My parents never forced their beliefs on me when I was younger. They never told me which politicians were corrupt, if god was real, or anything of the sort. I now find myself agreeing with them on most fronts, though occasional disagreements are inevitable. So, my 'intellectual independence' is not so much from my parents, but from Kentucky.
Practically nobody in my family is religious, the closest resemblance being that my mom went to a private Catholic school. She told me that even when she was there she questioned the existence of god. Never being formally taught a religion led me to believe that god did not exist. When we moved to Kentucky, however, my seven-year old opinions on religion were challenged. Nearly everybody I met believed in god and would ask me if I did, to which I would always reply no and get weird glances. Maybe it was just elementary school ignorance, but people were inexplicably rude about what I viewed as a trivial matter. To me, it was like whether or not you believed in ghosts. Apparently I got lucky, though, as this was the extent of the reaction. My brother, a 6th grader at the time, was bullied and ridiculed by other kids simply for his views on religion. At that age, it was challenging for me to uphold a belief when everybody was telling me I was wrong and would probably end up in hell.
Though I still firmly believe that god does not exist, this experience caused me to mostly refrain from talking about religion. If it weren't for the lack of other challenges to my beliefs, I wouldn't even be writing about this topic. Even today, when I know plenty of people who accept my views on religion, I still avoid the matter as it always seems to spark conflict.
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