@pamela sooo much this.I come from a family big on Tradition, with a long line of pastors, and other church people. I spent a decade in various christian schools. I was a believer, for a little while, even considered joining that traditional line at some point.My trust started to crack in late high school, slowly, but it still held... until one day, in religious studies class: we had a book of questions & answers, "what do you believe when... blah blah blah"-style. Teacher asked a classmate (a good friend, and the DM of or RPG group): "what do you believe when...?", and when he asked back: "what I believe, or what the book does?" - that is when my world shattered.Not because of this reply, but due to the teacher's unhinged fury. With all the little cracks amplified, my trust was gone, and with it, my faith. Over the next few weeks, with the rose tinted glasses gone, I went over all the shit I've seen over the years. All the betrayals, all the brainwashing, the grooming, the abuse, just to have more and more power. I was disgusted, suddenly realizing that words and actions were in stark opposition.Took many years to get to a stage where I don't lash out on anyone trying to talk religion with me. Three decades later, it is still hard not to, and I still feel profoundly betrayed, because breaking up with the church also meant losing my religion.
