In knee deep

[Eilonnwy]

It's a tough thing. It troubles me when I hear of stories from people who think their parents will not love them anymore if they know. I have Catholic parents that don't think any less of me, but we're not all so lucky.

I agree with Adrian's advice as far as the church lady goes. But push comes to shove, I've heard stories of people getting outed by other people, and I think you may owe it your parents to tell them honestly. Ultimately, it is your decision. I don't know you or your parents personally, so it may be the best thing to keep it secret. That's entirely your discretion.

However, I think it hurts people deep inside to hide things from their parents or loved ones. Being an atheist is an intricate part of who a person and religion is a part of many people's lives. It can be difficult to go through the motions just to keep up the charade, and while there may be initial family drama, you might feel better afterwards not having to live a lie.

I know one person deals with their super religious parents to avoid arguments (mostly) is to tell them, "You believe in God, you pray to God, and you must believe he knows exactly what it would take to convince me that he exists. So pray to your God that I find him." If they believe they'll pray, and since prayer is useless, you get left alone. (Mostly...many religious people can't resist tossing the G word around for things that happened, etc... but you can shrug those off)