I had nothing but positive experiences with my Catholic upbringing. I was pleasantly sure that all that I was told was true and that to doubt any of it was a sin. It was a long, difficult and sometimes unpleasant road to go from that to the point where I could finally allow myself to conclude that it was all made up. I came to this conclusion based on research and lots if thinking about how, when and why the Bible was written and how, when and why various other religions came to be over the course of human history. I saw the history of religion controlling the masses and inflicting many evils on the world, almost always while preaching love and peace out of the side of its mouth. I finally realized, to my relief, that I'd been duped!
Mostly, I value truth through logic. Religion, in my opinion, is the antithesis of that. I find myself becoming angry when people use it to justify discrimination or violence against others.
I would never throw any of what I spew here in the face of your grandmother or any grieving person. I don't talk about religion in "real life", except occasionally with like-minded individuals, because I think it's disrespectful, ineffective and ultimately pointless. I see the demographics changing across our country and that's enough to keep me happy.
I talk about it a lot here because it helps me refine my thoughts on the subject and get it out of my system. Plus, you guys are a bunch of a-holes anyway, so why should I care about offending you?
No, I've never been !@#$ed by a priest, so I guess I'm in the minority there. Whew!