How many here are descended from ministers' families

[demnan]

and does that contribute to your being an atheist?

My grandmother, my Mom's mother, was the first atheist in the family. She came from a long line of ministers, many abolishionists, and in fact was directly descended from Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most famous evangical ministers of the 19th century and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe. My grandmother was a quiet atheist and would only say to her children, "come on, you don't really believe that stuff, do you?"

The way my mother tells it, New York State and Pennsylvania are crawling with her relatives and many, many are ministers in the Methodist church.

[progressoid]

1. Not descended but...

My mother-in-law is going to classes to become a "lay-minister", what ever that is.

One uncle is a retired minister and recent GOP convert.

My brother nearly went to the seminary during his mid-life crisis.

Jeez, this is depressing to think about. Most of my immediate family is way too religious.

[Longhorn]

7. My mother is a lay minister in the Disciplies of Christ Church.

It's one of the more liberal churches, though she's definitely a Republican. She was in charge of their outreach program, which meant working with Habitat for Humanity and other community programs. She also does weddings and occasionally did part of the church services. She's 72 and mostly retired now but she did all of this in the last ten years so I wasn't "raised" by a minister.

[Discord]

2. both of my grandparents served on the

eccumenical council for over 30 years.

They were never ministers, but were very active in the church.

It did not affect me as to my final choice.

Even being raised Methodist, I always was one to ask lots of obvious questions during bible study, and never felt satisfied with the answers.

[AndyP]

3. my aunt is a catholic nun

I went to a catholic school until highschool. It was probably for the best though, I started asking too many questions:)

[Bzzzz]

4. I have 2 Aunts...

3 uncles, who are ministers; 1 aunt & uncle who are missionaries on a Indian reservation in AZ; A deceased father-in-law who was a retired preacher; a brother-in-law who's recently received the calling to be a minister; and a sister and sister-in-law, and mother-in-law that are ate up with their christianity. Hubby and I are theists...makes for interesting family get-togethers...needeless to say we are considered the 'wierd' ones!

[Bzzzz]

5. Atheists...not 'theists'...

sorry...finger farts this morning!!

[FiveGoodMen]

8. I thought I'd win this one, but you've got me beat

I've got (had) a minister grandfather, a missionary uncle, an uncle who was head of his Baptist conference in Iowa, a cousin who was a minister for a while, a cousin who married a preacher (and I MEAN PREACHER! This guy sounded like a tent-revivalist at my uncle's funeral!) Also, Three aunts who sang and made records of hymns...one of whom was proud to have attended Bob Jones U.

I also had a cousin who was so impressed with the rich people at his church that he plotted to kill his folks, get the insurance and start his rise to great wealth as some kind of investor. He got as far as killing his folks, got caught, claimed insanity, delayed the trial for years, and then died of leukemia.

Don't you think if there WAS a god, he'd have given my cousin the leukemia BEFORE he murdered his folks?

Maybe that was a related story...maybe not.

[Bzzzz]

14. Wow...

your story sounds like it would be more 'exciting', if that's the best I can describe it ;) I forgot about my cousins that have followed in mom and dad's shoes...at least 7 that I can think of. <sigh> I'm so glad I'm who I am...:)

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. One grandfather was an Anglican cleric

and an aunt on that side an Anglican nun. But I wouldn't say they contributed to me being an atheist. If there was a family influence on that, it was the other side of the family - some Plymouth Brethren (originators of the Rapture bollocks), and a great great grandfather who was a congregationalist minister - and who wrote a book seriously trying to prove the earth was flat (because it says so in the Bible, basically). Read some of that, and you'll never take a cleric seriosuly again.

[progressoid]

11. A Flat-earther - - Cool!

That's almost as good as being a Realian. (sp)

[onager]

9. Makes me feel like SINGING...

Dr. Demento used to play this cheerful ditty about religious families...

Take off your clothes, let me see what it is that your hiding
And don't look so shocked, you have nothing to fear from my eyes

My daddy is a priest, you know
And I am not a beast, you know
I just want to love...

So take off your clothes and stand naked as nature intended
And I'll take off mine, just to show you that I'm in good faith

Well now you can see, it isn't as bad as all that
So lie on the bed, and I'll talk of my unhappy childhood

My daddy is the Pope, you know
And I just want to grope, you know
I just want to feel...

It will not hurt I promise you that, cross my heart
The first time is always the best, you can ask anybody
Ask your mother!

Well how can you say that I brought you here just for one purpose?
There are thousands of girls I could get, if I just wanted that

How does it feel now that you are no longer a maiden?
What do you mean? You want more? And you want it right now? Oh my god!

I just want to sleep...

What? Again? It's been three times! Christ almighty! What do you think I am, an engine? Oh no, but here we go again...

[beam me up scottie]

15. You're a sick fuck, Onager,

you know that?

[onager]

16. Well, I TRY...

:blush:

[fshrink]

10. I descend from an ape-like being. Does that count?

[trotsky]

12. No clergy in my family for several generations.

But I *have* tracked down a number of freethinkers in my family tree...

[Stuckinthebush]

13. Father

Presbyterian Minister (PCUSA)

[DavidDvorkin]

17. My father is a rabbi

Now retired. He and my mother convinced themselves that I'd go into the same line of work.

I'm sure I'd have become an atheist in any case, but I think the early exposure to religion and its hypocrises and the pressure to follow in his footsteps speeded up the process of losing my religious belief.

[beam me up scottie]

18. How are they taking it?

nt

[DavidDvorkin]

19. My mother died last summer

But not because I'm an atheist! Old age -- she was 91.

I told her decades ago that I was an atheist, and she had come to more or less accept it, although I think she hoped to the end that I would come back to the fold. For a long time, she insisted that I wasn't an atheist but just a non-practicing Jew.

My father is now 96 and still going strong, at least mentally. We never talk about religion, but I have the impression that he's forgotten that I'm an atheist, or has managed to forget it. It's not something I bring up.