I’ve wondered lately at the fact that those who make a decision to declare themselves atheists often remain with that label indefinitely, yet there are many former theists. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that most societies are theism-oriented, thus theism is seen as a sort of default. Accordingly, people will call themsleves theists though they have never really thought about or “owned” their beliefs. Meanwhile, atheists in such societies necessarily must go against the grain to embrace their beliefs, and it makes sense that this sort of hard-won worldview would be very “sticky”.
I must remember that no matter how hard-won my beliefs, if I find falsity in them, I must fight past the strong pull and discard them.
