An unusually large percentage of the Atheists I meet

[Mr.Bill]

Went to Catholic school (as did I). Anyone else notice this? An Evangelical Christian I worked with back in the 80s once told me, only half-jokingly, that Catholic school is where they train Atheists.

I was thrown out of Catholic school.

[evlbstrd]

1. Count me in.

I know a lot of others, too.

[Fumesucker]

2. I wouldn't know, I've never knowingly met another atheist

Is there some sort of atheist recognition sign of which I'm unaware?

A secret handshake perhaps?

[Armin-A]

24. how to spot an atheist

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0503/atheists.html

[Manifestor_of_Light]

29. I know where you can meet LOTS of them on Sunday morning.

At a Unitarian-Universalist church or fellowship.

I've met several nice atheist boys there, including the one who I have been with for almost twenty years and is my soulmate.

Or if you don't want to be airy-fairy about it, he's
"the one".

www.uua.org

One sign is that after church, the UUs worship The Giver of Life --
The Coffeepot (very old joke)

[dimbear]

3. I'm going out on a limb and guessing it depends mostly on where you grew up.

Growing up out on the plains I hardly met any Catholics at all. Didn't meet a Catholic atheist 'til much later.

[Warpy]

4. I've pointed it out for many years

that Catholic schools are institutions dedicated to the production of atheists.

Most of the atheists I'm out to are survivors of Sister Mary Torquemada in all her incarnations.

[smokey nj]

5. I consider myself a Catholic school survivor.

[Iggo]

6. I was invited to leave catholic school in the second grade.

EDIT: To be fair, and as far as the Three R's are concerned, it was the best damn school I ever went to.

[Mr.Bill]

9. Absolutely

I think I could have passed most if not all of the tests I took in public high school when I was in the sixth grade, which was my last year of Catholic school.

[kdmorris]

7. Or were raised as Southern Baptists... like me! n/t

[Neoma]

20. Ditto on that one.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Most of the kids I went to school with were catholic.

Almost all of the women are now recovering catholics.

[JNelson6563]

10. I'll go against the tide here.

I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school for a few years. To be honest my mother only sent us there because the public schools went on strike a couple of years in a row and at least the Catholic schools started on time! (She wasn't a nurturing sort of mom).

Anyhow, my faith and my years at Catholic school were only ever a comfort to me. The nuns we had (we had lay teachers and nuns) were pretty liberal, kind and patient. I never got hit there, didn't have to be highly aware at all times in order to survive, like at home with mommy dearest.

My journey to atheism was more of an intellectual quest. I had to reach a certain level of emotional development to begin the process and that happened in my thirties, after my dad died. I had been pretty dependent on him for guidance in almost all things. I doubt I would/could have ever made the journey while he lived so it's like his death was one of the worst things ever to happen in my life while also, in a way, being one of the best.

I hope that makes sense.

Julie

[Mr.Bill]

11. Although it doesn't mirror my path to Atheism,

It does make sense. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

[sammythecat]

25. understand completely

..makes perfect sense.

[Curmudgeoness]

12. That wasn't the case for me.

I only know a few other atheists, but don't think that they went to Catholic schools....but I don't know.

I came from a family where my father grew up Catholic but turned away from the church before I was ever born. I don't know why, but I do know that he refused a priest even at the end. All I know is that he went to "Polish school" since his parents had immigrated from Poland, and that may have been a Catholic school, but I don't know for sure. My mother was lukewarm to non-believing as I was growing up, she grew up Methodist. I went to United Presbyterian church as a child because my older sister took me there. Neither of my parents went to church but they didn't say anything bad about religion....at least not until I declared that I was an atheist. At that time, I found that they had no belief in god either.

So there were a lot of religions involved in my family, but we all got to the same point.

[DagoRed]

13. Not for me...but I think it may have been a factor for my sister

I was spared the Catholic school education, but my sister came at a time when the family had a bit more money, so she got the "benefit" of private schooling. But, she definitely had more of a trifecta of forces at work in her deconverson --

1) primary education at St. Fisting of the Bloody Terror (or whatever) Catholic school,
2) me (a dozen-years her senior + favorite brother + atheist = her mentor growing-up),
3) seriously deranged religious mother who was, and remains decades later, alienated from both of us

Your guess is as good as mine to which lead her to atheism today.

[beam me up scottie]

14. "St. Fisting of the Bloody Terror"

Welcome to DU!

[GliderGuider]

15. "Our Lady of the Erroneous Assumption" is just down the block. nt

[beam me up scottie]

19. Hi GG!

I'm glad you're still here!

[smokey nj]

17. I was spared the Catholic secondary education three of my older sisters and my older brother had

to endure because my parents couldn't afford it. It was the one and only time being broke actually worked in my favor. I got paroled after 9 years, my older siblings had to serve the full sentence.

[Arugula Latte]

22. Welcome to DU! I think you'll fit in nicely!

[GliderGuider]

16. My father was raised Ukrainian Orthodox - he became one of the most vocal atheists I've known.

I was brought up in a totally atheist household (both parents, my maternal grandparents, all my siblings, all our spouses and kids) - and I took up jnana yoga and Advaita. Go figure.

[Odin2005]

18. I was raised mainstream ECLA Lutheran

[meeshrox]

21. Indeed, I've noticed that...

I grew up as a devil in the basement baptist myself. As early as age 5, I got the shit scared out of me for even thinking bad thoughts, because gawd would know. And, even better, if I said anything bad I was giving the devil ideas!

[Simo 1939_1940]

23. Include me in.

The Irish pastor of our parish and his Irish priests used to drink together and discuss theology. The discussions evolved into arguments, and the arguments fistfights in the street! The cops had to come to break them up more than once.

(Y'know......wherever you find four Catholics you'll find a fifth!)

[Trajan]

26. Count me in as well ...

Born of an Italian mother in the NYC area, you can be sure I was to be a Catholic ...

My mom wanted me to be an Altar Boy, so I could begin the journey to Priesthood .... I wanted to be an astronaut ....

I declared my atheism the day of my confirmation, as I walked down the church steps in my confirmation robe ...

[LostOne4Ever]

27. Catholicism itself had very little to do with it for me.

My issues come from theodicy, utter disgust and disdain for the "morals" advocated by televangelists like Pat Robertson, and a complete rejection of the concepts of hell, original sin, and salvation by faith.

[ShadowLiberal]

28. I've heard of a similar story with regular Catholic church goers not going to Catholic schools

One of my grandparents came from a Catholic family, and I've heard from one of the Catholics in my family that when growing up a bunch of people in the church looked down on all the families that didn't send their children to Catholic schools, and always held out the children who did go to the Catholic schools as role model kids in the church.

But today, over 20 years later, she says just about zero of the adults in her Catholic church went to Catholic schools as children. The ones who went to Catholic school either rarely go to church unless it's some special service/holiday (like Christmas Eve/Easter Mass), or changed religions.

[AtheistCrusader]

30. I was 'saved' from religion much earlier than catholic school.

Dad was a catholic. Mom a Presbyterian. Dad asked a priest to baptize my brother and I, and the priest said no, my mom, brother and myself were destined to go to hell.

So dad told the priest 'I'll see YOU in hell', and walked out. Neither parent really ever mentioned religion as we grew up. Neither parent stopped me from reading Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology as a child. By the time I got to Christianity, I was pretty good at spotting 'Myth'.

Hence, I've always been an atheist, but I probably have a catholic to thank for it.