Hello, you! I'm an atheist lesbian girl living in my home state-- Louisiana.
Are you guys in the South (U.S.)? Is it hard to be out of the proverbial closet where you live?
Just chat with me! I don't really have many reliable pals, so let's talk!
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Welcome! Not in the south here. Which closet?
Thanks! Well, any closet really, but particularly the nonbelieving one. ;P
Coming out of any closet is all about letting the world around you know who you are. There are a ton of closets. Some tougher to walk out of than others. And for some, coming out of them can be flat out dangerous.
You are the only one to decide if, when, and how to do so...for any of the things in your life that others may have an issue with. Just always remember that if they have an issue with who you are, it's their issue, not yours.
Some folks lose family or friends when they tell the truth about themselves. If this happens, take the time to grieve that loss and then know that you can fill those empty spots up with others who will accept and love you.
Everyone else in your life comes and goes...but you are always there with yourself. Do what is right for you, lassie, and the rest will fall into place.
Welcome,
Hope that that ain't what is left of your last reliable friend. :)
LOL, Maybe it what's left of her last unreliable one.
Seriously though, welcome to the boards Nahkeehona!
Lol! Thanks, guys! Hahaha
Not offering friendship because I'm 40 and I don't live in your state (I live in Dallas, TX), Although I'm kind of jealous because of the fantastic food you have there! I've been totally out of the closet for the last 6 to 7 years and I believe that the secret of being out of the closet is to be proud and secure of my ideas and my choices. Part of being an atheist for me is having less things to worry about.
I can eat any food at any time (no lent)
I save money (no giving to any religious organization)
I have my Saturdays and Sundays for me and my family
Once you assume that you will live your life as an atheist and confront your parents about it you will feel much better. In my case my mom never accepted it until her death but I believe that it was better off to have her know the real me than a false image that she wanted to see.
How open I am.. well I was in a business meeting a few months back and the project manager that had ordered sandwiches came back and ask who wanted to change their sandwich selection. A few people responded yes, others responded no and I responded "don't worry about me I'm an Atheist!"
So congratulations on your believes (or lack of them) and now it's time to start enjoying life and not worrying about what other people will think or say.
Hi there! :)
Oh-ho-ho, I am super open about everything! Hahaha Perhaps it causes some problems, but at least I know I never lied to the world.
But yes, we do have amazing food! Haha I love that about this place. The culture is very interesting, if only the modern residents could come out of the ancient history stuff... :P
My whole family knows, as I am out on Facebook as well as just out in the open, haha. My gran is actually super religious, and we argue about it all the time lol. I say argue and not debate because it's hard to really debate someone with such a deep-seated faith lmao It's just a bit hard to be out as a "devil-worshiper" (as they say) in such a small and poor area. :(
In fact, my FAVORITE teacher ever even said once in class, "I just can't even imagine talking to someone who doesn't believe in ANYTHING. *laughing* I mean, like, 'We can't even-- We have nothing to talk about!'" Ugh! People are just so prejudiced against anything different, right?
Thank you! :) I really appreciate your response. I can tell AR is gonna be a great place for me.
Do you run into a lot of hatred in TX?
Hello I'm a southerner & its somewhat difficult being an open atheist. But many have it a lot worse in many places on this earth.
Hey there! :)
Yeah, I don't know what I'd do if I was in a place that incriminated it. I just wish there was some way to improve how people see nonbelievers in this country! Not just in the South but everywhere. :( It's really quite ignorant how people treat us.
I'm not in the South, but I feel it depends on how religious your immediate community is as to how hard it is to be open as an atheist. I'm pretty far north but my immediate community is very religious, making it very difficult to be an "open atheist." Hopefully that helps answer your concerns, even if it may not alleviate them.
I may be far away, but I'd be more than happy to talk with you should you ever feel like it.
Hi, Cole! :)
Yeah, that's true. I just met a kid from PA who, despite being in the North, also has a somewhat hard time. I guess small communities in general must be more difficult than larger ones.
You should move if you can! :P I plan to do so when possible. That would really help out. It feels stifling here with so little diversity.
For sure! I can always use some rational conversation, haha! Sheesh, just a couple weeks ago I had a "friend" say she'd stone me if it was possible to follow the Bible more closely. All because I insulted her sky-daddy figure. People are so defensive about religion! Disgusting. Do you ever get that from people, or are you that open?
Explain this to me: my grandma was more upset when she found out I was gay than she was when I had come out as an atheist! :/ The way I hear it, it's usually the opposite. What did your families do when you came out as atheist? Hope it didn't suck too bad, haha.
I got a quick question for you;
Did you come out as gay first?
If you did, she probably suspected you were an atheist then and there. Though it would be wrong to make such an assumption, she may have figured if you did not care what the bible had to say about being gay, perhaps you didn't believe in god at all. Even if she did not say so, and seemed a little bothered by you announcing yourself as an atheist when you came out about that later, at that point it may have just been in her eyes an itch on the scar.
What I'm saying is, in her eyes, your atheism may have been more annoyance and less of a shock at that point where as compared to when you came out as gay, though in a perfect world your being gay should not have mattered, it may have been viewed as more hurtful to her at the time. Just remember this, people who allow themselves to be hurt by their own emotions or opinions are hurting themselves and only they can stop such hurt.
Hi. I live in Wisconsin now, but I was born and raised in south Mississippi. I've only been living up north for the past four years. I was a closet atheist for a while when I lived back home. What other choice did I have? I was raised in a moderately conservative Pentecostal family. So yeah, I couldn't come out without reprocussions. So I know how ya feel...although I'm straight lol.
Hi! :)
Yeesh! Pentecostals seem to be especially prejudiced, in my experience. With such a vigorous pursuit of "holiness" in the church and such early indoctrination, it's only logical that they should be. Must have been tough. :/ Luckily my family doesn't give me too much grief about it.
LOL! Being an atheist AND a homosexual is like a double-threat here. Even LGBT-friendly theists have something to hate about you then. Haha Usually people despise both, though. It's whatever. People like that rarely change, I guess.
LOL yes, I love my family, but the pursuit of being baptized in the Holy Ghost and praying the demons out of people was too much. I actually miss the community of the church I was in. Just being with those people was awesome. But, things change...
An atheist and gay on top of that. You just can't please everybody, or at least those whose minds are too narrow to accept others for who they truly are, lol.
well my country is 97% Catholic Christians, and i am on the other side of the globe, sorry :P
Live in Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea.
My mom is a catechist(brainwashes little kids) and i have learned in a church school(which was a good school) but I always considered myself as being smarted then those sheep that feel "happy" when the priest says that their Jesus calls them sheep.
Arguing with my mom on religion is allways like world war 2. She ends up fireing arguments from all sides of the globe. Since she knows my weakness that changing subject every 2 min mixes me up. :)
So I know how you feel, parents cannot accept that their kids are smarted then them especially on religion. So even if you are right, don't expect that you can hear them say, you are right.
About Christianity, I take this opportunity to learn as much as I can from their theology so when the time comes I can put forward better arguments.
Even though every christian has his own opinion of what their god IS and WANTS.
About homosexual, just tell them that god made me like this to help you(theists) come to reason :P
Sorry it took me so long to reply. I'm new here and am still looking around. I live in North Carolina so I know a bit about being atheist in the South. As a former Catholic, I've had a few times when I've been called all kinds of names.
Most don't know I'm an atheist. The few that do just don't get it. On Facebook I'll get timeline posts with religious links. I've even been told I'm too nice to be an atheist!
To give you an idea of the South, for those who don't know, I live in a tiny town with a population of less than 1000. There are 5 (maybe 6) churches.