Despite that, they know very well that I am an atheist. In fact, a good majority of my friends are atheist/agnostic and my Christian friends are good friends of all of them as well. They’re truly good people and they make friends because they like people for who they are, not what they believe.

They have never preached to me, ever. Whenever I visit them for the weekend they tell me I’m free to sleep in on Sunday while they go to church, because they understand that I’m not into it. I have even talked to them about religion, a conversation initiated by ME. They are just some of the most friendly and open-minded people I know and I like hearing their thoughts on things.

I guess my point is… they can be devout Christians, know of your lack of belief, and still be a good friend. You just have to find such friends that aren’t bad people. They’re out there.

Then again, I’m from Michigan and they grew up around Pittsburgh. Not exactly fundie country.

I guess what I mean is, you don’t have to be a douche to stand up for yourself or your beliefs….but you don’t have to take it lying down, either. I find that the best way to handle religious “harassment” is to:

(a) try to keep a sense of humor about it (kids are mean as hell sometimes, but as weird as it sounds, they aren’t always trying to be jerks about it…it just sort of happens that way. Don’t assume they mean ill unless they make it very clear that they do. There is a small chance that they really aren’t aware of how big a douche they are being).

(b) at the same time, don’t take no flack from nobody. If they’re being irritating, sometimes you just have to ask them non-confrontationally to buzz off….and if they won’t let it go, then maybe you need to get away from ‘em for awhile. Let ‘em know you mean business.

Atheists are the frontrunners of human self-actualization at this stage as far as I’m concerned. Rather than being saddled with the hand-me-down religion of their parents they are free to realize their place in the world on their own. And a funny thing usually happens when human beings have to figure how they fit in with other human beings on their own–they realize that this world is entirely what we make of it…together. I know that that type of society would have a different set of problems, but I can’t help but feel that those problems would be more grounded in reality rather than subject to the whims of imaginary personages and their coteries.

Your daughter doesn’t believe in god–she believes in herself…and in her family…and in her friends.

Next time I have to fill out something asking for religious affiliation maybe I will choose to write-in: SELF.