Looking that mackerel in the eye, doubting its immortality, accepting the procession of evolution from fish-like ancestors to me, was another step towards scepticism—as to any afterlife existence I might expect.
Religion has no direct authority over my beliefs, but one absorbs vague assumptions from the culture one’s brought up in. For sixty years some idea of God and the immortal soul have been central to my understanding of life, if only vaguely. I have never been a Christian. As a child, sent to church twice on Sundays, I never approached believing that Jesus died for me.
But religion nevertheless remained a major preoccupation. I recall when I was 16 being accosted by my maths master Alphonse Dufeu, in the street after I’d just returned from the public library. He asked what books I was carrying. They were the Analects of Confucius, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and a commentary on St John’s Gospel. “You are a seeker,” he said. It had not occurred to me till then.
a wayfarer’s notes 
For myself, one thing that happened over the course of taking the direction I’ve taken is that the issue of personal immortality has become less and less of an issue.
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Right. And in the direction I have taken, historic teachers like Jesus and Buddha are no longer an issue either. I've grown up with their legacy, but I see the world being able to escape the grip of their ideas, so that we can approach our lives without that baggage.
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