Can really only speak for myself.Being a recovering catholic once excommunicated for marrying out side of the church.Then being reinstated following my mom's and wife's wishes.The church getting a few hundred dollars for the absolution.Now going to church it seemed to please others,then just at wedding's and funeral's because I felt obligated as I probably was.I was faking it and feeling hypocritical taking sacraments and all.Guess I waited till after my parent's died to finally come out of the closet as a non believer by posting atheist memes on facebook.Thinking I'm the first to do so with in my relatives on both sides.Wishing someone else would stand with me.I'm hoping to be on the right side of history

In the Jehovah's Witnesses, it's a way of life and not just a religion. Everything - family, work, friends is bound up in the faith so if you have any doubts, you are under real pressure to fake it.

Sure. That's why it's important for us to be "out" about our beliefs or lack of them, to show others they are not alone and it's really okay to not be part of the herd.

I think some churchgoers are there simply for the community and fellowship and do not give the religious stuff much thought, yes.

Saw this at the grocers today. Here is good example of hypocrisy ......underneath the "Jesus loves you" is a trump 2020 sticker

I would think more than a few, including quite a few politicians and most country singers.

Most I'm sure. I did for several years

I think a good 50 percent are hopefull believers, 25 percent know its bullshit but are afraid so they go along and the other 25 percent are just still sheep and haven't yet begun to think for themselves on the issue.

I honestly thought everyone was faking it, like Santa Claus, for almost the entire time I was at Sunday School (a fair few years as a kid). It was a shock to me that adults, people who were in charge of my world, actually believed. I couldn't have been more than 8/9, and for some reason someone was driving my brother and I home from somewhere, and she started encouraging us to pray that we'd have enough petrol to get home, but she didn't pull into a petrol station. I just remember having a really sense of shock that she thought it would work, because that's not how cars function.
After that I made it my business to find out what this God stuff was all about, and realised that it didn't make as much sense, nor preach as much love and joy, as the church had been teaching us.

i think it's significant. the most obvious & nauseating are some of the leaders who would go to church on sun & then on mon order an attack on a supposed terrorist knowing that there would be many innocent civilians killed. they were the real despicable bastards & some of them occupied the white house.

If someone is just going along, to get along, and that's a commonplace human way of dealing with life... is that "faking it"?

Oh very much so.

Back in my fundamentalist daze, we had this thing, usually during Wednesday night prayer service, called "testimony time". In the small country church I was part of at the time, the minister would yield the floor for people to "share" testimonies of god's working in their life.

Of course there was a wee problem: god doesn't exist and was oddly absent from intervening in our lives that particular week.

There was invariably a long, uncomfortable silence after the floor was opened for "testimonies", after which someone would reluctantly, in the name of saving some face for the group, come up with something really lame, like "God has really been present with me this week". And it would go downhill from there. You knew they were scraping the bottom of the barrel and putting on a brave face. Yet for some reason the pastor kept doing it, week after week, and occasionally sprung it on us at other times.

It never occurred to me to wonder much in those days if this wasn't all just for show (or how much of my own profession of faith was a farce). What can I say; self-reflection just wasn't our strong suit. Nor was it encouraged. At all.

It's probably less common but not at all unusual, I'd guess, for people to admit to themselves they don't believe, and deliberately fake it to keep the peace with their family or whatever.

Example most practicing Catholics don't believe everything taught by the church. Most people practice a pick and choose approach that is comfortable to them.

I don’t know about the percentage, but I personally did. Deep down I always knew it was all BS, but I wanted fit in.

I always assumed the number was low. The alternative is that humans are much more consistent in the application of logic than I have estimated thus far.

The preachers are the worst. And the ones who have the hardest time coming out.

Judging by their actions, probably 90% or more.

I think they are all faking it and are to brain dead to realize the lies they choose to tell themselves.

Yes, it's easy to fake it. Sometimes it's easier for a nonbeliever to "pretend" to be part of the delusion just to avoid conflict or being segregated, looked down, judged... Life is too short and we are outnumbered, so it seems. Let's make things bearable. Besides, believers will believe what they want to believe anyway. Not my job to change them either.

Oh I'm certain there are those ' stray sheep' out there who, being afraid to stand alone, etc, are simply following along with the 'flock' and hoping desperately for acceptance.

So awesome to know that such a beautiful intelligen​t woman like yourself is close by.....too many blind faith people in this area.... I feel lucky to have met you in this desert of ignorance

I'd say somewhere between 70 to 95 percent are faking it. Only the really sick ones believe.

And is that better? Or worse?

Ha ya I notice Xtians don't like getting into that "leave the camp" or "come out of her, my people" stuff very much lol

I would say at least 30 % or better. That shows that our numbers are growing.