Why do atheists become atheists?

I just have trouble believing in an invisible man who created the universe,and an evil guy trying to make us turn evil underground.None of it makes any sense to me,or can be proven,so I'm an atheist.That's my reason,anyhow.

Atheists become atheist because they dont want people to waste their energy in superstitions,dogmas,rites and rituals.They want to bring the maximum out of man and realise his potential rather than belittling himself in the name of fate...They want people to transcend the barriers posed by religious beliefs ,break free of every rule and enjoy his own success.. also they argue that we have no proof in recent past of god.. dont think i am an atheist!
Just helping u out in ur school project..hope that is of some use..All the best

Well asking atheists why they become atheists is like saying every person who lives in your neighborhood why did they put on clothes this morning.

Everybody had their own reason for putting clothes on, but basically it is a necessity, no matter what the specific reason was.

Imagine you grew up in a cave and lived their until your thirteenth birthday without ever leaving. Your parents took well care of you in every other way, but you were never allowed to leave the cave. Imagine if your parents told you on the outside of the cave the sky was purple and had two suns that would bake your skin the moment you left the cave.

So you grow up believing this. Until, at your thirtheenth birthday, you wander out, and find the world is filled with such beauty, far from the frightening place you were told it was, and so much more than the cold, hard rock of the cave.

That is the release you can discover upon being free of religion.

I just know this will be deleted....

Because they had an extra a and added it to the theists??

Honestly I have no idea. I think......being pagan I may be wrong....that they finally had enough of being sheep and believing in something that couldn't be proven..in their eyes..to be true and they decided to think for themselves.

Personally, I took a look around at the yawning chasm between what god was supposed to be capable of and what he allowed to happen either in his name or by his failure to intervene. I decided that no one could be that cruel or insane, so there had to be no one home.

In my case, I dared open my mind to ideas that would make my gran shake to her knees... I stopped being fearful.
I guess I just opened my mind to logic and reason

Don't think there is one general answer to this question. It has to be different for everyone. I cannot speak to all atheists, but I would assume that some find it illogical to believe in God, some probably have had bad experiences with religion, some may just not feel or experience any evidence of the existence of God.

I like thought1's explanation! We are atheist by birth! Atheists do not have to be taught atheism, it's what we all are to begin with! Only religion has to be taught! Religion is the unnatural state and all kudos to those brave people who finally climb out of the mud and slime of religion to bask in the light of rational thought and freedom! They always knew what their birthright was, they felt it, the pain of what was lost, cruelly snatched from them! And what we who were never infected by this pernicious mental aberration must do, is to give our support to these wounded heroes, these bedraggled refugees from the internment camps of religion! They braved the barbed wire of religious indoctrination, the slavering bible chewing dogs of war were set upon them! My fellow atheists, welcome these survivors, show them the warmth and comradeship, and yes, love that only a true atheist can give!

Is that enough psychology for now or shall I carry on...no? Oh ok then!

I'm an atheist because I believe religion was created by man as a way to help cope with fear. Fear of the unknown. Where did we come from? What are we doing here? Where are we going when we die?

I actually envy those who can believe in religion. I can't accept the circular reasoning. "How do you know there is a god?" "Uh, the Bible says so." "How do you know the Bible is true?" "God wrote it." Grieving is easier because they think they will see the person again, everything happens for a reason, and they are blessed.

No. Not me. It makes no sense. If I was born somewhere else, I'd be surrounded by people of another religion. It's like being proud of your country. Should you blindly be proud of the country you were born into jsut for that reason? No. I think atheists become atheists because they have opened their eyes.

I suppose for some of us, we've decided to be honest with ourselves and listen to that inner voice which tells us that we just aren't feeling this whole God thing.

Hi Katniss
Psychologically speaking God is a Father figure. The last thing I wanted was another authority figure. Also I remember attending a compulsory religious assembly at one school surrounded by way way too many names of glorious dead former pupils al killed in Wars. Sort of made you think. Duty and Religion led to an early death. What was that about? Not even any logic or fun just anger and death. As for God he was behind it all! Weird religion!
:)

As much as I dislike Sartre (who was an atheist), he was right when he said that people believe what they want to believe. That doesn't mean that they are necessarily right or wrong even if there is an objective truth. I believe that people choose atheism for different reasons. For Marx, LeVay, and others it was due to hypocrisy. The actions of hypocrits do not however negate an objecetive truth. Some claim to be atheist but are actually agnostic. Some people simply don't want to be a target for the arrogant antichristian attitude in many educated/professional circles. I think that it is primarily due to the pride of man that the sovereignty of God is denied so that man can be his own god.

i think most organized religeons are so convoluted and counter-productive to honest, healthy spiritual development
when people are exposed to them the answers they seek about spirituality and ethics are so pathetically insufficient and counter-intuitive they abandon religeon for the farce it usually is.....

compound that by the dis-illusionment and dis-enchantment by exposure to all of the pain and dicord on the planet and it's easy to see why people are left with no belief or faith at all....

also.....unfortunately, in my opinion, mostly thanks to the catholic church, western society has adopted and persists with a 'seek answers from established authority' - and consequently, much like political systems(communism vs socialism vs capitalism etc) they too often consider the alternatives that are established and fail to have the foresight and assertiveness to say ' none of these are good enough or work for me - but if i seek it and define it there will be something that does work for me"

that's compounded by another western prevelent thought atrocity - that once one arives at an acceptable conclusion i.e atheism, one fails to remain open minded enough to reconsider their position - and should experience or/and information present it self it is dismissed without due consideration........ there are no 'right' answers except in mathematics - and mathematical concepts ONLY exist in you the mind - they may be applicable to the empirical world for practical purposes - but they loose the absolute perfection that makes them 'right' - and open minded willingness to re-consider ones position on most everything is far, far too uncommon.....

hence athiests becoming and staing athiests....

They took the Red Pill !!

I became atheist/agnostic after going to church in 2nd and 3rd grade. As children you question the world... "Why is the sky blue?" "Is the world flat?" Children have some really big questions! They do! And some are "brained" to believe without question, and others willingly accept after questioning, while others seem to never get their answers. I never got satisfactory answers to my questions when it came to God, religion, dogmas, heaven & hell. The answers only arose more questions. I found it impossible to believe or have faith. Over time, I developed my own theories, my own religion, my own faith and spirituality. I still don't have all the answers, but I'm much more satisfied.

Atheism is the most reasonable stance based on all the avalaible evidence. It isn't cowardly like Agnosticism and it isn't wishful like Theism, it is simply honest. If you want to be honest to yourself and the evidence, you will be an Atheist. If you want to be honest to your own desires for purpose, you will be a Theist. If you can't decide...you are Agnostic.

A short answer would be; They either get pissed off with religious fundies who insist there is only one view in life - theirs. OR no matter how much or how hard they've prayed, their prayers are never answered.

There are perhaps as many reasons for being an atheist as there are atheists. The road to atheism tends to be very personal and individual, based upon the specific circumstances of a person’s life, experiences, and attitudes.

No one is born having a belief. Beliefs are acquired through culture and education. Thus, a better question than “why are people atheists” would perhaps be “why are people theists?”

Because of science.