I grew up quite solidly and confidently Christian. The local Baptist church was our primary community, and quite a few volunteer hours were spent there.
It was also nice, in a way incidental to the religion part. We were not merely correct, we were right; and the world could not bring us down, for the Lord stood with us. This also meant there was a certain license for me to be a little quirky. If the others didn’t quite understand me, I had the Lord in my heart. And I was quite the fervent student; consuming both the Bible and Christian literature. I was quite enthralled by a book series about magical angel bicycles that could fly, and their snake counterparts…
That is not my outlook on things now. Christianity is a special interest that has changed over time, rather dramatically.
I stepped away from the unwavering faith around 13-14 years old. Cracks had started to form earlier though. I was maybe 10 when I found it extremely convenient that god apparently told Moses to make his brother Aaron the high priest. As I got older, I got quite comfortably atheist; and increasingly appalled at the cruelty imposed by certain Christian groups, and how it is intensifying even now. Such cruelty and hatred!
A few years ago, I fell into biblical studies, kinda. YouTube lectures and interviews by and of scholars of biblical studies, at least. Debunkings and refutals of the delusions and wilful ignorance of apologists (the Gospels are not, in fact, eyewitness accounts) along with discussions on how the text has come together.
I am still quite fascinated by the Bible. But as literature, that describes how a Caananite tribe developed monotheism out of a polytheistic origin, and how the marks of the editors can be seen throughout.
And I might be recontextualizing my religious upbringing somewhat.