I'm a popular person at church, but I decided today that I no longer want to believe in God and Jesus. Help?

Don't kid yourself, if you tell your church that you don't believe anymore, you will be shunned, mocked, and attacked, all by people who will claim to love you. The most important advice I think anybody can give you at this point is NOT to tell your parents, or anybody else who will tell your parents (you tell a friend, they tell another friend, who tells their parents, who tells somebody at your church . . .). The next few years are going to be hard enough without your parents trying to argue, guilt-trip, or punish you back into belief in their god.

I'm really sorry you don't have a more rational environment, but you can take solace in the fact that millions of people have grown up in exactly the same situation and escaped to live useful lives free of religion. The next five years of being surrounded by faith-heads can be terrible, or you can grit your teeth, embrace the suck, and come out the other end with your sanity and happiness intact. Spend the time learning about history, philosophy, psychology, and the sciences -- real knowledge beats faith any day.

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Edit: If it helps, remember that the number of people who are willing to admit they don't believe is growing. Self-identified non-believers are about 15% of the population now; that's more than the total inhabitants of California, Oregon, and Washington combined. I don't think thirteen is a safe age to stand up and add your voice to that groundswell, but by the time you're finally allowed to take responsibility for your own life, we'll be an even more substantial minority. Hang in there.

Like someone else said, no-one can change your mind. You have free will, but at 13 or any age this is a difficult thing to understand. I think that it is important to have a discussion with your parents about how you feel and let them know that you don't want a lecture because that is only going to push you farther away. I am a Christian, and would not abandon a friend if they decided to leave the church or stop believing in God.

Intelligence really has nothing to do with the issue, it is faith!

I don't know what denomination your current church is or if it is a stricter more old-school environment. There are all kinds of different churches out there, you may like another one. My church is very progressive and more accepting when it comes to people making decisions that they don't agree with. It is not our job to judge, only God's, but as parents in a Christian Church, we vow to raise our children in God.

You may change your mind one day, it is my belief that many people don't commit and stay committed throughout childhood. A lot of people do stray away at some point or another, some come back and some don't. Hopefully you can have a good discussion with your parents and friends and come to some sort of agreement.

that is stunning how common your question is, yet what number are the two no longer able or unwilling to respond to it. rather they burst off on some uneducated rant. no1home2day became into the only one that made an attempt to take action. Even then, his isn't precise. The Jesus Christ that Mormons have confidence in is "Jehovah" of the old testomony, writer of the international, son of God. He became into born of Mary in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and died in Jerusalem. he's our savior and redeemer. He enabled us to return to stay with God by using his suffering in Gethsemane and death on the go. We have confidence in interior the Holy Bible. We have confidence interior the words of the classic prophets and in those of Jesus Christ himself. So, i'm uncertain the place he thinks we fluctuate especially from classic Christian definitions besides the belief of the trinity. approximately 25% of all Christians do no longer have confidence interior the trinity. A theory in between the trinitarian creeds isn't what makes one a Christian. If that have been so, Jesus Christ himself would desire to no longer properly be defined as "a Christian". various others defined Christ interior the comparable way we have confidence in Christ, yet claimed we weren't Christians because of fact we did no longer see Christ that way.....as quickly as we certainly do see him precisely as he became into defined. If one guy or woman feels that Christ had brown eyes and yet another felt that he had dark eyes, it does no longer propose that there have been "2 Jesus's" strolling around and one believes in one and yet another believes in the different one. It merely skill that they have fairly diverse perspectives on how Jesus became into. it sort of feels as though many responders don't experience that we've got confidence interior the Bible. We do examine, learn, and learn from the Bible and have confidence it particularly is God's observe.

There is little you can do to avoid the shunning. Hrm, emphasize that it doesn't have anything to do with them. When I left the church many of my friends felt hurt because I was leaving the church. I still liked them but I just didn't believe in God anymore. So my advice is to let them know it's not them, it's you. Also good luck. It was rough for me when I left the church...but now I wouldn't have it any other way.

May the force be with you.

Looks like you won't be so popular at church any more.

At 13, you're a little young to be worried about this. I think you'll discover there are a lot of other kids who feel the way you do. I felt the same way at your age.

Just be prepared for an onslaught of church folks trying to "save" you. Be strong, and stick to your guns. What you believe is your business, not theirs. You might point that out to them, as well.

Best of luck to you.

If being an atheist is makes you more intelligent, then I must of been really intelligent because I figured out with out God life has no meaning, I tried to kill myself three times within a month. Going to God was the most intelligent thing I ever did.

I'd feel your parents out first- if it seems like they'd be okay with your decision, tell them and ask to stop going to church. If it seems like they'd freak, I'd try to keep it quiet until you're 18- sucks to have to hide your beliefs, I know, but they could cause you a lot of grief otherwise.

I hate to say it, but your deconversion may not go over particularly well- a lot of people's don't. You may end up losing some friends.

Were I you, I'd try to just avoid the topic of religion in general- people can get kind of funny about faith.

Best of luck, my friend.

Just like, today you decided out of no where?

Jeez, I'm 22 years old and I still haven't even made up my mind yet.

Edit: If you want friends to stop caring about you.. Do what I did: Stop going to church and not returning phone calls. Eventually they will get the idea.

Of course I was 21, and my parents couldn't force me to go to church.. I don't really know what you could do without them freaking out, or just forcing you to go. I also would like to add that shortly after I quit my parent's church I moved out. It was very awkward not going, and I could tell I was hurting them, so I decided to leave.

Edit again: Also, good for you for being able to think for yourself. It's hard to turn away from what you are taught from birth... I wish I was able to at 13.

Don't go to church anymore, problem solved. It sounds like you have your mind made up. It feels great to be popular and be excepted into a group, but if it's a group that you don't feel you don't have anything in common, you shouldn't be around them.

1) get ready to defend your lack of faith. get a book on philosophy and learn some arguments.

2) tell your parents, this is tough b/c atheist are less trusted than gays.

3) remember that you don't have a set of morals handed to you, you have to figure them out on your own.

4) live your life