"You HAVE to believe in God" - My mum.

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Not so long ago, my parents found out that I'm atheist. My mum went absolutely mental. She shouted "Of course there's a God, how do you think you got here? If you dont believe in God go and live with other people like yourself" ... Apparently I have to be theist because it's the way im bought up to be. My parents even considered taking me to a place of worship so they can teach me a lesson. My parents got quite angry when they found out that Religious Education lessons where causing me to question the idea of God. . . Why cant I have my own opinions? ... I now study A Level philosophy & ethics, which has cemented my doubt of God even more.

This argument came up again when I asked my parents if they believed in evolution. My step - dad takes Genesis 1 and 2 literally but thinks evolution is a stupid explanation.

Has anyone else had such a negative response to being an atheist?

Yeah. Out in the world, I just remain silent if people ask me about my "faith", makes life a lot simpler...

Heck, I've had the same result in church just by asking "What is the value of Pi?", and them showing them how the Bible has it wrong.

If you want to cause trouble, you should ask her to unpack this question. It might turn out to not be as bizarre as you think.

For example, she might mean, "If there's no God, then why does the universe exist?" This is a pretty reasonable sort of thing to ask.

Or, she might mean, "If there's no God, then why do humans exist?" In this case, you should buy her The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution for Christmas.

Haha, Richard Dawkins? My mother would kick me out if I bought such a thing into the house xD
By the way, she means humans, shes always telling me how Adam and Eve were put on the earth by God ... When i question my mum she slaughters me, because she sees it as disrespect. My parents say that I beg intelligence by saying 'big words' like 'evolution'. I guess its because they dont value these things. . .

What church do you belong to? If Anglican, maybe you should point out that the Archbishop of Canterbury believes in evolution. If Catholic, maybe you should point out that the Pope believes in evolution.

At this juncture I have to say that I'm rather glad my own parents are essentially agnostics.

Well, my Mum's a Sikh (not a religious one) and my step - dad is Christian (not a religious one either)I know more about Christianity than Sikhism ... Do Sikhs even believe in Adam and Eve? It's all very confusing :s ...

My mom is more or less like that...though she herself doesn't go to church. My Grandpa is an Evangelical Christian, and so is my mom. I am a secret Agnostic and I would only be open about it when I move FAR AWAY from them.

How do I keep her quiet? I pretend to go with the flow and pretend to not question the existence of god even though I am not sure of a god really existing...

I am however, a big believer of evolution and everything else proven by science. Science can't go wrong, at least not now.

That's weird.... then why do they not believe in evolution, if they're not even religious?

If they can tolerate each other's different beliefs, then why can't they tolerate yours?

Its a prime example of the feelings most people exhibit towards atheists; they take it as a personal insult. Other theists are at least on the path to "enlightenment"

You could also ask them why the Bible classes rabbits as ruminants (Leviticus 11:6) and bats as birds (Leviticus 11:13-19)

I never talked to my parents about my non-belief. I simply told them at age 16 that I would no longer go to church, since I considered it a waste of time. I didn't even consider myself an atheist back then, I just didn't want to have anything to do with their fundamentalist church community anymore.

If your parents don't try to drag you to church, it might be best not to talk about religion at all. It only leads to conflicts and hostility (which is one reason why I'm not very fond of religion).

I dont exactly know. Maybe its something to do with morality? ... And I dont think my mum knows the difference between belief and worship because she assumes that I worship Satan :s . . . I really wish I could invite Richard Dawkins around for dinner! xD

Tell your mum you got here because she gave birth to you. My mum had a similar saying, "Everyone is spiritual", she wouldn't believe me if I say I'm not.

Sorry to hear that. I grew up atheist so it is hard for me to fathom such prejudice. A person has the right to believe in God, but the moment they start oppressing people for not believing in what they believe is the moment I start to get angry.

Your mom is wrong. If you don't believe in God, that is your choice. Your mom is experiencing cognitive dissonance. She knows you have a valid point, but her own identity is so wrapped up in her ideals of God that she feels the need to attack you, since she feels that you yourself are attacking her simply for expressing your opinion. Clearly this is not the case. You believe what you believe, and that is that.