BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Atheist Atheists and Fathers

I guess I'm not that deep. "Spirituality" for me is enjoying my diet coke and danish that I pick up on the way to work each morning. <shrug>

Buddhism does make a lot of sense, but for their written and ingrained denigration of women. Just another example of what happens when spirituality becomes institutionalized and patriarchal.

My mom was a regular church-goer, and as children, my brothers and I were dressed up in our Sunday best and made to go to church every week. For the most part, I think we enjoyed it, but as I got to understand more about the church as I got older, I grew increasingly disillusioned with it.

My dad is an athiest. He only went to church when nagged by my mother.

Oddly enough, when we moved to another city, away from my maternal grandparents, my mom stopped going to church. She still claims to have Christian beliefs, but she doesn't generally talk about religion or do Bible study or pray or anything.

I consider myself to be more agnostic. My older brother is a staunch athiest. My younger brother is not religious, but I can't really say for sure what he believes.

So I think the influence in this case actually came more from my maternal grandparents than anything else. They were the reason that we went to church. Once we were not living near them any longer, we found it easier to slack off from church, and from there, my beliefs just kind of gradually dissipated into what they are now.

I have some differences with Buddhism, but one thing I really do like, and this is no real shock, is the idea basically expressed as: "You can't control what others do, but you do have absolute control over how it gets to you and how you react to it."
I think that was a very good definition of "spiritual" as I understand it.
If I were to use the word to refer to myself, it would only ever mean something more like "spirited", as in tuned into my passions, but if I used it for someone else, it would mean something a lot like your definition.
Diet Coke and a danish- now that's heaven.
But that sounds shallower than I mean it. I do think any moment can be spiritual, most especially that little pleasurable one.
I was coming home a while ago with some Bach (Double Violin Concerto, Vivace), and I had one of those incredibly clear-brained moments in which I can hear every nuance of a piece of music. It's very calm, and I feel- though I hesitate to use this word for some of its associations- expanded. I get that wrapped up with other things fairly often, but I love it when it happens with music. That's my spiritual something for the day.

I prefer to use the term "metaphysical" instead of "spiritual", and that's exactly what both words mean for me: everything that is beyond the (ordinary) physical, both extending my physical sensations, and incorporating mental, etc sensations, along with the occasional feeling of appreciation and connectedness to nature, other people and living creatures, the universe, etc (but this last bit is the Pagan part of me showing up).

we are surely affected.

Nature vs Nurture.

I think most people put a heavy weight on nurture, but I think Atheist have a special gene. It is related to whatever governs independance. Atheists do not readily accept oversight and tend to be naturally skeptical.

I was raised Catholic. It has one of the most comprehensive indoctrination infrastructures in our world today. They know how to manipulate and control a person's will better than almost any other religion out there. Yet, I began to question the religion even before I knew what Atheism was.

It came naturally to me. No one persuaded or brainwashed me at the time and in fact I was still attending religion classand it was in religion class where I began to amalgamate my feelings of doubt. So, I think I have a predisposition to be a skeptic because no one ever taught me this.

My parents are still Catholic although I really wonder how much of it they really buy in to.

I think that's part of all of us, as it should be (removing, of course, the obstinance some attach to the word). Some just do away with believing it to be a relevant part.

My parents are catholic and attempted to indoctrinate me into the same. Sadly for them, I turned out to be a logical freethinking Maths graduate and at 13 yrs old argued my way out of going to church. To be honest, I don't think my Dad has any real faith, he was brought up in the fire and brimstone age of education in the UK, and goes to church to see his relatives more than anything else. I don't think children should be "brought up in a faith" they should be left alone until they have the intellect to decide for themselves, otherwise it's no better than brainwashing. I have no belief in any greater being(s)it's just wishful thinking to cope with the harsh reality of the world around, ironically made worse by religion!