Question: How many of my fellow atheists had a religious upbringing? If one had one, when did it wash out?

[Envirogal]

11. Very catholic with guilt a driving force

I was also “single issue voter” pro-life. Started dating a very worldly and smart guy, which was thrilling given I was living in a Midwest bubble town where sameness was the natural state of things. (I think I was 12 before I realized there were people that weren’t Catholic out there.)

He was an agnostic atheist, and I had never heard of such blasphemy. I pondered whether he was a devil worshiper because I had no reference point. I drilled him on various issues and his answers always were way more sensible than even my questions! As our relationship blossomed, I started to question things more. The ice started a slow thaw.

And then I got pregnant early on in our relationship. Then I became the biggest hypocrite and got an abortion. The fact that I was able to do that shook me to my core— I never wanted kids but that was overshadowed by my steadfast belief….until I needed one. I felt incredibly sick on how much I judged others and that was when the floodgates came on questioning everything, researching, and atoning for my hypocrisy. I thought if could do that maybe my faith might be masking other truths?

The final straw came when I was on a long trip to Europe and saw all the wealth of churches (built on slave labor), even in small villages. Went to the Vatican and saw the outdated misogyny of the Swiss Guards not saluting the nuns when they did the priests. And on and on.

I never looked back. The religious Reich in this country has only made my conviction stronger. I truly believe that deep religious thought that lanes political is for naïve people and easily broken once you can pop the bubble.