My mother asked me if I believed in God. I said, "No." Then she asked, "Don't you want to go to heaven?" I told her I didn't believe in that either. "Do you want to go to hell?!?", she replied. I had to explain to her that I didn't believe in hell either. I don't understand why some people would think someone would believe in one of those things and not the others.

People tend to frame things based on their own experience. What this person is probably telling you is that they've questioned or even lost their faith at times, but always found it again, and that the same will happen for you.

Never underestimate the human inability to think outside of its own experience and see things from any point of view but its own.

Religious people have trouble understanding atheism, never having looked outside the box they live in. Not only atheism but other religious/philosophical viewpoints. They see atheism not a point of view reached by critical thinking and education but as an attitude or a "spiritual problem."

My friend told me the other day he doesn't think I'm really an Agnostic.

Ok lol

I was told, "How could you? I raised you better than that!" Of course, that allowed me to butter mom up with, "But you taught me to think for myself, too."

My mother said that to me years ago. She has long since come to understand that I am, indeed, an atheist.

All the time and the worst part is that most of the time one cannot be completely honest about it. If you tell your family and they say "No you're not" it's just that they rather be in denial than dealing with that reality but no harm is done. If you disclose to be atheist at work and it happens that a lot of your peers ( or even worst, your boss ) are Bible freaks then chances are you may end up loosing your job (eventually). As a minimum you get ostrasized as a minimum ( spelling on ostrasized, I know I screw up on that one but my app spelling is not working, so sorry about that). Anyhow, I truly believe it's ridiculous the amount of prejudice now a days. It's either way but I don't think its 50 50 symmetrical though

Being told "no you're not" is dismissive for sure. But for simply mean-spirited disrespect of one's choice, my award goes to the narrow-minded sister of a dear friend and mentor of mine who was a lifelong intellectual and athiest. When at age 79 he died, a church service was arranged by his sister who allowed the minister, who had never met my friend, to say that "in his heart he loved god". To this day I regret not saying to that minister, "You never really knew this gentle and brilliant man because if you had you would never have spoken such a bald-faced lie!"

Yeah I got the "No you aren't" bs ...it was even worse when I came out Trans..they Still refuse to believe that after 14 years..lol

My sister was adamant that I was not an atheist but a Jew. I would tell her that I am Jewish by tradition (my mother was Jewish as was her mother) and by education (I went to Hebrew school and wanted to study to be a Cantor) but could not practice a religion that prayed to a fictitious sky god.

I had been an atheist most of my life, write about atheism often and work to promote the separation of church and state in Missouri through my newspaper columns. On the other hand, my sister never practiced her faith, never went to Temple (except for my bar mitzvah), and married twice to Christians. She wore her Star of David and Christian cross with equal reverence. Yet, she claimed loyalty to her "Jewish faith." I never understood her position on Judaism and never will.

That is exactly what my mother told me, My father added I must be an idiot.

I was told it was just a phase. Thirty years ago.

Simple denial

Yeah. It's like. "How would I know?"

No, no one told me that.

That is paternalism, which xianity is full of. Just go on with your life, don't engage in the discussion with them. Let them doubt, be respectful, and they'll come around.

I thought that was a peculiar response when I heard it from a couple friends. Well I might be the fault of it because I bounce between agnostic and atheist, but that’s because for some reason Christians seem to have that if you say agnostic they still think you’re on their side.?

Well when I denouced their god at a ceremony commemorating 10 years of Jewish Sunday School they decided to send me on a Bible Study Tour of the Holy Land. Actually had a blast at 16 - met an Israeli soldier and stayed out to 2 in the a.m.

That's why I'm a closet atheist.

My own mother, many years ago, when I told her only "I'm not Catholic any more", said "Oh yes you are!". I was baptized and couldn't be unbaptized, it seemed. But over the years she both mellowed and grew somewhat in respect for me. Shortly before she died she told me "I know you don't believe in god, but he's there for you anyway". I just said "Thanks, Mom". I never tried to talk her out of her faith, and I think in the end she respected that I'd come to my own conclusions.

My mother. Still insists I am christian deep doan and will go back to it.

They think they do

Yes also friends, that’s because they think you just confused lol

I don't care. I just tell them that they have a right to their opinion, and change the subject.

I think that it's mostly not wanting to give up influence or control.