My whole family is still devoutly Christian, and have been very supportive and respecting of my lack of belief. However, I do know my mother will still pray for me occasionally, which is frustrating. I am know longer expected to attend church when I visit home which is nice because it shows they show acknowledgement of my beliefs. My father isn't as emotional as the rest of my family, and often asks for my perspective on certain religious or political topics, and we can almost always have civil discussions.

Wow you have great parents then, and sounds like fairly open minded, im glad you don't have that burden , its always been such a pain in my family

Yes, you are lucky. My mother was distressed when I left the church, but she always hoped (and prayed, I guess) that I would come back. My father never talked much about religion, and didn't express a view on the matter.

My parents also made their peace with it.
But they will never be enthusiastic about it.
I tried to change them and failed.

That's so awesome.

I can definitely relate and can empathize with this. My parents were surprisingly ok with everything. It definitely made me realize how fortunate I am. Especially considering so many people, including some that may be reading this now, are not that lucky.

Its sad that religious people have forced people to band together just to have freedom of thought.

You are indeed fortunate to be in a positive invironment .As for myself my father is a non religious believer that excepts my atheism and I can actually have debates with him on the subject

Wow! Thats a story... i love it. Congratulations on having supportive family.

out of the mouths of babes. good one . we are all atheists too and it feels good. still you have to remember to be actively charitable

I can relate. My parents are believers and yet secular. I came out as an atheist early in life. My parents simply allowed me to choose if I still wanted to go to religious services. At least for myself I don't see the conflict between atheism and religion because I've been raised in a "high religious" household. By "high religious" I mean that god is a metaphor and rituals are metaphors and the texts should be discussed philosophically. Fundamentalist beliefs are frowned upon. My parents were more ashamed of me when in my early 20's I became orthodox. "Don't take it so serious." my parents told me. The fact that my parents would rather have me embrace atheism over orthodoxy has helped me flourish as a good person. I count myself lucky.

Hear Hear!

What a great story about people who weren't afraid to open their minds to different ideas and be flexible enough to change.

Congrats to you for being brave and coming out to them, and explaining to them over time where you're coming from.

Hats off to your parents!

You ARe lucky that your parents are intelligent, reasoning people and not irrational "true believers."