[TRIGGER WARNING] how does religion exist in educated first world countries?

[Daswiruch]

I actually pm'd him to unlock it because I thought it was interesting.

same

[Ad Bot]

[#Jeetlor]

same

Ayeee

[Zack]

The only reason I feel agnostic and not total atheist is because a event in my life around age 4 that I won't really go into unless someone really asks.

I try to steer clear of discussions on religion with my parents because they're pretty rooted Catholics (not the hardcore kind, but were raised to be such), so they don't really know my beliefs. On the flip side, my sister has had several extremely fedora tipping comments said against my dad (she's full on athiest), so I guess I've grown up being exposed to both sides of the religious "equation" (to turn a phrase, not that one actually exists)

I still haven't read the Bible, but I do plan to at some point, and have only second hand knowledge on it, so it's not reliable.

I don't really know what I'm going on about at this point, I should probably stop while I'm ahead before I start getting brain fluffs and contradicting myself.

[Daswiruch]

The only reason I feel agnostic and not total atheist is because a event in my life around age 4 that I won't really go into unless someone really asks.

you know people are going to ask anyways so go ahead and spill the beans

[Frequency]

would it be inappropriate to make bets on whether or not it's a rape story?

[XR-7]

I still haven't read the Bible, but I do plan to at some point, and have only second hand knowledge on it, so it's not reliable.

Reading anything with a presumed bias in it really won't do any good.

[Zack]

you know people are going to ask anyways so go ahead and spill the beans

Kinda figured people wouldn't actually, don't know why I was thinking that.

The entire point behind that is my literal first memory was of clouds and people talking in a weird echo. (kinda cliche, huh?)

Call it a dream but there was absolutely nothing behind this point, this is my absolute first non-subconcious memory

then I wake up and my family is driving home from some zoo

The weird part stems from the fact I have literally no memory of them at all, I didn't know whose car I was in, didn't know who these people were, I just woke up and my life started, and I had to actually ask them who they were because I didn't know.

I know I had some kind of subconcious memory before then, because I had basic grasp of words and numbers, but literally nothing of my family before that day, it's just kinda scary to think about because it just made no sense.

The only excuse being for most of that is being a kid and having some memory loss or something, I still can't really explain most of it.

Sure, this sounds like a pretty dull event, I don't know why this one recollection is keeping me from absolutely not believing in some god, and I'm basically splerging on my keyboard at this point, but this is, for all I know, when I first came to exist in any concious form, so that's why it's such a big deal to me.

would it be inappropriate to make bets on whether or not it's a rape story?

This would 100% explain everything.

[Steve5451²]

I went to Sunday school and church just about every Sunday until I was 13 and I never bought in to it.

[Nonnel]

I'd guess people scared into it by their parents are the majority

I believed until I was like 10 when I started realizing that much like santa and the easter bunny it didn't really make any sense in a logical world

[hillkill]

sometimes i get the toxic kind of christians who preach to me with the fire, hell and brimstone type stuff. all i can think of is how much they sound like cultists.

[Trogtor]

once i dropped my phone really hard on a concrete surface glass side down and then I prayed that to please let it not be cracked so I picked it up and it's not cracked coincidence I think not

i also prayed that donald Annoying Orange would be president so you guys better look out

[#Jeetlor]

I'd guess people scared into it by their parents are the majority

I believed until I was like 10 when I started realizing that much like santa and the easter bunny it didn't really make any sense in a logical world

This is not the majority.

[Steve5451²]

Warned of burning in hell otherwise, that sounds like scaring someone in to it to me.

[Trogtor]

I'd guess people scared into it by their parents are the majority

I believed until I was like 10 when I started realizing that much like santa and the easter bunny it didn't really make any sense in a logical world

don't get me wrong, i absolutely hate how much my mom pushes our religion down my throat. im forced to go to youth groups, attend gatherings, parties, study groups, ect.

does that mean I hate the religion I grew up with? no, not at all. I still believe in it. I still attend church weekly. there are even things that I pray about and yes they have been answered.

[Foxscotch]

This is not the majority.

there would certainly be a lot less religious people in the world if parents didn't teach it to their kids at a young age
there would still be some, for sure. but I don't think the majority of the population would really want to believe in something that required them to live by a bunch of rules at the threat of eternal suffering

I'd expect religions that don't rely on punishment to be a lot more popular if that was the case