My conversion from being a catholic to an atheist wasnt an immediate change. It was complex and a matter of research and comtemplation.

At 15, right before confirmation i read the bible from cover to cover, in Cateschism classes (which took one on one with the priest) i was able to ask him questions. My first was the Adam, Eve and their two sons, myth. I asked the usual question about Cain and how could children be born. His answer was "Cain left thr garden and found a tribe of Nubians." I was admonished for rolling my eyes.

What followed was an interest in Paganism, Wiccan, NA beliefs Agnostic and finally coming to the truth that there are No Gods and religious leaders were charlatons and fake.

While reading the old testament i found the action of "god" yo be horrific, beyond violent, disgusting an unacceptable. The new testament was much more palatable but still unbelievable.

Thankfully i had an understanding and supportive parent.

It wss not easy libing in the deep south in the 1960s, to begin to not say the prayers required and read over the loudspeakers. At first i bowed my head but said nothing. Later i just stared ahead. It still was frightening and intimidating. I took a lot of crap mostly from teachers. Bad grades when not warranted, ridiculed in a passive aggregressive way. It got so bad i had to quit school in the middle of my junior year!!!

I did finally get my GED years later. But how i was treated in HS had a negative affect on my finances, hard to get a well paif job without a HS diploma and college. I did finally went onto to college, a single parent with 3 small kids. It took many years to catch up financialy with my peers. And loss of income because of being forced to quit had a negative affect on my children, too.

So for most of my life, ive resented organized relgion and how non-believers have been treated harshly and how it can affect our families as well.

So how was your transformation, how long did it take and was your experiences along the way?