(Via Justin Bonaparte)

I grew up in suburban Detroit in a moderately religious household. We attended church most Sundays. I went to Catholic school from K-9. In all this time, I cannot remember ever believing a shred of dogma. I can remember being very young, in mass, looking around at the stained glass, the crucifix, the candles, and thinking this cannot be right. Of course I didn’t recognize myself as an atheist at that time. In fact, I don’t think that I really believed that others REALLY believed. I think I thought it was a bit of a grown-up joke, just a bunch of rituals and practices that mainly served to bring people together for friendship, gossip and community. The biblical passages and stories couldn’t possibly be truly believed by adults. It was only later in life that I truly understood the powerful hold that religion has over the vast majority of people. This revelation did not give me joy.