I actually started out on this road by seeking to prove, once and for all, the existence of a divine being (not really the Judeo-Christian one, but something... that Unmoveable Mover so to speak). I found myself painted into so many corners and caught in to many rediculous loopholes that I started doubting the whole "god" thing. All of this came about after a strange occurence during a near-death experience (well, I did die, but was brought back... twice) which I wanted answers to. The end result: I'm a non-believer, but I leave myself open to discussion about it and I'm willing to accept that I might be wrong. My only beef is that I usually find theists who don't reciprocate and refuse to accept that they might be wrong.

My life is better now for a few reasons:
- I've always been into research and what-not, but being an atheist means you have to be ready to do "intellectual battle" most of the time, so I've found myself reseraching more. I've found myself reading up on obscure things that I wouldn't have normally known about or cared about. So it definately has helped me intellectually.

- I've become more tolerant. Because I don't believe in any gods and want to "enlighten" others as to my reasons and rationale, I've found myself also more willing to listen to other people's reasons and rationale for their beliefs.

-I've become more self-critical. Being an atheist, I don't believe in an afterlife, but I still understand the need to be "good", or "just". If this time I have here on earth is all I have, I want to live life well and as a decent human being (who wants their only time to be ridden with pain and misery, which is what comes with living in the fast lane... trust me). As a result I've really become much more self-critical and philosophical about how I live my life, as well as how I interact with the rest of the world. There's no self-righteousness when you can't be 100% sure you're right.

Those are the big three. There's more, but those are the one's that are most notable as a result of my heathen status.

-=Grim=-

Two words: BIRTH CONTROL.

Yeah I feel a lot like you matt and also I just feel more eh open minded lol, smarter even.

There's also getting to know other non-believers, such as here, and being able to realize just how absurd the Bible is - getting to read books by Dan Barker, Richard Carrier, Robert Ingersoll, etc.

I felt very alone for a while when I finaly realised there was no God (on my own, btw), then my bro de-converted and I found the RRS. I still often have alone feelings, however, since every single person I know is a theist. That's one of the reason i like coming here. I feel like there's at least some people out there who GET IT, even if they live miles away.

Anyway, I've never really had any religion, but I did certainly used to believe in God. I think my non-belief has actually hightened my sense of importance and definatly my sense of self worth. Back when I was a theist, I would think "Got made all these other people great, good looking, successful... So why not me? Am I less? I must be, because God made all these other people greater and better at all these others things than I am. Sure, people keep telling me he loves me, but then why would he make life difficult? I wouldn't make life anymore difficult for anyone I loved."

It simply confused me, and made me feel like crap, like I was helpless. However, after I shed my God belief, I finally felt in control of my life, and felt that I could make my own purpose and forge my own path without having to wonder if I had permission from the all-powerful king in the sky.

It's strange that I feel far more important and loved without God belief than I did with it. The fact that I'm actually right this time helps too.

Honestly the more I think about it the more I'm not sure if I ever really DID believe in God or if I was just going through the motions because that's what I was "suppose" to do. Does that even make sense?

I can tell you though, since I stopped going to church and all the things that entails I have been, in general, a lot happier and more at peace with myself than I ever was before.

Which... in turn, has effected my quality of life greatly.

--Sarah--

YES, it makes perfect sense. I know what you're talking about. That's how it was like when I was a kid. Everyone else believed in God, my parents believed in God, I'm supposed to believe in God, right? Yeah, I know that feeling.

Luckily for you, you saw the light. Welcome to the Rational Response Squad!

When I went through a bad financial time of my life (homeless, etc.) I was hanging out with this girl who was also homeless. She asked me if I believed in God. I said that I don't know anymore. She said that she hated him if there was. My road to atheism started there. I started questioning a lot those days. Then pretty soon I came to the realization that there wasn't a god. I must say it was a big step for me. I was scared to take it but once I did I could not go back. I felt really strong for the first time. Leaving my theism behind me has made my life experiences more significant in that I appreciate the way things work naturally.
After I went through 17 hours of labor with my first child, I was extremely happy what I had accomplished. A thing that I had growing inside my belly came out a beautiful baby. Then my husband's mother deflates my balloon by saying, "Look what God has given you." I told her that I did it all by myself and God had nothing to do with it. She just smiled smugly at me and disagreed in a nice way.
Honestly though at times atheism is hard because people treat you differently. It makes me sad. I just registered my kids at school and one of the papers I had to sign asks what religion they are. Most the people here are xtian so I hope they don't treat my kids different because I signed it none/freethinker.
Atheism has made MY life better but I do fear for my kids because I don't want them treated bad for no reason. Know what I mean?

I can stay home on Sundays, sleep in, sit on my ass all day, and watch football without feeling at all guilty about it. That's good enough for me.

It really hasn't affected me too much, because even when I was growing up going to church every week it never really meant anything to me. It was just something generally boring that you had to do on Sunday. I had drifted towards a sort of deistic/agnostic approach by high school with little fanfare. Thankfully I live in the northeast so it was never really a big deal before or after.

In recent years now that I've really researched a lot about atheism and religion, I've listened in a different way at the few church services I've been to. It really seems ridiculous now.

Oh yea. Sunday is reserved for coming down, taking naps, reading and watching television.

You just totally made me realize that I should have protested that and now I want to write a letter to the school district and ask them to remove that. School is no place for that. Man I feel like I got duped.

I never felt like I fit the religion I was in. I completely believed it, but I had these thoughts, feelings and wants that completely went against what was "right". I felt like I was very lazy and that my lack of glazed eye enthusiasm for this religion meant that there was something wrong with me. I wanted to be completly in love with the bible.....but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to it because it would always be an act. Looking back I see my personality as very fragmented and repressed. Taking the god element out has helped me piece together who I am. I found myself and a lot of my passions because of it. Like GrimJesta and other people here, I've also been more intense in obtaining knowledge than before. I'm facing my death with realism, which is extremely hard and scary and liberating. I'm more concerned with humanity. I make a conscious effort to challenge my motives and comfort zones all the time. I see clearly that we are one race and the walls that divide are superficial. I can go on and on. Bottom line is that I'm happier and more fulfilled as an atheist.

But I make mistakes sometimes. I really liked what you said here Amber.

Perhaps getting ahold of one of the registration forms first would be a good way to start a mild protest. I would skip the school district and write to the state board of education with a list of concerns about your child's education with regard to religious materials being explicitly forbidden from the curriculum.