Thoroughly Lapsed Roman Catholic
OP - July 23, 2016, 03:03 PM
I don’t know any Muslims or ex-Muslims and that’s partly why I’m here. I’m a white old man, fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
I have been struck by some of the stories people have told about leaving religion, e.g. “The only issue is that I can't be honest with my parents. I think something like this would hurt them so much, and I just don’t have it in me to do that to them.”
I have experience of being treated as if there was something disastrous about relinquishing religion, but I see what we are doing as relinquishing superstition.
Religion is parent-given so it is easy to fall into their language and mindset which is that religious faith is important, everyone should believe in something and rituals of worship and prayer are good for the soul. Just examine those three statements and see if you can find substance in them. I haven’t left religion, I’ve stopped being superstitious. Religious faith is unimportant and a consequence of upbringing. I think it is wrong to ‘believe in’. I have reasons for what I believe and reasons for not believing posits. I don’t need rituals, see nothing to worship and I don’t have a soul in any spiritual or supernatural sense of the word.
Let me end with a smile: Roman Catholics use the term ‘lapsed Catholic’ for those of us they see as having “left the faith”.
This song “Yes, I am an Atheist” also made me smile....
Apparently, links aren't permitted, so please search AtheismUK, yes I am an atheist
Jonny Eve sings it like it like it is on AtheismUK. (Sorry for some bad, redundant language in it)