Belief is not voluntary. we believe one way or the other based on our understanding of the evidence, and the conclusion that evidence causes us draw. some people accept bad evidence.

I think it’s a realisation that you come to. For me it came from studying science and physics, and realising that the bible’s tales of miracles were rubbish. I mean, virgin birth? Walking on water? Multiplying loaves of bread and fishes? Raising the dead? All extremely unlikely, and I mean by that percentile chances in very tiny amounts.

And if the miracles are bogus, then what other lies are in there? Some parts of the bible are extremely outdated, like sending menstruating women away from the ‘camp’. Crazy.

But these things are all knowledge that you absorb from society and the people around you. The bible is taught, you find out it’s just another book written by fallible humans, your belief goes.

"Choice" is a mirage. Examine any belief u hold, like u can safely operate a car, then try to change it and live with the belief. If, however, u are repeatedly in accidents, ur belief begins to reflect ur reality.
Same with atheism.,. Just try to believe in supernatural beings, let me know

Belief, attraction, fear and other emotion driven thoughts are not choices. One can choose to overlook any of those and with repeated exposure they can affect those emotions. However, the initial reaction is still valid and was never a choice.

Like most things, I don’t think we have much choice in what we do and do not believe. We just do or do not.

I have had beliefs change over time, as my awareness of the world around me has grown. But, I don't think I can really decide to believe 'X' . It results from information I have.I have had beliefs change as I followed information I had thru to its logical ends. Without the knowlege to back it up, i cannot decide to believe in say... 'The Force'. I just cant.

The difference between not being convinced God exists, and , convinced that no god exists, may be revelant here. Personally Im pretty sure no gods exist.

I don't think you're born to be anything. When you are born, you haven't been socialized. I think belief and non-belief are part of the socialization one learns over time. It's how open you are to applying free will and to the expansion of your mind to new ideas and concepts.

A person gains their personality through trial and error, I suspect. I don't think the concept of belief or non-belief get to fly under the radar any more than any other social construct.

I didn't choose to become an atheist. I looked at the reason to believe in god or relgion. I looked at the arguments against it and just wasn't convinced. To my athiesm is just not being convinced of any religion or seeing any evidence to requires there to be a god.

People do not come out of the womb complete with all kinds of beliefs. political, religious, and so on. Such beliefs are formed as one matures, and for the "vast majority," they are virtually inherited, because the individuals are the subject of indoctrination from a quite early age. They grow up believing that what they believe is just natural and is something they inherited along with the remainder of the Life package. That's why it is so difficult and painful when an individual begins to question those attitudes and beliefs; I suspect there's a good bit of guilt feeling that goes along with it. I personally began questioning such things at a quite early age, perhaps, 7 or 8, and by the time I was around 13 or 14, I had pretty much written most of it off, but kept my mouth shut about it. At 16, I was offered financial support to go to college, by the minister and Deacons of the church I attended, if I would agree to study the ministry. Of course, they had unwittingly forced my hand, and I had to confess that I could not accept such an offer, even though I was deeply appreciative of their trust in me. I left church that day I told them, and I have never been back. Ordinarily I say nothing about it unless someone else brings it up, but I do not shy away from it either. I feel obligated to speak the truth as I understand it, but I am not a proselyte. I learned long ago that you cannot change any else's mind; they must do it for themselves, so it is useless and generally unwanted for one to try. I do not pretend to have "the answer" nor do I believe anyone else does, so who am I to tell someone else what to believe?

Indeed. You don’t choose to stop believing in Santa Claus, you just realize he can’t possibly exist and everyone’s been lying to you!

Beliefs don't have to be true for them to exist. I used to believe in Santa and now I don't. I hadn't always not believed in Santa just because he doesn't exist.

*Thought provoking thesis as to who Wee really are fundamentally all along; rather, than agree with the brilliant thesis tis worth an academic effort to set up some contrast via antithesis viz: religion is a set of false, naive beliefs forming a system predicated upon superstition...Religion is a subjective, infantile experience for those who can not tolerate mature uncertainty opposite to the educational pursuit of philosophy which requires an open, intelligent, critical mind desiring to go beyond the superficial and commonly found and seen in today's society and to get to the bottom of things; and philosophically & scientifically achieve a tentative, theoretical conception of reality only to be revised and improved by other's in improvement of the present reality model...The subjective experience of religion begins by brain washing or indoctrination by the religious fanatic or zealot - followed by suspension of "disbelief" similaire de ce calibre to that which occurs when reading a work of escape when the subject is washed away into a world of "fantasy" much like taking a drug that impairs the unwitting experimenter to contact with objective reality...Thus, if one can accept blindly the religious nonsense, at that point in time, she/he begins being a duped, religious compromised human being who may some day wake up from the dream and contemplate reality as a free thinking, critical person who enjoys Truth & Reality...qed.... ***Excellent thought provoking question by Anna, indeed...

We are all born atheists. Not believing in anything is the natural state. Only societal influence brings about the possibility of becoming religious.

We're all born atheists. Unfortunately, we are also born in societies that tell us what to believe as we grow up so it's a demographical crap shoot. We are born healthy and given a disease... it's up to us to find the cure.

Well, you have to be taught a religion. Once you are, becoming an atheist is a painful process, usually driven by a search for truth, is what I have observed.

When you're born you're an athiest. It's only when beliefs are impressioned that one believes. Usually most religious people don't believe in the hundreds of religions that there are in the world. So for those hundreds of beliefs...they are an athiest to

I remember distinctly being young and trying to be religious. To hear the word of God, fo understand it all...and when I was real with myself..absolutely nothing made sense or was tangible. As I grew, I realized I was not alone and it started to make more sense and I started to find the beauty in the world and people more than stories and ideologies

I think we are born just human. from infancy we have a need to be connected this inbuilt desire to trust and this is an area where faith comes from. the baby trusts that its needs will be met the and child knows and works out that when it cries its mother comes and feeds it. So Religion becomes the need fullfiller the quencher the mother the father you may not of had and this is why it is so popular but does it make it true?. I don't think we were born anything and certianly not athiest or religous, I like Human with a need to connect.

Confusing or not it means that you have realized something that others have not. The big question is why do they not see it? My answer is fear. Fear would take over all aspects of their lives to admit we are in this alone and nothing is supernatural.

I think all folks, including myself, should make themselves available to change--

It's the nature of the 'beast'!
Child, adolescent adult, etc.

If someone wants absolutes, it seems it becomes a matter of doctrine; your choice.

Becoming an atheist is basically becoming EDUCATED to the fallacies inherent in all religions. Most religious beliefs are acquired in childhood and are likely to be based on the geography of where you were born: USA? Christian, or Catholic. India? Hindu or Buddhist. See?

Pretty simple.i believed my first few years because I was told to. Not in those words, I was just presented with no other options. There was not an internet or anything like it and I just thought everyone felt the same. As a young teen I started having serious doubts of any being capable of divine intervention when I was able to think for myself and see the world around me. Considered myself more of a deists for awhile, then agnostic. Then after the age of technology with a wealth of info and research at my fingertips went the rest of the way to atheist. So not so much a choice as just when I was able to see all the facts or lack of, it just made sense. No proof of divine existence, no reason to be a believer

My story began as natural understanding and after tragedies of upset without guidance caused me to actually allow control of my mind to be guided by beliefs of the strongest kind, more tragedy is caused me to understand that I must make the choice to live and you choose to do so in a way that I decided must never allow the confusion of truth were told and actual truth and have done so alone and without it being very personal choice I would most likely be without my own mind and hindered still as I had in the five-year period I was living for everyone but myself.

I've always labored under the idea that I was born Atheist and became Humanist by default.