Britney Spears said in an Instagram audio story yesterday that she now considers herself an atheist. Her explanation, however, feeds right into flawed stereotypes Christians often have about why people stop believing in God.

Most atheists have a story about why they stopped believing in God. Perhaps something caused them to begin questioning their faith, but they only took that final leap after a lot of critical thinking. Yet when they tell people they no longer believe in God, the assumption is that something bad happened to them. That’s it. A logical thought process always takes a back seat to blaming God for some kind of tragedy. Hell, there are entire books written by Christian apologists about theodicy, offering explanations for why God lets bad things happen to good people… as if that’s the only reason people have for becoming nonreligious.

That’s why the Britney Spears revelation could be a double-edged sword.

Last week, her estranged younger son Jayden (15), whom she had with ex-husband Kevin Federline, said in an interview that the conservatorship Spears was under until this past November may have gone on too long but that his grandparents were not “bad people.” He added that he hoped she got better and that he was praying for her.

Federline said in a separate interview that Spears’ father “saved her” with the conservatorship.