Template:Cover abstract/FAQ for the Newly Deconverted

FAQ for the Newly Deconverted

FAQ for the Newly Deconverted is a series of questions and answers on the nature of disbelief in the supernatural or any religious doctrine. The FAQ has been a collaboration of many members of RationalWiki for some time.

If you found this article, you very well may have recently lost faith (or had your faith shaken) in your particular god or religious teaching. Some of us have been raised to think that life without religion is utterly unthinkable. If so, a loss of faith can feel devastating. Indeed, someone enduring a "crisis of faith" may wonder if there's something wrong with them, and even think that their life is now devoid of meaning.

This document's mission is to help you find your way out of this darkness and confusion and into a place where you are happy making reality-based and open-minded decisions on your own. Whether you are recently de-converted, on the brink of losing your religion, or a long-time non-believer, these questions and answers aim to give an overview of life without religion. You have entered the world of atheism, science, and rationalism. Here we'll tell you what's important to us, where we get our morality, and how we face the peer pressure to return to the church.

And remember: choosing religion because you feel you have no other option is no choice at all. Choosing an alternative religion, or deciding to return to your old faith, because you've considered things carefully and have decided that's what you really think is accurate, is a fine choice. It's more important to be true to yourself than to believe what any of us believe; just don't end up convincing yourself something is true because others want you to believe it.