I don't feel that way. I'm really happy to be more aware and awake to who I really am. I think I have gained much more than I've given up. For any friends I may have lost due to this, i'm totally fine with it, they were never true friends to begin with.

Maybe I have a bit of a different take on the issue, but I see being agnostic as "not knowing". Is this life all there is? I really don't know and I refuse to act as if I do which means I am not going to pin my beliefs, values, and behavior today during this limited time as if there is something more. Some people are not going to like my decisions - regardless what I decide - so I will live in a way that attempts to balance my sense of my personal happiness against certain societal standards. This includes the inevitable loss of loved ones who whether or not they will be accessible after I die are not accessible in my life today. I still hold onto their memory and how they interacted in my life while they were alive. The love I felt for them and they for me is not diminished by their passing, just as the love I experience with those living today isn't diminished when we are apart. My condolences on the loss of your husband; he was obviously very special to you. My hope for you isn't that you will necessarily see him again, but that his memory brings you comfort and the peace and love he brought into your life inspires you to bring the same into the lives of others. Peace to you, my freind. Take care of yourself.

I don't get this - "huge sacrifice" - what? I think that Atheists and Agnostics tend to be drama queens. If you lost family members because you stopped believing in fairy tales, I can tell you that it's not because of that. There were underlying issues. For a family member to abandon a loved one because they simply stopped going to church is dysfunctional and reeks - "it's not as simple as that". I don't know your family history and I don't need to - but becoming an agnostic is not a life changing event - it's really the least important decision that anyone could make. It certainly doesn't rank on the top 10 list of things that people worry about everyday - like - oh say - bills and job security. When it comes to those who say that you'll see your husband again - they don't mean it in a bad way - just say "thank you" and move on - it certainly takes far less time than getting upset about it. I lost my brother last year, my father the year before, my favorite aunt a few months before that - it happens as we get older. I miss my brother more than I can articulate and while I know that I'll never see him again - those who say that I will - "thank you". I don't lose any sleep over it or spend too much time thinking about it - they mean well.

I’m sorry you’ve had this too. In my case most of my family already disrespected me so it’s not made a big difference. Actually, I got outed as bisexual by a niece who took a photo from my Instagram and passed it all around my family behind my back, til my daughter heard of it and told me. So I just came out as agnostic AND bi. Not sure which bothered them most!
I was very close to my baby brother, who was a wonderful person. He was the most loving, accepting, kind xtian ive ever met. He died in 2016. The first person who said to me: ‘well at least you know he’s in a better place’....I really can’t recall what I said back, but when the red haze cleared from my head, the room had gone silent. It’s not been repeated, so being a crazy scary godless heathen kind of worked for me there.

I feel a bit bad, I have given up exactly nothing

I’m sorry to hear it's been that difficult for you. My experience has bern very different, and my lack of belief hasn’t taken such a toll on family (we seem to accept differences of opinion). I abandoned spiritual/religious ideas as a teenager, so friends do not expect this from me, plus friends also can agree to disagree. Fantasies? I see them either as metaphors or a thing of my childhood years. Just a different situation to yours.

Sorry to hear it's a sacrifice for you. I can't imagine being publicly honest taking such a toll. Either I've always been offensive or I've been fortunate enough to gravitate toward toward the right, accepting crowd. Although I have no idea what your fantasies are, never give up on them!

I don't think being agnostic is any sacrifice, and I haven't lost anyone for that reason.

It seems a high price to have to pay to be true to yourself. I too live in the UK, albeit in the most religious part, Northern Ireland, but even there I don’t need to hide the fact that I don’t believe in god. All my friends are believers, and go to their respective churches on Sundays, it makes no difference to our friendship.

I have also lost friends and family to being an atheist. I am happier and less stressed for it.

This just underscores for me just how backwards the USA is compared to most of Europe. I live in the UK and am a declared atheist, never mind agnostic. This has never caused me ANY sacrifice, precious little courage, and have not had to give up on any family or friends. America is comprised mostly of religious nuts fleeing Europe. I've heard it claimed that many were fleeing religious persecution, whereas in truth most were fleeing religious toleration. It was the easy going latitudinarianism that the Pilgrims, the quakers and the shakers were fleeing.

Don't be as melodramatic as Religious People. An agnostic says that there may be a God. We just don't see the proof that some homophobic rapist child abusing God is true. I see religion as fantasy. Nice fantasy. But fantasy. I prefer reality. Us. Mankind.