I've meanwhile read your profile, and I am now clearer about where you are coming from. Should you perchance return, I would invite you into conversation. It was 30 years ago, but I've been where you are now spiritually. While there are some of us who are passionately hostile to theism, there are a goodly number of us here who simply don't believe but who are respectful of those who do.

But after reading your profile, here's a word of explanation that I believe might help you or others understand your experience: Within our national culture there are some differences in the usage of the word "agnostic." Numerous Christians tend to interpret the word "agnostic" to mean someone who doubts that God exists - in other words, they take the "a-" (= not) + "gnosis" (= knowledge) and conclude that the individual doesn't know whether God exists, i.e., s/he is torn / full of doubts about the existence or non-existence of God. It seems to me (please correct me if I am wrong) that you are agnostic in this Christian/popular sense of the word. Many Christians think that being 50/50 about God is what "agnosticism" means, but actually that's not true for the overwhelming majority of agnostics. If I say "I am an agnostic," it doesn't simply mean that I don't know if God exists or not; rather, it means that I hold that such knowledge is inherently impossible and thus that no-one knows, no-one can know, even the Christians or Jews or Muslims or whoever who claim that they do. So for those of us who believe that no knowledge of God is possible, then we tend to approach life as atheists since there is no particular reason to suppose that the Christians or anyone else have it right. I believe that this difference in the usage of the word "agnostic" is why you were so surprised at the level of atheism expressed here.

vertrauen: It is very nice of you to read his profile, and offer a clarifying explanation of agnosticism

Thank you, GoodMan. I hope he returns, but, even if he doesn't, I figure that maybe others in his situation might benefit and be less surprised if they see this thread.