Why do people become atheist?

Question

my sister was one at one time..but she became a christian what makes people want to abandon God?

Answer 1

The fact that gods don't exist, combined with basic honesty.

No-one "abandons God". We simply accept the fact that he doesn't exist.

Answer 2

well if god loves me even half as much as my mother then I'm going to heaven. So being an atheist or not is not important

Answer 3

Because I like to be right.

Answer 4

is it really that hard to understand why a person doesnt believe in god? Think about it...Your only kidding yourself if you think there is some invisible man in the sky watching everything you do.. who loves you, but will send you to h**l if you go against his wishes.. but he gave you free will...to choose him... argh, the whole things ridiculous.

Answer 5

What makes you want to abandon Vishnu? Almost a billion people know the truth... you just need to accept it and move forward.

Answer 6

Many people experience disappointment in their life. They feel their prayers are not being answered. Or maybe they just have not yet had that personal experience with God. I am sure there are many other reasons as well.     +?+

Answer 7

They Can't handle  the truth

Answer 8

Because I have never seen proof that he existed.

Get this: I used to try my hardest to be a good Christian to "feel the love of God" that everyone was talking about. I did some pretty extreme things to try and feel it, no luck. It didn't help that everyone seemed to think that the Bible was to be taken literally and that it was still okay to live by the moral codes of 2,000 years ago, and follow something blindly. So, after a couple of years of questioning it and thinking and researching and really asking myself, I came to the conclusion God didn't exist. Though I do get a kick out of it when someone tells me I'm working for Satan, another thing that does not exist.

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Your response is another reason I see no reason to believe in God. Even if I did see evidence, there's no way in h**l I'd convert to Christianity if that's what I become.

Answer 9

There isn't a god to abandon.  Don't you get it?  We don't believe your god exists.  It's like asking you why you abandon the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.  Sometimes you just grow out of the need for a supermagical daddy figure.

Answer 10

Most atheists were never believers in the first place.

I turned from the church and god because for the 15 years I was a christian, no prayers were answered and if god existed it did nothing for me.  The final straw was when the churchwarden was found to have been sexually abusing several of the boys in the church including myself and my brother, the vicar tried his best to sweep it all under the carpet.  Those members of the church who knew about it were silently in assent with the vicar.

This is why I have no time for religion, why I despise the church and why I cannot trust most christians.

Answer 11

When I was 13 I realized the whole concept of Christianity was ludicrous and gave it up and never looked back. Jesus did outlast Santa and the Easter Bunny by a couple years though.

d**n, not a single Christian answer yet? They must be typing madly "But...but...but"

Answer 12

A logical mind.

Answer 13

I was born an atheist. What makes you believe in the existence of imaginary creature? Santa Claus?

Answer 14

We don't actively WANT to disbelieve in god. Our minds just can't fathom such an idea. There's no evidence to support the idea of there being a god, so we don't believe. Plenty of atheists never believed in god, so quite naturally they didn't abandon god.

Edit: Disbelieving in god has nothing to do with unanswered prayers. It's about being logical, and adding up the lack of evidence to realize that the whole concept of god is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Answer 15

I became one because I realised that a creator wasn't necessary to explain the existence of the universe.

Answer 16

Religion has created so much tension in the world, through their self-righteous attitudes, elitist and alienating qualities. atheists are an angry reaction to that. the sad thing is...there is no reason not to be believe in a supreme being. just acknowledge him in your own private way ie. by getting on with your life and being as open minded as possible at all times. Religion created the Atheists.

Answer 17

The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike. - Delos B. McKown

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes. - Gene Roddenberry

Answer 18

The truth.

Answer 19

Ummm the fact that he doesn't exist maybe?

Answer 20

They don't, they're born atheist and convert to god bothering.

Answer 21

"What makes people want to abandon God?"

A realization of Truth.

Answer 22

He's not real, and if he is, he abandoned us long ago.  

Answer 23

Personally 99% of the Atheists I know in RL or online have been burnt badly by harassing Fundy Wackjobs.

In all honestly I think you need to look at how the actions of any Fundamentalist can & will destroy the reputation of the whole Xian faith.

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Answer 24

Everyone is born atheist.  The ones with reason and common sense stay that way.  The others foolishly believe what they are told without supporting evidence.  I never believed in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy either; that doesn't mean I "abandoned" them.

Answer 25

i never abandoned god, god never had me. people learn to be religious, it's not a default state.

for some people who are taught religion, it works for them, but others, like my parents, look around and say 'no this isn't me'.

for many people not raised with religion, just believing seems completely illogical, and impossible. some people find religion because they need something else in their life, many, like me, don't.

if you're happy and i'm happy, can't we both both be happy with that?

edit- if your god is going to d**n me to a pit of h**l, just for not believing what i simply don't believe (it's not a choice, it's a fact for me), then quite frankly if he's real, i'm not interested. i'm a good person, many people i know who aren't christian are good people, if that's not enough, and some god would d**n me, and them, when he's given us no good evidence of he's existence, i would rather not give him my worship anyway.