de-conversion

De-Christianizing After De-Conversion?

One of the things I noticed not long after becoming an atheist was how much christianity and religion is soaked into the fabric of society.

Here are a few glaring examples:

• Taking Sundays off
• Blue States where they won’t sell alcohol on Sundays
• Saying “bless you” when someone sneezes
• Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, All Saints Day, etc., etc….
• Common expressions like oh my god, jesus!, jesus christ, damnit, damn, holy anything, etc., etc…

As an atheist, I wonder, is it necessary to remove and de-christianize ourselves as much as possible? My husband sneezed this morning and I said “bless you.” It’s a habit to say it. I apologized and said, “you’re so good looking” instead. (A Seinfeld episode reference.)

Saying “bless you” is a very old superstition. Is it really necessary to say it when we are trying to rid ourselves of this woo thinking?

For holidays, I find that it’s a time to get together with family. Since I’ve gone godless, I wish people happy holidays, not merry christmas, and so on. Most people don’t even notice. But for me, I find that it’s important to de-christianize my thoughts, actions and words…

Continue Reading May 3, 2009 at 12:37 pm neece 69 comments