Telling Religious Family About Nonbelief

[Angrboda]

My family consists largely of a bunch of drug addled Marxists, so religion wasn't a big deal in my clan.



Just kidding. I'm not someone you likely want to model your behavior upon. Fearlessness is, according to the traditional iconography, a gift of the goddess, though perhaps a little more caution here and there along the way would have been beneficial. My "coming out" was rather spontaneous. My mother and I were screaming at each other for some forgotten reason, and she hauled off and told me to go to hell. And so I shot back, "No, you go to hell — I don't believe any of that God shit." And the deed was done. Given that my family is basically liberal Christian in their beliefs and practices, and being that they were already firmly persuaded of the opinion that I was evil incarnate, it didn't change matters much.

My sisters still attempt to coerce me into saying Grace every Thanksgiving, and I usually oblige. Though I wonder if that practice will continue. Last Thanksgiving, my sisters pressured me yet again, so I solemnly bowed my head and said, "Thank you God for not existing."
(My sisters groaned. My brother-in-law chuckled. He's an atheist.)

We'll see come next fall.


Oh! Oh! Oh! And there was something else I wanted to say, but perhaps it's a bit maudlin. By all means, be pragmatic, but I can't help but wonder if there isn't a parallel to being in love. You could choose not to reveal your feelings, for fear of the consequences, but who would suggest that you should?