I come from a Catholic family but my father came out as a gay man in the late 60's -as soon as it was made legal in the UK. Anyhow as a result we were ostracized by the local Catholic community and I wasn't allowed to go to church. I think I was about 8 or 9 at the time. As I got older I came to realise that I had dodged a bullet

I never felt comfortable in church. My mom would drop us off for church, we sang in the choir but after we did our number and before the sermon I'd duck out a side door, take off my robe and go sit on the river bank til it was time to head back for mom to pick us up. Someone ratted me out and that was when I said I was done going to church. My mom said "it's good for you to go to church." I pointed out, "If it's so good for us why do you just drop us off at the door?" I'm about 12 when this happened, I did not have to go to church after that.

Same here ~ I didn’t realize how prevalent religion was till the day it was brought up at our long gradeschool lunch table: “What religion are you?” They seemed to take pride in blurting it out as the answers moved down the table. Shit, all I could say was, ‘none,’ then looked upon with suspicion and scorn..

A day ago I thanked my mother, again… Ever since learning of the iodic insane bullshit others have had to dig through in order to arrive at the place I’d been allowed to be ...would have had me ‘counting my blessings’ while glowing with pride back at that lunch table

I was fortunate in this way. My father was a flaming Atheist and anarchist and my mom was a cultural Jew. We were indoctrinated away from religion. My parents were too self-involved to be parents but the exposure they gave their children to thought: culture, education, art, politics was incredibly impressive. They were Civil Rights activists and just colorful people.

I’ve never been religious. My mom grew up in the Christian Church and exposed us to that a handful of times growing up and I never did buy into it. It just never made an ounce of sense to me.

Born and raised athiest.

My late partner, born and raised in Iran, always wondered why people believed such sill things (her mother pushed her to question everything). She and her brother would go to the mosque and when the guys were bending over in prayers they would creep up behind them, butt-head them and run away laughing. They never got in trouble.

After the revolution happened in 79' (she came here in 77' ) she saw what religion can do. The big problem with never being involved in religion is
that one doesn't understand the hold it can have. You just tend to walk around shaking you heads at all the crazy people.
@silverotto11

Early childhood includes that time when trust is unconditional. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and yes, even the Baby Jesus stuff is believed without question. For this reason, many of us really can't say that they never believed. If your momma told you it was true, then you did not doubt her. I think I was about five years old, when I began to smell a rat. The Jesus myth was the last to go for me. I think I was about fourteen when I quit the religious stuff. My family was not happy, and I lost them at that point never again to feel comfortable when visiting or talking on the phone to them.

Me! I grew up in the Bible Belt and had to attend church and Sunday school every week until I graduated from high school, but I never thought it was anything but one big crock.

I was born into an Atheist (3 to 4 generations) family.

I never went to church or officially belong to an organized religion, but my mother talked alot about it and insisted that I believe as she did though. I'm glad I was never forced into going to church.

No, I never was religious. Of course, I had my share of exposure to religion and even went to church occasionally. It's probably not even possible to avoid contact with religion, but I never heard a sensible argument in its favor.

Schooled for 11 years in SDA schools (el-hi), didn't go to "church" regularly in those years, usually only when required. Also joined up with different congregations a couple times in the ensuing decades. None lasted very long as I don't believe I really ever "got the spirit." I don't think I was ever religious in the sense that it shook my soul and led me into spiritual ecstasy. I think it was LSD that did that.

I quit going to church after my 1st communion..so sometime shortly after that.

Me

I believed in Santa Claus when I was little but religion never got a look in.

I wasnt religious ever - I was exposed to it but just wasnt impressed as books were so much more interesting to me -

i grew up in (very weakly represented protestant) north germany. i didn't get baptised. my father was an atheist. he forbade me being indoctrinated by the subject "religion" right from the start - which was kinda awkward, because i was the only proclaimed heathen at school. sitting, all on my own, in a spare empty classroom, i twiddled my thumbs for an hour. as a kid i used to curse "god", especially outdoors, just to check...

I never was.

Aye.

I was never religious. I'm agnostic. My father wasn't religious and I think he was agnostic. My grandfather was agnostic. It's weird because my father's sister is religious, and his brother is uber religious being a Jehovah's Witness. My mother believes in God, but she's not religious really. She goes to church like twice a year on Easter and Christmas Eve.

My parents have never been religious, besides going to a church for weddings and funerals. Consequently they always encouraged me to find my own answers to the big questions (so I avoided all religions) and I have thanked them for that attitude all of my life.

Closest my family got to religion was when my grandmother took up being a Quaker but I think she just had neighbours who were Quakers and she enjoyed the social part of the meeting house and the emphasis on quiet, peaceful reflection.

Me!

Me.