Johanna Faccini

What type of work have you done? I’m a chemical engineer. I have a Master’s degree in environmental engineering, and I was teaching at a university when I was doing my Master’s.

Now I am self-employed, and I work in water resources. I’ve also worked as an engineer in the food industry — palm oil extraction and French fry industries.

How would you identify yourself in terms of religion/spirituality? I would say I’m an atheist.

I don’t belong to organized religion, and when I was new to Canada, I wanted a sense of community. I wanted to meet people who have similar ideas and views. I think it’s important to educate people on secularism and to show others that we are just like them –we’re good, too!

I read “The God Delusion” and “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins.

I grew up in a family that was not religious. Both parents were very science-oriented. We lived in a Catholic community, and we did participate in religious things just for the social aspect. At one point, I was hired to teach courses at a university that belongs to Opus Dei, a right wing side of the Catholic church. As I learned and experienced their ideology, it made me think more about religion and realize that it was not for me. After having a family, I thought about, “What am I going to teach my kids?” Having kids makes you slow down and think about your values, and it made me more firm that I am not religious.