I live in America and am surrounded by Christians.
Whenever I talk about myself to religous people, I want to say ,"I am an atheist". Do you say that? Is there a better way?
I don't believe in any gods, I only believe in things that can be proven. I am not superstitious and I do not think any religions are true.
I usually will wait to be asked if I am religious. Then I will say no. If I want to tell someone I am not religious, I would probably say, "Personally, I don't believe in religion", and if they ask me why I will explain. It shouldn't be a problem for you to be able to express your point of view if they are allowed to express theirs.
I try not to. If I have to, I just tell them that I'm not religious. It prevents pointless argument.
I just tell them "I have no interest in any kind of organized religion." If they have soem sembl;ance of sanity, they then leave me alone. If they persist, i tell them that they are mor eannoying than convincing. That usually does it. After that they not only leave me alone, but dont' bother anyone else i the room either.
I keep my mouth shut, until they start to talk about their faith. Then as far as I am concerned it is OK to go into great detail why there is no god and their belief is a delusion.
As far as I am concerned if a person feels free to tell me they are a christian, I don,t get offended, so I have no problem telling them I am an atheist, and if they find that insulting I just say well you told me your belief and heres mine!When people say to me they believe in god, I usually say, Which One? and they look at me dumbfounded and then I say well theres over 3000, of them so which one is yours!
I like to tell them point blank that I am an Atheist. My neighborhood is filled with the pious and my town is in the Bible Belt. I have made a group of really nice friends who go out of the way to greet me and then there are those who avert their eyes and or let their dog poop on my lawn. I know who my friends are in the neighborhood and we are thick as thieves. I welcome their questions. One asked me 'where do you think you go after you are dead?' and I said the worms will eat me, as I will be buried in a natural cemetery, next or on top of my dog. For a while he teased me with 'worms are going to eat you' and I laugh. We are still friends and I have never reacted negatively to his comments. Why wold I?
I am in a tricky situation in this regard. I have a paid gig playing bass in a local Church. I'm Jewish/agnostic rather than an atheist. I seek the divine out in nature but I don't see the divine as being Biblical.
I've been playing in the same Church for almost 15 years. The Priest has become a friend and I think highly of him.
I don't tell people at the Church that I'm a non-believer but I would quickly admit to it if asked.
If the question arises, I just say I'm atheist.
I'll just say "I'm an atheist". If they have trouble handling that, that's their problem, not mine.
At some point the conversation gets to some mention of heaven or god or something along those lines and I say that we should be talking about things that are real and not imaginary.
I don't hide the fact, but I don't advertise it, either. I live in the bible belt. Self preservation.
Generally, the brainwashed have a hard time with anyone who does not share their delusion and will most likely become offended regardless. If I know the person I try to be courteous but any stranger knocking at my door is told that I'm an adult in the 21st century and have no reason to believe in any superstitious nonsense.
This is a tough one for me. I try to avoid such conversation if possible, but if I'm pressed i will be honest. By default, our position as atheists is saying that religion is delusional. Its hard to soften that blow, but I honestly don't think it matters what anyone believes. In the end, we all suffer the same fate. If someone is happy with some form of faith, fine. I can respect that as much as my lack of faith. The question is, can they equally respect me.
Religion (or lack of religion) is personal. I do not generally talk about it. If someone specifically asks I say I am non religious and then drop the subject.