>A few of us have made conscious choices as adults to stop following the religion or teachings of our family of origin or that which is dominant in our community.

I’m not sure that there’s as much conscious choice in it as you might think.

I’m in the middle of writing on article on the subject right now, but the central thesis is that belief is not the result of a choice.

You approach that idea in this article when you talk about indoctrination. No one chooses to be born into the religion of their parents. No one chooses which religion they are brought up in — that they are indoctrinated into.

But I think it goes beyond that.

Having doubts about the faith you were raised in, having those doubts multiply and become so heavy that they crush your faith? I don’t think that’s the result of a conscious choice either.

Belief comes as the result of a non-conscious process of evidence evaluation. If the evidence is compelling to you, belief occurs. If it’s not, then belief doesn’t. No choice involved.