In the past few months, I’ve become a lot more open about being an atheist and I feel I have been lucky. Other than my friends list on Facebook becoming a little shorter, it really hasn’t disrupted my family’s life. Close family members were already aware of how I felt. Older family members — the ones who would have actually cared — are all dead now. It also helps that I no longer live in the conservative rural area where I grew up.
So my question is this — have you lost people in your life due to being an atheist? How did you deal with it?
I would like to think you could just say you are better off without people who don’t accept you, but I know it’s not always that simple.
I usually end up with new friends to replace old friends lost to fruit loopery, so it’s not been a big problem for me.
As I live in the atheist-friendly UK, the very idea seems odd.
I lost a girlfriend, over my atheism many years ago, but things worked out because I found my wife in the end.
I got rid of such people voluntarily first before they could do it to me. But they likely would have.
I’m from an atheist family, and it’s not unusual to be atheist in Germany. Also, most people really keep their religion private and consider other people’s religion to be none of their business.
I too live in a mostly non-religious country, so the concept of losing a friend due to atheism is, luckily, unknown to me. Not all my friends are atheists, and even those who are are not always as outspoken about it as I am, but we still are friends.