I'm a kid going to tough time right now. How will I tell my family I'm an atheist? Please
Choosing to subscribe to this topic will automatically register you for email notifications for comments and updates on this thread.
Email notifications will be sent out daily by default unless specified otherwise on your account which you can edit by going to your userpage here and clicking on the subscriptions tab.
Donating = Loving
Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
Log in or create an account to join the discussions on the Atheist Republic forums.
Donating = Loving
Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
Donating = Loving
Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
FREE E-BOOKS
Get the book "Why There Is No God" and one more book for FREE!
Sign up below for the Atheist Republic Newsletter to get the books.
Record Your Message!
Record your voice here for it to be aired on the Atheist Republic Voicemails Podcast.
Send us your views and opinions, your personal stories, messages of support, comments on recent news, or any comments you would like to share about your part of the world.
Note : By clicking record you are allowing us to broadcast your message on any of our platforms.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Links to atheist related books, shirts and movies and other atheism related products are affiliate links.
All proceeds will go to keeping the Atheist Republic website up and running; providing resources, advocacy, community tools and encouragement to atheists all over the world.
If your parents are open minded approachable and at worst agnostic go ahead, come out of that religious closet.
If not...keep secrets, like your special sock tucked away from Moms eyes.
No good will come from confrontation. If you are financially and emotionally independent...go for it. Bearing in mind the consequences if your family is christian fundamentalist/evangelical/pious catholic other nutso cults.
If you are muslim, move away, half a world away and be yourself.
The book, “Coming Out Atheist” by Greta Christina may be of help to you.
Here is my advice: Don't if you think it will create a hardship for you
Thank you
The problem is only the individual can judge.
Sometimes, "coming out" is a matter of timing.
If simply expressing outright disbelief is a matter of "coming out", that is telling in itself. People shouldn't be made to feel like that, or repress their disbelief so much. There is absolutely nothing wrong with disbelief of any currently defined god...
http://www.godchecker.com/
including the (those) Abrahamic one(s). It is entirely moral and respectable.
Membership of a religion shouldn't be enforced either, emotionally, legally or any other way. Forced adherence isn't moral or respectable.
Without knowing more about your family, it would be hard to give you a good answer. If your family is very religious and you think they might kick you out or disown you then it might be better to hide it for a few more years for your own well being. Remember that childhood does not last forever. One day you will not need their support. You will be free. On that day you can tell them. Let them decide if they want a relationship with you, your future spouse, and your future children. If not, that sucks, but now you have a whole new community that can help you through it.
In most cases however, coming out is way scarier than it should be. More often than not, we imagine the worst case scenario possible and in reality, it is not even somewhat as bad as we think.
When my sister came out that she was gay, she was scared as hell but no one cared. The conversation went like this.
- "So, when are you going to find a boyfriend?"
- "Oh. Um. Guys. I have something to tell you... I'm gay."
- "Oh. So when are you going to find a girlfriend."
- "WHAT?!?"
It was hilarious.
When I came out as an Atheist, it was pretty much the same story. I was really worried that my mom would make a big deal about it. Now, she isn't a fundamentalist and pretty much all of my siblings are Atheists but let's just say no one was surprised when they stopped going to church the second they turned 18. I was the good kid. I was the kid that she didn't screw up. I was the one that she got right. For me, that was the hard part of coming out. The disappointment. She asked me a lot of the usual expected questions, "Do you hate god?", "What if your wrong?", "When you see the earth, can't you just tell that it has to have a creator?", and so on. After we talked for a few hours, she was crying, and that is always hard, but at the end she gave me a big hug and jokingly said, "You are still my favorite." We still have a great relationship and for me, everything worked out.
If you do decide to tell them, expect these types of questions. If you haven't already, watch some debates on Youtube to learn the types of questions you might get and how to address them so that you don't end up getting flustered. I would recommend The Atheist Experience, CosmicSkeptic, Anthony Magnabosco, and Genetically Modified Skeptic. There are a lot more out there, but these are a good start. This goes without saying, but do not go into it trying to start a debate and don't escalate the tension. Don't make this about them and their beliefs. It is about you. It is about your worries and your inability to feel the presents of god in your life.
Good luck. I hope it goes well for you too.