I was a believer only in that I accepted the existence of a rather involved but somehow overseeing god who had no demands, nor any active role in my life, more of a silent observer, until I was 15 and realized how unlikely that was. I was never a believer in any other sense, never went to shul except for bar mitzvahs and weddings, got and gave Chanukah gifts (still do that) and had a strong sense of Jewish cultural identity (still have that). But when my folks said long-haired boys were dirty I just figured they knew what they were talking about, and yet when the monkees TV show came on the air, ghetto had long hair and obviously were not as my folks had described long-haired boys. So I decided to examine everything I took for granted. God, who had barely been there anyway, went right out the window. (liberal politics stuck around.)

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I learned to think, coupled with of Karl Popper's "The Logic of Scientific Discovery".

And well done you!

My Mother was a slightly observant Jew, and I was packed off to temple on weekend mornings. I resented having my valuable weekend time wasted on weird/dopey holidays and Bar Mitzvahs (I did like the wine in paper cups...) Also, my classmates seemed far from being the bright kids their parents believed them to be. I just didn't like their company; I couldn't form friendships with people I only saw on weekends. The instructional material felt bogus. If it were valid, it would be taught in real school. A small part of it might have been the disenfranchisement of both Judaism and Christianity from the Holocaust. Neither religion could be valid, given it was Christians who enacted the Holocaust and the Jews who were murdered by it. Some Chosen People! Bull shit! After protesting, I was released from this torture.

I did respect how the Jewish community seemed to be progressive. Only later did I find out that only the Reform Jews aligned with Humanist values, all the rest were closer to the Republican mind-set. Later, I rejected Judaism for a couple of reasons: One was how it disrespected women. The other was the dishonest claim to seek truth. As one devoted to learning science, I couldn't understand how scientific discoveries (especially the very profound ones) received no recognition within the religion.

While Judaism was at odds with Christianity, Christianity was also actively attacking science. I was shocked at some of the vitriol I heard on the radio as I crossed the US. While Judaism endorsed the academic side of studying science, Judaism had no comment on Creationism. Maybe that's because some Jewish sects believe their own form of Creationism.

So, I rejected Judaism out of a desire to gain control of my free time. Then, acquired knowledge and reason revealed the contrast between reality and religious PR.

Define... "believer", Define... "non-believer", Why you want to know? Will any answer change you?