My bad experiences regarding religion or a belief in God weren't stemmed as much from childhood as much as from adulthood. However, growing up, my mother hit on priests. But as an adult, I was married to a man who was a Church of Christ member, which is basically like a cult. Since we had both been married before, we had to be voted into the church, even though he grew up with this religion. After twelve years of trying to follow all the church rules and my exes rules, I left the marriage and the church and never looked back!

Not childhood, but my nephew's murder pushed me from agnostic to atheist. So many incipient comments about how "things happen for a reason." Just no. There is nothing divine or preordained about it. The only logical conclusion is that there is no plan, and therefore, no divinity.

I was repeatedly sexually, physically, and verbally berated growing up. Those experiences were what led me away from religion; after all, how could a loving God stand idly by while I suffered at the hands of adults who were supposed to be my protectors? However, critical thinking and logic is what put me over the edge--is what showed me that a deity does not exist.

David, your comments about the reaction to that Pharisee's judgment of you for having been abused makes me angry on your behalf. It is such a cheap shot. Many many children are abused. Most remain religious, so his assumption explains nothing. If you had told him "no" to his question, he would have fished for another experience to blithely explain your coming to sanity...or what he surely considered your loss of holy Truth, with a capital "T." Parents divorcing, death of a family member, being bullied, struggle academically, family financial hardship, and on and on. Nearly everyone has gone through something. And ass-wipes like this guy would grab at any of those excuses just to dismiss the possibility that, just maybe, you came to a logical conclusion based on principled reasoning. It is quite obnoxious on that guy's part.

There wasn't any one particular experience. More like a long procession of people behaving in a decidedly un-Christian manner, such as when I worked for a bishop who was verbally abusive and threatened me with things like, "I WILL make you cry." I tend to be absurdly loyal so I blamed myself for not being good enough well into my twenties. And a good part of my thirties. Sometimes I battle it still.

Bad things did not make me an atheist. However, bad things encouraged my journey toward being an anti-theist

No. something good happened. i discovered reality

Over religious people who tried to talk “God” into me 24/7. Going to church with my grandparents. My over religious friends. My athiest family/friends.

Lied to since birth. Beaten in the name of religion. Even had a fanatic make it a joke about beating me, all in the name of religion. Also was offered $500 by said fanatic to run away from home. Fanatic would regularly steal from me. My mother turned a blind eye and ignored the actions of the fanatic she married.

Boredom happened.

I was born.

My family growing up was one of "devout" atheism. There have been changes along the way. But I remain 100% atheist.

Yes. I attended Church. At 4-ish, I was having nightmares that were just horrific. All of them were biblical in nature. This went on for several weeks and my parents pulled me from church.

As an adult looking back, I'd say someone in bible class was a wee bit too sulfur and brimstone for the youth.

I have never seen any good reason to go back.

Yes and no. I was psychologically abused for sure with the restrictions like never even talking 1 on 1 with a girl until late twenties. Also berated and almost kicked out of house at 17 for "sinfulness".
However, what did it for me was loneliness. I had no friends because the church we went to was so small; and i started to doubt how a perfectly logical and self evident truth could be so devoid of people following it. Then internet provided me with all the truth/answers i had been looking for.

Church!

I was raised Mormon (my mother converted after marrying my dad, he never has converted). I don’t remember anything specifically bad about church, other than it taking FOREVER and people always handing me babies to hold. I do remember when I was 8 and getting baptized that I begged my dad not to make me do it. To the point of a crying tantrum. He eventually talked me into it to make my mother happy. I’ve always been resistant to church and I don’t really know why. Now that I’m an adult, I’ll stand quietly while people pray but I avoid any and all religious buildings and activities as much as possible, regardless of the denomination.

Not really. It was mostly observation in early childhood that things in the Bible didn't add up..the "loving god" who tells Moses to slaughter men, women, children, and ANIMALS, and to stone the person who picked up a stick on Saturday.

From repeated observation and non-scientific sampling, I am left with the strong impression that traumatic experiences more often than not tend to induce people to cling tighter to religion. Then it is the pious, self-righteous, judgmental reactions of the supposedly loving Christians toward other people's suffering that can lead the others to start questioning, thinking more critically as these hypocrites illustrate just how hollow their claimed paradigm is. Once skepticism is introduced, the growing awareness of simple facts does the rest.

My husband did. He was 8, 9ish I think? He was very studious and religious, haing read the entire bible twice over by that time. His church caught on fire and he couldn't reconcile how a good, just God would just let that happen. It all went downhill from there...

I wrote you a book and deleted it. Yes i didnt believe in god as a child. Personal reasons.

my father disgusted me on so many levels. he was a phoney, crazy, religious person. enough said.

Somebody tried to convince me about a belief system that was the dumbest thing I ever heard of.

Honestly I looked for god didn't find either him or anything else so I looked harder and saw the truth gave up hope embraced nihilism

yes, being sent to Sunday fucking school when I didn't like the normal school that much.

Well, many things, good & bad happened to me as a child, but none of it had anything to do with my atheism. I loved Science Fiction & Fantasy (still do), but I early on realized the difference between fiction & fact, or at least reality! Tho I didn't become active for years I just stopped believing the "story". It made no sense to me. The actions of the nuns & priests in Catholic school didn't help bolster their claims, either, but that is not what led to my unbelief. I just could not reconcile the narrative with what I observed, & the more I observed & the more I learned, about anything, the more this was so.

I was born a catholic and we had some not so nice nuns and a very arrogant bishop where I came from. Not that I had to suffer from it. For me common sense tells one that there cannot be a god as it says in the bible.