I recently became an Atheist

[robvalue]

Hello Twisted, welcome

I'm very sorry to hear about the pressure you feel. It must be very frustrating not to be able to be honest with those around you due to rejection, I fully understand that. It will be a matter of weighing up the possible harm to you telling them will cause, against the benefit of being able to be honest. That's not an easy decision to make. If you tell us more, maybe we can help.

There is no reason your life has to change at all now you're an atheist, it's just being honest with yourself that you no longer believe. There is no rule book for atheism, you do what you think is right. You have a big atheist audience here, so you can talk to your heart's content to us about anything you like. That will give you a way of venting and coping with the change, even if you can't tell people around you.

You are right, it's not a choice. If you don't believe something, it is a state of mind. But fundamentalist types do not or will not understand that unfortunately.

Being an atheist shouldn't affect your morals at all, morality comes from inside you. Religion pretends it comes from God or whatever, but that's nonsense. You're the same person you were, you just realize you've been misled. "Treat others how you would want to be treated" is pretty much the basis of any good moral system.

Dealing with kids is difficult. Are you with their mother, and if so does she know how you feel? How religious is she?