# Question for atheists and agnostics regarding upbringing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 10, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178 "2003-02-10T20:00:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178/61 "2003-02-11T18:26:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Philster \*  
> \*\*Well, I bumped heads with the Jesuits and the Christian Brothers since I attended high school at different institutins.  
> \*\*

**Philster** , I’m not surprised at all to hear that about the Christian Brothers, to my knowledge they have always had a rep as one of the more, ummm, earthy orders. I’ll admit though, I’m astonished to hear that the Jesuits you were exposed to were the same way. My experience was that Jesuits were sharp as a tack and more tolerant. IIRC, it is the Jesuits who do the intellectual heavy lifting for the church.

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**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178/62 "2003-02-11T19:11:59Z")

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Atheist agnostic. My family were strong believers in a relatively liberal congregation of the Church of the Brethren. (That’s one of the Anabaptist denominations, of which the largest member is the Mennonites … The arch-conservatives of that group are the Amish.) I’m not actually sure where my dad stood-he married into the church, and was never outspoken about his spirituality. But my mother and maternal grandparents (and many further grandparents on that side–my great-grandfather was a minister) were lifelong and committed adherents to the principles of the church.

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**Author:** ![Jocke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dec6dc/32.png) [@Jocke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jocke)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178/63 "2003-02-11T19:40:59Z")

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Atheist. My parents never really spoke of religion or politics. They said that they wanted me to make up my own mind and not be influenced by them. Learned that my mother is a christian when I was 22. Assumed that she was atheist before that. I still don’t know what my father believe… Maybe I should ask him. :dubious:

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**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178/64 "2003-02-11T21:21:19Z")

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Agnostic, raised in a totally non-religious environment. My mother’s an atheist and I think my father’s got some sort of a belief in a supreme being, but he never discusses it.

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**Author:** ![Petter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@Petter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petter)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-and-agnostics-regarding-upbringing/154178/65 "2003-02-11T23:17:04Z")

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Atheist, not a religious bone in the entire immediate family.

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