I was one of the kids who was fondled by a priest in a Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania, though mine was fairly innocuous compared to most, I guess. I just remember being put on a lap for no reason and him having a hard on.

The Sunday school teacher told us god was watching us every minute & I totally freaked out that he was watching me go to the bathroom.

I was baptized and confirmed a Catholic, when I was in the 7th or 8th grade I went to confession on my way home from Jr. High.. after saying the act of contrition the Priest asked if I had any thing else to add... after thinking a minute I answered No.... he then went on to criticize me and commented that Saints in Heaven had more sins than I had confessed to him... well after thinking about it ... outside of maybe not doing as I was told by my parents, or getting a little out of line in school now and then... and using the Lords name in vane and cussing a little I had not really done all the much wrong in my life since last Confession... I hadn't Killed anyone, Raped anyone, robbed any banks no major Mortal sins... so that was the day for me that Religion and FORGIVNESS was in the Eye of the Religious Cult Leadership... not for me to get in touch with God but away for the Church to control the thoughts of me or any Individual... I have gone to Mass since but I use the Church as a crutch to get in touch with my inner self and others...

I had a relatively Catholic upbringing. As soon as I heard that animals couldn't be baptized, an thus couldn't be saved in heaven, I began to have problems with the church and doubt.

i got freaked out in a french churchyard once. the crosses were HUGE! i'd never seen anything like that.

my only church experiences are as a tourist admiring architecture or going to a concert, or attending friends' weddings. oh, and voting -- sometimes the polling place is a church. so there are crosses around, but not proselytes, not on election day. i have never been christian. i have been to one church service, other than in the situations i just named, in my life, as a kind of exchange thing with a baptist friend (she came to a synagogue with me; i had no synagogue of which i was a part so i had to find one! the church i attended was her regular church). the singing was nice. everyone was polite. the sermon was short so that was okay. i am sure jesus must have been mentioned. i didn't take it personally.

g

When I was 6 or 7, the Sunday school teacher took away my Wolverine comic. The cover starred Wolverine shoving his claws into the chest of a monk with blood gushing out everywhere. Jerks.

As an 8 year-old kid I was brought along to a pentecostal church. It was there that I saw a whole bunch of women pretend to be touched by the holy spirit and then speak in tongues. About 30 women of the congregation started to babble and compete and it must have been about 15-20 minutes later that we got down to the last 2 who were still babbling, both determined to 'win' and be the last one going. The final showdown took another 10 minutes or so. It was completely ridiculous and counts as my worst experience in a church.

As a child, extreme boredom. That was my personal worst. Reading some other replies, I guess I lucked out.

Being exorcised for projectile vomiting onto the bible

There were several, but the last straw was when one of the deacons had a heated argument with the pastor in the middle of his sermon because he didn't agree with it.

Worst thing experienced: My aunt and uncle, Catholics, alienated their daughter because she married into and joined the Mennonites.

What drove me away: I slowly drifted away - a process that lasted many years - maybe still going on. It was what it should be - rationale.

No complaint. Catholic. I didn't left because of a "bad experience".

It was when my father tried to kill me with with the seven mystical daggers from Megiddo .... Oh wait. That was The Omen. Sorry It was actually the hypocrisy of the Bible and I hit puberty

The hypocrites.

Being a former Jehovah's Witness, I hated going "door to door", preaching to people at their homes, especially when I came up against an atheist.

Everything!

Extreme boredom!

I didn't stop believing for any traumatic experience or mistreatment. But I will say that, being reared in the Catholic faith, I always hated confession. It felt humiliating to tell someone all of the "bad" things I'd done, especially when some of those supposed sins were impure thoughts and masturbation, things a teenage boy isn't likely to stop doing no matter how hard he tries.

It was during my attendance at a private “Christian” school. The youth minister deliberately humiliated me in front of the entire school assembly one day.