A big hello from Lancashire, England!

Am I glad to find you lot. I wasn't even aware such a forum existed until a few weeks ago!

Why did I sign up? A similar tale I'm sure.

Dragged to church and Sunday school by my mother as a youngster. I remember being fearful of 'he who shall not be named' while in single figures but don't actually remember at what point I stopped believing in the lie. Now in my early 40's, I'm in serious in need of talking with like minded folk before I go stir crazy.

I'm going stir crazy because my Wife's extended family is religious and I feel like I'm walking on egg shells every time I'm involved in a family get together. My Wife even admitted just this evening that she hates it when I go on about Atheist topics and ridicule religious beliefs (as she feels I'm insulting her family). She says she's now scared to take me along to family events for fear I'll say something out of place and upset someone. My Wife has suggested for years that she's on the fence but I think that's down to my influence more than anything as her upbringing was more religious than my own.

Despite having a civil wedding 10 years ago, I still believe the Wife struggles with her beliefs/acceptance of reality on a daily basis as she's lost a lot of people she held close from an early age and never had an alternative voice in her ear about how to deal with it.

She's also now expressed her wishes that I stop talking so freely about by views in front of my own children as she wants them to decide for themselves - an idea which makes my stomach churn!

My Wife told me this evening that she never wanted to marry a preacher but that she thinks that's what I'm becoming with my alleged 'Atheist obsession'. She even likened me to some of the worst christains in her family who prey on the agnostics among us. To be fair, I couldn't disagree with her! I feel it my duty now as a rational thinker to sway the undecided away from the lies, falsehoods and damn right wickedness of faith.

I myself am only just learning how to verbalise many of my ways of thinking rationally and I'm looking forward to learning from my fellow Atheists and contributing to the cause on the way to further enlightenment.