Most people on planet Earth are religious, and you could argue that spirituality is an intrinsic part of the human experience. For many folks around the world, religion is their way to connect to community, tradition, morality, and meaning.
However, like all things in life, even organized religion has its dark side. So much so that instead of attracting followers, some pastors push their most loyal believers away. Inspired by internet user u/PizzaBliAnanas, some formerly devout people took to r/AskReddit to share the reasons why they lost their faith and left their religions. From greed to corruption, scroll down for a peek into how bad things can get in some communities.
#1
A lady explaining to me that my dog that just died wouldn't be in heaven waiting for me, since a dog can't accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
I'd rather be in hell and have my dog, lady.
I'd rather be in hell and have my dog, lady.
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207points
#2
When stillborn babies, who were not baptized, were buried under the hedge near the cemetery, because they could not be buried in the cemetery itself. F**k such a heartless religion.
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181points
#3
No going outside without a man, no wearing what I want, no makeup, no music, no life, I'm cursed day and night by everyone, when I open a book, podcasts, or TV channels all they do is telling me how I'm the reason of all evil because I'm female, how I'm nothing, inferior, dumb..etc
Oh news flash, 100% of Islamic countries are ruled by Muslim men and they are corrupted, no one helped Palestine, they're the most misogynistic countries BUT hey let us just ignore these and focus on your tantalising lipgloss b***h!
It's completely weird how religion honoured women but all I see are privileges for men, it seems like religion is a bunch of rules women must adhere to, while men must just make sure women follow those rules
Polygamy for men
Inheritance for men
Control for men
I can't go to heaven unless I obey my husband, not the other way
If I don't fulfil his desire I'm going straight to hell
He can beat me
Lock me in the house
I must obey my husband more than my father
.
.
.
.
Long list
Anyway just be a girl and live in an islamic society, you will be their source of all evil, if the economy goes down It's my fault, if I got SA it's my fault, if Omar got sick it's my fault...etc.
Oh news flash, 100% of Islamic countries are ruled by Muslim men and they are corrupted, no one helped Palestine, they're the most misogynistic countries BUT hey let us just ignore these and focus on your tantalising lipgloss b***h!
It's completely weird how religion honoured women but all I see are privileges for men, it seems like religion is a bunch of rules women must adhere to, while men must just make sure women follow those rules
Polygamy for men
Inheritance for men
Control for men
I can't go to heaven unless I obey my husband, not the other way
If I don't fulfil his desire I'm going straight to hell
He can beat me
Lock me in the house
I must obey my husband more than my father
.
.
.
.
Long list
Anyway just be a girl and live in an islamic society, you will be their source of all evil, if the economy goes down It's my fault, if I got SA it's my fault, if Omar got sick it's my fault...etc.
178points
Statista reports that 31.6% of the global population identified as Christian in 2022, followed by 25.8% as Muslims, and 15.1% as Hindu. Buddhism and Judaism (6.6% and 0.2% of the global population) also rank among the top five major religions of the world. Meanwhile, 14.4% of all people on Earth weren’t affiliated with any religion.
Though it’s impossible to predict the future with a high degree of certainty, we can look at certain trends to more or less gauge in what direction things are moving. By the year 2050, the landscape of world religions is likely to undergo some noticeable changes. For one, the number of Muslims in the world will almost catch up to the number of Christians due to demographic developments.
#4
When I was 14 my brother got AIDS. He hid his diagnosis from everyone, he didn't want people to know he was gay. All the while I was forced to go to a church that ranted against gay people. When he died because he'd hid his diagnosis so long from everyone, and would rather die than put that on his name or our family name in our very redneck town, I had to listen to them tell us that gay people go to hell, while also hosting my brother's funeral.
I still have nights just thinking about my brother dying.. knowing he was dying, dying alone because he was scared of the judgment. Knowing he could never tell us how he really felt, admit if he was scared, tell us what he really wanted us to know before he went. He never got to be himself. We never got to really know him.
First they told us it was hepatitis, then they told us it was cancer. Then he had kaposi's sarcoma, I think my mom knew by then but my dad and the rest of our community, and our extended families just wouldn't have accepted it. I still to this day have family members who just say he died of cancer.
My brother was a good guy. He didn't deserve that. When I saw how they treated a normal innocent person who I cared about who was really no different than me, I knew it was all b******t. All just made up stories to control people.
My other brother was gay as well and the minute he turned 17, he ran away from home. That's just how bad it was around us.
After the torment both my brothers went through, my mom became a home hospice nurse for AIDS patients and she's been a staunch advocate for LGBT+ and pretty much my entire family as well.
The messages churches are sending out about trans people is the same exact rulebook, the same b******t bullet points they usedd in the Bush era when gay marriage was being proposed, when gay men were getting hate crimed.
I still have nights just thinking about my brother dying.. knowing he was dying, dying alone because he was scared of the judgment. Knowing he could never tell us how he really felt, admit if he was scared, tell us what he really wanted us to know before he went. He never got to be himself. We never got to really know him.
First they told us it was hepatitis, then they told us it was cancer. Then he had kaposi's sarcoma, I think my mom knew by then but my dad and the rest of our community, and our extended families just wouldn't have accepted it. I still to this day have family members who just say he died of cancer.
My brother was a good guy. He didn't deserve that. When I saw how they treated a normal innocent person who I cared about who was really no different than me, I knew it was all b******t. All just made up stories to control people.
My other brother was gay as well and the minute he turned 17, he ran away from home. That's just how bad it was around us.
After the torment both my brothers went through, my mom became a home hospice nurse for AIDS patients and she's been a staunch advocate for LGBT+ and pretty much my entire family as well.
The messages churches are sending out about trans people is the same exact rulebook, the same b******t bullet points they usedd in the Bush era when gay marriage was being proposed, when gay men were getting hate crimed.
164points
#5
Asking me for a paystub to verify I was actually tithing 10%. Pastor was driving a new Cadillac. Gtfo.
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132points
#6
I was in the church youth group. A boy I had a big crush on bragged about his summer vacation activities. He and his brother visited their cousins in Texas. They liked to go out and find homosexuals to beat up as a fun family activity, like visiting an amusement park.
We went to different schools. I had gay friends at my school. He and his brother were huge. Everyone else was very impressed and congratulated him for being such a good christian. I was horrified and stopped going to church not long afterwards.
We went to different schools. I had gay friends at my school. He and his brother were huge. Everyone else was very impressed and congratulated him for being such a good christian. I was horrified and stopped going to church not long afterwards.
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126points
“The changes in population sizes of each religious group is largely dependent on demographic development, for example, the rise in the world's Christian population will largely be driven by population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Muslim populations will rise across various regions of Africa and South Asia,” Statista states.
“As India’s population is set to grow while China’s goes into decline, this will be reflected in the fact that Hindus will outnumber the unaffiliated by 2050. In fact, India may be home to both the largest Hindu and Muslim populations in the world by the middle of this century.”
#7
I'm a young woman in her twenties and I just happen to have a close friend who is a young man, he isn't my husband he is just my friend. Sometimes I do spend time alone with him, just talking.
I got judged for that. I got called a wh*re for having a male friend. I no longer hang out with the mormons.
I got judged for that. I got called a wh*re for having a male friend. I no longer hang out with the mormons.
117points
#8
Not to sound like an elitist snob but literally just becoming more educated. Learning the history and evolution of various religions, the history of mankind as a whole, seeing patterns of how religions are used and contorted to control groups of people or to allow great atrocities to occur, seeing the embedded misogyny and racism within various religions etc. and most of all, the hypocrisy of the religious.
114points
#9
I left when I was 15. It had been a long time coming but I did have a final catalyst.
Backstory: my sister is 9 years younger than me, and she is my 'half sister.' Our mom and her dad were not married when she was born.
She came home from Vacation Bible Scool in tears because they told her than since she was born out of wedlock she was going to automatically go to hell. She was six f-ing years old!!! Who the hell tells a first grader they're going to burn for all eternity because their parents weren't married when they boned?!?!
I marched down there and gave them a piece of my mind, told them what I really thought of them and their church, and told my mom we were never going back there.
My mom still went, my siblings and I did not.
Backstory: my sister is 9 years younger than me, and she is my 'half sister.' Our mom and her dad were not married when she was born.
She came home from Vacation Bible Scool in tears because they told her than since she was born out of wedlock she was going to automatically go to hell. She was six f-ing years old!!! Who the hell tells a first grader they're going to burn for all eternity because their parents weren't married when they boned?!?!
I marched down there and gave them a piece of my mind, told them what I really thought of them and their church, and told my mom we were never going back there.
My mom still went, my siblings and I did not.
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114points
Do you see yourselves as religious, dear readers? Have you ever lost your faith? What do you think could be done to push back against some of the greed and corruption that’s seen in parts of organized religion?
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments. Just remember to keep the discussion civil.
#10
Weirdo youth pastor went on a tirade about how your life is worthless if you're not converting people regularly (to a bunch of 13 year olds). My parents finally agreed that I didn't have to go to church anymore.
108points
#11
The first big thing was when I asked why girls couldn’t hold the priesthood. I was told by my Sunday school teacher that women aren’t worthy of power because of Eve’s “transgression”.
Learning that women had to wait in a sort of purgatory until a worthy man called them into Heaven. Then if you were married you would have to deal with afterlife polygamy.
Watching in disgust as the Bishop and congregation welcomed a pedophile back into the fold….
No regrets with leaving.
Learning that women had to wait in a sort of purgatory until a worthy man called them into Heaven. Then if you were married you would have to deal with afterlife polygamy.
Watching in disgust as the Bishop and congregation welcomed a pedophile back into the fold….
No regrets with leaving.
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106points
#12
Getting out in the community, really. The church I was raised in was one of those super strict ones that think women wearing pants was a huge issue. They would always preach about how gay people were sent here by satan. I started working with a company that had offices worldwide. The people came from a very diverse background that was somewhat bewildering to my sheltered, redneck self. I got to know and become friends with not just one, but tons of gay people. I just couldn't go to that church anymore. These nice gay folks were spending their days off volunteering at the local foodbanks, helping the homeless and this church thinks they are bad people. "demons"
I never saw a single person in that church do anything for the community.
I never saw a single person in that church do anything for the community.
97points
#13
At my dad's funeral, the pastor told us that we'll never see our dad again if we don't get right with God & start going to church. That was the final straw.
94points
#14
The priest asked us to pray for “Christian prisoners of war” and my 13 y/o brain was like hold up why only the Christian ones?? It was like in that moment I realized that everything in the Church had this explicit or implicit coating of “our way is the only way and everyone who isn’t us is wrong/bad/a sinner/undeserving” and I didn’t like that at all.
87points
#15
There wasn't one. I asked questions that no religion has a good answer for. At first I was afraid of that. Then I decided that if there was a god and he was good, my faith shouldn't matter. Any god that would punish a person that is trying to be good with eternal torture just for disbelief is a monster and not good. That let me start exploring further and the questions began piling up. The first question I asked before that was "Why is my religion more correct than others'?".
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82points
#16
I left my church at 16. I’m now 37. It was a Southern Baptist church and the hypocrisy is what drove me away. The judging woman for not being a virgin. Referring to them as a used up piece of chewing gum if they have sex before marriage. The drinking is as bad as murder thing. I worked at a bar in college and some of these good god fearing people were regulars. Also, guess who has sex before marriage? They did. I’ve also been interested in science and was told that wasn’t lady like. My parents still attend that church and the new pastor is my age. They no longer preach the old timer ways but I won’t go back.
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78points
#17
My desire for truth outweighed my fear of leaving the faith.
66points
#18
My friend David grew up deeply religious, but doubts crept in over time. The turning point came when his close friend was ostracized by their church for being gay. David questioned how a faith that preached love could be so harsh. After trying and failing to find compassionate answers from church leaders, the final straw was a sermon on sin and punishment that conflicted with his beliefs about kindness. He walked out that day, knowing it was the end of his faith .. i supported him that day and still do.
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63points
#19
When the new pastor decided that we needed to move away from "Serving the local community" (inner city church) and move to "Knowing God."
The God I want to believe in is pretty straightforward that the main thing is to look after those in the community who are most disadvantaged. Screw theology, stick with service.
The God I want to believe in is pretty straightforward that the main thing is to look after those in the community who are most disadvantaged. Screw theology, stick with service.
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62points
#20
The pastor’s son groped me on the school bus. Next sermon was about forgiveness and the one after was about women staying chaste and not “tempting men to the devil”. A few months later, i was baptized there. The pastor grabbed my a*s. I was 12.
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62points