This is still a DRAFT.
Write about how I was raised in a secular family, but I was drawn to learn about religions, because the rituals of various religions were intriguing. However, I was not drawn to join any of the existing religions because I couldn’t - I did not believe in some of their central beliefs. Including the religious tradition of my grandparents. Occasionally I would try to think about how I would design a new religion that is compatible with my worldview and beliefs.
Write about how I became an atheist at age 13. And I got convinced at age 20 there is no soul after I read the book The Mind’s I. From an early age, I noticed all the harm that religions have caused throughout the ages as well as today. So I became a person who is in favor of:
- rationalism
- philosophical materialism (including philosophical naturalism and metaphysical naturalism)
- scientism
- atheism
- antireligion.
I was influenced by the books about religion written by atheists.
Yet I was still fascinated by religions, especially their ceremonies, temples, and “holy artifacts”, and also especially the benefits that religious people got from their religion. So I started thinking about a religion-replacement designed for atheists (and I’m not the only one who thought about it, see e.g. Alain de Botton’s talk about “Atheism 2.0” here and here).
Also, I increasingly suffered from anxiety, because if only the material universe exists, and bad things may happen to me, and there is no inherent meaning and no spiritual forces that protect me, then life in this world is a very frightening experience. This was partly mitigated when I opened my mind to other spiritual possibilities.