Doubts

So earlier today, my friend Gil and I, who are both atheists, were discussing religion and what makes some religious people break out of their religion and go wild and not others. We were using some of our close Christian friends as examples, especially my best friend Desteny, and trying to distinguish between the different kinds of Christians. Desteny is a "doubter".

These kinds of Christians usually grow up with religion all around them, whether it may be their family, school, or community. Their religion is all they know. Once they're removed from a religious environment, they're curious as to what else is there, which is understandable.
Desteny has always been religious ever since I met her in the sixth grade. She was very open about her religion and the fact that she was dating her pastor's son. In the sixth grade I knew I didn't believe in god, but I thought that along with being gay, it was just one of those things you don't share publicly. When she asked me about my beliefs (or lack thereof) I would stay neutral and not give any opinion. This led to her trying to incorporate me into her church and telling me all the great things she did with her fellow Christian youth.
Over the years, as I've embraced my atheism more and more, I've started to become a huge defender of science, women's rights, gay rights, and modern technology, which are usually being challenged by religious groups. (What a suprise!) I am now a senior in high school and I also have become best friends with another atheist, Gil. By pure coincidence (or maybe not), we are also regarded as being two of the smartest students at school. We seem to know much more about politics and world news than most of our peers do, due to the fact that we have to work twice as hard as religious students do to back up our beliefs. We can't simply quote from a thick, antiquated book to debate with other people; we have to go out there and research everything. I guess it makes sense that we are regarded as intelligent within our school, considering all the reading we do.
Anyway, my Christian friend, who is also my best friend along with Gil, seems to have started questioning the teachings of her church and organized religion in general. I'm sure she still believes in god, but she has started to understand why non-religious people fight against some of the things that are interpreted from the Bible. She has brought up some of her doubts to me many times, and I try my hardest not to say anything that is too anti-religion, for her sake. Along with the current Republican presidential candidates, many well-known religious public figures have been subject to criticism over their super-conservative, bordering-on-insane beliefs. All of the Republican nominees just so happen to be die-hard religious fanatics who want to turn America into more of a religiously-inclined country than it already is, making it unfair for anyone in America who isn't a Christian. These people are giving religion a bad name, and along with being close friends with two very opinionated atheists, my best friend is slowly starting to resent religion. Very recently she has started to have disagreements with her mother over going away for college because her mother thinks that if she goes too far, she'll lose her religion (Which is true...sorry). Now imagine what she must be thinking: "Has my mother been sheltering me from the real world because she knows that the Bible isn't strong enough to outsmart modern science/technology?" It's kind of hard for me to put it into words, but acknowledging the fact that she is the only reason her daughter is religious makes a bad defense as to why her daughter should stay at home. What happens when she gets her own apartment, or gets married, or has children?
All in all, the reason why my friend was so open about her religion and would preach to anyone who would listen in the sixth grade is because she had absolutely no doubt about anything that was being taught to her.