Well when I was religious I was by definition not as open to change as when I left it. However, religion is not without perceived benefits and sure I was resistant to letting go of long-held thought patterns. Particularly since I was preloaded with a bunch of operant conditioning about all the terrible things that would supposedly happen if I ever so much as questioned my beliefs of origin.

It's a bit flip to tell people that if they are resistant to change they aren't "open". It isn't as simple as just deciding to be "open".

I think I demonstrated sufficient "openness" by spending years prying fixed beliefs out of my head with a crowbar. That it took years doesn't mean there was an easier way to go about it.

I was raised that christianity was the default value. We were christian because we weren't jewish or muslim or anything else. So I grew up with the idea that when you died (unless you were a horrible person) you went to heaven. And all those who died before you were there in heaven waiting for you. My mom died when I was 14, and I lost a baby when I was 26. The thought that my baby was in heaven with my mom was very comforting. After baby died I became a really good Xian, well educated for a lay person. I had trouble with the notion of a loving god as I went along, the bible is full of crappy stuff. Years later when I came to the conclusion that religion is bunk I went through a period of mourning for the loss of belief, and it was like losing my mom and my baby again. I know that their atoms are all around, they are part of the universe, but it isn't as comforting.

The learning was effortless. The unlearning took a little work. The relearning almost killed me.

I was around religion, we had weddings, Baptisms, communions, confirmations... all the usual Catholic traditions... and I’m not nessasally apposed to tradition. Although many around me were certainly religious I just took it as culture. I never believed any of it was meant to be taken as gospel, lol.. tradition is a way of remembering where you came from but it need not dictate where you’re going.