Anonymous Caller (un?)religious problem How do I break the news to my mom (who is extremely traditionally religiously dedicated) that I'm actually athiest? I fear that the news would just break her apart, but I don't want to keep my un-belief to myself forever... Yomiko Readman Well, breaking that kind of news to someone will always be crushing. It's somewhat akin to telling a parent that you're not into sports and want to be a beautician ^_^ First off, are you sure you're atheist? Being atheist means you believe with absolute certainty that there is no "God". There can be no god and there has never been a god. It seems more likely you are agnostic. You do not know if there is a God but you believe in a higher existance that may not be the He/She that your maternal figure assumes you believe in. Yomiko Readman The reason for this tangent is simple. Most people do believe in the existance of 'god'. It may not necessarily be (capital G) God which most orthodox religions say exist, such as Christianity, but even die hard scientists who must have defined proof for such things still have faith that there is some form of higher being out there who may or may not have direct influence in our lives but has a greater understanding of our being and has some correlation to our current existance. Yomiko Readman Depending on how you phrase it, it just means you believe in G/god, you just don't know which religion's god is the one you subscribe to. If you have an un-belief in your mother's god, that doesn't mean you don't believe in God, it just means you don't necessarily believe in the same one she does. More importantly, it means because it does occupy your mind, it means you are searching for the existance (or lack thereof) for a god, and if you tell that to your mother, it's the truth and it won't break her heart. "Mom, I'm searching for God. It may not be the one you believe in, I'm not sure yet, but I'll let you know when I do or do not find him/her/it." Does that help any?