Hey all. Its sad I have to turn to the internet to say this.

[ZachyFTW]

My name is Zach and I am so happy to finally be able to say semi-openly that I do not believe in any God or Gods and haven't for some time. I live in a southern state and I would say it is a very bible beltish town. I just graduated high school and I've been in the closet with my atheism for about 2 years now. The only person who knows that I am an atheist is my Dad who is also an atheist. I recently told him and he seemed to be proud of my reason and why I told him I came to the conclusion of there not being a God. I wasn't someone who never saw religion growing up. I went to church religiously (pun intended) up until about 3 years ago. Looking back I feel brainwashed by the churches I went to and the people who told me these absolute lies. The thing is though, I still parade around and if anyone ask me I have to say I am a Christian or face social exile which is a very sad thing. I might still be one of the sheepish idiots if it hadn't been for Bill Maher and Sam Harris. These two men really opened my eyes to the REAL world, not the make believe one that had been stuffed down my throat from a very young age. So here I am and I am happy that I've finally found a place where I can openly share my believes or lack there of. Nice to meet everyone!

[PickelledEggs]

Welcome ZachyFTW! What part of the south are you from?

[gussy]

Welcome.  This can be a good place to vent.

[stromboli]

Welcome. We have a lot of people here from the Babble Belt. Your story is similar to that of many, so you'll feel right at home.

[Shiranu]

Hey, you should definitely be happy... having family that supports you (I would assume) is a great asset. Congrats and welcome.

[Jason78]

Welcome to the forum

[Plu]

Welcome to the forums :)

[viocjit]

Welcome ! an Atheist in the bible belt. I can't imagine live in this kind of area.

[aitm]

greetings.

[Solitary]

:-D Welcome aboard ZachyFTW ! Solitary

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Welcome.. Nobody ever said you have to believe their nonsense or even pretend. I lived in the nonsense belt too and simply told those nutters to piss off when they think I need to 'find god'. I can't even find my keys much less god.

[ZachyFTW]

Welcome ZachyFTW! What part of the south are you from?

From a small North Carolina town

[Colanth]

I live in a big NC town (Fayetteville) but the feeling is probably about the same - if you breathe and don't have to be walked on a leash, they assume that you're Christian.  (And I'm not sure about the leash part.)  Welcome to reality, Zach.

[ZachyFTW]

I live in a big NC town (Fayetteville) but the feeling is probably about the same - if you breathe and don't have to be walked on a leash, they assume that you're Christian.  (And I'm not sure about the leash part.)  Welcome to reality, Zach.

I'm fairly close to that. I'm in lewisville.

[PickelledEggs]

NC eh? I don't know how far you are from Portsmouth, VA (probably a few hours) but if you ever pass through there, there is an amazing indoor gokart place "A.I.K." I think they go around 40-50 mph. I haven't been there since I was in Highschool though, which was about *coughcough* years