Sean still hasn't cheated on me, and we haven't been struck by lightning. So far so good, lol. 

The one thing that has benefited me most from choosing to live without religion, is the freedom to choose. In religion we are taught that we have free agency, but I never felt like I did.

Basically the only choice I felt I had was, heaven or hell and of course I would choose heaven. That meant I had to follow all the "rules" even if they didn't feel right to me.

I no longer have to make choices out of fearing God and his wrath. I see God as loving and allowing. We have this life to live and learn through experience.