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Originally Posted by mytmouse57  Atheism is often a knee-jerk reaction to fundamentalism. The old throwing the baby out with the bathwater (or throwing the baby out and keeping the bathwater) syndrome.
Many atheists I've encountered were exposed to fundamentalist religion. As I'm found of saying, Campus Crusade for Christ damn near made an atheist out of me.
| I think this is a good point. A friend of mine was brought up as a very strict Catholic, and is now an atheist; but he's a *Catholic* atheist as he has an almost religious duty to his new-found atheism - joining humanist groups, performing humanist ceremonies and services (ironic that he's become a de facto priest) and generally proselytising.
Another guy I know is a born-again Christian, but was brought up as a new-ager. Although his beliefs are pretty fundamentalist, his approach is still very laid-back and his interpretations tend to the inclusive (for example, in incorporating how non-believers will avoid hell).
The religion one was brought up in does seem to pervade our belief system, even when we change it later in life. One reason why children shouldn't be exposed to religion; like porn and sex, it should be a matter of free choice for over-16s only. |