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Hello fellow non-theists

I suppose I ought to introduce myself. I'm relatively new to atheism. I've only been an atheist for about a year.

I was raised very Catholic; In fact my mom was almost a nun before she decided to get married. Well, I started to drift away from religion and the Catholic guilt kicked in. I decided to become super-Catholic and ignore all of the bad bits of the Bible and awful social rules the church has.

I eventually came to my senses and just couldn't ignore God's crimes anymore. I formally defected from the church, got excommunicated and put the letter from the bishop confirming my defection/excommunication in a frame on the wall... no closet for me.

It's lovely to see so many other non-theists here. :)

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Permalink Reply by Roy The Infidel on February 21, 2010 at 11:51pm

Hello, Vicky! Welcome to A|N. :)

I was a catholic too but not a super catholic. :) Nice, I want to have something like that - an official document confirming that I am now a heretic. Or, is that reserved for ex-super catholics only? :P

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Borman on February 22, 2010 at 6:52pm

You too are automatically excommunicated latae sententiae for apostasy (to be a heretic you would have to still be a theist). But, the church still counts you among its numbers if you have not formally defected.

Anybody who has been baptized can officially defect. It's actually a pretty quick and easy process.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Borman on February 22, 2010 at 7:19pm

If you're curious about how to defect here's how:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3zwpS5JhnQ&feature=related
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxp2Wvi4JWA&feature=channel

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Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on February 22, 2010 at 1:44am

I formally defected from the church, got excommunicated and put the letter from the bishop confirming my defection/excommunication in a frame on the wall... no closet for me.

I'm jealous. I came from one of those other churches that doesn't believe in giving up on those sinners. I wish I could have been excommunicated. LOL

I even tried using the Mark 3:29 verse to convince my family that there is no hope of trying to win me back but they just shrugged that attempt off. That verse doesn't mean what it says I guess.

Anyway, welcome.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Green on February 22, 2010 at 7:28pm

Very nice to meet you. I am new here as well (to this website not really to atheism.) However, I have spent most of my life making excuses for theists. I have even spent most of those years calling myself a Deist as some sort of "teaching aid" for theists around me. In reality, I cannot believe in such silly fantasies. I was raised Church of Christ (a pretty strict Protestant branch) so I can sort'a, kind'a maybe try to come close to understanding what you have gone through being raised Catholic. I do count myself fortunate though since I do not know Protestants ex-communicating anyone. And I have never experienced anything like that. It's good to be here now though... And good to meet you.

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Permalink Reply by unholyroller on February 22, 2010 at 7:52pm

Welcome, Vicki,
What a nice way to celebrate your coming to the age of reason. Up on the wall for all to see. Good job. There are some protestant sects/cults who call it being "disfellowshipped". Cain't be usin any of them catholic terms. I was raised in the worldwide C of G...Armstrong era. I was never baptised so I didn't get my letter. Damn.....

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Permalink Reply by Sigmund on February 27, 2010 at 8:59am

Hey Vicki, that's an amazing story - good for you!
Welcome to AN.

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Permalink Reply by David Prentice on March 3, 2010 at 2:14pm

Hi Vicky :)

That's BRILLIANT about your framed excommunication letter. I LOVE IT lol.

I think it's a really healthy thing to show your stance like that. Good to remain silent until someone challenges you on it though. For me, I wear an 'Atheist' pin sometimes and await the comments. Haven't had that many bites yet but I've enjoyed the discussions that have arisen. I try to tread carefully though because many christians feel very threatened and even offended by my stance. It's not their fault they're deluded. I try to keep it neutral but stay firm on the grounds that no evidence has swayed my opinion yet ;) You can get a real buzz from just watching the body language develop as they get wound up lmao, as long as you don't get caught up in the same dynamic, it usually ends peacefully.

Of course that's here in New Zealand. I understand it's much more difficult in the States. I am saddened by stories of people having to stay 'in the closet' about their beliefs, especially in some states, but the tide is turning. Sam Harris has some excellent vids on why you're right to be as outspoken as you feel comfortable with. He's a great man and a great source of comfort when you're feeling alone in your views on religion.

But anyway, welcome to the 'fold' :D

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Borman on March 3, 2010 at 2:20pm

I try not to be a jerk about my atheism or shout it from the rooftops, but I am very open about it.

I generally express the same amount of outspokenness that any average Christian would. They wear cross jewelry on a regular basis and have crucifixes hanging on their walls, so I don't see a difference in hanging stuff on my walls or wearing a pin.