Can a Person Be Born to Reject Religion?

Recently when my grandfather passed away I seemed to have a more difficult time dealing with it. To me, death is a final end. There is no sweet reunion awaiting us is some lofty heaven and there is no such thing as a visitation from his presence. While some will find this lack of faith to be sad and somewhat evil, there's really nothing I can do about it. It seems as though my brain is so science minded it simply cannot accept anything that cannot be logically proven.

Although I am content with who I am, this fact got me thinking - if 95% of the people I know believe in the afterlife associated with their religion, why don't I? Was I born this way? Or did some life event cause my inability to believe in anything that cannot be seen on logically explained?

Studies have suggested that although all of our brains are wired the same, what we do with them may choose what we believe. People who engage in mental work, such as university professors or scientists, use their brains more and are on average much more likely to be an atheist. It is also suggested that atheists, whether it is due to their beliefs or to the mental work, live longer than those who have an established faith do.

Now we all know "research" can be done to prove just about anything, but is there any truth to this? I know I did not set out and decide to become an Atheist. After all, wouldn't life be easier for me if I could just imagine my loved ones relaxing in the afterlife waiting for me? Why would I willingly choose to believe, or rather not believe, in anything? Faith has been proven time and time again to create an overall sense of well being in most people. Choosing to rebel against this may appear to be a choice, but in reality it is not. For me, beliefs are something engraved into my personality, my "soul". They are not a conscious choice, rather a product of both nature and nurture.

As a child I was developmentally ahead of my peers. I say developmentally ahead rather than "smarter" because intelligence can mean a lot of different things. I was just far ahead the grade level work they were giving me, and eventually evened out in that department. My mother chose to nurture my need to learn by teaching me at home rather than have me skip grades or change schools. She fed my need to learn by allowing me to explore anything I had interest in. I was constantly reading and received things like microscopes and chemistry sets for Christmas.

As I grew older I eventually made my communion at the local Catholic Church and wore a gold cross. I never questioned "god" and in fact the first story I ever wrote as a young child was about Jesus and a firefly. When my parents divorced at age 10, my mother volunteered to work as a teacher for the religion classes. This volunteer work was in exchange for my brother and I to attend since she didn't have the money to pay for us. They used her for the semester of teaching and right before it ended told her she'd have to come up with $300 for each one of us or we'd have to leave. We left the church and never returned or spoke of it again.

By the time high school came, I was deeply involved in extra-curricular activities such as drama, the school newspaper and the marching band. However, I frequently cut class and rebelled against society in both behavior and attitude. It seemed I believed in a different kind of intelligence and was a free spirited child who also needed direction and discipline. Somehow I ended up going away to college, paying my own way while being the only kid in the dormitories working a full-time job.

So as you can see, there are arguments here for both sides. Would I still have my faith in God had the church not shunned us at an early age? Or was my information seeking mind so busy with learning concrete facts that it bypassed the hard drive it came with?

Logically it seems as though I would have to accept both answers as being possibly correct since neither can be proven. However, I do not believe this is the case. The religion my mother first introduced me to was learned, and then taken away. In fact, we are all born Atheist until we are taught a faith either by association or later in life, by choice. The question that remains is why am I still an Atheist?

Suggesting that my childhood experience caused my inability to believe also suggests that as an adult I have no choice in what I believe. Assuming I was "born" an Atheist also suggests there is no choice involved. Either way logically proves that being an Atheist really is not a choice but offers no information as to why this occurred in my mind and not in the minds of the rest of the church going world.

Like the rest of us, I won't truly know what happens when I die until the time actually comes. In the meantime I will continue to use my mind to learn as much as I can while trying to remain open-minded about it.