Your 'Aha!' Atheist Moment
So I 'came out' about my atheism recently to my parents, and they took it extremely well (I don't think they were that surprised, really), but the first question they asked me was "When did you know?". And I honestly just said some really vague answer. I can't remember a specific moment when I said 'Aha! I get it! I'm an atheist!'. For me, it was definitely a slow and deliberate process leading to atheism. But I was curious as to how others on T/A came to be atheist (this is assuming the majority of you were raised in religious households). Did anyone have an 'Eureka' moment, or has it been a process for you guys, too? I'm just curious; I don't personally know any other atheists, so my knowledge is pretty limited in this area.
I think this may have been covered in another discussion already, so I apologize if it's redundant. Thanks! :)
I think this may have been covered in another discussion already, so I apologize if it's redundant. Thanks! :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Peart on -
I don't think I had an 'a-ha' moment, and it took me a long time before I could say out loud 'I am an atheist'.
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Permalink Reply by Perthy on -
Same as everyone else on here, I had no 'aha' moment. However, after I started doing research, "The God Delusion" really validated my thoughts and made me feel like I wasn't alone. Also, 'The Age of Reason' by Thomas Paine was a gleeful read.
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Permalink Reply by Seth B Rollings on -
Well I don't believe in religion but the theory of eternal universe seems like an eternal god..So for now Idk what I am... I don't believe in either though.. >.> I don't think there is a god, neither do I think there is an eternal universe.
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Permalink Reply by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on -
A christian friend recently asked me why I decided to be an Atheist. I explained that I did not make a conscious choice to become one. It was that over time I had thought about god (the christian one) and had no choice but to reject the concept. I am unable to believe it because I am as certain as I can be, that gods do not exist. Secondly, once I acknowledged to myself that I when I die, I will stay dead. I have no fear of death and am happy to live my life knowing that. That’s the way it is.
I was an Atheist before I realised I was. There was no “Eureka Moment” but I do recall thinking that life makes more sense because I think like……give it a name……An Atheist. You can change your religion but you cannot “find” religion if you are an Atheist. Reason won’t allow it. Atheism is reaching a level of maturity that leaves the supernatural behind.
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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on -
I tried my best to be a good Christian. I could sublimate my doubts up to the brink of faith, but couldn't make that final leap of faith. There's no bridge between faith and reason.
I started examining my doubts after my prayers met with nothing but silence. I first went through an anti-religion phase, then I found I couldn't buy into any form of a personal God. I was a deist for years before moving to agnosticism. I stayed an agnostic even longer because of the negative connotations I associated with atheists. I finally embraced atheism when I realized there's really precious little difference (except for commitment) between the two.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on -
I lived close to all (small family) my immediate family and we all went to church i think every sunday. Then i moved about 500 miles away and we stopped going to church a lot more often. Religion didnt play an important role in my middle school, so i was unaffiliated with any religions from about 7 to 13. It was until i got to highschool that people started to 'tell and share' their beliefs and i became an atheist when people started to push around god and i didnt agree. Im not sure if it was the few months that i didnt go to church or if it was just a long gradual occurrence.
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Permalink Reply by Allen Gilbert on -
I certainly had an "aha" moment. I was actually just saying on Twitter last night that reading atheist "origin stories" can be depressing, since my own was actually a happy moment. For me, it was like having an epiphany, and suddenly the world made sense to me.
It was probably helped, though, by the fact that my family was never really religious to begin with. We were certainly Christian, but really moderate. Never prayed, never went to church, never said grace, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Joli on -
It was an "AHA!" moment for me. I was driving home from work and thought to myself, "why, if I don't believe in other religions beginnings and traditions, Do I believe in immaculate conception and christian traditions and teachings?" I got home from work, did a bit of research, and WA-LA! Hello Atheism! LOL I always had my doubts, but just seemed to push them to the back burner, ya know cuz, I would have rathered believed and been wrong about all of it than not believe and been wrong. I was terrified of hell. But all that seemed to pass really easy for me. I think people vary on that part of it. It was kinda hard for my husband though. He was raised by bible beaters and I was not. It was a very sobering moment to say the least. So that's my story :) Thanks for asking!
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Permalink Reply by Reggie on -
Really? You'd think that this would be more common for a lot of people, yet it is not. What led up to the question you asked yourself?
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