Ever since I can remember, I've had a fascination with science. Particularly, the science of dinosaurs. It always AMAZED me that these giant lizards (or, rather, ancestors of birds) ruled the planet millions of years before us. It pained me to learn that Christians deny this all together. THEY believe that the dinosaurs walked the Earth with us before their "God" killed them off. Not just that, but every other aspect of Science that I loved, they tried to disprove. I am an atheist to defend the facts that have been discovered through testing, theories, and many other processes that the religious wish to destroy. To put it on other words, I'm an Atheist to defend knowledge.

I used to be catholic until I became an atheist over two years ago now, a conversation with an atheist friend of mine caused me to question my religion so I started to research many different religions out of curiosity and after a while I realized they were all so similar and I thought how is my religion any truer from these? From the start I never really liked my beliefs as I disliked the discrimination against homosexuals and how women were treated in the bible, so one day I eventually realized there was no god. At first it caused me to fall into depression, bit after a little while I accepted what life was and I haven't felt better about myself and my life.

Welcome. Interesting stories.

When I was in Elementary school I was bullied a lot, it got to the point where I was going through major depression and because of that my grades began to fail. When my grades began to fail, my parents would also begin to pressure me and both physically and emotionally abuse me. In a time of great weakness I told my parents I wanted to kill myself, the only thing they told me that was if I killed myself that I was going to Hell and that God would hate me; angered by that statement I asked my parents if they would miss me if I died, to which they completely ignored and gave me no proper answer. That was the time I began to clearly doubt my faith.

When I was in Elementary school I was bullied a lot, it got to the point where I was going through major depression and because of that my grades began to fail. When my grades began to fail, my parents would also begin to pressure me and both physically and emotionally abuse me. In a time of great weakness I told my parents I wanted to kill myself, the only thing they told me that was if I killed myself that I was going to Hell and that God would hate me; angered by that statement I asked my parents if they would miss me if I died, to which they completely ignored and gave me no proper answer. That was the time I began to clearly doubt my faith.

I come from a family which became extremely religious after moving from India to Dubai. My parents are now huge supporters of the Hare Krishna Movement (ISKCON).
There used to be huge gatherings every Friday (Weekend in Dubai) , "cultural" gatherings and at first I enjoyed going and just listening about this "Krishna". Soon my father started forcing me to go for these weekend classes (Sort of like Sunday school) where i was forced to wear ethnic clothing, nothing modern or even slightly revealing because if I did wear anything slightly revealing, or even slightly see-through I was either dishonouring my family or just a prostitute. And everyone was so pretentious and treated anyone who knew lesser than them or anyone who questioned them like they were the stupid ones for not believing in what they believe. It's NOT ENOUGH to just believe in God. The very MOMENT you step into a religious gathering YOU ARE MADE TO FEEL like you're DOING SOMETHING VERY WRONG. In those weekend classes I was made to read the Bhagavad Gita which was explained by a guru named Srila Prabhupad. In one of his purports he mentioned that women needed to be controlled because they were not intelligent and could poison family blood through adultery. And that's was the tipping point.

One of Lord Krishna's avatars, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, preached that men should not renounce Grihastha, which means family life, and move to the forests to gain enlightenment BUT HE HIMSELF did that. He left his own wife.
Even Srila Prabhupad did the same thing! He left his wife and children to start preaching about this Lord Krishna.
To me, Lord Krishna sounds like a total sleazebag with his Gopis ( girls ) and Radha ( his true love)
It's just so much bullshit. There are many many books that have been written and a huge web was spun to make any one believe every thing. Every answer to your questions seem so ridiculous.
There is one story about an Atheist king Hiranyakashipu who was murdered by god himself BECAUSE he OPENLY admitted he was an atheist to his son who was a die hard believe of Lord Krishna.

Wow.
Kill anyone who questions your existence.
This is why I am an ATHEIST.
I will never apologise for not joining a cult, yes, a CULT (you need to be initiated to be a true devotee)
I will never apologise for not buying into the bullshit web of lies of being lesser than you actually are.

What I believe in is Human Kindness. Not a religion in which you stroke some "God's" ego. Jeez. What a load of bullshit.

I out grew religion about seven years ago.

I grew up in 'Catholic Ireland' as a catholic, with varying levels of participation in the faith until about 8 years ago. My turning point was 'The God Delusion' though when I read it I initially rejected large parts of it. I need to read it again to see if I still do. I've read other books since, and I think I gradually shifted my thinking.

Now, I consider myself as Atheistic as they come. My frame of mind has altered 180 degrees and there's no going back. I think the Bible/ Torah/ Koran are nonsense, probably the greatest adverts for atheism one could dream of. And when I read passages from the Bible to demonstrate how malicious God is, and how he can't possibly make any sense, I come to realise that most people think they have read and understand the Bible, but they haven't and don't. People are really blindfolded and don't realise it.They think it's you who has lost your marbles if you declare yourself non religious, rather than the reverse.

Mostly, I keep my views to myself because when you live among communities that have that belief ingrained in them, it's not really worth the hassle in being too open. I have children that I have had baptized, purely just to fit in, but that is the extent of their participation. They can decide for themselves when the time comes what direction they should take, though I will leave them in no doubt as to where I stand. Schools in Ireland are still 95% run by the church, unfortunately.

I feel that many Irish people don't even understand the term 'atheist'. Someone even likened me to a scientologist when I declared myself atheist and proceeded to scoff and joke, as if I were the one who was being ridiculous.

Someone else informed me that it would be unfair for me to choose a path for my children, that I didn't have the right to choose, even though she had had her catholic faith chosen for her, by her parents. Comical!

I now find that I feel comfortable in the company of atheists, and as a general rule, I would trust the thought process of an atheist much more so than that of a theist ( although I'm capable of playing devil's advocate for both sides - meaning I don't agree with everything atheists argue ). If I have to sit through a mass for a wedding or a funeral, I cringe. I don't force my views on anyone, but neither do I retreat if the question arises. The church, or my involvement in it has never done me any harm. I was not influenced by bad experience or a falling out with God. I just used my brain to see past the nonsense and made a rational decision to stop wasting time on an imaginary entity.

Well i became an atheist about 1,5 year ago im 19 now . At the last year in high school something in me changed , things happened, personal things that made me very sad and depressed and i was seeking comfort in my religion ( Greek Orthodox Cristianity ) cuz i needed hope and by searching and reading i found out that what i believed in was a lie :P !! So i kept seeking the truth and here I am :) !
It was a very unplesent experience because i was you can say a "true believer" i was brought up thinking that the best thing someone can be is a Cristian but i always had my doughts on some things. I was going to church every sunday and i was very close with many priests and people from the greek church ( I didn't get mulested or anything don't worry ) because my mother works in one as a spetial kind of cleaning called lady "Neokora" so i was exposed to the not so good things that happen behind the Act witch helped open my eyes ! I also visited a place caled Holy Mountain "agio oros" witch is kinda like a seperate country inside Greece ruled by the church and only males are allowed to live or visit there ( witch is bullshit ) and the people there were suposed to be all good and all loving ( at least that is what i was told ) but they were nothing but good and loving to the contrary they were hateful and biter + they were ignorant about anything scientific !
Now i'm a physics student and hopefully one day a Cosmologist, wish me luck :)

So in short this is my story :) ! Cant wait to read yours !

Hello. First time here. I like to write allot so don't say I didn't warn you. Here is my story

One day I just picked up the bible and started reading it. "What was all the hub bub about?" I wanted to know. From cover to back I read the damn thing and was amazed. Joined a cult. Went to Sunday school and church like the rest of the flock of zombies. I really got into it. A mindless brute.

I just started to think about what I was reading and listening to. It did not sit well with me. Mass genocide and murder? Killing babies? Was that really necessary? What do other people think of this? I joined some chat rooms, christian youth groups, bible studies, and had religious debates with atheists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Conversations between atheists and people who believed their religion never got anywhere. The atheists usually left because the religious people would gang up and go Bible Bible Bible. It's true! It's true! It's damn true! They weren't interested in talking about evidence or proof. The only thing they wanted to talk about was how to get saved. I took the atheists advice and went to several museums and Egypt, but I was afraid of what I was learning because the bible warned you about this. Do not believe it. Do not believe in other gods and information because it comes from Satan. The christian's pleaded with me or offered to prayer or teach a lesson from the bible. Had enough of that at church. I didn't listen. Better off for it.

My heart would beat really hard and fast. "Is god testing me? Is the devil trying to lead me astray? Am I destined for hell? I'm not allowed to masturbate?" Losing my faith and unable to release my aching penis scared me to death. I even met and talked to Dr. Zahi Hawass and he said how often he gets told that Jewish slaves built the pyramids. He gets very angry and tells the tourist it's not true. The tourist usually gets upset and believes the evidence is covered up because he works for "Satan" and prays for his soul. They could not believe what he was saying. I could not believe they could not believe. I asked the religious people in the chat rooms or YouTube if they ever went to a museum. Most have never been to a museum or Religious site. They didn't even have problems with what "god" did in the OT. "It was necessary. God is perfect and never wrong! It was all part of his plan! You just have a lack of understanding! Can I pray for you?" Oh I heard that so many times.

"Didn't you go on field trips to the museum at school?", I would ask. "I was home schooled" Huh? What!? Then how can you say the Bible is true if you've never been to a museum or religious site to confirm it? Their response? The bible proves the bible so I don't need to go to a museum. I know its true. Even if I did go to a museum it wouldn't change my view. -_- Not impressed. A true zombie.

The Big Bang Theory argument. It's pretty popular with theists. I've been to the museum and read all the information at the exhibit. I even went to peer reviewed science article websites to learn a little more about it. Watched some science documentaries, which there are plenty on Netflix, and they all said the same thing. It explained the expansion of the universe. Not the origins. The origin of the Big Bang is currently under scrutiny and testing by physicists, quantum physicists, NASA, and hundreds of other brilliant minds far greater than my own. I bring it up to see what the theist believes and they all say the same thing. "How can you believe that nothing came from a Big Bang?" That's new. I didn't read anything like that at the museum or peer reviewed science articles. I let them know that they've been misguided or lied to by their priest and what the Big Bang theory actually teaches at the museum. "But it's only a Theory? It could be wrong! Museum... ...is that the best you can do?" Hear this one allot. I explain its a scientific theory. Big difference. They ask me to teach them the Theory of Evolution or the Big Bang Theory as if I was a priest or something. Go to a museum or purchase a new scientific book from a verified reputable peer reviewed source. These people have worked their butts off to discover this information to educate you. It's their job and it's not a religion of faith. Yeah. That is my best. No response. Probably went to confession after the conversation. "I've been tempted by the Devil!"

When I get no response back it makes me happy. It's like I've started the spark to get them to think like a human instead of a savage. Job done.

Christians forwarded me to people like Kent Hovind, who is a known felon for tax evasion fraud (how Christian), or creation ministries and museums. I went to a creation museum once. It was like Sunday school all over again. Tour guide explained that dinosaurs walked with humans and did not eat meat before the fall of Adam and Eve, which the exhibit showed a T-Rex that looked like the one from Jurassic Park that was next to a couple of humans picking fruit. There were no fossilised skeletons to see or hold. Just a bible verse and a carefully crafted dressed scene like it was from a picture book. For children.

"Not with those teeth" I said out loud. The entire group, including the tour guide, looked at me. "Those teeth are not designed to eat vegetation. Vegetation is tough and requires to be ground into a pulp before swallowed. Have you ever seen how a cow chews its feed? It's hard work. I've held a few carnivore and herbivore teeth at the Museum of Natural history. The teeth of a carnivore, like T-Rex, are serrated like knives and cannot grind down tough vegetation. Their teeth have perfectly evolved (Oh no! He said it!) to tear and rip flesh apart before the animal swallows it's meal whole. Even if a T-Rex ate vegetation before the fall of Adam and Eve there should be fossil evidence to support the claims of Genesis. Why don't you have any fossilised skeletons of T-Rex with teeth designed for eating vegetation for this exhibit?" The entire group had a look of shock on their faces.

I was asked to leave the museum. I found I was actually banned when I tried to go back in. Just for asking a valid question. Cult behaviour

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks after my few years of investigation. Religion is bullshit! Gee... ...you think I wouldn't be able to come to that conclusion. I had learned that evidence never lies. Even if the evidence is faked because... ...well its fabricated evidence.

People lie. And we're good at it. Religion is a mental illness that is used to control the masses. I stopped believing in invisible magical friends when I was 10. Hate myself for doing it again in adult hood. Live and learn.

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Well my mother war raised catholic and hated it she never liked the preaching aspect of it and left with a bitter taste in her mouth after my grandparents divorced and my family was asked to leave that church. So my mother/father raised me with no religious preference and let me just kind of discover everything out for myself and make my own decisions. But when i was 8 my father died of a heart attack, and me being the confused young boy i was at the time first blamed myself, because from what i understood about the whole death thing, was that god took bad people to hell and good people to heaven. My father was a deputy sherrif and former tradesman, a good honest man loved by all even the inmates he watched over. So this lead me to the conclusion it was my fault that i must have done something wrong to upset god and this was my punishment. But after a few years of grief counseling I came to the conclusion it wasn't my fault, i was lead to believe this was "apart of gods plan", but i was doubtful. After all that had happened i was left with a seed of doubt that lead me to hole after hole in the whole "religion" thing and by the time i was 12 i knew i was an atheist of course growing up in a heavy military area an overwhelming majority of people were religious so i claimed to be agnostic until i was 14/15. After that i realized that while a good chunk children at my high school were indoctrinated into religion there were so many atheists/agnostics/doubters in the closet that i knew i could only help by setting the example and proudly saying to anyone who asked. Yes, I am an Atheist.