# "Converting" from non-practicing Catholic to Atheism **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285 "2008-12-15T20:32:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/21 "2008-12-15T21:57:23Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > Say “I don’t believe in God.” There. Now you’re an atheist. That’s all it takes. Sure, until the Christians find out and start clapping. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/22 "2008-12-15T22:18:30Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:(Bolding mine) > > The two points to take from this are that excommunication doesn’t make you a non-Catholic, it just makes you a Catholic in big trouble and that nothing removes Catholic baptism. In the eyes of the Church, once baptised, always baptised. Tell your family that the atheist ceremony trumps the catholic one. If they believe the catholic ceremony holds any water, they just might buy your story. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/23 "2008-12-15T22:33:32Z")
The wonderful thing about being an atheist is that I don’t give a flying fuck about being baptised and confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/24 "2008-12-15T22:34:16Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Tell your family that the atheist ceremony trumps the catholic one. If they believe the catholic ceremony holds any water, they just might buy your story I did this. I went nowhere and told nobody that I believed in nothing. It was quite moving. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/25 "2008-12-15T22:35:57Z")
> [@rayray5884](#): > > If I call up the church I was baptized at will they remove my name from their records? > > John No, they won’t. I know that because I’m aware of several cases in France of people who made the same request. Now, it happens that France has very strict laws regarding databases (including merely written lists) including personnal information, what they can contain, the right to have said informations modified or deleted, etc…In this particular case, baptism records. Courts had to force the Catholic Church to remove the names of the plaintiffs from said baptism records. Assuming there isn’t a legal way, where you live, to have it imposed on the church where you were baptized, your request will be denied. And anyway, even if you had your name removed, the Catholic Church would still consider you as part of the flock. Once a catholic, always a catholic. There’s no way out. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/26 "2008-12-15T22:46:49Z")
My impression (based on **Tomndeb** ’s response to a similar thread I started awhile back) is that the Church considers you to have automatically excommunicated yourself (of course there’s a fancy Latin word for it which I can’t remember) if you are publicly going around declaring that you are an atheist or a member of some other non-Catholic religion, which obviously you are. So although there may be some paperwork which you and/or your friendly local priest could fill out if you wanted to, it isn’t necessary in order to assure you your eternal spot in the Place Where The Guy With The Horns Conducts His Business, and you may legitimately consider yourself to have become excommunicated simply by starting this thread! Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/27 "2008-12-15T22:51:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Since the OP is asking for opinions, this is better suited for IMHO than GQ. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator It does not seem to me to be asking for opinions but for particular factual information about abandoning the Catholic Church. This has been in the news in Spain. Spain has a law which allows you to demand anyone who has informational records about you to delete them. This was all fine and well when it was apllied to corporations and such. But then people started asking the Catholic church to delete the recording of their baptism and here things got sticky. The position of the RCC was twofold: (1) This is a recording of an act which did take place so it is merely a recording of an act. Are you going to destry newspapers and history books? How can you say it did not happen? (2) you can consider yourself whatever you want, we do not have a problem with that, just leave us alone. I really do not know whatthe results have been but I believe some have succeeded in having the records deleted. This being Spain though I suppose most cases just get quagmired in the judicial system until people just give up out of boredom or they die of old age or whatever. The fact is that the RCC believes baptism imprints character and cannot be undone so by suing you may get them to delete the recording of your baptism but you cannot get them to believe it did not take place or the effects can be undone. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/28 "2008-12-16T00:15:34Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > My impression (based on **Tomndeb** ’s response to a similar thread I started awhile back) is that the Church considers you to have automatically excommunicated yourself (of course there’s a fancy Latin word for it which I can’t remember) latae sententiae ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/29 "2008-12-16T00:21:32Z")
Eh, I still feel like my self excommunication effaced whatever water they poured on me before I was too young to defend myself 😃 But in some views, you’re Catholic even before the baptism… [Monty Python]You’re Catholic the moment dad came[/MP] ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/30 "2008-12-16T01:46:35Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > The wonderful thing about being an atheist is that I don’t give a flying fuck about being baptised and confirmed. Same, only for Jewish rituals rather than Catholic ones. You want to think I’m a Jew? Well, you’re wrong, and trying to claim possession of me irks a little bit, but I have real things to worry about that are much more important than your little world of make-believe. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/31 "2008-12-16T03:15:42Z")
> [@rayray5884](#): > > Is there an official way of undoing something I had no say in in the first place? As others have said, part of athiesm is basically the lack of a belief in god/gods. The rituals performed ostensibly in their service have no impact on you because they are just that…a ritual. I wake up and check my email every day, not exactly a sign of emailism. The minister did not do anything other than dribble some water on you, if anything you might end up a little cleaner, but as far as “imprinting on the soul” I guess I am immune to Catholicism, I don’t have a soul. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/32 "2008-12-16T05:00:31Z")
Does it _really_ matter? Aggressively atheistic people are as ridiculous as aggressively religious ones. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/33 "2008-12-16T05:22:48Z")
I’m a bit puzzled that you’d care what an institution that you don’t believe in thinks of you. Whether you’re in a database or not doesn’t change what you do or don’t believe. Although all this talk about “you can’t become an ex-Catholic” has me curious now. I converted from Catholicism to paganism years and years ago. I never made any grand announcements or filled out any paperwork or anything; it just came about as a natural evolution (the whole Catholic thing never really took, all the mass and sacrament stuff I did by rote because I was a kid and it was expected of me, and I put no deeper thought into it than that. Stopped going to church the instant I moved out on my own). So I’m wondering if I’m still “officially” Catholic in the eyes of the Church, even though I don’t believe in the same things and never did. I was confirmed, although again it was not presented to me as optional, but as what all 15-year-olds did. It was very much a cultural thing, more than a spiritual one. By mid-high-school I had my doubts that _anyone_ really believed or even thought about it deeper than “this is what we do.” Hrmmm… I find it really funny that they might actually still have me listed in the “Catholic” column. I never knew anyone was really keeping track. Or cared. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/34 "2008-12-16T06:14:08Z")
Write a letter to the Pope, have it witnessed by your family and a notary public, send the original and keep a certified copy. Should satisfy most people. : ) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/35 "2008-12-16T11:46:58Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > My impression (based on **Tomndeb** ’s response to a similar thread I started awhile back) is that the Church considers you to have automatically excommunicated yourself I don’t know if what you say is true, but as someone mentioned previously, being excommunicated doesn’t mean that you aren’t part of the Catholic Church. You’re just a Catholic who’s denied sacraments and whose eternal soul is at stake as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/36 "2008-12-16T12:09:55Z")
I thought my Cardinal told me I wasn’t a Catholic. From early on I had major problems with the teachings of the Catholic Church. I got invited out of religious instructions when I was in second grade for making all of the other kids cry over God’s unfairness and cruelty to stillborns. Then, when I was much older, our Cardinal announced that you cannot be a Cafeteria Catholic and I thought, “Well then, I guess I’m not Catholic.” ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/37 "2008-12-16T14:46:05Z")
Write a letter to the Pope, clergy of any kind? Nah, write a letter directly to god. Oh wait, he doesn’t exist. OK, you’re done then. ---
**Author:** ![Jesse\_Leigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ea924/32.png) [@Jesse\_Leigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesse_Leigh)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/38 "2008-12-16T15:21:18Z")
G’morning Ray! > [@](#): > > How does one “convert” for lack of a better word from a religion forced upon them as a child to a belief that their is no god? It seems to me this would be more a matter of renouncing my religion and not so much converting per say, but how would that work? Is there an official way of undoing something I had no say in in the first place? **You just did renounce any belief in God.** Man-made ‘religions’ don’t matter to YHWH or Yeshua, only the content of your heart does, and as the Bible tells us, \*\*‘Out of the heart’s abundance the mouth speaks.’ \*\* You’ve publicly stated what you believe so that’s that. Who are you concerned about informing about your faith - or lack of it? If it’s your family, just tell them. If it’s society, few will care. If it’s God - He already knows. As one who has been in the missionary field for thirty-four years, I’d encourage you to keep the door open. \*\*‘There are many gods and many lords, but only One YHWH,’ \*\* The Creator. He does indeed exist (that’s not simply a belief, I do have a personal relationship with Him and He has made Himself known to me in Person on several occasions) and you may want to keep your options open - it’s the healthy way to go. 😉 - Jesse. ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/39 "2008-12-16T23:29:51Z")
To those that wonder why I care and why I would bother to do such a thing. It’s not really a big deal. I couldn’t care less what people thought about my decision. I just thought it would be neat to take the extra step, if there was one, and make it as official as it could be. There’s a lot about the Catholic church, and many mainstream religions for that matter, that bothers me, and if I could completely separate myself from all that, why not do it? It doesn’t really surprise me that a group of people that is willing to count me as a member before I can even begin to think about what I really believe in would be so stubborn as to make it difficult or even impossible to completely leave their “flock.” So it’s not really a way for me to validate my own beliefs, it’s more a way for me to let them know what I think of their religion and where they can stick it! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285/40 "2008-12-17T00:13:56Z")
I say when you’ve got your first missionary telling you to keep the doors open and don’t turn your back on God, that’s when you know you’ve made it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-from-non-practicing-catholic-to-atheism/477285.md?page=3)