How do y'all deal with the loneliness of being an atheist in a religious family?
I became an atheist almost 8 years ago, but didn't come out to my family (or anyone else for that matter) until 4 years ago during a rather traumatic time in my life. My family is kind and loving, but very religious, and none of them has ever wanted to talk about my deconversion, and I don't know how to bring it up. I'm sure they think it has something to do with what was going on with me when they found out (it doesn't), and I don't want to ostracize them by talking about it, but it's a fundamental part of who I am now, so I often feel like a stranger when I'm around them.
Couple that with having been single for over 4 years now, I sometimes feel like I'm trapped in a box. And not a fun cardboard box with windows and whatnot, either; more like a corroded metal metal box that's just a few too inches short to stand up in.
If you are lonely in your own family because of your atheism it is not your fault if they chose to abandon you.
If they did this, they are not your family.
I think that there is more to it in your case, because you are single and feel alone and lonely it adds to the problem. Your family still loves you but it seems like you feel guilty that you somehow are not part of them. It you believer it would not make any difference how they felt about you, they still love you. There is no need to talk about religion. There are so many other levels to interact with each other. Concentrate on those.