Firstly if you are not an Atheist don't bother posting here. For all Atheist, what made you question your faith and leave your religion? Were you raised such or did some event change you?
As child i was raised as atheist and in school was taught the evolution theory. At around age 12 started to get involved with reading the bible and going to religious gatherings were they spreed the word of Jesus. However a year latter a few of my friends started going to the mosque that just opened so i joined them and no longer wen to the bible preachings. All these religions were brand new in the country that i grow up because it was under communism for around 45 years and practicing religion was no allowed. There were no mosques or churches anywhere with the exception of few that were turned in to museums. After the fall of communism hundreds of religious organizations came over to try to convert people and start the religious brainwashing process. At the time i was exited to find out what religion was all about. I was going to the mosque every day and i was taught the Arabic alphabet and managed to learned how to read the Quran in Arabic ( which i still remember ) . I also read the translation in my native language to understand what i was saying in Arabic. A year after going to the mosque daily i was offered a scholarship to study abroad at a medresa instead of public school. After the four years of religious school the scholarship included the option of studying in a secular university in Turkey for a degree of my choice. Turkey has some really good universities that are recognized in Europe and that convinced my parents to let me go there. So at age 14 i went to live in a dorm room in Turkey and go to the Muslim school there. During the whole time that i practice religion i always had questions and doubted the religions teachings when it came to how the universe was formed, how long did it take god for it to be formed and also i could never understand why god wanted us to pray to him/she so much. 5 times a day. It was out of control . It seemed to me that i was spending a huge portion of my day praying and preparing for it. Also i could never come to terms with the idea of the whole human population was started by two people. The more i looked in to my doubts the more i realized that the whole religion idea is a big scam to control peoples mind and also to bring huge revenues to the people in charge. I ended out dropping out of the medressa after two years and i went back home. Shortly after that i had the opportunity to move and live in USA. To give some credit to the Muslim school that i went : I was never taught to hate non Muslims , never taught anything that had to do with Jihad. I was never taught the bed side of the the shariah law. Never taught that man should control and sometimes beat woman. That particular school was focused in only positive aspects of the Islam and not so much on what happens if you break the rules of religion. I heave recently been somewhat active in this section of the forum and as an ex Muslim cannot believe the shit that comes out of the mouths of some Muslims here.
For me it was just logic. I was working in the shop one day and, unrelated to whatever project I was working on, my mind concluded that there was no god. I checked and rechecked my logic a few times and then the issue was settled. It took me several years after that to complete the process of dealing with all of the consequences of that realization. My life at that time was built around the church, and the church had been one of the few positive influences in my life up to that time. But, wishing for something don't make it so.
Had a natural aversion the idea of a God because I saw it linked to religion which I knew was such nonsense and contained some bigoted homophobic stuff which I knew was wrong. Believing in God seemed so pointless so I didn't, and don't. Just remembered this. Here's a video from an Australian Atheist comedian: [video=youtube;0ghIU_tlX0k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ghIU_tlX0k[/video]
I've been an Atheist forever more or less, with brief periods of curiosity or Agnostic beliefs when I was quite young. My mother isn't religious, although she thinks there must be a God because she had "three perfect daughters" - myself, my twin sister and then our younger sister. Growing up I did choose to go to church with a friend of the family a few times, just as a learning experience. I read the bible a few times, again, for the experience and for knowledge, then various other religious books before finally reading the Qu'ran when I was about 13 or 14, and again when I was 17 or 18. I think that up until the second reading I was still willing to be open to a God existing, just not a good like what any organized religion believes in. After that however I realized that these books were not only written by man, but also written FOR man as the ultimate way to control and to do whatever they desired - like in the Qu'ran, polygamy (no polyamory) wife beating, sex with kids, etc. - all of this things are evil desires the writer wanted to make acceptable. If there were a God who was all powerful I don't believe such evil could exist in the world. There are plenty of other reasons but that was the real turning point where I reached that level of certainty. Plus, in being an Atheist, I don't feel any pressure to do anything I don't feel comfortable with simply because someone tells me to. If there were a God, Atheists would truly be the chosen people - because despite being non believers we do what is right out of our own conviction and conscience - not out of fear of a god, a hell or a community. ^-^;