I am an ex-catholic. Ironically, it came about because I was diligent in studying my religion. Even won a Provincial prize for Catholic Religion when I was in high school. Another prize I won was a Bible---which I read from cover to cover (...oh alright, I did skip some of the begats)...

My point is, the warts on the Church, and Christianity showed up as I delved into the history of the Catholic Church and Christianity in general.

I couldn't let the anomalies slide...I had to question everything, in my search for complete understanding. My current position is well summed up in this quote from Seth Macfarlane:

Religion is notorious for conceiving an idea and
then trying to make it true, either by propaganda
or sometimes by force.

...while science makes a discovery and then
immediately sets about tryiing to disprove it, just
to make sure it's correct before everybody makes
idiots of themselves.