I don't believe in God, or gods. He, it or they are a human invention to explain the unknown and give comfort in the face of inevitable death.

But there is a difference between faith in a God and religion. Both are human inventions, but organised religion has been a political and social construct for at least 3000 years (at least in the Abrahamic traditions) and have been responsible for many of the worst crimes and abuses in history. Faith on the other hand can be a very personal ethical code - and useful for defining a set of values and customs that are usually positive - as long as they are not projected onto other people.

I rejected supernatural faith and organised religion when I was 12. I was part of a group of 'young people' ho took part in a structured Congregationalist Church membership programme - six weeks for one night a week with the minister. At then end of that I was out! But I have always had friends and family members around who were believers - usually of the barely questioning type who go along with the stories and the rituals as a social comfort blanket, but a few who agonised about the big questions all their lives. My dad - now dead - went to Church every week and lead a lot of mid-week discussion groups. He hated religion. Described himself as a Secular Christian and (with a group of likeminded people) as The Heretics. I doubt he believed in heaven or hell, God or the Devil. He regarded most of it as metaphor but to my bemusement it came to dominate his life. After he retired he even went on to get a degree and doctorate in theology he was that obsessed!

Straight atheism, simple humanism, is a much more rational and stress free way to live. We are born, we live, we will die - and on the journey we should try to use our opportunities and talents to make the world a bit better according to our own view (not one imposed by a religious or political authority) of what is good and what is bad.