I don't care what they treat me like.

Hello Kozz.

To answer your question. Most do cling to their beliefs when faced with tough situations, whatever it takes to get them through. To me it was fascinating to see how different people cope with the same situation. There were guys who seemed weak in training and turned out to be cool and collected when it hit the fan, and the other way around. Anyway, as for the religion, I grew up in a Christian family, but since I was a teenager, I could tell the whole religion scheme was a scam. But I could not make myself admit that I was an atheist. When I was in Iraq, one time we survived an ugly ambush (I have to admit, we were pretty lucky) and people were of course thanking God for our survival, that got to me. Because if we were to credit him for that, we'd have to make him responsible for all the suffering we saw. Also, I couldn't help to question, what was so special about our patrol? Why did he not protect other? So that's how.

I was also in the Marines btw. Semper Fi.

-Jose

There are as many different routes to atheism as there are atheists. Despite this, many atheists' stories still sound familiar because there are so many similarities in human experience - we are all more alike than we are different, so can readily recognize something of ourselves in the experiences of others.

Towards the end of my high school education, I began to doubt if all the prayers and rituals that are common in a hindu religious family really do mean anything at all. I was particularly interested in one such ritual, which the male offspring of a deceased performs every year after the death. It was supposed to bring back the soul of the dead for that day and their favourite dishes are prepared and offered. Of course it is we who eat those dishes, but my mother often scoffs at my question and answers that if we eat, it is equivalent that the soul of the deceased has eaten it. There was one another important ritual in which I was made to play an important role. It is customary in Brahmins to perform a ritual (in fact blown up to the popularity of a marriage), where the guy is made to wear a sacred thread across the chest and is taught a magical mantra (prayer).

It was amusing to be the centre of attraction on that day, as though it was my marriage. Of course they did try to marry me to my religion on that day, but that is another story. After that ritual, I am supposed to become a true Brahmin and am supposed to do a special prayer every morning and evening. I had to say some verses in an ancient language called Sanskrit and I did not understand any of them. A few of them I understood as being verses in praise of God and a few others as being general requests to god like keep us happy and trouble free. I wondered if there is any use to this prayer if I did not understand the meaning and if I just chanted it by heart. My previous prayers in temples were like simple conversations to God. I found it difficult to memorise all the prayers and it took a lot of time. I continued doing it just for the sake of my mother. When my study load increased, I had a good reason to stop doing it and was very happy.

And here is the link you can know more.
LINK

Hey Kozz. Yeah not the best place to tell your friends you're atheist. That news shot around the school like wildfire.

Anyway. Thanks for the welcome.

Thanks for the friend add Kozz!
I know what you mean - this is a great community.
I have to come here often just for my sanity -- to remind me I'm not completely surrounded by deluded people.

Here's one who shares your views!
I see religion as our biggest obstacle for both peace and advancement. Who knows where we'de have been by now if religion hadn't stunted our growth in so many ways?

Welcome to AN Kozz! We're glad to have you.