Quote:
Originally Posted by Knalus
Yeah, I wonder how religious you would be if you were raised by a nice christian family when you were younger, then were exposed to Atheism in your 20's. You'd probably still be religious, but that's a question that will never be answered.
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I question your assumption here.
I suspect most North American atheists
were raised in religious families (this would be an interesting subject for a poll). Anecdotally, most non-believers I know were formerly religious but lost the faith as they got older and learned critical thinking skills rather than unquestionably accepting authority (e.g. parents and religious leaders).
This is mainly a matter of demographics, though. Until the past few decades, virtually everyone in North America practiced religion (predominantly Christianity). So if someone became an atheist, they were almost certainly born into a religious family.
Now more people, especially those belonging to the younger generations, are abandoning their family's religious beliefs. I would not be surprised if religion in Canada resembled Scandinavia within a few decades.