Of course. I couldn't argue without receiving physical punishment so my rebelion may had been more in silence but I was not forced to go to church. Me going to private catholic school was more for the better education than the religion and I noticed that many classmates were on the same boat I was... their parents didn't cared much... it was the better education not the religion.

I think it is more likely that nonbelievers lie and say they believe in order to fit in and be a part of a group.

I'm sure there are some out there that enjoy 'faking it' for the sake of argument just for the fun of it, Facebook is crawling with them.

They just want to be a "devil's advocate" to push your buttons!

Yep. I had a friend that admits she did this. So, at least 1 person

Yes, I have met people claiming to be atheists without a strong intellectual foundation that supports their views; some simply too lazy to go to church

It is possible. But no belief system will be able to sustain itself on such fickle foundations so they will be forced to return to what they know or to start a genuine quest for knowledge, so who really cares what the original motivation was for their personal journey? ????

I think some people on here are undecided deep down

Can't say that it is hype, some people are what would be refered to as belongers the have a need to be included, So no matter what is going on they join the hot topic and in most cases have not thought about their choice and have no idea how to back the choice up with well chosen words.

I definitely think some people, old and young, like being a rebel or counter-culture. Some people thrive on being contrarians. For that matter, one of my coworkers was reared in a nonreligious home and she became a hippie Christian, and to hear her talk it's quite obvious she did so out of some sort of rebellion and it stuck into adulthood (though I'm sure that's not how she sees it). So it seems it goes both ways.

I declared myself an atheist when I was 15 or so. For no other reason than to be rebellious.

Sure, oh sure the young ones do, they might not even realize that because of their youth and inexperience.... they got all the answers you know? They know everything they need to know until their "peers" find something "new".

I'm sure there are some that do, but I figure that, were one so inclined, it would be relatively easy to expose the fakers. Just engage them in a debate as the "devil's advocate." In other words, make them defend their position. I suspect that most fakers wouldn't be able to keep up.

Some,yes...alot,im not sure. You've got me thinking about those who pretend( stay with the herd) to be believers, to avoid being an outcast or ridiculed. I think there is a boatload of them!

I think it's definitely possible.

What is there to "believe"? People argue because what is proposed is just absurdly unbelievable. Sometimes the arguer just wants to test out the mettle of his/her arguments so he/she can become better at defending against the onslaught of baseless arguments thrown at them.

I think some people will do anything for drama, so yes it is possible.