I've read the nightmarish tales of hell that people have gone through after telling their family that they don't believe in the family god. I know there's a lot of opposition from parents out there so I'm looking to see what kind of opposition any of you faced from family.
I was fortunate enough to have little to no opposition when I determined I was an atheist. My parents have never cared and never tried to force their beliefs upon me. In fact, the only person to try to lead me onto a religious life was my grandma but she did so in a way that made me an atheist. I don't mean to say she was a militant Christian, but she was the only person who would openly talk to me and have a dialogue without getting upset. If I ever wanted to talk about religion as a kid, I knew I could talk to her, and while she would try to convince me of the truth of Christianity, she would always have an open ear for my own hatching ideas about the origin of humanity. She was the first person to make me aware as a kid that non-religion was a big thing and that there was nothing inherently wrong with viewing the world like that. I have a great amount of respect for her as a person because of how she didn't try to manipulate me into her religion. She was eager to show me the viewpoint that brought her a great deal of security and happiness but she never looked down on me when I decided against it.
I was fortunate enough to have little to no opposition when I determined I was an atheist. My parents have never cared and never tried to force their beliefs upon me. In fact, the only person to try to lead me onto a religious life was my grandma but she did so in a way that made me an atheist. I don't mean to say she was a militant Christian, but she was the only person who would openly talk to me and have a dialogue without getting upset. If I ever wanted to talk about religion as a kid, I knew I could talk to her, and while she would try to convince me of the truth of Christianity, she would always have an open ear for my own hatching ideas about the origin of humanity. She was the first person to make me aware as a kid that non-religion was a big thing and that there was nothing inherently wrong with viewing the world like that. I have a great amount of respect for her as a person because of how she didn't try to manipulate me into her religion. She was eager to show me the viewpoint that brought her a great deal of security and happiness but she never looked down on me when I decided against it.
