Transitioning from atheism to religion is a gradual, intricate journey. While some converts find inner peace in faith, others discover the meaning and purpose of religion in life. Here are why former atheists chose to embark on a spiritual journey and how it changed their lives.
Table of Contents
Found Comfort and Hope
A former atheist faced a challenge from a Christian coworker. The coworker encouraged him to read the Book of John openly and welcomed him to a church service. Upon reading the book and witnessing specific outcomes, this convert profound shift to believing in God began.
Community and Belonging
At 18, one convert was influenced by his father to join a church choir during Christmas. The cozy atmosphere and welcoming believers intrigued him. Exploring Sunday school, he found patience, answers, and a sense of community.
A strong sense of belonging to a religious community influenced his shift from atheism. He found deep resonance in the community’s connection and shared purpose.
Childhood Faith
Another convert grew up with a Pentecostal father and a Baptist mother, so he went to both churches. His belief was rooted in fear, fueled by the potent imagery of fire and brimstone instilled in a child’s impressionable mind.
He strongly believed in the concept of being judged by a higher power. This fear shaped how he saw religion and influenced the choices he made in his life.
Outgrew Self-Centered Perspectives
A profound shift in perspective marked one of the new believer’s transition from atheism to religion. Having outgrown self-centered views, he embarked on a journey to rediscover faith. After spending time traveling, he learned that faith includes more than just personal experiences. It also involves communal and transcendent dimensions.
He embraced religion to understand existence’s interconnectedness and find a more significant purpose. He changed his personal beliefs and now sees life differently, with faith playing a central role.
Found Their True Self
Another believer used to be skeptical and didn’t believe in anything supernatural. It wasn’t until he turned 24 that something happened that made him change his mind entirely about religion. Convinced of the reality of enlightenment, he dedicated his life to experiencing religion again and making it a permanent state.
Love Influence
Love can also play a role in shifting one’s beliefs. One convert narrates how he witnessed his coworker change from atheism to Jehovah’s Witness due to love. The coworker was initially an atheist, but everything changed when he met his girlfriend, who convinced him to abandon atheism for religion.
Today, the two lovebirds are happily married and are strong in religion. This portrays the transformative power of love on one’s belief system.
Divine Intervention
At first, one convert didn’t believe in religion because of personal tragedies. But during a Navy deployment, he ended up at a church service.
He felt sick and wanted to leave, but found comfort in a Humvee and started crying. In a surreal encounter, he felt he was directly conversing with God. This challenged his atheistic beliefs.
After returning to the service tent, his mates talked about a powerful prayer experience that made him believe in the divine encounter. Since that day, he hasn’t been able to deny the reality of God, and the answers received during that moment forever shaped his belief.
Influence From Jordan B. Peterson’s Teachings
Another convert began following Jordan Peterson, who taught him about psychology, symbolism, and religion. From Peterson’s teachings, it became clear that religion had significantly more depth than he had thought.
He knew religious texts could be hard to understand because they were written before science. He learned the first step to understanding religion is recognizing how we see the world.
Embraced Belief
Another convert was influenced by a scientist who once suggested that striving to believe in God is worthwhile. The essence: if you’re right, there’s everything to gain; if you’re wrong, there’s nothing to lose.
Read the Bible
Another person grew up a Christian and drifted away to atheism when teachings didn’t align with his heart. Later in life, he found himself rereading the Bible during tough times. He focused on Jesus’ words and discovered a man portraying unconditional love for people.
The more he read the bible, the clearer it became that the Bible critiques hateful religious people.
Research and Exploration
An ex-atheist went through a typical religious journey, with his parents bringing him up in a religious background. However, as a teenager, he became a rebellious atheist influenced by friends. Later on, he became a wandering college student looking to learn more about faith and religion.
After much research and exploration, he found his faith and began to believe. His beliefs slowly became clear to him, rather than suddenly reaching a turning point.
His atheist friends weren’t happy with his newfound faith. They were bothered by his turnaround and almost ended their relationship but finally agreed to leave him alone.
Peer Pressure
Another convert changed her beliefs from being an atheist to believing in God because of her friends’ influence. With most of her friends being believers, she decided to reconsider her lack of belief in God. The peer pressure and a desire to fit in were too much, so she eventually embraced religion to be like the others.
Source: Reddit
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