To everyone, why or why don't you believe in God?

[SuperBrunetteCutie4Ever]

I am an Atheist but I will admit, I used to be a really dedicated Christian. I prayed, went out of my way to forgive people who were mean to me, did everything to stay a virgin which btw I still am, and I did my best to read the Bible when ever I could and felt bad when I didn’t. The reason why I stopped believing in the whole idea of God is because if he’s supposed to be so forgiving and loving, why would he let little babies in Africa, India and other places get raped and murdered like they’re worthless? Why would he let a person feel so worthless that they take their own life? Why does the Bible only care about a woman’s virginity and not a man’s? Also I’ve realized through learning about other religions is they’re just ways to deal with death and to control people into being a “good person” in order to get an amazing reward after they die. Honestly, I’m much happier not believing in God I don’t have to worry about some invisible guy judging me any more and I don’t have to feel bad for being attracted to females. Also it doesn’t change my behavior at all. I’m still the quirky, silly, loyal and crazy teen that I was a few months ago.
That being said that doesn't mean I don't respect people who still believe in God. Actually I applaud those who do; I just don't agree with them

[facade]

I'm Catholic. I was born and raised Catholic, and that's part of the reason why I believe in God. It's what I grew up believing in. I'm not saying that I'm a dedicated Catholic or anything like that... I disagree with quite a few of the church's opinions and I sin, but I still consider myself Catholic.

I believe in God because it's something that I can believe in. Believing in things is what keeps me going. I don't see him as someone that's judging my every move or anything like that, all of my confirmation teachers told me that he already knows what I'm going to do with my life, my every move... So I don't believe that he's judging me. I think of him more as someone that's watching over me, or someone that I can always go to...a friend of sorts. Most of the time I just need to get things off of my chest, without a reply or judgement from my friends... and to me, God offers that. I tell him my worries, my thoughts, my hopes, etc. and I feel no judgement. I pray when things aren't going well for me, and I continue to pray. And my prayers have been answered before, and that's what I need.

But, you know... I believe in God, 11:11 wishes, wishing on shooting stars, 4 leaf clovers... etc. I need something that I can believe in that will stay consistent. It gives me hope that something or someone is going to get me through my life.

Hope I made sense.
<3

[SuperBrunetteCutie4Ever]

That makes a lot of sense thanks for replying

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

You may not get a lot of responses because every week, this same topic appears, so people just give a copy-and-paste answer. Use the search button next time, your question is already answered countless times. However, I'll summarize my copy-and-paste answer by first asking which god are you asking about? There are numerous Christian denominations, so please be specific with exactly what you are asking.

On a personal note, have you ever read the bible? You say the reason you stopped believing in god was because of the atrocities he allows to continue but if you read the bible, Old or New Testament, you'd see similar and/or worse atrocities supported by god. If that was your reason for not believing, then by your own logic, you shouldn't have been a believer in the first place, yet you were. This comes down to 1 of 2 things. First, you were a Christian who read little/none of the bible. Second, you had additional reasons for initially believing.