"Most people are religious because their parents are."

Someone said in Yahoo Answers:

"Most people are religious because their parents are. While there are a few true converts in each religion, the vast majority root for the same teams as their parents and culture.

The internet is breaking down that tribalism. The more viewpoints you see, the more trivial a primitive tribalist viewpoint appears. People become atheists after being religious usually because they realize it's all a bunch of crap designed to keep people believing.

I am the son of a pastor in a highly religious family full of pastors. I attended Christian college and was a Christian til I was almost 30. One day, I just realized that I couldn't believe in God because evidence of him was no more credible than all the other things I didn't believe in (alien abduction, astrology, Islam, etc.)"

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjfEVT8CbKCnFylYE_K_7f3ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20130124035543AAmhnP6 

It reminds me of similar accounts I read of how those who grew up in religious families or backgrounds came to realise that most of the teachings in institutional churches are based on fear and superstition and do not portray the fullness of the love of God or misrepresent God. Some of them end up not considering themselves christians anymore. So in this respect, being an atheist is mainly a response to rejecting the primitive notion of a mean, angry God. Like what the answerer said, the internet plays a part in breaking down the tribalism that is prevalent in religious circles - the more viewpoints we see regarding what the religion is all about (such as how the bible came to be, and how it can be interpreted in so many ways, and so on), the more trivial a primitive tribalist viewpoint appears.

Blasphemy or good news?

Modern-day Nazareth, Israel in 2008

 ¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, [^[e]that Nazareth] where He had been brought up, and He entered the synagogue, as was His custom on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read.

¹⁷ And there was handed to Him [the roll of] the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

¹⁹ To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day ^[f]when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].

²⁰ Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing [attentively] at Him.

²¹ And He began to speak to them: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled ^[g]while you are present and hearing.

²² And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the words of grace that came forth from His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph’s ^[h]Son?

²³ So He said to them, You will doubtless quote to Me this proverb: Physician, heal Yourself! What we have learned by hearsay that You did in Capernaum, do here also in Your [own] town.

²⁴ Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country).

²⁵ But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed up for three years and six months, so that there came a great famine over all the land;

²⁶ And yet Elijah was not sent to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the country of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet not one of them was cleansed [by being healed]—but only Naaman the Syrian.

²⁸ When they heard these things, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.

²⁹ And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff].

³⁰ But passing through their midst, He went on His way.

 Luke 4:11-30 (Amplified Bible)

Imagine Jesus standing up today in a church building after reading the scriptures and said "Today these things are fulfilled in your hearing. The atheists, buddhists, muslims, jews... all of them have inherited the kingdom of heaven." Will the church-going christians get mad and try to push Jesus off the cliff for saying such blasphemy? Or will they rejoice with the good news?

Related link:

It's time to wake up and grow up

How does a person overcome one's hatred towards "Christians"?

Someone asked in Yahoo Answers this question:

"How do I overcome my hatred towards Christians?
Two years ago I met God. He turned my life around. He helped me grow, He helped me mend seemingly un-mendable relationships. Last summer I was supposed to be a counselor/TA at a Christian summer camp. The application told me to write down what I was passionate about. I said that I am passionate about marriage equality, helping teenage drug addicts, being a part of stopping sexual trafficking, and treating animals with the same respect I treat humans with. I was basically "kindly asked to leave" because I supported marriage equality and thought that the lives of animals are worth just as much as humans. It has been several months and I still cannot overcome this anger and hatred that boils up inside of me when I see anything Christian. Right now at school I am learning about Christianity and just reading about it disgusts me beyond belief. I don't want to hate Christians but I don't know how to overcome this anger within me. Please help."

 Below is an excerpt of my answer.

"I am sorry to know about the unkind treatment you received from the Christian organisation for stating your beliefs that differ from theirs. I have had my fair share of being treated unkindly by some church members for believing differently from their mainstream church doctrines/teachings. I am no longer attending any church services today.

I have come to learn that it is okay to feel angry at them. Acknowledging our anger and hatred towards them for mistreating us (instead of suppressing our emotions) is actually a step towards finding healing and ensuring our emotions do not control us in the long run.

I would say our anger is directed not so much at Christians as it is towards what they represent. Some are more open-minded and gracious than others, and it so happened we have encountered the more close-minded ones. I can understand that having been hurt by them, anything that is associated with Christianity would leave a bad taste in your mouth, and you would naturally want to stay away from it as far as you can.

At a deeper level, I personally would want to see everyone as human beings, whether they call themselves Christians or otherwise, as I have come to see that Christianity is only a belief system like all other belief systems. One man's orthodoxy is another man's heresy, as the saying goes. Our beliefs about God are ultimately personal and subjective. I think this view helps me to see them from a bigger perspective and realise that the way the adherents in a particular religion treats others is mostly a result of incessant indoctrination by their system, and they were only projecting the bias and prejudices they have been taught onto us who were unfortunate enough to be in their presence at that time.

In the meantime, in order to overcome your hatred towards them, I think writing your thoughts in a journal or blog helps. Even as I am sharing my thoughts in my answer, I am helping myself to articulate my thoughts regarding Christianity at this point of my journey in life. Talking with trusted friends helps too, as we all need support and safe outlets to ventilate our thoughts and emotions."

Is "original sin" a christian theology?

Actually, I think the sin theology was derived from the Jews, and the early Christians probably borrowed (and adapted or modified) the idea of original sin from Judaism. I have come to see the bible as a collection of myths borrowed from various ancient cultures, and somewhere along the way thousands of years ago, the sin concept was probably borrowed by the Jews from some of the ancient traditions that revolve around sin, atonement and sacrifices.

Until the day Jesus arrived in the scene, the Jews were still hung up about sin and sacrificial system. The Pharisees especially looked down on others as sinners. Although I have come to see Jesus as a mythological character, I do see his purpose in helping people to see themselves not as sinners but beloved children of God. He told them the kingdom of God is within them. If they were sinners, then this statement makes no sense. The fact that the kingdom of God is in us means we are all beloved and innocent children of God. While Jesus have used the term sinner in his parables, I believe he was only using their lingo to speak their language. But essentially Jesus wanted everyone to know that we and the Father are one, and we are already blameless and without spot, wrinkle or any such thing.