Raised with little religious zeal in a liberal catholic church. It was just a sort of background thing I ignored most of my life.

At 25 I was at the height of studying comparative religion and evolutionary biology. I saw it all as an integral part of how we have operated as a species, and then I pivoted out of academia and dug clams for half a decade.

I like the good religion can do. But it’s like the state: bridges are neat, but the police patrolling it can really ruin it for everyone.

You’re bang on that religion encompasses more than just faith. They’ve been around so long that those institutions carry within it culture, community, art, etc.

Since you’re on the fediverse I’ll use the analogy of Reddit. It had incredible communities, talented people, and wealth of knowledge, but it wasn’t on the right course so we left. Now we have to build all that up again. None of those things were intrinsic to Reddit, they were just collected under it’s roof.

So back to religion, recognise that generations of people of all talents lived under it’s roof and I think it’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy it’s art and philosophical teachings (when applicable). We live in a go-go-go world right now that doesn’t give people the time for reflection and introspective thinking, and religions often did. What you shouldn’t do, however, is assume that gods have any relevance today. They are nothing but superstitions used to explain a confusing world, and then harnessed to control populations. Religion itself deserves no respect.

I was raised pretty conservative evangelical. At 25, I still mostly held those views (although with more and more cracks). Since then, a lot of my views have changed. I’m still a believing Christian and an active member of a church, but much more progressive, open to different perspectives and questioning my own (and my church’s) views.

Over the decades, I’ve been a member of many churches and have seen and experienced many, many forms of Christianity - the good, the bad and the ugly. For me personally, my faith and the community of church is a clear net positive I want to hold on to, even more so in a time where it feels that many of our old securities are falling apart. My church family recently had my back when I went through a very challenging phase in my life. I’ve also had a couple of experiences that I would ascribe to the supernatural (God, in my case). At the same time, I empathise a lot with the thoughtful skepticism of many atheists and agnostics.

I would personally advocate for a lot more openness and generosity on all sides, particularly around the age you mentioned which is a time in life where a lot of people question the views they’ve been brought up with and mature in their thinking. I’ve seen people who were staunch agnostics at 25 come to faith at a later point, and people who experienced the exact opposite. I cringe at both those who think atheists or agnostics “just want to follow their immoral desires”, as well as those who think religious folks are all brainwashed or uneducated. Once you get to know people better, you’ll find they often have good reasons for why they believe what they believe and act like they do, even if you don’t personally agree.

the same as my thoughts on religion as a teenager, and now. My focus is mostly on the various christiandoms since thats where most my personal experience has been, having been raised in it.

Its self centered narcissism masquerading as holier than thou goodness.

What happens when someone gets sick? They pray.

What happens when they die? Oh it was just gods plan all along.

Okay, so if god has a plan that you’re prayers cant change… Then isnt it incredibly self centered and arrogant to keep praying to him, begging him to change it for you, because you are gods special little angel and of course he’d do it for you?

and that special little entitled angel attitude tends to permeate all aspects of their life, and interactions with others. Some are better at hiding it than others, and some just ride the lightning unabashedly with their moral superiority, but all of them have some aspect of that special arrogance that only comes along when a christian does something “altruistic”, because is it really altruistic if you use ot to prosletyze at others and brag to everyone about how you’re doing your good godly duty serving the wretches?

And lets not forget the most confrontational types. the ones that never read their holy books and just use their religion and its book as nothing more than a cudgel to try to shame and force others into compliance with their (almost always) myopic world view/bigotry/etc.

and, also, not to forget the rampant fucking child molestation, rape and general physical and psychological abuse that occurs with all too frightening regularity to the point you could label Christianity a child sex/abuse trafficking organization.

Religion had a place, When the nights were dark and full of terror and people needed an explanation for the goings on in the world to have some comfort. But we understand the night now, we can generally explain most of the workings in the world, and what we cant immediately explain, we at least have enough cursory understanding to know its not some supernatural devil magic, we don’t need an ego inflating mythology to anchor us and hold us back anymore. Which is why religion in most parts of the world is on the downfall.

It’s a bullshit scam that preys on weak minded people. 43 now and it hasn’t changed.

I thought it was a grift and the priests only congregated with the “well to do” after mass, not the local poor.

I’ve found that once I began to view religion through the lens of reason no aspect of it provided any comfort whatsoever. The architecture, the serenity… all laid bare as a ruse. Religious artifacts, the physical, tangible aspects of a belief system all shown to be hollow and barren, and therefore stripped of any quality of serenity or comfort and serve only as an example of the capacity of mankind to be willing to accept what amounts to the suppression of other men over ourselves.

i like the serenity religious institutions provide - the artwork - the quiet comfort

I can highly recommend checking out your local library, especially if they have a reading room of some kind. It can also be quiet and serene, there is a lot of beautiful stuff hidden on the shelves, and if you turn coming there into a ritual it can also bring you comfort.

And it can also help you build the same kind of community that a religious institution may provide.

Look into how learning about science can also greatly enrich your life.

It also has the benefit of being concerned with knowing and understanding true things. Something that religion has zero interest in.

I highly recommend reading the Carl Sagan book, “The Demon-Haunted World” for a rational and scientific view on religious (and other unscientific) beliefs.

It honestly should be required reading for every adult human.

If anyone reading this comment wants this book but cannot afford it at the moment, I will literally buy it for you. Send me a message and we’ll figure something out.

At 25 I was pretty atheistic, but now at 29 I feel more agnostic or apatheistic. Can’t say for certain either way, but it’s probably not a good use of my time to fully commit one way or the other

I’m a preachers kid. By 25 I was a full atheist. A decade later I still am. I will have nothing to do with religious people. I’ve learned those people can’t be saved.

Well, about the same as I feel now. I err on the side that if there is a( n ) god/goddess/deity/deities out there, they have abandoned us.

That applies to any higher being( s ) who are watching over and protecting humanity. As for higher beings like Christianity’s Satan, they would absolutely still be here. But their role would be to stop any sort of world peace or actual social harmony or anything of the sort. Why would they leave unless they’re killed or don’t exist?

Though, that also leads me to my next thought. Before I continue, I am not a theologist in any way and it has been a pretty long time since I last read the Bible, so I may have some things mixed up that might be easily explained in it. But, if Christian god is all powerful, why is it that Satan is powerful enough to corrupt people and turn them against god? Like, I get he gave us free will, but how is it his power isn’t effective on all his creations ( every human )? Is it some sort of mormon situation where all good feelings come from god, but somehow Satan is able to corrupt you through negative emotions?

That’s more ramble nonsense that usually sounds better in my head than written out, though.

I’m 38. I was raised Muslim. I was a pretty good Muslim until about 18-19. I have had quite a journey with my feelings on religion.

When I was young, I hated all the rules and being told that I can’t drink or I can’t date. I eventually read “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins(ok yes I know, I was young and didn’t know better) which opened my eyes to the possibility that there are other ways of looking at the world. I think I completely abandoned my faith by the time I was 23. I spent most of my 20s pretty much ignoring religion.

I will say, the religious people I actually respect, the ones who really do live by the ideals of loving your fellow humans, forgiveness, being nonjudgmental, they never made me feel judged. They accepted me as I was and never made a big deal about it. It was mostly my parents generation who did judge. So I knew that religious people came in all shapes and sizes and I knew that not all of them were the rule enforcing crazies like my parents.

I never resented religious people. I resented my parents and the way they used religion to control me. As I grew up, I felt a lack of community. Capitalism does that to us. It alienates us from our friends and neighbors. It makes us feel alone. And when I got into my 30s, I understood the main reason many people want to belong to a religious group. It creates an actual third space. It creates a community space you can show up to for free and hang out with your friends and discuss whatever’s on your mind.

Growing up one of the things I remember my grandfather used to say about going to Jummah(that’s the Muslim version of going to church). He said that Jummah is for the community to get together. And I remember going to Jummah as a kid. My friends would go play basketball in the parking lot and the older people would drink tea and chat.

And as a man in his mid 30s, I realized that I suddenly felt alienated from the people I grew up with and from the community to which I actually do belong. Running away from the rules based control but I lost the one thing that mattered and will continue to matter in our increasingly alienated capitalist world; community.

I’m a doctor and the mosque I grew up in has a free clinic open to everyone (anyone of any faith can go). They provide free medications l, free pap smears, formula for new mothers, free doctors visits. And they invite anyone who needs help to come. I started volunteering at that clinic a few years ago. This is the religion I believe in. Bring everyone together. Take care of your community.

I don’t really care much for theology, I don’t care much for rules. I still drink and have premarital sex(tho not for much longer, I’m getting married next month). But my religion believes in taking care of the community. My religion gives you a space to hang out for free. My religion welcomes everyone.

The indoctrination of mental illness, mainly via child abuse (Gotta coerce em while they’re young and vulnerable to effectively suppress and corrupt their critical thought!) and terrorism (“if you don’t do/believe this you’ll suffer unspeakable horrors for eternity”).

I’ve always been an atheist and I still despise every form of religion. I avoid religious people like the plague. I’m 39 years old now.