How many other atheists were as lucky as me?

I wish! I had catholicism shoved down my throat six days a week in catholic school and sunday mass, and at home at all times. That's why I moved out the second I turned 17.

I'm actually glad I was raised in a religious household because I can understand why and how people believe the way the do. I have read the Bible, cover to cover, so I have a tool to use when Christians throw verses at me, I can throw them right back.

I think the fact that I was raised in a religious family has helped me be less frustrated by the religious because I can see why they do what they do and why they believe what they believe. Granted, I still get frustrated, but I know when what I"m saying is falling on ears that don't want to hear it, and I just walk away.

I wasn't AS lucky, but we were only Sunday christians. I never believed any of the bible myths and stopped going to church when I was sixteen. I was super surprised last year when I started looking into religion out of curiosity to learn there are adults living in 21st century America who actually believe the bable myths. Outrageous!

Yes, and congrats to you

I was raised by two educated parents, dad an MD, mom and RN, and education was stressed. My dad's favorite comments were things like, "prove it", "Where's your evidence?" "How is that logical?" etc.

I'm delighted I was never hammered with religion. It made no sense to them, either.

It is interesting that the more education one gets, the less inclined one is to accept some "faith" which is a belief with no evidence.....and holy books aren't evidence.

Now what is interesting, is that so many Christians "speak with forked tongue." They preach love and niceness, and damn you to hell if you don't believe as they do. superduperpoooper, is angry, and hostile. Read the blurb. Go figure. If this is what religion does to folks, I'm delighted I don't have one.

Yep. I can remember being stunned at about 8 or 9 years of age when it occurred to me (for the first time) that adults actually BELIEVED that religious stuff. Before that, I simply assumed it was like santa or the easter bunny....ridiculously unbelievable nonsense told to children to make them behave.

There are advantages to never being brainwashed from birth....you get to see things the way they really are.

My dad's side of the family is catholic but he couldn't give 2 flying fukc about their imaginary friend in the sky. My mother is a buddhist but she only take it as a lifestyle so I can pretty much call myself lucky as well as I wasn't lured by my catholic cousins into believing nonsense.

I think one advantage of having a religion forced into your childhood is that you understand exactly why people are religious - for that very reason - and you can identify with their delusional arguments, which also gives you a sharp indication of what sort of nonsensical thoughts go through their minds

my mother did think I should know about christianity and taught me there was a god at a young age...but most of my family is also quite non religious. I didnt believe any god for more than a year or so. It was rather like santa claus.

Religion simply didn't come up in my household at all. It was left utterly up to me to come to whatever conclusion I arrived at. In my case, when I was 8 and learned what the whole issue was about, I realized I was an atheist.

My family did different things that yours, how ever i am a life long atheist as your self.