Confessions of a Professional Mega-Church Drummer (long, sorry)

[Clueless Morgan]

Also, because of the very public collapse of the well-known church I was at, talking church and where I will go next is a favorite topic for my parents whenever I talk with them. For now I just lie, but I can't keep that up forever.

Would you not going to church anymore be a big giveaway that you're a non-believer now? Is it an option to express your skepticism about "the next church" and whether they'll collapse, too, and citing that as a major reason you've stopped looking? I don't know why the church collapsed (metaphorically or literally? Through financial mismanagement or through scandal?) but if there is something there to cite as a red flag that might be a way out.

Do you think that using euphemisms would provide you a way to easing your family into accepting your non-belief? Or at least not totally freaking out when you tell them? Get them to accept your non-belief using a less threatening word than "atheist" and walk them into it so it's a little less scary. It'll take time, and you might still feel like you're lying, but it's a possible way to make the transition gradually.