Hi everyone,

I just stumbled upon this site today and thought I'd join in. I've been an atheist for as long as I can remember but I usually don't talk about it much, don't find need to. If it comes up I tell people if not I generally keep it to myself.

As I wrote in the About Me section, my grandmother was Catholic and I was baptized and started classes towards receiving my first communion but I never made it that far. I don't think I ever really believed in god or really even understood that the stories I learned in Sunday school were actually meant to be taken seriously. At the same time I was hearing religious stories I was learning about the dinosaurs in school and I just didn't see how that fit with Adam and Eve so I assumed it wasn't meant to be taken literally. I always hated saying my prayers at night because "If I die before I wake" just sounded like the creepiest thing you could possibly say before turning out the lights. I was called a heathen more than once by my grandmother when I finally told her I had stopped saying my prayers.

Sometime probably in my teens I put a word--atheist--to my non-belief, but was reluctant to actually use the word. Now I am proud of it and think highly of others who are too.

My family would probably all say they believe in god but none of them are religious. They know I don't believe in god and don't seem to really care. They're all pretty accepting and open minded.

In any case, that's me now. I am currently living in Lebanon where there are 18 recognized religious sects and everyone knows everyone's religion based on their last name, village, etc. Quite different from what I'm used to but interesting nonetheless.