Hello, i'm mentally ill.. and also British

[Pyrrho]

Welcome!

Boy am I jealous about meeting 4 religious people your whole life. It should be we American atheists that are depressed.

I've got into American politics over the past few years through the daily show, bill maher etc. and the level of influence religion seems to have over there is both hilarious and infuriating, i'd probably find it less hilarious if it were my country. I remember hearing a quote from a supreme court justice on one of those shows along the lines of, "you don't see the devil doing much these days, because he got wilier" who thought that guy should be trusted with that much power?! 

I am an American.  And you seem to have a good grasp of the situation.  It is both hilarious and infuriating, though I personally find it more infuriating.  Sometimes, though, one feels the need to laugh, or one may end up crying about it, or drinking very heavily.

I sometimes think Congress is where we put our most feeble-minded members of society, who are unfit for doing actual work.

I thought depression just went with being British... Sorry, I was thinking of the Irish. My bad. Seriously though welcome. Many of us, including myself , struggle with depression. I'm pretty sure you'll find that you are in good company.

Is there a correlation between atheism and depression? Is it the god-shaped hole in our soul?

I don't think there is any correlation, but you would have to look for research on the topic to be sure.  I expect, though, if there were a connection, the religionists would be trumpeting that to discourage people from being atheists, so I am pretty sure there must be no such connection.

I, for one, am a pretty happy atheist.  And so is my wife.