Southern U.S. Atheists?

I live in the southern part of Texas, in the Bible Belt, in a majorly Christian town full of hicks. I am an atheist and I am in 10th grade. My parents can't know. My mother would freak and try to convert me back and force me to go to church. Most people at my school are Christians, but I am lucky to have fellow atheist friends. There is a group of us made up of atheists, some are vocal about it, most of us aren't. We have to pretend to be believers to escape the hate. It gets really bad at times. And there are also a lot of homophobics around here. And racists. Which both I am very offended by, even though I am white and straight. I have Christian friends that I've known forever. (I might add that I've only accepted my atheism this past year.) I've seen how these friends of mine react when they find out that someone is, in fact, an atheist. They immediately look down on them. And this is why I have to hide that part of me from them. I can't tell anyone at school because they might found out, and if they did, I'm afraid I'd be shunned. This is how bad it is. My family can't know, half of my friends can't know. I have just a few really close friends that know. I've seen people be verbally assaulted because of it. Never physically. Weirdest thing I've ever seen (or I guess heard) is the way people talk about atheism. People automatically assume Satan worshiper. I'm not kidding, they actually believe that. Christianity rules down here. We have so many freaking churches in this small town. I heard once that we have over 60 registered churches here and the population is just over 11,000. Yes, this is one of the worst places in the Bible Belt. And the racism reputation makes it even worse. *sigh* This is what people have come to.

I've been verbally assaulted but not physically, thankfully. Thats mostly cos I'm a quiet kid though. // I'm really afraid to come out about it because my parents and most of my society is made up of extremely devout christians. // I don't really know the weirdest thing someone has said to me about it...most of the people I tell are atheists/of a different religion themselves, so I don't get bad feedback.

It's a very challenging and interesting experience to be an atheist in the south, I'll tell you that much...

before the 90's came along it would not have been wise to admit a thing like this, i went to school with several atheist and satan worshipers and they were beatin and ridiculed daily by christians, so i chose to keep my beliefs (atheist) to myself. east texas

I was chased out of Sargent Texas at gunpoint by a couple of redneck Marine veterans when they found out I was atheist.

I'm in Maryland which is technically south but is super northern idealistic

I live in a small town in the southeastern U.S. What you're engaging in is regionalism, a form of stereotyping and bigotry.

I'm a Christian.

My atheist, homosexual neighbors aren't attacked about their beliefs or their lifestyle. We talk and wave speak to each other, just as the other neighbors do with them. My good friend the atheist and I don't talk a lot, but we're busy. We usually catch up when we travel together to get away from our hectic lives for the weekend.

I'm always disappointed in questions like this. Atheists, who supposedly value science and actual data, will ask questions like this that are based in stereotypes and fear. That's incredibly ironic, but it also saddens me that they're so self-contradictory in what they say versus how they act.

assaulted mentally afraid to come out of the closet weiriest thing was some one said god blessed you after i snezzed

Oh, the usual satan influenced; blocking jesus out of my mind; worship 'just theories'

A number of things, all of which equally stupid

Lol Oh good lord. You didn't hear they're slaves now down there picking cotton.