sent in by AtheistMommy

I was born into a christian family. At about 12 I protested to going to church. See before that age I didn't know I had a choice. I was sent to private catholic school during the weekends.

I never made my communion. In fact I refused to do that too. My very religious grandmother informed me that I was going to go to hell like my mother who was trying out different sects. Did you know that was a sin?

My father converted to Baptist to marry in a Baptist church because his new wife was a Baptist. Of course that wasn't a sin according to my grandmother.

Skepticism seem to come naturally to me. I doubted many things that they told me. Like for one, my father did his best to instill fear in me by telling me if I went outside at night the boogie man was going to get me and kill me. Of course the fear of the unknown got me but I got older and wanted to know more about this "boogie man." The next time he said that I opened the door walked up the drive way and said, "come get me boogie man" and started laughing at my father. He never said it again.

I asked questions about god and the religion to all members of my family because I wanted to know what they would say. And I came out with different answers from all of them. It taught me that pretty much everyone sees things differently when it comes to religion. I was about the only person in my family interested in science and nature.

According to my grandfather, god is bowling to make thunder. According to my grandmother, god is crying because of all the sin in the world to create rain. The rain is washing us of our sins. Also, we christians don't believe in ghosts, LOL. Lets just over look the so called "holy ghost."

Rosaries are not only held for the dead. They are held for sicknesses, bad marriages, just for fun and so on. Priests are not allowed to drink, LOL.

I was often called "smartass" for my answers to many of these outrageous beliefs/superstitions. But I never knew anything about Atheism because it never came up. There were no TV ads, no mention in the local news, no popular music bands, no billboards, no stickers, T-shirts. Nothing I came in contact with ever said "Atheist."

In fact it wasn't until I got a computer and met my husband in my twenties that I found out what the word "Atheist" meant. So pretty much the day I refused to go to church was my venture into Atheism. The older I got the more I saw religion for what it was and god for what it was.

Religion has no place in my life. God isn't real and neither is any other god or goddess. And as soon as I admitted to myself what I really believed I felt as if a ton of bricks came off my back. I saw so much clearer and I was so much happier.

You see religion has always been a family thing for me. And to go against it would mean I had to risk losing those I loved. I've lost one family member because I admitted my Atheism so far. I have many who question it. And why? Mostly because this fairy tale we call Christianity is a wonderful brain washing tool. Because some people refuse to think of life without their precious god.

Family is the most precious thing in my life. It always has been and always will be. And this is how I became known as AtheistMommy.

URL: http://www.cafepress.com/ftlshop
City: Virginia Beach
State: VA
Became a Christian: 2 weeks old
Ceased being a Christian: 13
Labels before: Holy Family Roman Catholic Chruch
Labels now: Atheist
Why I joined: No choice, forced into it by family
Why I left: Because I asked too many questions and no one had answers with proof