If you were religious and aren't now, what made you lose faith?

[GerryJam]

Ive been fairly religious all my life.

But of late I am really struggling. I've been through a very shit life, hindered by a debilitating illness which has ruined all aspects of my life from health to career prospects. Life is a struggle mentally and im always skint too which doesn't help matters. Im nearing 40 and have watched friends and family flourish through life relatively unscathed and financially stable and with so many opportunities for themselves and children. Im happy for them.but it breaks me to think that I could have had similar if it wasn't for my health. I feel a failure and feel robbed of a life of what could have been. Mostly I feel so sad for my children whom I feel I've let down. Sometimes I feel that I shouldn't have had children. I can't give them what they deserve. Life has been so cruel to me from a very young age.

The last few years I've slowly stopped praying. I don't feel heard. I feel hurt and let down. I still believe but I am so distant from it all now.

Unfortunately I have made the mistake of putting DC into Catholic school.
The behaviours of church going head have Been disgraceful.

As a child watching my father attend church, then head to the pub and come home and beat us started the belief wavering.

Then at 18, watching my friend's lovely mum die painfully as my mate just touched adulthood. Since then- family member finding they were infertile, another having 2 children with serious and none genetic illnesses.
If god is all seeing and all powerful, how does this happen, alongside awful terrorist acts, famine, natural disasters- why isn't this powerful god letting us all live nice lives?
Much easier to belief in random chance and nature.

In retrospect I don’t think I ever truly believed, I found comfort in the church community and loved being a part of it so I really tried to believe but eventually came to the conclusion that it would be hypocritical to continue when I didnt agree with the teachings.

Oh and a god who will let people do awful things because of free will- but confess to a priest and say sorry? That's ok then.
That person is then deemed better than someone who never did the awful things in the first place.

Not clicked on the Stephen Fry link but I remember him ranting about worms in children's eyes and thinking, surely what's hideous is that we could heal those children easily but we'd prefer to spend the money on a frappucino

So what about all the horrible things we can't cure, @Trainsong? Don't you think that things like pancreatic cancer, hydranencephaly and epidermolysis bulls are hideous?

I was a practising Catholic, married in a catholic church and my children attend a catholic school - my DH and I were fairly religious.

My faith had been waining for some time but one day in mass at the height of the Abuse scandal (I'm Scottish and accusations against Cardinal Keith O'Brien also were made roughly around the same time) and during the sermon the priest told us we should forgive those who were guilty of abusing children, they were misled, but as they have devoted their lives to god and do not deserve to be judged by ''man'' .. he also mentioned the cardinal's slight problem of throwing himself upon other priests.

It angered me that as an organisation the catholic church ostriches gay people, divorced people, people who have children out of marriage ... and they cannot be forgiven - yet in this priests mind - we should forgive paedophiles?

I was a practising Catholic, married in a catholic church and my children attend a catholic school - my DH and I were fairly religious.

My faith had been waining for some time but one day in mass at the height of the Abuse scandal (I'm Scottish and accusations against Cardinal Keith O'Brien also were made roughly around the same time) and during the sermon the priest told us we should forgive those who were guilty of abusing children, they were misled, but as they have devoted their lives to god and do not deserve to be judged by ''man'' .. he also mentioned the cardinal's slight problem of throwing himself upon other priests.

It angered me that as an organisation the catholic church ostriches gay people, divorced people, people who have children out of marriage ... and they cannot be forgiven - yet in this priests mind - we should forgive paedophiles?

DM was catholic, DF Hindu. Was dubious about the whole thing from a young age but really, I think it’s hard to combine a genuinely feminist impulse with adherence to organised religion.

My exH did horrible things and got away with everything. I stopped believing in god, justice, law, karma, police and the courts. I have never felt so alone in my life.

I had a strong faith before the above so tried to go back to church after a long while... I wish I had not bothered, just as I was starting to feeling comfortable with the community, a stupid woman who helped in the children Sunday classes and worked at DS new catholic school, complained to the priest that DS didn’t know the “Holy Father” prayer and that I was in church just for the place in the school, the priest confronted me about it. We had had a horrendous year and being faced with this situation just thought me that the god I do know is not one at the centre of this bitchy congregations, it is not one I can commander with prayers for help or to ask for what I wish... it is just one who I can thank when things go ok and hope he is watching over me, but I cannot longer pray, I do believe, but I have no faith.