Freed from religion while still young

sent in by Kurt Melin

Greetings to all!

My name is Kurt Melin and i am glad to have found a place in which i can debate and explain myself with other former christians.

My story is not a particularily exciting or dramatic one, but I'm submitting it anyways. I was raised by my parents to be a christian even when I was too young to understand anything in the church or why we went. I went to all of the church functions for most of my childhood, but then I went to confirmation.

I had never really been enthusiastic about religion, and as the teacher spewed out all of the jargon that i was expected to memorize, and because I had no feeling or love for my religion, the church, and the people in it (except for a few friends and my family), I decided to stop believing. It was an easy decision to make, and I'm glad I did it. My parents still made me go to that church for a year or so after I told them about my decision, but they came to realize that I was serious about it and that I could not be changed.

They think no worse of me, and I have now been an atheist for 5 years. So, if anyone does read this, I want you to know that I've never been happier, and if you have children or other loved ones who you don't agree with, respect their decision, and don't force anything on them.



City: Anderson

State: Indiana

Country: U.S.A.

Became a Christian: I was raised to be a Christian.

Ceased being a Christian: I was 12 when i started to think for myself.

Labels before: I was a methodist.

Labels now: I am now an atheist.

Why I joined: I was a christian because my parents always took me to church and i always went to the church activities, so christianity was sort of imprinted onto me.

Why I left: When I was 12 i started going to confirmation, and i realized that a lot of what the teacher was telling me was without any concrete evidence and not unlike a fairy tale. I decided that christianity and all religions were nothing but guidelines for people to follow. I also felt that many of the stories in the bible and many of the actions and thoughts of christians today are completely contradictory to the ideals that they are supposed to represent, so i dropped christianity. It was the best decison of my life.