For me it was quite simple - when I was growing up, my religious grandmother pretended that the tooth fairy, santa claus, christmas elves, easter bunnies etc existed, as most adults do for kids. But so do god, jesus and especially everyones personal guardian angel that keeps them safe that you should pray to.

I just stopped believing in all of them at some point once I grew up, and have yet to find any compelling evidence to suggest any of them actually exists.

I realized this when playing a game of “Never Have I Ever” the other day. Someone used never having gone to Africa as an answer and noticed I didn’t put a finger down so asked where’d I gone.

When I answered with Uganda when I was 17, they asked why.

I jokingly said “oh, back then I loved Jesus and went on a mission for him”.

They laughed and asked if I hated him now.

I almost said yes, but then realized that’s not actually what atheism means. So I ended up responding, “Naw, I just don’t believe that he was the son of god anymore.”