I’ve been calling myself an atheist since 2006, but my non-religious
roots go back a little farther than that. Let me begin by addressing my
upbringing:
I, along with all my extended family, was raised Roman Catholic. I was baptized as an infant, had my first communion as a child and my
confirmation as a teenager. Like most Catholics in my area (I live in a region flooded with Catholics), I attended government-funded Catholic schools from
junior kindergarten through the end of high school. And like most good
Catholics, I attended church every Sunday.
It’s easy to think you believe in something when everyone
else around you thinks they believe in the same thing. No one in my circle ever
thought to question the church’s teachings or values because we were all immersed
in a predominantly Catholic society. So, in high school, I regularly
participated in religious retreats and joined various Catholic youth
organizations.
My family was fairly ‘tolerant’ of other religions, but sometimes their judgement of ‘others’ would break through their usual silence. So, all of their friends were Catholic; and by default, so were mine.
My family was fairly ‘tolerant’ of other religions, but sometimes their judgement of ‘others’ would break through their usual silence. So, all of their friends were Catholic; and by default, so were mine.
For a creative thinker like me, it was only a matter of time
before I began to question the ‘ignorance is bliss’ attitude the church seems
to have developed since the Middle Ages. And boy, did it ever change my life!
It took many years of being trapped in an atheist closet
before I was comfortable coming even half way out. Even now, a lot of my family
members just think I’m not religious; most of them still don’t understand that
I don’t believe in ANY god. But I think I’ve finally reached a point in my life
where I need to embrace who I am. And I need to figure out a way to navigate
these [non]beliefs in my relationship with a partner who wants to keep his Catholic
roots alive, simply because they uphold certain traditional values from his
childhood and heritage.
Wish me luck, but don’t pray for my soul. And keep reading
as I attempt to post bi-weekly updates on issues currently affecting atheists
around the world.
Heather
a.k.a. The Pretty Little Atheist
What about Pastafarianism?
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, Heather :) I was brought up in a Lutheran Christian home (that is, no one practiced the religion, I haven`t got one recollection of a church visit save from a few baptisms etc.) and everyone around me was supposedly christians as well.
ReplyDeleteAs I neared my confirmation at age 14-15 I made the decision to do it not through the church but rather through the Norwegian Humanist Association. I was the odd one, being one out of five in my year who did this. My grandparents called me a heathen and threatened to not attend my confirmation, but I never doubted my choice.
It took me a few years, though, to tell the church I no longer wanted to be a member (just because it involved printing a form and everyone knows what a hassle that can be ;) ). And I've been an out-of-the-closet-atheist ever since. I worked as a confirmation teacher for the Humanist Association for a year when I was a student, and I loved it! Instead of preaching 'god's words' we taught them human rights and to respect everyone. One of my nearest and dearest friends decided to get married through the Humanism Association, and it was the most beautiful and honest celebration of love I've seen. When her daughter was born, I was chosen to be her 'god mother' (what to call me? 'Guide' sounded so official, so we went for the Norwegian word 'villeder' which is a play-on-words on the word 'veileder' (guide) meaning 'the one who leads astray :P ). During my speech, where I talked about the Golden Rule and such, one of the uncles leaned in asking what weird religion I belonged to. So even though The Norwegian Humanism Association is big in Norway, we still have a long way to go.
My boyfriend is a more spiritual being than I am. He does not believe in any of the organized religions, and is not a member of a church, but he believes there's something other than just what we can perceive. And it works :) Between me respecting his views, and he respecting mine, we live a good life outside of 'the norm'.
I do have to say, a lot of people in Norway (and Scandinavia) are not religious. But they do still baptize their children and send them to church confirmations etc., and I think this is what you mentioned in your post: ignorance is bliss.
Lastly, to comment on the comment above: What about Pastafarianism? Well, me and a group of friends have formed a sort of private Pastafarianism group in Bodø, my home town :) The wicca, the humanist, the ignorance-is-bliss one, the spiritual one, and the realist all hail the flying spaghetti monster, tongue in cheek, and live happily with legs on the fish :)
Good luck exploring your new atheist life, it's great :)
- Hugs from Linda in Norway :)
Thank you for commenting, Linda. I'm glad to hear that these struggles also exist across the globe - simply because it lets me know I'm not alone. But I'm not at all glad to hear that these issues are still considered 'struggles' anywhere in the universe because that means we still have a long way to go.
DeleteI hope you're doing well :)