Religious families

[picto90]

My parents live on another continent and for the most part I never speak to them.

And the reason for your isolation is due to your religious beliefts?
Do your parents support you with funds?

they were never anything but kind and I feel like I owe them a chance, but I simply can't speak to them without becoming suddenly overwhelmed with frustration at their ignorance and there inability to see things any other way.

You owe them more than a chance. You owe them your life.
So what exactly is the problem? Is it too much to bear when you just sit and watch TV when they are talking religion? Or is it so annoying to hear them "God bless you, son" on the telephone, as not to sever connections?
I don't know the whole story, but from what I extracted from your posts, I think that you're not a good person. And you're not even a teenager anymore, sheesh..

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Forgive me for my honesty, but I've never met people who complained so much about their parents IRL or OL as in various atheist forums, or in the Friends cult of Vampirefreaks(who complained about how their parents don't understand when they want to get a nipple piercing or penis tattoo). Is it too hard to accept people the way they are, and just act in a way to please them to create at least some sort of balance and harmony? If your parents want you to go to church, oblige them for a few times. What exactly do you have to lose?
IF your parents want to talk about religion, just tell them you have to go to the bathroom, and stay there for few minutes, go brew up a coffee and etc.
They're your parents, not your roomies, you can't simply leave the house, or exchange them for others.
The family is the core structure of society. I think that it's time that people start to value it, instead of throwing it around.

You're absolutely right, I'm not a good person, and I really feel terrible about it. And I'm not complaining about my parents. They were wonderful parents, and when I lived at home I would go to Church with them every week, Bible Study every Wednesday, I played the piano and was forced into the Church Band, which involved a Prayer group on Saturdays, and Band practice on Fridays evenings just after Youth Group. I know they were doing what they thought was right, but I'm sure you can understand how an atheist might become a little frustrated living like that?

I don't live at home any more, and I'm not forced to do these things, but some of the pent up frustration I had to live with for all those years tends to bubble to the surface when I'm talking to my parents. It wouldn't be a problem if I were able to argue my point once in a while, but if my Father, the Pastor of a church, knew that I was an Atheist, he would have no choice but to disown me completely, and then I would feel far more terrible than I do now. I love my parents.