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I am new to this site, so this may be an old and common question, but here goes. I have always felt somewhat isolated because I have never believed in god, religion, spirituality. Most people seem to be either recovering (insert a religion here) or have some concept of ill defined spirituality going on. I grew up in a household that was effectively isolated from any religion or church. My experiences with religion were with a catholic girlfriend (to this day I can recite major parts of the ritual in latin.) Or with jewish friends learning to get hammered at Bar Mitzvahs. In college I studied world religion a bit, and actually searched for some religious meaning in my life, but came to the current conclusions on god, religion, church and spirituality fifty years ago. No change since, despite the efforts of family members and close friends. I am and always have been a true atheist. I put god in the same category as Santa Claus, and regard religion in the same way I regard government, that is, with the best of intentions but often simply a method of social control and wealth redistribution, and always in danger of doing great harm to those it professes to want to help. Are there others like me out there?

Donwhy 6 Aug 20
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21 comments

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I think most here feel, think, believe just as you do and you are now a member of a friendly and accepting community here. Welcome.
You (and others) might find this Tedx talk interesting and informative.

Thanks for the vid.

I have not seen your post lately...maybe I was too focused on too few! Glad to see you, anyway!

@Freedompath Thank you my dear. I had some Computer issues for almost a month but have them all corrected now. Needless to say I missed my daily time here and am so glad to be back. Hugs.

Church of reality. Not my cup of tea but interesting.

@Wahker I don't know about the "church", but what could be more important than "reality"?

@jlynn37 my bad he is a minister for Progressive Christianity not the Church of Reality. Had to Google him. But everything he says is very similar to Church of Reality. Check it out.

@Wahker I only watched his video and he never mentioned christianity, jesus, christ, bible, yahweh in anything he said. He did mention god often but he stated in the very beginning that his god was reality and his scripture was evidence.

@jlynn37 no he doesn't that's why I originally thought he was from Church of Reality. Again it's an interesting concept. And I am glad to see some churches believe in science.

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Of course..after all, this is an agnostic website.

By the way, this website has a bit of a learning curve.

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You've already done much of this.

Commenting on posts and writing your own posts earns more points. At level two you can private message people, and at level eight you get an agnostic T-shirt.

If you want to date, the website uses profile algorithms to find member matches, so the more details one includes, the better the match.

Many people prefer to see a written profile talking about interests, hobbies, and backgrounds that can be quickly perused to find others who are compatible with them.

In case you didn't know yet, to find members near you, click on the "Browse" button at the top of the page, then on "Members," and enter your preferred search parameters.
Click on the "Discuss" button, then "Nearby" to find members near you also.
Or click on the "About" button at the top left of the page to find links to FAQ or the website tutorial.
Points are now being given to level 3+ members who chat. You can see chat rooms on the group main page or at [agnostic.com].

Thanks for this information. I have to admit, the website takes some getting used.

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And another one here! Never had any religion, but have never felt as if I've missed out on something either. When I see the fear in the eyes of my very, very religious relatives, I'm heartily glad that I never went down that rabbit hole.

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Welcome to the community and yes, there are many like you here. Browse and enjoy.

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Yes. Welcome ?

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Yes. I have religious friends and atheist or non-theist friends.

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Welcome to the club! i grew up in a nonreligious household. Once I became an adult, it was somehow surprising that I adhered to no organized religion. Their issue, not mine.

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Yes,many of us are here,at this website,come,tell us your hurt,the woes of not "Fitting in",or "Different".

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I was raised by non practicing Jews. Religion never attracted me.

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Well said and I feel you pain, or unease. Welcome

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Be thankful that your scars are not as embedded as ours are. Religion like Political Affiliations are Brain Washed, Bigoted beliefs that want to control you mind, wallet and your every wakening fear. I was raised Roman Catholic having an Irish Ancestry to boot. Not a pleasant upbringing but more funny than others. I got the fluke opportunity to spend my last two years at a Catholic University that had a Philosophy and Theology requirement and they were the most thoughtful 40 credits I ever had to pay for. Religion is responsible for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Sesame Street and Don Imus. I would recommend "Gods Other Son" by Don Imus which is the best introduction to the Southern Christian Coalition you will ever read. I just got back from Israel where I spent 6 weeks with the Arabian, Palestinian and Hebrew cultures. You would really enjoy it if you only remember to tell them that you are either English or Canadian. In my case I told them I was from Ireland. Welcome to the Site where we bare it all and then some.

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I just made a similar post before I saw this one. I actually think maybe it's common for people in general to feel isolated. I grew up in a religion that prided itself on being "a peculiar people" and promoted being isolated, although I had plenty of friends who were "peculiar" with me. After leaving that religion, I've felt isolated almost constantly and feeling like no one really believes the same way I do. I'm beginning to ask, do people have to believe the same way I do in order for me to connect with them? The answer is no, but if they believe they do then I'm still out of luck.

You make a good point...my thoughts on that is...there is a feeling of ‘aloneness’ because we must struggle to figure out who we are, and that is done on the ‘inside!’ And another aloneness, trying to belong to a group or even a place! Ofcourse Independent thinkers would have more cause to feel alone...but, that would be a good thing! We try and work together, but we bring our differences to the table! With what I know now...I would be worried if groups of people all believed the exact same thing!

@Freedompath I feel that religion is a group of people that all believed the same thing, Its just the wrong thing, lies, half truths, unreal etc. So a team of people all believing in facts and reality could cause to help those that claim to be something that they are not or claims to be something that is not. So I just don't see the trigger for truth, science and trust. Does independents need a team to make a difference, I wonder.

@ColdFax ...trying going it alone and see what happens!

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There are always others like you out there ?

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I have been through agnosticism a few times and looked to evolution as a possible theory for life. I have read the atheist philosophers and looked at a number of debates with atheists. What happened is that I have been introduced to the world view and for me it does not answer the questions I am asking. Evolution does not answer the origins question, Hitchens did not answer the meaning question, Dawkins does not answer the morality question and no one so far has anything of value regarding destiny from this world view. All that I am searching for is information that lines up with reality that answers these four questions in a coherent and not contradictory way.

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Absolutely! I was forced to attend church when a child...always considered it a game! Couldnt(Still cant) understand how people believe and pattern their life around god and religious beliefs

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I wish I was, but sorry, no. Grew up in the south, and religion is like...well...a religion down here. Trust me, you didn't miss out on anything, other than self-loathing, guilt, and years of depression.

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Consider yourself lucky you managed to avoid the proselytizing and brainwashing that accompany exposure to most religion. I was raised in the catholic faith, but I turned my back on that crap some 45 years ago with only minor residual damage. Welcome to the atheist monkey house, jump in and hang on. 🤓

Thank you. I appreciate your words of monkey house wisdom.

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You will find plenty of company here! Glad you are here and I will look for more posts and comments! Welcome!

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I Totally Understand! I moved from South Florida to SC a few years ago! I have been A Unitarian for many years. At the fellowship I can express myself without any problems. Most of the Unitarians are atheist! It might be worth your while to attend a fellowship and see if it suits you. Good luck! Anne

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There are a lot of true atheist on this website so welcome! Unfortunately a lot of them are also Trump bashing, gun grabbing liberals.

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never bought into the god thing and religions are all part of them. the myths seemed like just fairy tales. The ark was impossible. The world could never be totally covered in water. Too many civilizations were going strong during the time they claimed it happened. Could not put 2 of every animal on a ship that size and could not store enough supplies to survive the time claimed. Adam and EVE another fairy tale holes all through the story. I beleive it was a masters story to keep slaves in their place. Sodom and Gomora more crap.

I have a hard time seeing how many people are stupid enough to keep believing

Agree! But lots of people seem to need their myths.

How do you get the North Pole animals to survive beside the equatorial animals?
Reptiles and Reindeer together?
And were fish included in the 2x2 Mockumentary?
Lots of strange undersea creatures that "god created".....I don't see drawings of squid, octopuses and catfish, let alone any really, really strange ones in the bible books.

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