At what point did you realize that god is not real

[Cindi Jones]

I need to get one of those FSM placards for my car...

[Paige_tara]

What would those be? Because the only value I can think of that religion (in general) teaches is uncritical subservience to higher authority. Sure, some of the religions preach love and tolerance and all that, but then some also preach homophobia, sometimes even at the same time.

It's more the original principle of religion, to promote a society of people that care for one another and all of 'Gods creatures'. Such as the 10 commandments, it would be a much better world if people lived by those.
But yes, there is a lot of hate derived from religion (such as the current wars, and most (all?) of the wars in history), which is where it falls down and why I don't believe in a God or follow a religion. I've never understood how individuals can have so much hatred for another, especially when that hatred is based purely on the fact that they have a different religion, to me, that goes against everything religion was 'invented' for.

With regards to the homophobia and general sexism that persists throughout religion, you've got to remember how attitudes have changed since these religions were formed. It wasn't all that long ago people thought homosexuality was something you could/should be cured of... they're just stuck in the past.

[Black Arrow]

It's more the original principle of religion, to promote a society of people that care for one another and all of 'Gods creatures'. Such as the 10 commandments, it would be a much better world if people lived by those.

I, for one, strongly object to commandments 1 to 4, and while 5, 7 and 10 are nice to abide by if you can** I'd rather not see them made into law. The rest are covered by all societies, religious or not, so religion once again fails as a moral guide.

What you call the "original principle of religion" is very vague and I would disagree that such an underlying principle exists. There is no single underlying goal for the foundation of religion. Judaism was essentially created as a set of laws for the Israelite tribes, to reinforce authority*, and unlike its Abrahamic successors it is much less universalist and less developed theologically in the sense that it even mentions other gods in its holy texts; Christianity and Islam developed in opposition to established authority (given the progressive changes Islam brought with its birth, Muhammad would roll in his grave if he saw the ISIS today!).

The reality is that it is never the "original principle" that matters, but the actual social conditions to which the religions are applied. Islam initially had a progressive role, with Muslim societies being some of the most advanced on Earth; nowadays, the trend is reversed, with Islam being the ideological justification for the worst reactionaries of the world (ISIS, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, the Taliban), although in Arab societies with a more secular, progressive outlook (relative to the rest of the Muslim world) Islam was/is used in a more progressive manner as well, though still only as an ideological framework for the state (see: Nasser, Gaddafi, and of those who still reign, Assad - in general, the Arab nationalist and Ba'athist dictators). Christianity, Buddhism, everything - they have a similarly flexible history in politics. The very compilation of their holy texts is usually a political process, not an abstract theological debate in a vacuum.

And if you want those "original principles" you speak about? Well, again, we don't need religion for that.

*Of course, the origins of Judaism are a little vague, since there is no evidence that the Exodus actually happened and thus it's a bit hard to say how the history of Judaism actually began.
**There are always exceptions: do not honor abusive parents, for example.

[Paige_tara]

Getting way too deep for me. I was just explaining my viewpoint on religion, it's not a subject I have any depth of knowledge about to have a deep discussion, but it's been interesting

P x

[Black Arrow]

Getting way too deep for me. I was just explaining my viewpoint on religion, it's not a subject I have any depth of knowledge about to have a deep discussion, but it's been interesting

P x

No worries!

[Elsa Delyth]

I was raised in a very fundamental conservative Christian family, and I stopped believing when I was about thirteen, had my doubts at twelve, knowing that I was not acceptable, read the bible at thirteen, and was a militant atheist throughout my teens.

I'm a fan of anarchy. It's my view that the anarchist has the most faith in humanity. Most objections to anarchy are about the lack of government prevention, or protection, and how the world will descend into MAD MAX. Religious dispositions, in my view, take the antithetical position, and have the least faith in humanity. Believing that the universe needs a benevolent ruler, to keep us evil, sinful creatures in check. We need proscribed commandments to live by, and the threat of punishment, and promise of reward. The average person is wicked, and needs to believe that they're always being watched and judged in order to be kept in check. It is my view, that religion's true core values are nihilism, and misanthropy. 

[itsApril]

I never believed in god, never ever.  Not for a single second in my life.  My parents sent me to mainstream protestant Sunday school when I was a child, but it made no difference.  Religions are a pack of lies, and mostly harmful and demeaning lies at that.

I see no evidence to support the theory that religious believers are better or more moral than non-religious people.  To the contrary, my impression is somewhat the opposite - that non-religious people are kinder, more reasonable, and more tolerant.

[Ltl89]

I'm more of an agnostic atheist, so I'm always open to evidence of a god, but I just never saw it.  I was brought up in a very religious household and would often pray to god for assistence in trying to be a good Christian.  Quite frankly I felt very let down that god didn't help me sort out my issues with my gender identity and sexuality, so originally I was more disappointed that prayer didn't  work no matter how hard I tried.  Then I started to take issue with a lot of religious stances, especially with the catholic church, abd started to feel conflicted with my desire to be a good christian and the fact that I disagreed with a lot I was taught.  I kind of seesawed on the topic as it was a huge aspect of my childhood and beliefs, but I became more skeptical and ultimately rejected the idea of a god.  I'm open to evidence, but I find it unlikely that anyone will ever be able to prove anything conclusive.

[LizK]

The real evil in the world sits at the head of the Catholic church and considers himself infallible when it comes to religious instructions...self proclaimed hotline to the big G herself. There are supposed to files currently held in the Vatican vaults that prove that the catholic religion is based on lies and "God" as a concept is totally flawed...The catholic church is nothing but another business selling its wares however it has way more protection than you average retailer.

[Zumbagirl]

OMG! Other atheists exist? I don't really call myself an atheist because its not a term I really think about too often, but I don't believe in god. I was actually wondering a couple of days ago if I was the only one in the world who didn't believe in god because I've never met anyone else. Well, I could count my dad, but even he will say he's not sure.

So, how many of you really don't believe in god, and how did you come to this conclusion. Please talk to me. This is like discovering that I am not the only human in a world among elves. Or maybe it's the other way around.   

When I got out of college I became interested in 3 things: the history of science, logic and philosophy. I started reading different books on philosophy and that's when things started gelling with me. It was then that I began to see that modern day religions are in fact based on either a combination of even older beliefs or an actual older belief. Of course the adherents of a modern religion will always claim that their religion is in fact the only true religion, otherwise they are just praying to statues for nothing.

In between all of that, I tried, I can say I honestly tried religion, even as a 'cure' for me. The more I met deeply religious people the more I realized I was staring at blank caricatures of people. Nice people, kind people, the kind of people you want to share a place at the table with, but overly simplistic views of the world.

The concept of a god or pantheon of deities is so easy to create and simply pen something down. The world was formed by a giant snake and the 2 front fangs broke off and formed the first god and goddess, see new religion. You can't prove it's not true any more than you can prove it is true. That is essentially what I learned from philosophy.

Ask yourself, how can it be that there are hundreds if not thousands of different religions and they ALL claim to be the only true one? If you want to see new made up stuff though, look at all of the new age gobbledygook. Liberals who are afraid to step away too far from organized religion buy into crystals, and chakra and all kinds east-west religious beliefs married together. Maybe that is the genesis of a new belief system that will overtake the major religions of today, 1,000 years from now? Who knows. The only thing I will say is it's all as nonsensical as the rest of the religion. To me it's all sophistry.

[Kylo]

At what point did you realize that god is not real

I don't know if god exists or not.

I think more it is that there was a point at which I realized whether a god exists or not, it doesn't matter to my life. That's a question that, unless I have some holy moment tripping balls with god itself, I am never going to be any the wiser of the answer and it hardly matters to my daily existence. Maybe I'm just too dumb to see the "signs" or feel their effects. So be it. I'm on my own and just have to make my own way in the world. I don't have time to wait for god to show itself in a way I can understand, I have way too much to do just trying to get by each and every day. If it happens, great, wonderful. If it doesn't, great, wonderful.

That's the point I realized I didn't need a god, and that was... maybe around age 9-10. Before that I hadn't believed in a god either.

[MelloYellowSurge]

OMG! Other atheists exist? I don't really call myself an atheist because its not a term I really think about too often, but I don't believe in god. I was actually wondering a couple of days ago if I was the only one in the world who didn't believe in god because I've never met anyone else. Well, I could count my dad, but even he will say he's not sure.

So, how many of you really don't believe in god, and how did you come to this conclusion. Please talk to me. This is like discovering that I am not the only human in a world among elves. Or maybe it's the other way around.   

I'll give you what, for all intents and purposes, would be my de-conversion story. Truth be told, I'm not really sure that I ever truly believed in a higher power of any sort. Regardless, I called myself a Christian for the first 20 years of my life. I had gotten into Buddhism just before my 21st birthday and had continued to refer to myself as such for about 4 years afterwards. It was just before my 25th birthday that I started calling myself an Atheist. Truth be told, my exit from Christianity and from Buddhism stemmed from the simple fact that I couldn't take much of anything they taught seriously. I suppose it was in this period transitioning between Christianity to Buddhism to finally abandoning religion altogether that I came to the conclusion that the idea of things like gods, the afterlife, heaven, hell, karma, etc. were quite absurd as they were taught to me. I've attempted to delve as deep into the topic as my time has allowed, even going as far as to try and make it through the Bible in it's entirety (and only getting as far as the end of Exodus), and I guess I still haven't covered everything. Then again, what little of the Bible I have read convinced me of something said by Penn Jillette; nothing will make you an Atheist quite like reading the Bible.

Sorry for the dissertation, but I guess I have a bad habit of being somewhat long winded in forums. I also apologize if this doesn't answer your question but I hope it gives you a general idea.

[Midnightstar]

When i was seven years old i remember telling my mother i didn't want to go to church anymore
I never actually believed any of the stories i found them simply "Stories" and i was shocked to find out the adults around me "Believed" the stories i was being told. That's when i started questioning things and asking "Why this why that" and i always got "God" or "Because" but it was never a detailed response and i started notching that the older i got. From a very young age iv'e always enjoyed science so i guess my love for science saved me young although when i was 12 was when i'd say i didn't believe started to be set in stone.
Before that i'd question, or wonder even though i doubted. Somtimes i still question and i still wonder but i think that's normal i'd consider myself agnostic atheist to be exact though. So when was the big clue the stories was fake? For me it was probably when i was younger and it was a story about a dog a preacher told and apparently the dog escaped because of god, i thought seriously people? Noah's ark was the second was probably the one that took me off religion for good.

And yes there are many many atheist and from what i understand recently athiesm has been growing in size
So you're not alone!

[Alice Rogers]

Well, that's the problem with atheism, isn't it? Makes it much harder to answer where any of it came from. Not sure which is harder to swallow. That the universe was created by some intelligent being of indeterminate origin, or that it just "came about".

I ain't sayin' it's Aliens......But it's Aliens!

[Tessa James]

I ain't sayin' it's Aliens......But it's Aliens!

Please!, such irreverence about our irreverence   Are there no sacred cows left? 

[Cindi Jones]

Please!, such irreverence about our irreverence   Are there no sacred cows left? 

I think they've been eaten.

[Jennifer RachaelAnn]

When you say "god" in what sense are you referring to? Are you aligning that with a specific religion? Have you aver considered an anti-religion, instead of just flat out saying that there is absolutely nothing? Are you darwinian and big bang supporter?

There's a lot of things to consider before calling yourself atheist. I'm not trying to come a some kind of holier-than-thou waste of space. I personally hate those people. What I'm getting at is you could have some people in your life that could be referred to as atheist, but don't subscribe to the title, or have never just given it any real serious thought. And some who just don't define as anything at all. Look around thru your family, friends, coworkers, everyone you know. You might just find out that you are not as alone as you think.

[rose]

I always have my doubts about that
I start first as agnostic in 2013 but now I'm atheist

[AnneK]

It's hard to put a date on it.  I was well into my teens when I came to the conclusion religion was in fact absolute nonsense.  Coming to the same conclusion about "God" would have been a few years later.  What really gets me is how it's possible, in this day & age, for someone to believe that nonsense, when it's so clearly detached from reality.

[AnneK]

In my eyes it's better to treat religion as a very powerful and very real force, even if it is not divine

Yep, it's a "force" that has all too often been used to justify bigotry and violence.  I find it amusing how in conflict each side claims "God" is on their side.