I realized, when I was about 11 years old (growing up in North Carolina, a card-carrying member of the Bible Belt) that I didn’t really agree with some religious things. This led me to realize that I didn’t know what religion I was. This led me to realize that I didn’t know what religion my parents were, either.

I still remember the moment, in the car, where I asked my mother:

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“We’re not Christians, are we?”

“No.”

And that was it. The basic assumption I’d carried around with me for a decade wore gently away.

I’m lucky in that my parents never really fostered any belief on me–when the moment came, it was very gradual, very subtle. When I was ready to start thinking about the world, I transitioned smoothly from the basic atmospheric condition to a free-thinking, absolutely unbiased state.

From there, I’ve defined myself as I define myself now: an agnostic. Not a lazy atheist, but a person who believes that faith–while it can be beneficial, even necessary for some–is not a valid way of explaining the world around us.

Anyway, thanks for posting this. I think you did the right thing in coming clean–you would have had to address the situation eventually, and it’s best to do so in a time and place of your choosing.

Also: doing research on elements of a setting? Bah! That’s only for, like, dweebs who care about consistency, verisimilitude, and effort.

Mind you, my judgment of WotC’s ability to feel the pulse of their audience might have been too hasty. -.- As I (tongue-in-cheekly) pointed out in my latest post, they are aware of the exploding popularity of the Elder Dragon Highlander format and are taking advantage of it with Planechase. I know it doesn’t seem like it in my article, but in reality, I consider that a good thing. ^^

World of Warcraft did the same thing, fear over getting market share kills awesome games.