Is it normal to want to believe in god but not be able to?

I've felt like this due to a fondness for the art and the culture behind religion, as well as what I perceive to be the aesthetic beauty behind the metaphysical arguments of people such as Bishop Berkeley, Rene Descartes, Leibniz, and some of the stories of Jorge Luis Borges. I'm the only atheist in my neck of the woods, and the only way I know of to connect with other atheists is the internet (though I wouldn't want to, because internet atheists are assholes and idiots who think Sam Harris is some kind of genius). I'm not going to tell you to go pick up a book about 'Spirituality for Skeptics' in which you will undoubtedly bump into loads of repackaged snippets of Buddhism, Epicureanism, and Spinozist concepts dumbed-down and simplified for people who "aren't religious, but **definitely spiirriiituallll**, oooooohhhhh" but I will simply reassure you that you're not alone. Practice kindness and virtue towards your fellow man regardless of whatever you believe, and search for your own truth regarding the world.

I struggle with believing in God every day and I'm a person of faith. Sometimes my prayers are answered sometimes not. And in such a cruel world I find it hard to really believe in a loving God. But I made a connection with something and it only happened when I used the name Jesus Christ. The last thing I planned to be was Christian either...

I don't want you to convert but I want you to persist in finding answers.

Take things easy. Don't make a hasty, fixated decision, but look for the truth at all costs.

I used to believe in God because I was raised into a religious family, but now I have my doubts. It's probably a reason I became an outcast and not really close with anybody in my family.

I used to pray sometimes, but I didn't like the idea of praying to a God that may or may not exist. I started realizing I can pray all I want, but nothing in my life is going to change. If I want to change something I have to go do it, not hope that a God is out there to answer my prayer. You can wait and pray your entire life, but it won't do you any good. You can make the future, but it starts by leaving the past and you're the only person that can change your life!

You don't have to have an unfounded belief in god to continue to be sociable within all groups of people.

There are atheist groups online NFA AFA RDF and literally millions more. These groups hold meetings regularly where families can meet up, but understandably not every Sunday!

You could use Sundays as your family day. Since generally the church is just sitting on cheap benches and your children are taken to a different area anyway.

My Sundays with my kids were mainly outings (park, beach, forests, walks, bike riding, sports etc) we had a wonderful time, and sometimes included my kids friends and families too.

I never felt I missed out by not going to damn church :)
My children have grown to older teens and seem happy with their childhood as well. I have even attended a couple of those church fun meetings in parks with the kids too, but I don't think I could have ever sat inside a church. God no :)

People don't love God, they love the idea of God.

Most of us doubt that there is. God especially when we see all the bad in the world. I can't imagine living not believing in something better someday. It's faith and if you want to believe that's good enough, faith is never concrete. If can be used for good a lot of the time.

If there is a God, he looks upon our world as a grade 6 science experiment ant farm, nothing else.
Believe in something real, like Martians.

May be it is because you are not convinced by what the bible has to offer...why don't you look into other religions and see if you can find God there. The closest religions to Christianity is Judaism and Islam so it might be wise to read their books.

You've risen above the most basic of human condition, which is irrationally believing in something simply because it makes you feel better.
Congratulations.

You're one amonsgt these rare intelligent persons! Congratulations!

I'm an atheist as well. That being said, maybe you need to do some self-reflection and soul searching. Maybe you're limiting yourself by attempting to follow what you consider is traditional religion. If there is a god, why must it be Christian? Maybe you should try researching and trying out several religions. Then if something feels right, try to see if it fits your life.
If you just want a sense of community, you don't need religion for that. Why not find a cause you care about or join some groups? If you still feel like nothing fits, the atheist community is always hungry for new members. We even have multiple Facebook pages and YouTube channels. But don't feel alone or unhappy. There are always people like you out there, especially with how connected the world is now. Spirituality is a personal thing, and atheist or not, its up to you to decide.

I was (almost) in ur exact same shoes a few weeks ago, made my decision. Now I'm trying to believe in unicorns but I'm getting the same results as when I was trying to believe in God, hmmmm... sth's wrong.

I think everyone who prays has a tendency to question the validity of the answers to those prayers once the euphoria of having a prayer answered wears off. Still, it's hard for me to deny that some incidents simply would not have occurred without some sort of spiritual guidance.

I think if you want to believe in God you should try for the right reasons. Having a religious lifestyle is the least important part of believing in God, in my opinion, although it can be beneficial sometimes. Having a relationship with God is between you and God and no one else has to have anything to do with that. It's a spiritually intimate relationship and that is what i find beautiful about believing.

Whatever you choose to do, just do it with pure, unselfish intentions. The world doesn't need another blind follower of religion, or of anything for that matter.

If you put the word, 'metaphorically' in front of your convictions, they become much easier to stomach.