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I think people become Atheists for a number of reasons. Some come to realize that Agnosticism is a better description of their beliefs, and others return to religion with a modified perspective, while some will remain Atheists.

Here are some of the main reasons I see for people rejecting the idea of God:

1. Many people just can't see the stories of religious miracles as anything more than fairy tales for grown-ups. For these skeptics, walking on water, raising the dead, curing blindness and turning water into wine may be too reminiscent of Santa Claus stopping at every single house on the planet in one night.

2. Some look at the world, which is full of war, suffering, poverty, disease and general despair, and can not believe that a "loving God" can be overseeing such a mess. These people ask, "How could a loving God allow so much evil?".

3. Some see all of the bloody wars fought in the name of religion and decide that the whole institution must be wicked. Although both Christianity and Islam condemn unjust killing, the faithful of these religions seem to have a loose interpretation of what constitutes a "just" killing.

4. Some people see contradictions between religious texts and scientific knowledge and take that as evidence that religion is false. One example is the fact that the Bible says that the Earth is 6,000 years old, while geologists know that it took millions of years for the Colorado River to carve the Grand Canyon.

Learn more about this author, Billy Sunshine.
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