When I was a kid I “knew” god exists and was “inside” everyone. When I was about 6 years old I realized the adults lies all the time and decided to not believe them about anything. I would do what they told me but knowing that it was probably a lie. So some day, playing some educational game like a body organs puzzle I thought “there is no god in here. That’s just another lie, like Santa and the tooth fairy” and that’s it. I never “believed”, I went from “knowing” (as literally thinking that there was a small Jesus image inside your guts and when people die they would be sent in a plane to a city in the sky) to knowing that it was just bullshit adults told me.

Why do people equate atheism with “non-religious”??

I was raised Presbyterian, so I left late in life.

I was raised "deep" southern Baptist. Hellfire and brimstone where there pastor does nothing but scream and spit at the audience for an hour. You can't make out what comes out of their mouths for the most part, but the louder they are the more enthralled the audience seemed to get. It just never clicked with me. The rest of my family is still baptist, but have at least moved away from that and gone to a much calmer, not so "deep woods", church. I tried hard to believe when I was young, it just never happened. I always thought there was something wrong with me because everyone else seemed to believe so fully.

Raised religious in rural Texas. Started asking basic questions around the age of 12 that neither my mom nor the pastor could answer so I decided there were too many logical inconsistencies for it to be true. Still defended the ‘idea’ of religion until I was maybe 18 and then realized the outward harm it caused on others was more harmful than the personal good it provides individuals and now I’m openly against it.

raised non religious.

Raised in an insane Pentecostal cult. Stopped believing such nonsense before the age of puberty.

Neither one. I was raised xtian, but it never took.

Not raised particularly religious, but was exposed to religion in my early years. So, I can't really say I actually left a church as much as I just did not like the hypocrisy, and contradictions I saw and heard in the few services I attended.

Sadly i was raised christian since the age of 6, and the church goers were gossiping Hippocrates with comfortable jobs. the only thing i liked about church was the trip to a vary big park? or the church dinner party's?. I've been atheist 2015.

I was raised non religious, explored it in teens and 20’s, determination it wasn’t for me.

My childhood was very weird and complicated. I was mostly raised in a private boarding school run by a corporate philanthropy. My religious background was a non-denominational Christian, based upon fundamentalism.

I'm an Atheist now.

I don't think you get 'raised' atheist because it's ' a' = without; theist = god -

So nothing to talk about religiously I just went out to play on the bombsites with the other kids in the street (born 1948) U.K not a very religious place.

Was raised Catholic, but didn't have it rammed down my throat-more like "that is the way it is". Being a good Polack, and all that.......

I left the catholic church on my 18th birthday when I could make that choice for myself. I had checked out long before that, but my dad could still force or coerce me to go to church.

I left religion nearly 7 months ago. I was raised baptist by parents and considered becoming catholic until I decided become enlightened. And joined this community friendly and honest free thinkers. I mentioned this in several other posts that I wish I left the dark years ago or raised as a non believer. Religion is why I a number of issues.

Left

Raised Christian, but it never took. I kept waiting for proof that never came.

I'm a recovering Catholic...did the private school thing through 10th grade.

Parents non practicing xians. I was the regular church goer in childhood. When I was eight My doubt grew as questions went unanswered.. by time I was 13, I was a non believer. Didn’t even know what an agnostic was. Became an atheist in my early 20’s. Raising my children that way.

raised without religion by 2 white witches

Neither.

Born and christened in the church of England, but my dad said I needed to make up my own mind.

Despite my school's best efforts to convert me, I remained an atheist.

Got depressed and Left religion. It comes with superstitions which were absurd.

Raised atheist. My father told me that god was like the tooth fairy for grown ups.

Hi, Michael, and welcome to the website.

The majority of members seem to have come from religious backgrounds, but a few were raised atheist.

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