I just say I am not religious. If I need to clarify further I say that I do not follow any relgious doctrines. I do not view things like the Bible, Quran, Torah, etc as anything other than a man written book like Grimms fairytales or the like. They are some good and bad things in there. Some seems worth following and learning from. Some just seems foolish and wrong. As for the existence of a God or creator type entity, I am not sure but I am sure that so far is that I am not going to worship any of the gods from those books.

I have already started talking about fairies when the conversation was getting bogged down in religion and the people were clearly preachy types that I did not give a crap about being friends with. When asked how that related to what we were discussing, I responded " we are discussing fairy tales, right?" Then walked away.

I use the term secular humanist or freethinker. The term atheist I usually provide in definition form, such as that I think there is insufficient evidence for the divine. I then often get the question, isn't that the definition for agnostic? To which I reply, no, that is the definition for atheist, or agnostic atheist, after which I must explain how agnostic and atheist are two separate answers to two very different questions and how positive belief in something is required to believe where lack of belief requires no positive belief. It's all rather confusing to people, so I try to avoid the "A" word.

I don't their faith is none of my business and my lack of faith is none of theirs. I appriciate their good will, no matter how they say it. I'm a person just like them and picking fights does no one any favors.

I think before you say anything it would be wise to carefully consider the ramifications of letting it be known. Some people have been rejected to the point that their friends quit talking to them, co workers stop talking to you, in some cases I've even heard about parents kicking teenagers out of their house.

I believe that if say a Christian does bring up a religious topic a quick mention of, "oh, i'm an atheist so..." is a good way of making it known. That's the appropriate moment in my opinion. Of course the quick question of "oh, so you don't believe in God?" comes up as a quick quip. But you just have to hold your ground. There's plenty of Christians in the country who will actually be okay with you being an atheist. They don't care usually. Just keeping a calm demeanor if they ask questions is important.

Depends. Do not ever put it down on hospital forms, I've had very bad experiences there. I normally just say I'm not religious.

I don't. It isn't any of their damn business. If someone talks to me about religion or asks me, I just say "I don't follow that particular path." and leave it at that. If they persist, then I just say it. I'm an Agnostic Atheist! That often ends the conversation.

Personally, I say that I am a skeptic and that I cannot believe in things just because other people say it's true. Since there is no factual reason to believe in the existence of deities, I simply don't.

If someone asks me about my beliefs I tell them exactly what I believe because I am not worried about what other people think. I never bring it up as a topic of conversation unless I'm with people I know because those discussions don't end well with people who believe in god. There are lots of other things to talk about and I steer clear of religion as a topic.

I just say that I'm an atheist. Most people in my area don't really care

GOD gave me free will so I exercise my free will not believe in a God

Simply say, "I'm and unbeliever." Then watch the look on their faces. Don't stick around for their questions.

I explain that all faiths can fit into 1 of 4 groups, have them self-identify which one they fit into, point out our similarities, then move on.

If I don't like them I just don't bother.

I normally keep it to myself, it doesn't define me. If asked, I usually say I'm an equal opportunity non-believer.

I just tell them I don't believe. Then I ask them if they can provide any proof for the things they believe. Always comes back to faith which is the suspension of logical thinking. If it's not logical or based on sound evidence I can't believe. It's that simple.

I can not think of any instance in my life thus far that called for me to make such a proclamation. It is just not anybodies business, I just simply state I respect your right to believe in what you will, I just see it differently. If they want to know more, I have to look for motive. I am yet to see motive on their part that makes me want to have an open discussion.

Sadly, that's a big deal here. I try to avoid telling them. If they bring it up, I just go along with it if I can. Like if they ask me to attend their church, I politely decline and thank them. If they ask directly, I don't lie. I tell them straight out that I'm atheist and if they care to ask why, I tell them my reasons. That I have never seen any real evidence for a god. And I let them decide where it goes from there.

I have noticed that if you say you're not religious people tend to react better.

In people's minds 'atheist' is against something, while 'non religious' lack of something.

I usually find it quite easy because I’m very confident with it, but only mention it if asked or if the topic of religion is brought up.

To me, I don't care what a person believes as long as they are a good human.
I usually don't hold back the fact that I don't believe in a God unless I'll loose a job because of the truth (which is my current situation).

I usually never bring it up unless the conversation calls for it; if I’m asked or if it’s germane to the subject.

For me it’s like what kind of cars I like, or my favorite sports teams. Why divulge information unless it adds to the conversion?

I bring it up if religion comes up. As in, I'm an atheist so no, I don't want to have a discussion about your religion (mostly because they wouldn't like the conversation).

step by step. they will know over time when we discuss religious stuff together

Without hesitation.