My parents were atheists, but I was still sent to Sunday School to make the grandparents happy, and I also sang in the children's choir.

My parents divorced, and when 13 and 14 I lived with my mom. She was director of nurses at a small hospital and worked long hours so i had a lot of freedom. Needing more security, I was easy pickings for the Baptist Church. I jumped in with both feet, went to church three times a week, started a Youth for Christ chapter in my junior high, carried my Bible to all my classes, and memorized dozens of Bible verses.It felt so good to be

My parents were ardent Democrats, and I was campaigning for John Kennedy to be president. One Sunday my pastor preached that no one should vote for a Catholic for president because he would tell all the state secrets to his priest. and the priest would tell the pope. I knew that was hogwash and a violation of the separation of church and state. The wall had been crumbling due to their stand on evolution, and this was the last straw. I left that church and never looked at religion again.

Someone told me once that all religions were just different paths to the same place, like trails up a mountain. It didn't take me long to realize that the different religions would never get along if they did meet at the same place.