Just my two cents, but it doesn't look like your dad disowned you because you were an atheist, but rather because you responded to him with mocking words and tried to keep arguing when he clearly didn't want to. He seemed more concerned about your lack of a job than your disbelief to be quite honest, and after your wall of text response, seemed to want to get the conversation back to that particular topic, which you wouldn't do.
Did he overreact by disowning you? Of course. Did you overreact to his initial conversation starter? Absolutely. You are both at fault here.
Atheists in similar situations to yours have to understand the theistic mindset here. These people are your parents; they love you deeply, and they do not want to see you hurt. Their belief system tells them that without a doubt you are going to hell, a place where you are tortured for eternity. If you believed that so sincerely, wouldn't you try desperately to prevent your child from going there?
The correct way to respond to his words would be to explain that you didn't intend to shame your family, that he has his beliefs and you have yours, and that if he truly loved you as he claimed, he would accept that people with different beliefs exist and can remain close. That you appreciate and understand his concern, but his religion isn't something you can believe in at the moment, and you would appreciate him giving you the space to develop your beliefs as you continue to grow. You could then tell him how your job searching was going...
Did he overreact by disowning you? Of course. Did you overreact to his initial conversation starter? Absolutely. You are both at fault here.
Atheists in similar situations to yours have to understand the theistic mindset here. These people are your parents; they love you deeply, and they do not want to see you hurt. Their belief system tells them that without a doubt you are going to hell, a place where you are tortured for eternity. If you believed that so sincerely, wouldn't you try desperately to prevent your child from going there?
The correct way to respond to his words would be to explain that you didn't intend to shame your family, that he has his beliefs and you have yours, and that if he truly loved you as he claimed, he would accept that people with different beliefs exist and can remain close. That you appreciate and understand his concern, but his religion isn't something you can believe in at the moment, and you would appreciate him giving you the space to develop your beliefs as you continue to grow. You could then tell him how your job searching was going...
