God was a subject that hardly ever came up. I remember asking my dad once if he believed in a God, and he said that he didn't, but added "but you'll have to decide for yourself if YOU believe in a God or not at some point when you are older. What I believe shouldn't influence you in that decision."
Yes, the "golden rule" was how we were "taught" morality, though our parents would also always ask us "does that seem like the right thing to do?" because they knew that we would simply know if an action was right or wrong. Years later when I met my first fundamentalist (I went to liberal private schools as a kid, so I didn't meet any religious people until I was out of high school) and they asked me what prevented me from stealing and killing people it kind of freaked me out. I couldn't wrap my brain around the idea that they would think about doing such things if they didn't have the threat of eternal damnation hanging over them! Are they just sociopaths? Outright psychopaths? It's just bizarre.
Anyway, flash forward 30 years and my mom has gone from compassionate atheist to born again southern Baptist. The angry, judgmental, God fearing, hears-voices-in-her-head batshit crazy kind. I don't even know how to talk to her anymore, so I've cut off communication with her. I really wish things could be different between us, but how does anyone have a conversation with someone who believes that every thought that pops into her head is a directive from the almighty? That every good thing that happens to those around her is a result of her prayers, and every bad thing that happens is a result of the rest of us not praying properly? That war, torture, hunger, and poverty don't matter all that much because suffering is "good and noble" and brings people "closer to God", while porn, gambling, swearing, and sexuality in general are the great evils that need to be fought? If someone knows, then perhaps they'll fill me in, because I'm at a loss.
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