By Janus Grayden Image by Andrea Mercado via Flickr It's strange how many people want to talk about how you're doing when you've recently left your religion. People you may have had only brief contact with are suddenly concerned about your well-being. When I left my church, I had an influx of regular e-mails, calls, and people who were "in the neighborhood" dropping by to grab lunch, hang out, any excuse that someone could think of simply to tell me what I was doing was wrong. I figured that was the intent the whole time, but I was never one to turn down an invitation. These were people who I still knew by name, even if I hadn't had much contact with, after all. So, when I received a call to play some basketball or grab a bite to eat, I politely accepted and went over. The process was always the same. It felt as if they were chewing at the bit for about 15 to 30 minutes, just aching to start asking me loaded questions about why I was leaving and giving r...

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr Darrel's recovery from faith Through most of my life I was sure beyond doubt that god was real and that he had bought me as one of his own through the blood of Christ. I could not have conceived that one day I would lose my faith completely and come instead to believe that god is nothing more than a human invention. Indeed if there is anything that stands out about my story it is not the process by which I lost my faith but how far I have come in the journey from utter faith to believing that religious faith is nothing more than willing self deception. It seems almost inevitable that I would become a Christian given the environment in which I was raised. My mother’s background was in the holiness revival movement and my father grew up in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. My parents and both sets of grandparents were deeply religious and very involved in their churches. Among my extended family were a minister, relatives who ran a children’s mi...

Sent in by Jarred Image via Wikipedia Today marks a year-- a year in which I feel like I have grown more, been challenged more, and experienced more than previously thought possible; a year ago today I decided I was finally done with Christianity after wrestling with different issues the four previous years. My road to de-conversion started during the second semester of my junior year of college. I watched as my grandfather, a man who loved God and was loved by all, wrestled with the final stages of liver cancer. In the timespan of a year, he went from a healthy, golf-playing, deck-building man to a 90 pound skeleton that couldn't even control his own bowel movements. His was an agony I wouldn't wish on a child rapist, let alone my grandfather. As I said my final goodbyes to him that spring break, I started down a path that would ultimately lead me to where I am today. Upon returning home, I started to really wrestle with the problem of evil and suffering unlike ever before. Th...

Sent in by Franc Image by ep_jhu via Flickr I was raised in a fairly liberal Southern Baptist Church . We allowed women to be deacons, and were disbarred from the SBC. I grew up only hearing sermons about Jesus and God's love. God was tolerant, and loving and forgiving. I was really passionate about being a Christian in High School . I even felt like God was talking to me at a Church camp in 2001. Then 9-11 happened. I would hear all the time about how Islam was a religion of hate, intolerance and murder. I still believed that Christianity was peaceful and loving, and that Islam was hateful, and a lie. Then one day, my youth minister told us a story about God commanding the Israelites to kill every Canaanite when they came into the promised land. He said we should trust God and follow his plan. He went on to say the Israelites spared a Canaanite king and that God was angry about it. The king they saved was supposedly an ancestor of Mohamed. My Youth Pastor was basically saying t...

By an ex-Christian Image by dullhunk via Flickr I was raised in an evangelical family, but abandoned my faith after having serious issues with the idea of hell. I have documented my story on the following site, along with lots of arguments listing why I believe Christianity is false and dangerous. http://members.lycos.co.uk/fuzzyquark/christian_index.html

Sent in by Weetie Chains of love at Seoul's Namsan Tower -- Image via Flicker After reading a lot of de-conversion accounts on this site, I've come to feel like I got off lucky - very little real trauma or abuse at the hands of the Christian community, no rejection from loved ones, & the scars I do have are healing nicely. However, I've reached a point in my recovery and life where I feel the need to tell my story and connect with the ex-Christian community to continue finding my way forward, so... Christianity had a pretty mild role in my upbringing. My mother belonged to that most bland of mainline denominations, the Presbyterians, whos motto seems to be "Just try to stay awake through the sermon. That's all we ask." Dad was a lapsed Catholic who was content to leave it all in my mother's hands. Mom herself is one of what I expect are the silent majority of Christians. She has a balanced perspective on things, is respectful of others' opinions ...

Sent in by Ray Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife I believe that the best testimonial is the shortest one, at least in my case. About twenty years ago I started studying religion seriously after having completed an M.A. in History. Of all the thoughts that started hitting my brain, the theme of how ridiculous religions are was (and remains) a recurring theme. Anyone studying history is reminded that most religions were invented with blind obedience or "faith" in mind, and with no rational explanations whatsoever required. This applies to all of the five major world religions , and not just Christianity. The other four are: Judaism , Islam , Hinduism , and Buddhism. My point here, is that if you are abandoning Christianity, don't fall into the trap of embracing another religion. Let's take Islam for example. The followers of that religion (called Muslims) believe in the Koran (the Muslim Bible) which is based on revelations given to a "prophet" in ...

Sent in by Jay Image by nijocamus via Flickr Let me start off by saying that I am new to this site. I randomly found it on Google by typing "ex Christians", and viola! It was like a gift from God. lol. Anyways I am 18, male and for a year now, I have been an atheist. So here is my story. Hope I don't bore you. I grew up in a Christian Baptist home. My parents had instilled many strong Christian values that today I still abide by. We attended church service every Sunday, and it was rare that we did not go. In fact today I still go, but not as often. When I was a child, me and my siblings grew up in a strict home. Our parents were over protective and would not allow us to invite people over, nor could we go to someone else's house. PERIOD. We were not allowed to play video games , watch T.V., use the computer, or even play board games during the weekdays. Weekends, however, were the exception. But there was a catch; it had to involve the whole family. I gu...

Sent in by John Image via Wikipedia This is in response to Philip Francis' request for stories of people who left Christianity and the role that the arts played in the de-conversion process . Hello, Philip, What you will probably discover is that people who leave religion do so for a wide variety of reasons. But one common thread that you will most likely observe is that most people do not leave their faith easily; in fact, deconversion can be a slow, arduous and emotionally taxing experience that can break friendships or destroy marriages. What follows is my own story as it relates to your dissertation. I was raised in a nondenominational Christian home, the son of a single mom. My parents divorced when I was three years old. As a kid, I always remember my mom being a very loving person to me and to the people that we associated with. She always had love for people who were down on their luck in one form or another. She had what I would now call a genuine compassion for humanity...

Sent in by John Image by jamelah via Flickr Unlike many ex-Christians, I was not born into a religious household. My parents have always been atheists and remain so to this day. When I was a child I was introduced to Christianity through friends and families of friends. I remember when I first encountered a picture of Jesus crucified, with nails on his hands and feet and blood dripping down, it gave me the creeps. I also remember when I was first introduced to the concept of hell: a place of eternal torment and sadness and suffering, where whoever sent there would burn in agony forever and ever. That also gave me the creeps. In elementary school, I remember one afternoon just praying for something very fervently and honestly. When looking back it was a minor and childish prayer; I wanted to play with a friend and I prayed to god that I would be able to play with that friend that day. The prayer was not answered. I was very disappointed. While I was growing into my teenage year...

Sent in by Ned Image via Wikipedia I have been reading posts on this site for a while, and I taught I might share my experience as well. As almost everybody, I was born in a Christian family. (I was born in Chile, South America, where I still live today so my English is far from perfect. Sorry about that.). When I was young I went with my parents to an Anglican (Episcopalian in the states) church. Then when I was a teenager, my parents encouraged my brothers and me to go to our church’s youth group, and we ended up going every Friday night to the church. At the beginning it wasn’t a big deal, it was fun and interesting and a great opportunity to meet other teenager. But as the time went by, I found myself in charge of the youth group. At first I only had to find older people to prepare a topic to reflect on for the meetings and I wasn’t even very involved with the faith. But when I was 18, I received a new bible and started to read it every night, I also began to go to a Christian gro...