Atheists coming out - a non-issue?

I have read things here and there over the years about atheists "coming out" and it's never seemed like that big of a deal to me. I was kind of wondering how others feel about it. I don't advertise that I am an atheist, but neither do I hide it if someone asks. I don't feel the need to stand on a crate in the middle of town and scream about how the end is neigh for those who think the end is neigh, but neither do I feel that if people know that I am an atheist that my life will change in any major way. Yes, a few people might treat me differently. So? Why would I care what idiots and bigots think anyway?

So I would like to know, is "coming out" really that big a deal for the average atheist? Is atheism that big a part of your life that you feel stressed over it? Obviously atheism is an important part of my life or I wouldn't be on a forum dedicated to it. I like being an atheist and I like knowing that there are other people out there with the same views. I like the idea that my kids are beginning to think of God the same way they think about Santa Claus and that they are capable of viewing the world without the need for a universal protector or someone to make everything "fair" in the grand scheme of things. I even like debating with people about gods, so long as they are respectful and not too stupid or belligerent. So, yes, atheism IS a big part of my life, I suppose. But it's not THAT big a part of my life that I feel the need to declare it to the world, whether they asked or not, nor is it shameful to me that I feel the need to hide it, should someone ask.

I would love to hear the opinions of the other atheists on this board. How does atheism fit into your life? How big a part of your life is it? Do you feel the need to either "come out" or to hide your atheism? Are you proud of being an atheist or is it just a minor part of who you are?

It was never a problem to me either, I don't remember exactly when I started to say I was an atheist (even today I don't say it unless they ask me) but I do remember that since I was 14 or so I would say to my parents that I didn't like going to church and I criticized it, as time went on I started to realized how absurd the idea of a god was and everything related to it (heaven, hell, angels, etc.) and I was quite opened about it every time the subject came up, so I guess that was kind of a subtle way of telling my relatives I was an "atheist" without actually saying the word. Today they all know I don't believe in any of those dumb ideas and I'm actually a bit of a militant (I have a Facebook application with over 3,000 subscribers, I send e-mails with facts proving why there's no god, etc.) but always through self-reasoning never in a rude way.

Interesting. I don't have a Facebook account and will probably never get one because I don't need one more thing to waste my time with, but I like your story and would love to read some of your stuff.

I think a lot of us are becoming at least a little militant. We have to put up with constantly being derided as somehow less moral because we don't believe in God (never mind I've never solicited sex from a church youth coir or strapped a bomb to my chest to blow up a grocery store) and, in America at least, a constant attack on intelligence as the religious continually try to sneak religion into our schools under the guise of "fairness" or "free choice" or "parent's rights". They blame atheists for prayer being removed from schools when in reality it was backed by more churches than atheists and what they never want to acknowledge is that their kids are STILL free to pray in school! They're just no longer able to make a spectacle of it and suggest to impressionable young children that it's perfectly normal, regardless what I, as a parent, want my children to be taught about religion. These same people who demand that their religion should be part of school curriculum are the first to bitch when their children are being taught to be sensitive to those who don't think like them, insisting that telling kids that it's wrong to pick on a kid because he's gay is somehow indoctrinating them into being gay. You just want to bitch slap those people and point out that if they did a better job of teaching their kids to not be bigots then the schools would be able to concentrate on REAL teaching instead of the stuff you, as a parent, are supposed to be teaching your kids.

And that turned into a rant.

It's always been a non-issue for me.

I can probably count on one hand the number of people in my life who go to worship anywhere...I never ask them about it because I don't care and I have zero interest in it. They probably think the same of me!

I only bring it up when someone asks or starts preaching to me. I'm apparently not to insulting about it because the Jehovah's Witness who has spent the last year and a half trying to convince me that a large number of relevant scientists doubt evolution still comes around.

It was for me. I don't think it was anything as significant as it might be for gay or lesbian individuals to "come out", since it allows them to openly live their sexuality, whereas for an atheist coming out allows us to openly discuss our beliefs. However, I took a while to not feel ashamed of my lack of belief, and it took me even longer to open up to anyone that hadn't already confided in me their own lack of belief. There are still people in my life who I have not told, though they may suspect. So maybe I'm still not completely out.

This post was from a while ago, so I don't remember what I've said already and I'm pressed for time right now, but I really don't find "coming out" to be necessary. The term assumes that I am hiding something. I am not. I am open with anyone who asks. To be fair, I guess I do hide it a little bit now and then. When someone says something religious, but it is a person I care about, I often bite my tongue and nod rather than blurt out, "There is no God". But that is strictly out of politeness, not because I feel the need to hide who I am. It's more that I (depending on the circumstance) just don't want to hurt their feelings, seem militant or talk to them about it.