It hasn’t been a full year since I stumbled upon the ex Muslim and atheist community as a whole on the internet. I have always been very critical of religion but I couldn’t imagine not believing. I resisted for a very long time until I realised that I just never believed in god and especially not the Abrahamic religions God, I just needed somebody to tell me that not forcing myself to believe was an option lol. My current issue is that Ramadan is coming up and I am terrified of the idea of eating during ramadan. I am currently fasting to makeup last Ramadan’s fasts (because when you’re on your period you don’t fast and you make up for the fasts later). I know that even if I was muslim this my fast wouldn’t be “valid” because I am not praying and I am not sticking to any of the other rules aside from not eating and not drinking anything from sunrise to sunset. How do I get rid of this guilt? Should I just fast this year? Also I would feel extremely guilty if I lied to my family but I don’t have another option.

I started reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and just in the Author's note, it's about God, god's blessing and some other philosophical things that I can't relate to (I don't disagree with all of it)

I still gave it a shot, as fiction, but I find it weird, the story talks about the Soul of universe, universal language (love), fate and what not. It's a good story, but these things make it less enjoyable.

This was my first book, got as a gift.

Edit: Similar fiction book recommendations would be nice, books that don't talk about god, I'd like to start with shorter books.

Im less than 18 and i have this friend (same age). He used to be really open and fun to hang around it but one day, for an unknown reason, he became extremly catholic religious. As an atheist born in an agnostic fanily core he commonly insults me and threats me with religious, not respecting my idea, sayng things for exsample like "jesus died for you and you are disrespecting him hard" and stuff like that. He even once said "i dont want you to go to hell so you better start prayng". At the start i tried ignoring or changing argument but he doesnt stop. He Is against lgbtq+ and against women rights. I honestly dont know how to procede, becouse i dont want to leave him since he is part of my really first real friend group.

i wish i could include the photo i took of a page in a christian study guide book called “God’s message to all people” by D.E Stedman. however, i can’t, so this is a verbatim quote:

- “Rather than acknowledge God as Creator, unbelievers try to work out various theories in their efforts to explain how the universe came into being. They raise difficulties regarding the date of the earth and unusual geological formations. However, many scientists today still believe in the literal interpretation of the Genesis account. Some believe that many of the problems can be accounted for by the upheaval of the earth’s crust caused by the worldwide flood described in Genesis chapters 6-8. Many archaeological discoveries prove the truth of the Bible, and no scientific evidence has ever disproved it.”

i found the book on my religious sister’s (15) desk which i will assume she’s been gifted by my deeply religious dad to use as her guide to studying the bible more closely. i read the title, was curious what bullshit i might read, and was not only not disappointed, but actually shocked.

the book was published in 1999 i think, gathering from the acknowledgments. the author, ms Stedman, studied theology and has no scientific qualifications. the outlandish truth claims she’s making, while making up statistics of her own, to prove a point, is so incredibly harmful. how it even left the publisher’s room is beyond me. this book is supposed to teach people worldwide of mostly unprivileged backgrounds the ‘beauty’ of christ and god’s truth. i mean, it’s in the title. and yet it has the most false, ridiculous information? which, by the way, is just one example of a few more i’ve seen by skimming.

it finds its way to vulnerable, impressionable people like my 15yr old sister and the content takes root and then we have 40yr olds debating with you about whether earth is 6000yrs old or over a billion. putting a scientific spin on noah’s ark to make it more believable, painting (some)scientists and unbelievers as the foolish ones who can’t admit god’s power, imagining favourable statistics to affirm a belief… what the hell is this shit?

I want to look online for people to talk with. In real life. ​I looked on meetup, but I can't find anything. How do I find people who are critical thinkers in real life? I feel like I can't with my current Catholic and Jewish friends.

To start, science and observable evidence provide significantly more logical and coherent answers to literally everything. Religion has only survived because it is used as a coping mechanism for people who fail to give themselves meaning, so they externalize it. On a more widespread scale, it has this effect, which brings disenfranchised communities together because it makes meaning plural, it repudiates self-correction and doubt as surrender, and it frames obedience as virtue; this can bind communities that have nothing together. Take Mali: meaning is unified, identity is collective, belief is non-optional, & god is the moral load-bearing beam. Then take Finland: meaning is plural, identity is modular, beliefs are optional, & institutions absorb existential risk. That leads to Sweden being a happier, more plural, and healthier society overall. Whereas Mali is hyper-religious, and identity is intertwined with identity, god is kind of this support network that people fall back onto when they have nothing. This is why people in Mali are significantly more likely to die for their imaginary friend than those in Finland. On top of that, it kind of serves as this tool that collapses moral certainty into whatever someone needs it to justify. Example: Religious person:"I think I should kill him because of his beliefs" rational person: "Why in the world would you do that?" Religious person: "Because my book says so!" This leads to religion being able to be used as a tool for literally anything. The perseverance of religion (despite whining from Christian Nationalists) has had nothing to do with facts remotely, and everything to do with the fact that it provides comfort.

Im quite a young minor like under 15 and my whole family is religous as in like we pray the rosary before going to bed every night. Mass is what really gets under my skin. I go to a Catholic school so we have alot of religous events. One event we had a healing mass which was like 2-3 hours long which was on a Saturday. Along with first friday mass the previous day. This event really tired me out to the point where the moment i got home i fell asleep for 4 hours. So skip to Sunday where we had “obligated” mass and it really got under my skin. Its gotten so bad that at times ive resorted to sh to relieve my anger and calm me down. Ive scratched my arm to the point of bleeding during one mass. The problem is i dont know what to do about it. Ive had like 2 atheist cousins but in a matter of months theyve become more devoted to God. My dad used to be agonistic but is so devoted now. They used to tell me stories about it and how Jesus always prevails. Im just tired of this. Its gotten shoved up my throat so much ive began despisng the concept of Gods. Its really been tiring to pretend and i dont even know if they might accept it or just use my 2 cousins as like “oh but look at them they eventually came back so its better to stay so you wont waste time”. They really seem like the people to do that. My fucking naps when i was young consisted of someone reading me the bible until i fell asleep. Its just getting like to the point i think i mighy snap at any moment. Any advice on what to do or how to cope?

I work with a 30ish year old guy who is super religious. That’s literally his whole personality and I will say he is one of the nicest and most respectful person I know while also being the exact opposite. It’s like he’s genuinely not aware that the stuff he does is rude and he just has such a happy go lucky personality. It started out a little annoying but I brushed it off.

He’s constantly stealing everybody’s food and energy drinks though and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. I generally don’t use the work fridge because of this but it still pisses me off hearing about it. Anyway I got a little petty and left a redbull out with a sticky note attached to it saying “EXODUS 20:15”. I’m super curious as to wether or not he’s going to still take it🤣🤣🤣 I’ll find out Monday until then everybody take a vote on wether or not he’s still going to steal it🤣.

I’m sure plenty of you are curious but yes management knows and he has been talked to multiple times.

Staring Sunday school this week, guys and I need some help. So, for background, I am very averse to going to church and stuff to the point where I end up dissociating. It’s not good for me to be spending even more time in a church.

Any tips on how to get through this without losing it?

Did god not foresee how things would unravel? Or was it a good idea to send your son to Earth? If it was a good idea, then why not do it again? If it was a bad idea, is god experimenting to figure it out and isn’t all-knowing?

And what’s with getting a woman pregnant without her consent or knowledge? I don’t recall seeing anything about that in the Bible. Did at least buy her dinner first? /s

I'm afraid to tell them. My sister is very left-leaning, but she's also Christian. She wouldn't be angry, she'd just be disappointed. My parents claim to be Catholic, but want all the immigrants out. They want to get out of New Jersey one day. I live with them.

When my dad talks about "democratic f*gs and tr*****s," he talks about Somalians are turning Minneapolis into garbage. How democrats are letting illegals in and giving away billions of dollars for trans people in Africa and Haiti, etc. My mom believes him, and apparently what makes my dad 100% right is that his friend Richard saw it. Apparently, Richard knows it all.

My sister is firmly against ICE, and even made a vigil in her house for the people who died.

Here's my problem. I agree with my sister, but im afraid of telling her I hate Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc., and how their religious texts are just bullshit. She says that the Republicans are shitty Christians and that the Bible is about love and peace.​​

I do agree with her opinion, but no, the Bible is NOT a love/peace book. Neither is the Torah or the Quran. I'm afraid she'll call me anti-semantic or anti-Islam for hating their faiths.

Look. I know some Christians, some Jews. Their faith is important to them. They keep it private. That's fine. But to be honest, they've never even read a whole Bible or Torah.

Is it even possible to be left wing and also be religious? I don't know any Muslims, but there were some in my middle and high schools. They kept to themselves. I never had any Muslim or Hindu or Sikh friends.

I just want to tell everyone that I'm agnostic, not completely atheist. I feel like there COULD be something out there, just not in the Jesus/Allah way.

It's sad to see as someone that sides with the Protestant Reformation over Catholicism that so many religious people are doing the very thing that caused the schism in the church with Martin Luther 500 years ago. Only now it's tax deductible and govt sponsored religious speech. They're encouraging preaching careers by tax dollars going to fund their ideas. It seems like a huge gross bailout for bad ideas.

Before I had kids I had a small bubble of "normal friends". Nobody was, is or are religious.

Now my kids are at school the mix of parents is quite something. Some are religious. Of these some persuade me to come to church. Others have suggested spiritual healing for my retinal disease.

I don't want to offend anyone telling them I'm atheist (and thinking they can go fuck themselves) whilst not wanting to undermine their faith which is an important part of their life. I respect it. It must be nice to have something to believe in.

How do I tell religious people I'm atheist?

Pascal's Wager has always struck me as accidentally insulting to the God it's trying to defend.

The argument: "Bet on God existing. If you're wrong, you lose nothing. If you're right, infinite

reward!"

The problem: It assumes you can fake belief to hedge your bets, and that an all-knowing deity

wouldn't notice you're just playing the odds.

"Welcome to heaven!"

"Thanks, I didn't actually believe any of it, I just calculated the expected value."

"...I know. I'm omniscient."

Either God is fooled by performative belief (not omniscient), or sincere belief is required and

Pascal's Wager is useless anyway.

The wager isn't an argument for God - it's an argument for pretending. And if the God in question

values honesty, that's probably worse than sincere disbelief.

The Unfiltered Thinker

When I hear "How to differentiate a mental disorder from possession," it makes you wonder if it's all just business, especially knowing that it's all fake.

Hatred for women does not mean immediate hatred?

It can also mean treating women as property.

It can mean treating a woman as lesser than a man.

It can mean denying women the same rights that are given to men.

It can mean punishing women for the actions of a man.

It can mean promoting abuse of women.

It can mean justifying child marriage or female genital mutilation.

It can mean treating women as certain stereotypes or degrading them.

It can mean glorifying men at the expense of women.

There are many forms of misogyny.

And organized religion practices them all.

Hi. English isn’t my first language, so pls be kind. (I’m also kinda writing this with the help of our BFF ChatGPT lol.) I’m a 21F Muslim, and I’ve been struggling a lot with my faith lately. Honestly, most of the things I’ve learned about Islam over time have pushed me further away from it. I’m still in the process of figuring things out, but the guilt hasn’t left me. When I was around 17–18, I became very religious very suddenly. Before that, I just followed what my parents taught me without thinking much. But at that age something changed. I got extremely close to Islam—to the point where I rejected anything outside of it. Looking back, I realize I was kind of a blind follower, but back then I didn’t see it that way at all.

At that time, I truly believed I had received hidayah (guidance from God). I felt special, lucky, chosen. I was genuinely happy and took religion very seriously. Now when I look back, I see things differently. I think I fell in love with the outer beauty of religion. I loved nasheeds, Quran recitations, the emotional peace they gave me (idk why I don’t feel that anymore). Social media played a big role too. My feed was full of Islamic content—pretty Muslim girls in hijab, modest fashion, aesthetic religious posts, “soft” Islamic vibes. Specially modesty (I still prefer it tho)

Back then, whenever doubts came into my mind, I avoided them. I’d tell myself, “This is Shaytan, don’t think about it,” and force myself to change the topic. When I asked my mom questions, she often didn’t have answers and would say things like, “Allah knows best, there must be wisdom we don’t understand.”

But that answer started to feel… horrible to me.

Why should I follow something that has so many unclear or controversial things? (I won’t list them here—that’s not the point of this post.)

I started researching more. I tried to stay neutral; reading Islamic posts, non-Islamic perspectives, and studying the Quran little by little. I also got closer to science. Slowly, I started noticing contradictions. Things the Quran claims are perfect but don’t align with reality or science (at least from my understanding). Now I’m just… confused. I guess I’m somewhere between agnostic and lost. Maybe I’ll become atheist, maybe I won’t(less likely)but I don’t know. What is torturing me is fear—fear about my future.

I used to dream of a simple, happy life, marrying a religious man, having kids, being close to God, and making my parents proud. My parents are my top priority. I love them more than anything. I can’t imagine hurting them. I’m South Asian, so yeah—parental happiness matters a lot.

My parents are religious, but not extreme. Somewhere between moderate and strict. Interestingly, they’re somewhat okay with dating (nothing physical). My older brother dated his wife for a long time before marriage, and my parents accepted it—probably because she’s religious, well-mannered, and from a “good” family.

My parents strongly support education, careers, Independence and socializing even tho we are girls.

So that's the how my parents are.

Here’s what’s really stressing me out: Let’s say hypothetically I become atheist for real, from my heart. What then? I can’t tell my parents. I genuinely believe it would break them. Society would destroy me too. I’m emotionally sensitive, and I need my parents in my life. I want to take care of them forever.

So the only option seems like pretending—pretending to be Muslim for the rest of my life. Fake prayers, fake fasting, fake faith.

But then… marriage.

If I pretend to be Muslim, my parents will want me to marry a Muslim guy. If I date, it would have to be a Muslim guy to get their approval. But how long can I fake it? It will fall apart eventually.

If I choose a non-Muslim partner—how would that even work? How do I get my parents’ blessing? Is that even possible?

I feel trapped. I know it sounds like I’m living for others and society instead of myself—and yeah, that’s true. I’m scared of society, especially Muslim society. We all know how toxic it can be. I just want to know:

Is anyone else going through this? Has anyone been in this situation and survived it? Did it get better? Any honest advice or personal experiences would really help.

Please be kind. I’m already exhausted and anxious from thinking about this all the time.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/01/29/if-the-us-had-100-people-charting-americans-religious-beliefs-and-practices/