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What age did you become an atheist/agnostic and why?

Sorry if this has been asked before. i was raised in a christian home (Still kinda am) and i became atheist at the age of 16. i had been a christian since i was born (not technically) but when i was 14 in 2009 my granny died suddenly. i prayed all day hoping that "god" would save her. but that didn't happen so about (insert day/month) after that happened i started searching online for the truth about "god" and came across a few things that challenged my religious beliefs so i become an agnostic cause i didn't know what to actually believe. when i was 16 i discovered Dawkins witch turned me into a complete atheist.

if that was hard to read i apologize.

Thnx

Tags: What, age, agnostic, an, and, atheist, become, did, why, you

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Permalink Reply by Ted Foureagles on July 25, 2012 at 4:13pm

Dad was a functional atheist who never spoke of it except perhaps to say, "Don't give me that nonsense" when being proselytized. Mom was a cultural Southern Baptist who valued free thinking but nonetheless felt that church and tradition were important. I remember Christmas just before I turned 4. I had figured out the Santa thing and that adults could lie, which rocked my little world. I resisted going to church with Mom because it seemed to me like the adults there were acting crazy, and that scared me now that I knew that they may not be trustworthy. Mom made a deal with me, saying, "You needn't be pious but you shouldn't be ignorant". I was to read the Bible, first word to last, and be prepared to discuss it with her every night. I was 6 years old before I finished, and by then was certain that God was bad fiction. I read the entire book again as a teenager when I was thinking of becoming a Zen monk. I felt that if I were going to commit to a doctrine I ought to be sure that I understood the one in which all of my friends & family believed. That second reading reinforced and hardened my antipathy for Christianity, and further made me averse to any sort of religion at all.

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Permalink Reply by damian on July 27, 2012 at 9:48pm

27 :) I was going through a rough time. I was raised catholic. I was praying at bed time, and out of the blue, i stood up and asked myself "what are you doing?" I rejected god right there. I still don't know what triggered it. It was very sudden. My life seemed much clearer after that. I probably felt that i had no control and just had my fill right there at that moment.

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Permalink Reply by debzilla on July 27, 2012 at 10:51pm

Gave up religion by teen years when it was clear it was man made.

Finally concluded there were no gods in my 20s when I finally admitted to myself there was zero evidence of existence.

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Permalink Reply by Michael V on July 27, 2012 at 11:03pm

I am 16 as well. I went to a Catholic school most of my childhood. Ironically this was probably one of the factors of why I became a strong atheist. HOWEVER, the ultimatum factor that turned me to atheism was logical fallacies. I learned about God of the Gaps, Correlation does not equal Causation, and Equivacation Fallacies. Logic Be With You.

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Permalink Reply by Katia B on July 30, 2012 at 1:30pm

I was born to a christian-origin dad and a muslim-origin mom, both agnostics. My grandmothers from both sides are religious and each wanted to get me to her side. Obviously, they both failed. I became a Diest, agnostic, and then an atheist at the age of 12. It was gradual. The reasons that mainly contributed to my atheism are: 1) Science 2) Human History and Mythology 3) How clearly God/Gods are man made :-)

I've been a feminist and a humanist since my early years. Violence against Women, children and migrant workers always disturbed me.

My favorite author is Richard Dawkins and I would love to meet him one day