Why do people leave the Church?
So many reasons.
It's an important question the Church should look into further.
Attendance has been steadily declining for decades.
Society has evolved on so many issues and behaviors that the Church just seems to stay stagnant.
People aren't going to stay where they don't feel welcome.
Redditor UK_Jay wanted to hear from everybody who left the church in the rearview, so they asked:
"Ex-Christians, what made you leave church?"
I don't mind the Church, but once I was done with Catholic school, it was see ya. Bye.
Truth
truth preach GIFGiphy"The fact that everyone wants to be a disciple of Jesus but don't do what Jesus told his disciple to do."
"Luke 6:46 'Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?'"
wasd876
Pivotal Moments
"My high school religion teacher encouraged us to question our own faith. He told us that it was okay if we wound up walking away from our faith. But if we continued to believe despite his class, our faith would be that much stronger."
"One of the questions was, 'Do you believe because you actually believe, or is it because you were told to by your parents?' I finally decided that I was only Christian because of what my mom told me growing up."
"I wish every single Christian could have that religion teacher for a semester. That single semester was pivotal in my spiritual development."
kana503
I Quit
"Had many friends and acquaintances that worked for the church and quit. Found out their reasons for quitting. The higher up staff did and forced my friends to do a bunch of corrupt crap. And if they didn’t, they 'Weren’t committed to the church enough, didn’t love God enough, weren’t willing to make sacrifices, will never make it in ministry.'"
"It broke my heart. I thought this was a place of love, and people who preached love. Haven’t trusted religion since. This church is a mega church in my area and keeps popping up more locations all over town. Makes me sick to my stomach every time I drive by."
aquarinmarin
Out of Focus
"The total hypocrisy of those I grew up around. Claim to be about love, spend most of their time hating people not like them. Claim to be about evangelism, literally only hang out with and talk to each other."
"Claim to be about giving, spend all of their energy focused on making more money for themselves."
"Not to mention they have conditioned themselves to avoid critical thinking at all costs. Must accept blind 'truths' at face value, OR ELSE."
devilish-nerdclap
For my sister...
Phaedra Parks Bye Felicia GIFGiphy"When my younger sister with Down’s syndrome was told she wasn’t eligible for communion despite taking all of the classes because she 'didn’t understand.'"
TheLastSpiceGirl
Family first. Help someone understand.
Damage
heavy metal 90s GIFGiphy"They damaged my mind. I always thought I would go to hell for things I like such as horror films, heavy metal and tabletop RPGs."
EuroCultAV
"the Lord spoke to me"
"Lack of answers, judgement, and hypocrisy mostly. I also read the Bible over and over and I just wasn't getting what other people were apparently getting out of it. Also everytime I prayed, nothing happened. Every now and then someone would be like 'the Lord spoke to me.' I always waited for something like that. It just never did."
"That lack of answers thing really bugged me the most though. I really wanted what I read in the Bible to be true but I just couldn't find anything to support most of it's claims. I was really sad for awhile. And scared that the devil tricked me. After awhile tho, I didn't believe in him either."
SpiritedDistance6242
Left Behind
"They left me. My first partner and I grew up in the church together. We were seen as the golden couple in our youth group. Good, proper Christian couple. Said our prayers, worked with the less fortunate, youth work, worship, I even led sermons. Eventually we moved away to start a new life together. We then broke up. I then find that I'm being kicked out of groups on WhatsApp and Facebook, people are unfriending me on social media, all from the church."
"I found out she'd gone home first and started talking to people. I don't know what she told them, but none of the people I saw as my second family, this fellowship I'd felt so welcome in even came to me to talk. I was left alone. I reached out to multiple people to say I needed prayer because I was struggling. I got nothing. I felt abandoned by God and abandoned by his people. So I walked away from that life."
c0_sm0
Disbelief
"I was a preteen locking myself in a dark closet because that's where I felt the closest to God - in the darkness. Like he was something that couldn't be seen - only felt. And I looked up into the nothingness of my closet ceiling after the millionth episode of physical and emotional abuse from my dad."
"I asked him to save me. God, not my dad. I was crying, screaming. Please. Please save me. I was just a kid. Surely I didn't deserve this. No one answered. And it occurred to me that anyone who could stop this and wouldn't, couldn't exist. So I stopped believing."
elaerna
Thieves
Explaining Season 3 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"Preachers having massive homes while the people that go to the church struggle. It’s hypocrisy from the top down."
prussianflyingcircus
Peace Out
"I gave it up for Lent and never went back."
ScaricoOleoso
"I did the same thing with New Year's resolutions. As far as I know, I'm the only one who has ever kept a New Year's resolution."
MaxCWebster
These certainly were some interesting stories where people encountered a crisis of faith.
Do you have any similar stories? Let us know in the comments below.
Here we are... we could be weeks or minutes away from Roe v Wade being overturned.
And this country is not ready.
This is a war on so many levels.
And the sides are clearly defined.
There are many people who have switched sides.
Let's hear from them...
Redditor Honeydew-Popular wanted to hear from the people out there who now have different ideas about a person's right to choose. They asked:
"Ex-pro-lifers, what changed your mind on abortions?"
How can we come together on this topic?
Let's try...
Birth
"The birth of my son almost killed us both. I am almost certain another would kill me. The thought of leaving my husband alone with two children, one grieving and one motherless, breaks my heart. I’m one and done for the sake of my family. We take precautions, but I’m not sure if I became pregnant I would carry to term. With my health and habits I’m not sure adoption would even be feasible if I could. I don’t know what I would do, but I want the choice."
NeedARitaThe Household...
"I grew up in a religious household where sexual relationships before marriage were considered a sin and abortions were considered murder. A friend of mine dated an abusive a**hole and she got pregnant, we were all in college at the time and she didn't have enough money nor support to raise the kid."
"Her parents were extremely angry and refused to speak with her because she ‘ruined' her life . We became roommates because I saw she needed a place to stay. Until then I'd always thought of women who got abortion as cruel. But i saw how helpless she was and how torn she was about the whole thing."
"After a few weeks of hospital visits she realised that she didn't have any other choice because of her financial instability and she also felt like she wasn't mature or ready enough to give birth to and raise another human being while she was still getting over the trauma of a relationship."
"And she was afraid of messing up an innocent kid's life so she got an abortion. After seeing all that happen I realised that abortion wasn't just people f**king around and then murdering an innocent child, it was when people were in situations where they knew they weren't ready for a child."
RavennaKeres
Realities
"I was raised with the religious pro-life outlook, and to believe all who had abortions were just devastated for the rest of their lives, that they didn’t comprehend the gravity of what they had done until it was too late. Then I went to college and met someone in a women’s studies class who shared she had had an abortion while married to a man nobody knew was abusive."
"I realized I had been misled about the realities of why people have abortions. When I suffered an assault a year later, I knew what choice I would make if it came down to it. And I was grateful to know I would have had a choice in that scenario."
"Working with homeless adults and at risk teens/social work really solidified that for me, when you see abused and neglected kids and you know the parent didn’t want any of those babies but has them because they were pressured out of an abortion… children should not be punishment or accountability lessons, they should be wanted and loved."
diamondtoothdennis
Family Friend
"Myself, this one is genuinely really trigger very sorry. When I was younger I was assaulted by a family friend, I wasn't pregnant but when i had to get the test the lady told me. 'If anything goes wrong, my sister works at planned parenthood.' She was a very sweet woman, but at that time i was like 'I would never abort a child' I remember genuinely shaking and crying before i had to take the test because it reminded me of what happened. I was negative, but the fear of having the raise the child that was forcibly put into me made me genuinely sick to my stomach."
savspitsbars
Bad Laws
"The exceptions were too numerous and sometimes too obscure to be properly written into law, so the law shouldn't restrict it."
waterbuffalo750
"This is where my mind changed. It’s too subjective. Like, forcing a couple who at 20 weeks learned their child has a genetic abnormality and won’t survive long if at all post-birth then have to wait it out versus aborting. That is just cruel and gut-wrenching to me."
rb928
This really is a rough topic. But we must keep reading to learn.
"the unborn"
"I decided to move away from my small religious community. I meet people who had different backgrounds. Listened to stories of people who had abortions. Realized that if I was in their position, then I would have considered abortion too. Then I learned that abortion was rife within my small community, just not talked about and deeply shameful."
"The same people who picketed at those rallies also coerced their underage teenagers into having abortions when they turned up pregnant. It was not about 'the unborn' it was about their image in the community and their control over others' bodies. It's about power and inflicting their world view on everybody."
BusinessShower
Trauma
"I got pregnant and my ex tried to force me to have one. Having someone try to take your choice out of the matter right in your face is a bit of an eye opener."
Big-Pollution2705
"I hear you. My son was conceived with someone I didn't know very well. I chose to keep the pregnancy, and I'm very thankful I did. I love my kiddo. But the experience definitely made me even more pro-choice, because my pregnancy was already miserable and traumatizing and it would have been much more so if it hadn't been my choice to keep the pregnancy."
JulesLovesYou1993
For the Boy
"Guy here... I realized that abortions are terrible and people don't want them they need them and generally only if they end up in a situation that requires them. I reasoned we should keep women safe and spend time on how WE can ALL avoid having to make to decision in the first place OR making the world better so that they could also choose to keep the baby in a really caring world. It was too easy to say abortion is bad ban it."
rangeo
Necessity...
"When I realized women abort out of necessity, because they can’t financially and/or emotionally support a child. Prohibiting it won’t stop them, it will only make them do it more dangerously, and therefore putting more lives at risk. If you’re pro-life, you should always be pro doing abortions safely, because that saves more lives than criminalizing it."
Confident-Midnight78
“family”
"I got pregnant as a teenager and it opened my eyes to how cruel the evangelical church is even though I was apart of their 'family' my entire life. After stepping away I reevaluated all my values and beliefs away from their indoctrination."
Suitable_Sky_9559
fire and brimstone...
"I've never been fire and brimstone pro-life but like most teenagers I have a vague idea that is was 'wrong.' Abortion was used as an insult and form of gossip at my school (omg Becca had FIVE abortions!) Usually by people with absolutely no critical thinking skills."
"The older I got and the more life experiences I had, the more I realised how awful it would be to be brought into a world that didn't want you. No friendly faces from the start. These loads of loving couples waiting to adopt babies are fictional, and the child is going to be either bounced about in the care system, or raised by a mother who didn't want and cannot support the growing child."
"Also if we have a boom of unwanted children, we need to invest a hell of a lot of money in foster care, residential homes, healthcare for children born addicted to drugs or alcohol problems, child mental health services, social services, prison services etc... No one seems to care about the baby once it is born, in fact, it becomes nothing more than a nuisance."
Crazy_Cauliflower_74
Bad Providing
"A horrific horrific childbirth that left me with unfixable fecal incontinence, and NOT ONE health provider informed me that this could possibly happen during my birth, despite receiving an intervention that is highly correlated with resulting in anal incontinence. NOT ONE provider took my issues seriously postpartum and just dismissed it."
"I had to fight to find my own specialists WHILE LEAKING POOP AND TRYING TO CARE FOR A NEWBORN. Not being able to even sit down for months afterward but still having to be my daughters primary caregiver at 6 weeks because my husband had only 6 weeks of leave."
"Gaining a ton of weight while pregnant and being extremely nauseous for SEVEN MONTHS, due to a severe hormonal imbalance that has yet to be corrected 16 months postpartum—you know, because I’m traumatized from the birth. I went from being a collegiate athlete to a 30 year old who now needs a colostomy bag. F**k americas health care system. I will speed drive any woman who wants to go to planned parenthood now."
Miserable_Painting12
Murder
"I was raised by a fundamentalist Christian mom, so as a teenager of course I was taught Abortion is murder. OMG, not the babies! As I grew older, I grew up. I am a Militant Athiest and see Religion as damaging in so many ways. Life is not black and white, there are many shades of grey. No one has the right to tell a Woman she has to carry a pregnancy. After having two kids myself and two miserable pregnancies I would never expect a Woman to be forced to go through that if she didn't want to for whatever reason."
"It blows my mind that other Women don't see it that way. It especially upsets me when men who have never been pregnant and have no concept at all are military pro life. Sorry but this is one of those stay in your lane situations. An abortion is a medical procedure and is no ones business but hers and her Physicians."
The List
"Getting pregnant and having kids and realizing that..."
"1) pregnancy is hella hard on a body..."
"2) the possibility of severe birth defects is terrifying..."
"3) a child should only be brought into this world if it is wanted and will be loved..."
" 4) no one should be forced to give birth against their will. I feel that every abortion is a tragedy, but often not the worst choice."
trashheap918273
"unwanted"
"My first girlfriend explained that it wasn't about the deaths of babies, but the potential lives of both mothers and children. The overflowing adoption system positively crawling with 'unwanted' kids. The way that providing abortion actually helped reduce the prison population and provide better lives to more people overall. My mind swam. I talked to my mother about it. I realized that her rationale- and also my father's in turn- was faulty and built on a rickety foundation of religious punditry."
Weak-Round-3772
your body is your own...
"That was a long, long time ago. There was a time when I was close to becoming an incel, thought that women have the better life and that I am screwed for being born as a guy. But I got smarter, until I was able to put myself in their shoes, realized that we are no different, and all expectations put on both sexes is just a social construct perpetuated by bitter geriatric men."
"So it doesn't matter if you are man or woman, your body is your own, when it doesn't behave like expected, you go see a doctor - unwanted pregnancy is no different here. The real question is whether the state should support the people to get the abortion - in the UK, abortions are free, but I don't know if there is a time limit on them."
throwaway_uow
Tipping Points
"I was raised sort of casually pro-life. I believed it should be safe and legal to prevent people being harmed in unsafe abortions and that it was justified if necessary to protect the 'mother,' but that to simply choose it because you didn't want a kid was morally wrong. I was never an activist on either side though. I just had my personal beliefs against it."
"I have a LOT of reasons that I am firmly pro-choice now, a list that has grown over time, but the tipping point for me, back in college, was the bodily autonomy argument. You can't force a person to donate their organs or their blood or any part or use of their body."
"Even to save another living breathing human, so you certainly can't force someone to risk their life and loan their uterus to a group of cells that could become a human later if left alone. I read the sentence 'Outlawing abortions means giving pregnant people fewer rights than a corpse,' ten years ago and I've been loudly pro-choice ever since. I acquired more reasons as I became more educated, but that was what did it."
maple-belle
17
"Not me but my daughter. Pro life because 'omg how could you hurt babies????' But I am going to respect her positions so whatever She got pregnant at 17 and gave birth before high school graduation. Going through a traumatic pregnancy, finishing high school and now starting college, have to navigate all the WIC stuff. Even with the whole familes support including her boyfriend, it would be an understatement to call the experience an eye opener."
Daaaaaaaaaanasaur
Knowledge
"Education. Learning more than my right-wing parents had ever exposed me to. Getting out from under the rock and being willing to listen and change my opinion based upon newly gathered data."
this_name_is_banned
These stories speak for themselves. Thank you for sharing.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"
Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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The joy of living in a pluralistic society is the ability to practice any religion one so chooses.
What is often forgotten is that this includes not practicing any religion at all.
Making this hard to remember is when American politicians espouse their conservative views owing to "religious reasons", seeming to forget about the first amendment, and unable to understand others who don't practice their own religion.
Others, however, are more tolerant of those who do not have any divine beliefs, however religious they might be themselves.
Redditor _DSYR was curious to hear views on Atheism from people who were devoutly religious themselves, leading them to ask:
"Religious people, how do you view atheism/atheists?"
They are justified
"I completely understand why someone is Atheist."
"It’s difficult to believe in God when there is no clear evidence."- Profound_RK800.
They're just like us.
"Like normal people."- Noramgami.
"The same as everyone else, just regular people."
"They have their beliefs and I have mine, doesn’t mean we can’t happily coexist or that one opinion is more valid than the other."- Cfurber.
Religion, or lack thereof, doesn't define you as a person.
"One of my good friends is an atheist, and he's a stand up guy."
"We talk about religion from time to time, and it never gets heated or insulting."
"He is interested in learning from my perspective, even if he doesn't believe the same things."
"I've met several people like this, and I hope it's the norm for atheists."
"I've also met several religious people who act like anything but. "
"They are narcisistic, racist, ignorant, and hateful."
"It saddens me to see atheists on reddit who loudly proclaim that religion is a cancer on the world and that anybody who follows one is an idiot."
"To me, these atheists are acting exactly like the religious people they claim to hate: narcissistic, ignorant, and hateful."
"Religion, or lack of, is what you choose to clothe yourself in."
"If you're a bad person, it doesn't matter how you're dressed, you're still going to be a jerk."- JonSnow31391.
Life's too short not to enjoy it.
"I’ve always found it interesting that they don’t believe in like a higher power/deity since, I have never questioned if there was a God, even though I don’t consider myself religious."
"I also have been lucky to have met atheists who believe in making the best out of life bc of the mentality that there is nothing after we die."
"I find that to be incredibly admiring."
"I have never subscribed to the rhetoric of 'this is not our hom'e” in Christianity."
"I believe that earth and heaven are both of our homes equally one for the physical body and one for the spiritual body, so acting like living on earth is a checklist is a load of BS to me."
"I developed this perspective from conversations with my atheist friends."
"So all in all: I respect them and I believe that they act more like Christ than religious people who go to church every week."- Deep-Reindeer3384.
Don't use your beliefs to justify bad behavior.
"Anyone who wraps their belief system around themselves, and parades through the world like a walking billboard sign, is a problem."
"Anyone who uses their belief system to belittle, defraud, polarize, segregate, dehumanize, enslave, or destroy others, is a problem."
"Anyone who uses their belief system to justify child abuse is a problem."
"Anyone who uses their belief system to encourage government to limit the personal rights/freedoms of others, is a problem."
"Anyone who is more concerned about converting someone than caring for them is a problem."
"If you're atheist and do this, you're a problem....if your theist and do this, you're a problem."
"It's really not that complicated." - User Deleted
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
"I am Christian."
"In my faith, we are taught to love everyone the way we would want to be loved."
"If you tell me you do not follow a faith or have a religion and you choose not to be involved in one because of whatever reason or no reason you have, I will treat you with the same care and respect that I would treat a fellow believer."
"The only way you will ever get anything less than respect from me, is if you purposefully go out of your way to diminish my views."
"I will not shove my faith down your throat."
"Heck, I won’t even speak of it should that be a boundary of yours."
"Mutual respect."- Shi_Cran.
A mother's worries.
"My mom feels sad for me."
"Like a real deep sadness that I think this is all there is."
"How can I not think there’s a perfect afterlife coming?"
"I think she’s worried I won’t be there because I haven’t accepted it as well."
"It’s ironic because I feel sad for her because she doesn’t live her life because the next life will be perfect."- tilineedathrowaway.
There's not just one type of Atheist.
"Depends on the type."
"Type One: people like my husband who were raised in a cult."
"He got out, and now he just sees religion as a farce."
"But he does not judge me for being religious, and he understands why I am, and he is even in agreement that we should raise our son religious."
"But once you leave a cult you are hesitant to ever re-join another religion."
"Zero judgement, I get this one."
"Type Two: the people who do not believe because they are scientific minds and it just does not make sense."
"Absolutely no judgement there."
"I totally get it."
"Type Three: the ones who are smug about it and feel like they have the secret to life by not believing in a God but like, what does that do for you exactly?"
"Why are you so smug?"
"lol."
"No real respect for those people, and not because they are atheist but because they are douches."- flowergirl654.
Religion is more complicated than people like to believe.
"I believe in god's existence though don't have 'trust' in god."
"And I would not call some unknown creator a god, in youjo senki the creator was labelled as 'being-x', it's not a god nor some evil monster."
"It's 'being-x'."- Schepmas·
Let them live their lives, and I'll live mine.
"Honestly I don't like or dislike atheists."
"I just let them do whatever they want to do and I'll do what I want to do and that fine by me."- Top_Ordinary1966
"I don"t know , i guess they are normal people minding their own business."--Opposite_Special_422
"I believe that I should respect anyones religion because I would not want people disrespectful to mine I view them as normal people just different ways of thinking."- Vegetable-Living-469
All that matters is how you treat others.
"Normal civilians, I don’t give a sh*t about what you believe it as long as you’re a nice person."- Baja_blast2004
"I look at them the same way I look at anyone."
"If they aren’t a bad person I have no issue with them."
"I always try to remain respectful and try not to talk about god so much around my atheist friend."
"But he also respects I do believe in god."
"I respect he doesn’t and I understand. No one knows for certain at all."
"But in my personal opinion, it just doesn’t make sense to me why we are all here if there isn’t some sort of god."- Raregamesofc
"I’m ok with it, as long as they’re respectful."- Frost-on-the-Willow
It's not a matter of beliefs, it' s personality
"They're pretty chill."
"You don't need to have a religion or believe in a certain things, they're all just vibing."- maybe_256·
Religion puts a target on our backs.
"I'm christian, but I think I'm technically messianic Jewish."
"But alot of people just see us as 'Christian', I:E hateful bigots."
"A lot of people/Atheists say we enforce our beliefs down their throats, when we don't really care about your life style but you are yelling at us that the word of our god is hate speech and that we need to just except everything even if it is against our beliefs."
"A lot of celebrities that come out as religious are blacklisted and cancelled but somehow we are the oppressor."- lopsidedhamster2746
Even if we disagree, I still understand.
"I get the appeal of atheism."
"I can see why atheism is comforting to people."
"I can see how it’s easier to go along with the intellectuals of the dominant global culture atm."
"I generally empathize with atheists so long as they aren’t anti-theists."- chitroldelivery1
It's hard to sympathize with them.
"I see them as kinda dumb."- ephesians1128
No one should be judged for their religion or lack of religion.
Only when people do not treat others with the kindness and respect they deserve should people even begin to throw judgment.
What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
Role Playing Reaction GIF by Hyper RPGGiphy"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
Happy GIFGiphy"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
Bored Episode 15 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
Circle Of Life Loop GIFGiphy"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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