Yes. Me! I’m 65. Aside from my daughter all are God fearing.

Hopefully a "Sunday Assembly" is near by. A fun engaging group of freethinkers they be

I am just starting out Granny, almost 2 years now, after having trusted in religion all my life. And I feel very alone. I indoctrinated my children very well. I had 6... thought it was pleasing to god to have children LoL. The ones still at home all go to church with their dad. My youngest is 12. I hope I can help clear the path for them..but indoctrination is so strong. I am 500 miles away from my home because I thought I had to be obedient to my husband and move where he felt the lord wanted us to. Most of the people we associate with are church people..and in this religion, when you stop going to church, they basically give up on you and think you're doomed for hell. Most are decent to me, I think out of respect to my husband, the preacher's son. But the air is so thick I can hardly breathe. Their beliefs caused me a life of damage. So I prefer not to be around them.

As an atheist and introvert I have been resigned all my life to living in a world run by, and optimized for, people who are, by and large, Not Like Me. Even before I was an atheist, I was an evangelical, another social minority, even if they do make way too much of it with their persecution narratives and have outsize influence for their size.

So ... I focus on what I have in common with Other People rather than what is different. I find that if I don't insist they agree with me 100% of the time on 100% of my topics of interest, we can enjoy a lot of activities together based on our common humanity. It helps to live outside the Bible Belt, where discussing religion and politics is considered to be in bad taste.

One of the acquaintances I spend the most time with at present is Republican, not a church goer but a god-believer whose wife is active in fundamentalism, bets on horses, retired physical laborer -- in short ... pretty much everything I'm not. But we have a mutual interest in playing cards, "shooting the breeze", talking about our kids, share a soft spot for handicapped children, have similar aches and pains ... we even coincidentally share a birthday. There's quite a list of things we can relate to each other on, and when we occasionally bump into ideological differences we just sort of move on to something else. It's not a big deal unless you make it one. Live and let live.

Personally... I don't feel isolated, also don't wear an atheist badge. If a discussion develops, I chime in as much as anyone... may get a raised eyebrow or a double take, usually this is cocktail hour if and when the subject comes up.
Fortunately I haven't been ostracized yet... or run into any stalwart "believers"... guess they don't hang out in Coyote bars.

I ain't never been hesitant about nothing. And being 70 I can say just about anything with impunity. I am having so much fun. But at the same time I have withdrawn from political commentary. I need to get back to the garden. Few will understand what that means. It ain't about growing peas n beans.

Not in the least because religion doesn't come up. I have relationships with a ton of people that don't agree with my world views but we find other things in common like fishing, or gardening or pet care or raising an Iguana or talking about history and so on. Being a non-theist doesn't define me and it's not the most important decision that I've ever made - it's really not that important and so it's rarely discussed. I've never encountered a deer hunter or a man fishing on the dock who asked me about my views about religion and I don't ask them about theirs because I don't care. If you feel isolated it's likely because you're talking about it too darn much - let it go - find other reasons to bond with people even if they don't see things as you do and should they use religious phrases in front of you don't take it personally because it's not about you. Just enjoy the moment you have with friends.

I live in a town where there are about 15 churches....I just don't speak about religion to anyone. I was asked at a birthday party for an elderly lady and was asked by the person sitting next to me what church I attended. I answered that I did not attend church. Well, if you did, what one would you attend. She couldn't comprehend that church was not in my dna. No biggie...just ignored for for the balance of the party... Lots of other things to talk about other than religion.

I got a bit of a problem being an extrovert , lacking a filter system. Yet, it's better to not live a lie. My other rule is not to harm, where Religion dose more harm than good.

Sure, there is not as many social club for me. Although I love myself first, have a handful of good friends and family. Why would I want to go to extreme happiness place for an eternity. Sound like a funny farm forever.

I could never tell much about that situation because I been saying the same thing for 52 years. Those who know me that long... know my feelings that long. I had been very consistent. Many that waited for me to change... died waiting for me to change. I you feel isolated right now... make a change.

That's an eloquent and succinctly posed question.

I never thought about the generational aspect before. I don't know what the solution is.

granny, I remember feeling like isolated as a non-believer for many years. big name comedians have popularized atheism over the last 15 years or less. I am 53 and was raised as a non-believer and definitely I can relate to that sense of isolation. But these days, things are opening up. You do have community here and I hope you'll take advantage of it. If you do check out UU like UUNJ suggested, I hope you'll let us now your experience. Glad you're here.

I'm out. I don't hide my atheism from anyone.

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.
There are a lot of good people here.

Remember , you have the real truth and although I am aware of the difficulty finding community there are religious folk out there who are accepting. Look into activities. Best of luck!

I’m sorry that you are lonely and glad you found this space. Perhaps if you were “out and proud,” as it were, you could set an example. You might also explore Unitarian Universalist congregations in your area. Many UUs are atheists, agnostics, and humanists. You would find like-minded folks and community. There is a Find a Congregation search tool at www.uua.org Best of luck!

get on meetup.com to find atheist groups near you! I live in Colorado and we have several; one focuses on family activities and events, and another has potlucks and "Secular Sundays" breakfasts monthly that attract a lot of the older crowd.