Thanks for the support and advice. The wife agrees to disagree, but I still can't discuss it openly in public. She sweats bullets that it will be heard by "the wrong people" and that it makes me sound stupid. Have these people ever really listened to the absurdity of their belief systems? The ones that get me the most riled-up are the ones who want it (creationism vs. evolution) taught in school. All evening and every weekend isn't enough to successfully shove it down their throat?

I do not feel angry when talking to a believer....that is what they believe this is what I believe.....and it feels good! So far feels good it is right thing to do!
And knowing you are not alone ....finding this site, helps a lot!!!!!!!!

Well, meeting here is a good step. I only have one atheist friend, and she lives halfway across the country from me. I am finding it therapeutic to come here, read, react, rant, unload...

Maybe it's me, but unless someone is personally important to me, I simply end such conversations before they get off the ground - which happens rarely anyway. My feeling is - believe what you want, and leave me alone about it. I'm certainly not going to try and reason people out of their beliefs . Whatever.

There's a Unitarian church in toledo. [uutoledo.org]
Even more going toward Lexington.
Good place to start looking for likeminded people. Don't feel you have to do all the extra stuff it's just a secular community that meets on Sunday. Go to their meetups if you don't want to go to the sermons

NW Ohio?? I doubt you'll meet many non-believers up that way. I grew up in Kentucky and I could not WAIT to get the hell outta there. So much BS. My aunt, a "devout Christian" prayed to her God once that the car her husband had absentmindedly left running in the restaurant parking lot, would not be stolen? Seriously? You're gonna waste a conversation with the ALMIGHTY on that???

I found two atheist groups in the Toledo region if that is not too far from you. Look up Atheists/Humanists on MeetUp.com

As it concerns your story, you are not alone. I leave my atheism at home when I am at work. I want to slap those who wish me a blessed day. I see them wearing their religion around their necks and on their ears. If someone asks me of my faith, I will tell them that it is an inappropriate subject at work. If they persist, I tell them I am an atheist and hope they will leave me alone concerning the topic.

I had one fellow employee who pushed a bit too much a number of years ago. I told him that if he persisted I was going to file a grievance with the HR Department.
While trying to convert me one afternoon, I corrected him on his citing on a biblical reference. I have the KJV on my smartphone and looked up the chapter and verse and showed him where he made his mistake. He stopped, but also stopped cooperating with me on assignments and projects.

I feel your pain. I wouldn't mind people believing whatever they want if they would just stop trying to enforce their beliefs on everyone else. And, making laws based on ones religious beliefs just pisses me right the f*ck off.

As far as the discussion you had with the religious author, they love to quote that bible passage that says "The wisdom of man is foolishness to God." Seriously?!? Why would "God" give me this logic if it's that damned flawed?!?

Idiots. READ MORE THAN ONE BOOK!

My tuppence worth:

1. It's ok to feel sorry for them. Treat them with respect and refrain from discussions about God and supernatural stuff. Cognitive dissonance is not easy to overcome.
2. Can you leave things as a position where you both "Agree to disagree on the points"?
3. As other posts are promoting, find other people who are more in agreement with your point of view.

Best wishes for a happier 2018.

I feel ya. But your own little math count of the people around you suggests that the ratio of atheists to theists in your area might be much higher than you seem to believe. So take a chance and be vocal on your beliefs; be firm that you're in the right, logically... unless, that it, doing so would ruin the marriage. It seems very doubtful that it would ruin the business. There's likely a lot of closet atheists who would be glad to give you their business, perhaps even going out of their way to prefer yours over a vocal-theist-owned or "un-affiliated" business which would otherwise be more convenient for them to use. I know I would.

Check out agnostoc/atheist groups-also meetups.com to find groups.