# My atheism is not a choice, therefore I can neither be blamed for it nor take credit

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-atheism-is-not-a-choice-therefore-i-can-neither-be-blamed-for-it-nor-take-credit/478503>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [December 24, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-atheism-is-not-a-choice-therefore-i-can-neither-be-blamed-for-it-nor-take-credit/478503 "2008-12-24T04:23:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-atheism-is-not-a-choice-therefore-i-can-neither-be-blamed-for-it-nor-take-credit/478503/61 "2008-12-28T18:56:40Z")

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I never met any one who thought today is Tuesday ,I am a Catholic. Wednesday , I will no longer believe in god. It is not a decision you go after. The logic comes to you a little at a time until you can no longer defend against it. It is erosion. The whole edifice just slowly crumbles.  
Then you get a little pissed off. The time and effort wasted seems overwhelming. All the religious classes ,the endless sermons and the time spent in confessionals is grinding. I was pissed because my parents made me go through all that crap. The guilt for imaginary sins of a kid. The fear of being char broiled for eternity if I eat a pepperoni on a Friday pizza. What a total waste.

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-atheism-is-not-a-choice-therefore-i-can-neither-be-blamed-for-it-nor-take-credit/478503/62 "2008-12-28T23:51:35Z")

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> [@Anne\_Neville](#):
>
> At least openly doing so would have been. I’m sure there always were people who had doubts about the religions embraced by their societies. A lot of them probably went through the motions of observing the local religion and kept their doubts to themselves.

True - but their children often would become true members of the majority religion, because the parents would not feel safe letting the kids know.

A big chunk of _Will in the World_ discussed Shakespeare and his parents possible hidden Catholicism, by the way.

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