I would like to share the story of why I am an atheist (if you choose to use it on your site, please give my name as Copper)

I was brought up in a fairly Christian household - grace before supper, church every Sunday, etc. Up through the beginning of college, I really did believe all of the shit that the church was teaching. I even served as a worship assistant at my church, belonged to the synod-wide youth committee, and worked on outreach programs.

After graduating from high school, I went to work as a camp counselor.

There I met an atheist who I am now very good friends with. Over the course of the summer, she and I had many conversations about religion and how it influenced how the world runs. I left that summer still firm in my beliefs, but a small crack had begun to appear.

At college, I went to church every Sunday just as I had back home. But this church had some very crazy people in charge. Not only were they in-your-face Christians, they were also hypocrites in the worst sense of the word. Soon I became leary of them and their teachings, and began to wonder about Christianity as a whole.

Over that Christmas, I went to a nationwide Christian conference, which I thought might help put me back on the right path (after all, I was starting to doubt Christianity, and that scared me A LOT). But instead of reestablishing my faith, it cleared my vision and I could see just how horrible Christianity really is. I saw how the leaders of the churches are using religion to "beat down the masses" and subdue their "flocks". The more I heard from the various speakers, the more I knew that God could not exist.

By the next summer, I was ready to drop all of my false beliefs. I worked at summer camp again, and my atheist friend was also there. Over the course of the summer, I shed my Christian "skin" and began to come to terms with my new view of life. I'm still working on getting out the kinks, and often wrestling with issues like how to tell my parents or friends, but I've come a long way in understanding myself and the world around me.

"In university they don't teach you that the greater part of the law is learning to tolerate fools." --Doris Lessing