beliefs meant that the school eventually instilled fear upon me. I eventually developed a kind mentally where I felt that I was doing everything for god and that god was watching me. And I was often scared if I did something wrong because I felt that I would be punished by god. Was I ever punished? No. Therefore it makes no sense to pray or believe in something that not only doesn't exist now but never existed before. I mean c'mon does that actually make sense in the scientific community. No, it doesn't. So why do people have to instill fear? Because they have been brainwashed by previous generations and are passing it down to us. I really don't see how a person can believe in someone above us. I am still getting over the brainwashing and I am having a lot of anxiety with dealing with my new found hatred and complete separation of religion. I just want to be part of a community that doesn't believe in god and that supports free thinking rather than thinking that is controlled by religious values.

Nice to me you all.

FT

[SGOS]

Religions are complex things, but I think when some charlatan invents a new one, it takes hold and spreads if it has the right carrots and sticks.  For it to work and endure, you can't just put a bunch of silly things together and expect much to happen.  Christianity stumbled onto something big, when they loaded the religion with fear and guilt.  Of course, there's lot's more to it than that.

Your story is interesting, never having had a belief in a god, but going to a Catholic school.  What an extraordinary situation.

[Feral Atheist]

I was fortunate to grow up in an atheist/non-believer home.  There wasn't even a bible in our home, no chuching, no religion at all.

However I was sent to a catholic parochial school for the academics as the local grade school was not that great.  The students were about 1/3 catholic, 1/3 jewish, 1/3 non-catholic christian, and me.  The catholics went to catechism classes, jewish kids went off to what ever they do, and the rest of us has fairy tale time, or as they called it bible study.

Even then I listened to the tall tales, and I just didn't buy it.  All the animals on a boat, turning into pillars of salt for looking back, etc., etc.  I guess I was also smart enough to not call it like I saw it at the time, just let it roll off.  There were no tests/grades, or at least as I recall.

Later I found out that my mother had made it very clear to the school's headmaster that she expected me to be educated, but not indoctrinated into religion. 

[Green Bottle]

Afternoon FreeThinker, Welcome to the forum...

[Atheon]

When I was a kid I was convinced that religion was just a thing that grownups wanted us to believe, but that we kids were too smart to fall for. It was just too ridiculous and nonsensical to be real, and the stories seemed like just that: stories. Bible stories, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit... all fantasies. And when we visited my grandparents and they prayed to this "god" character, I never saw who they were talking to. An imaginary friend, like my own, Mr. Nobody, who I knew wasn't actually real?

I don't remember any kids my age who actually believed in it (perhaps it was just the environments I grew up in, or the believing kids were too scared of expressing their beliefs for fear of being teased). Throughout my early teenage years, I believed that anyone my age or younger would not be religious, and those who appeared religious were just going through the motions to appease parents and other adults. I was 18 and in college before I first met truly religious people my age. Even today, as age 50 looms on the horizon, I still feel a residual sense of surprise when I hear about people younger than I am who are religious: my generation was supposed to be the first non-religious one.

[SGOS]

When I was a kid I was convinced that religion was just a thing that grownups wanted us to believe, but that we kids were too smart to fall for. I don't remember any kids my age who actually believed in it (perhaps it was just the environments I grew up in, or the believing kids were too scared of expressing their beliefs for fear of being teased). Throughout my early teenage years, I believed that anyone my age or younger would not be religious, and those who appeared religious were just going through the motions to appease parents and other adults. I was 18 and in college before I first met truly religious people my age. Even today, as age 50 looms on the horizon, I still feel a residual sense of surprise when I hear about people younger than I am who are religious: my generation was supposed to be the first non-religious one.

Boy, does that sound familiar.  I remember the starling insight late in my life that some people actually believe that stuff, totally, completely, and without an ounce of doubt.  It was always kind of a pretend belief for me, and I assumed it was for everyone else.  I mean, how can you really take seriously stories like a man living in the belly of a whale?  You would have to have some doubt, right?  Some people don't, and it's still stunning to run across such people now, and there's lots of them.

[Solomon Zorn]

Greetings FreeThinker! Here's a poem you might enjoy:

"Insufficient"
By Solomon Zorn
http://www.solomonzorn.com/insufficient.html