Believing in God In Your Youth

[KUJustin]

I'm interested in getting as many perspectives as possible on this as it's something I've been giving a lot of thought.

Did you believe in God (or a higher power) as a child, if so, when did you stop believing (I know for most this was a gradual process, so feel free to walk us through it).

I know that as a pre-teen/teen I was extremely skeptical as to the existence of a higher power to the point that you could possibly call me an atheist. Prior to that though it seems like I either just had an innate sense of a higher power or the evidence of His creation was too overwhelming for me to deny. Obviously I was also exposed to the idea of a God before I was old enough to remember it so that surely played some role.

A bonus curiousity I have is I wonder if you raised chilren in isolation of the mention of a higher power if they would develop (or begin with) a belief in one anyway. Obviously that would be an extremely difficult experiment (would have to be either in near total isolation with your family or at least in a very different culture).

[madnak]

I believed in God as a child, and that ended relatively abruptly at the age of 14 (when I started to actually think about religion).

[MidGe]

Same here... about 13-14 to shed my faith in christianity. Earlier in the case of father xmas. Probably mid thirties by the time I had managed to undo all of the christian education effect, and that took a lot of work.

[Darryl_P]

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A bonus curiousity I have is I wonder if you raised chilren in isolation of the mention of a higher power if they would develop (or begin with) a belief in one anyway.

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This is pretty much how I was raised. At home there was never any mention of anything remotely religious, except a nutty old nanny I had for a while whose words I never took seriously. The schools I went to were culturally diverse and totally secular. There was very little mention of God or religion pretty much everywhere I went.

Up until the age of 30 or so I thought all religious people were wackos.

Then I became a wacko myself in my own unique way (through a mid-life crisis type period with depression, lots of meditation, a major career shift and a divorce) and now I see atheists as people in denial. I still think the religious folk are wackos in a lot of ways, but not in the most fundamental way.

[FortunaMaximus]

Easter Bunny, Santa, God. I think shedding those beliefs were necessary before I was allowed to enter puberty.

<shrugs> I'm re-questioning the whole ultimate observer thing. But that's more along the lines of boredom and not a real need to establish a deadman's switch for my existence.

[bunny]

I was raised by passionate atheists and always adopted the view that religious people were ignorant of science and too insecure to accept the world as it is.

The anti-religion feeling in my family is very strong (I have no relatives even amongst my extended family who share my belief in God) and this was something I adopted without conscious thought. I doubt very much that someone raised in that environment would be a believer.

[kurto]

I was raised Lutheran. I was an acolyte, Sunday school, confirmation classes... the works.

I remember being in a Sunday School class where we were supposed to debate something (the specifics are gone... this is decades ago) and I was supposed to argue the NON-Biblical side. I remember finding it pretty easy.

I also remember my brother afterwards mocking me for not-believing. (We must have been like 12 and 14) Though I was not an atheist then, it was the first time I remember being mocked for challenging something in religion. I remember being confused that the other side didn't convince me that I was wrong.

I remember having Jewish friends of the family when we were young. (this is still jr high-ish) I remember my mom telling us not to discuss religion with them. I remember her telling us that they would go to hell. (Oddly enough, it wasn't like a mean thing... it was just like the secret truth we were supposed to ignore) I remember really starting to question that something was wrong with this picture. (Not just the religions, but how you were supposed to know this about your friends but ignore the giant elephant in the room)

Anyhoo... I remember having faith wane as I got older... by the end of high school I think I felt wishy-washy about the whole thing.

The other key 'problem' I remember was that my parents (I should say my Mother) were teaching me that it was important that I study all my academics... focus on math, science, etc. I was taught to question the world. That the answers were out there. Yet on Sunday I was supposed to NOT question anything and just accept it, even if it made no sense.

It was really in college when history, science, logic and philosophy... but particularly history where I really came to the conclusion that it was all bunk. Learning the history of religions in general and the way Christianity came about in particular... Somewhere in those last years of college it really came together for me and I finally articulated that I was definitely an atheist.

I don't think it was until many years after college that I could admit to my family that I was an atheist.

It was definitely a gradual thing though... doubt fostered young and then a decade and a half or so of searching and studying.

[dandy_don]

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Did you believe in God (or a higher power) as a child

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I was raised in a somewhat religious environment. My parents weren't "every Sunday" type Christians, but we were members and did things such as bless dinner on most occassions. It caught on with me and my brother when we became involved in a youth group in our early teens and have been involved since. That is not to say that I have been in the church every time the doors were opend or that there weren't periods of backsliding--it happens.

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I know that as a pre-teen/teen I was extremely skeptical as to the existence of a higher power to the point that you could possibly call me an atheist.

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I don't know anyone that hasn't question their beliefs because it is a hard sell, particularly during your teen years. That's the time in your life when you are trying to figure out who you are, why you are here and what direction is life going to take you.

How does anyone explain a "belief" that is entirely based upon faith? We are asked to step out of the boat in the stormy seas and walk across the water, when all common sense says that we will sink to the bottom of the sea. Human nature always wants hard evidence, but that's just not going to happen.

dandy

[hmkpoker]

I had a problem with the concept that only Christians go to heaven when I was 6-8 years old, because this suggests that God is inherently unfair (someone born to an aboriginial family is NOT going to be exposed to Christianity). Never bought the whole "god reveals himself to everyone" thing. Became interested in reincarnation and eastern beliefs around 14/15 or so, eventually lost interest and atheized around 20/21.

[txag007]

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I'm interested in getting as many perspectives as possible on this as it's something I've been giving a lot of thought.


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The responses to the OP are interesting because the Bible says in Romans 1 that we are all born with a knowledge of God but suppress this truth in our unrighteousness.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Romans 1:21-23