I was raised in a very conservative Christian background – Jehovah's Witnesses to be specific. When I was about 17, I joined facebook like any other teenager but with an added twist. I had been doubting the religion of my family for quite some time. Long story short, if it wasn't for Atheist Republic, I would still feel like religion is a life-preserver instead of understanding that it more resembles a noose. I owe you all so much for saving me from the barbaric ideals that I once held as holy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Keep up the good fight AR. You're helping a lot of people.

I had false hopes for years, I saw friends of mine praying in vain, I questioned the existence of god to no avail. No one gave me answers. With AR, I have read, I have come to understand so much more. I love that I got to know about this site.

Your articles are inspiring and written in a fashion for the average person to understand, and that is important if you intend at appealing to any theists.

Where else can I tell my buddy God, "enough with the father-son stories, it's time for the holy spirit to come." Freedom of expression, even if negative, deserves to be at least listened. AR guys are doing a great job, I'm sure the almighty won't mind.

An individual is powerless against oppressive regimes of their country. The only long-term solution will come with education which is why sites like Atheist Republic are so important with the ability to bypass national frontiers and oppressive regimes!

I came out as an atheist about four years ago, and I haven't looked back at the times of the indoctrination my parents attempted to put me through. I feel like on this forum and with the help of fellow atheists I can tell my ideals to the world!

AR is a community where atheists can be themselves and speak openly about topics that theists would typically chastise.

I guess the reason why I can't be a Christian,is that I'm not so poor of character that I would even consider letting someone suffer in my place if I truly Deserved it. AR has helped me to see and know the world as it is..thank you

I have been a atheist for a few years now but I have never had any I can talk to about it. My entire family are Christians and when I bring it up, they get mad at me and try and convert me back to a christian. It always ends up in a fight between me and my dad. I have never truly felt alone in this world until I became a atheist But now that I have found this page and see that I am not the only one going through these types of problems, my life has been looking brighter and brighter and I don't fell all that alone any more. I'm happy this page is here and I'm happy that I have found it. I thank you very sincerely

I just want to thank you for creating such a great community. I grew up in a pretty strict christian household and it wasn't until I went to college that I began to step away from religion. Recently I had my first child and my best friend's mother took upon herself to tell me that I was responsible for my daughter's spiritual health and even though I don't believe in god I needed to "save" her. After this happened a couple more times, myself and another atheist friend of mine put her in her place and she hasn't bothered me since. I began following Atheist Republic right before this happened and it was such an amazing thought to know that there were other people out there who shared my thoughts. Atheist Republic really helped me keep my sanity while going through the criticism. Thank you!

I am from Zambia, the only country in the world where 'Christian Nation' is inscribed in the constitution and the President has vowed to rule by the 10 commandments, so the few Atheists here are forced underground. AR is the only place of refuge for me.

When I first accepted who I was, and that I didn't believe as others did, I felt alone, ostricised, and afraid. It wasn't until I found Casper and AR, that I felt I could actually be who I was. That I wasn't alone. That I wasn't wrong, about what I didn't believe in. So if you are looking for a family that no matter the differences, or disagreements, will still accept you, then Atheist Republic, is your internet home away from home.

I grew up a Catholic, very superstitious and religious (still don't really get the difference) because I was raised that way. I thought God to be everything good, at least I wanted to believe that until I gazed into his supposed character inscribed in the bible. I came to realize that it was the worst character ever written in print I mean theists call him righteous but he is guilty of every sin against humanity. I still didn't want to accept this or more honestly, I was afraid of hell if I ever questioned his holiness..... I came to a partial settlement that God made men, and then men made religion. Sounds a bit logical but it still didn't add up. I then came across the argument of morality versus salvation by Dan Barker (President of the FRFF) and all my questions were answered. Felt good making sense out of my own beliefs for a while, but then there is this loneliness that haunts you, I wouldn't come out to anyone, I'm from Zimbabwe, a modern day medieval society; you have no idea, we still get stories of witchcraft in newspapers down here and the government is informally theocratic, a 91 year old dictator who has ruled for 35 years through democratic means because church leaders say God chose him, and yes, homosexuality will get you a 5 year jail sentence. The secular world is very alien down here and so I became a digital Atheist. Atheist Republic became my safe heaven and provided me with refuge from all the religious prejudice I have to put up with every single day. I think religion is an insult to humanity as it is based on an assumption that we are a mistake by God (Genesis 6:6-7) and only a human sacrifice of his son who we should embrace forever are we purified and through this barbaric concept of human sacrifice shall we escape God's wrath (John 3:16). Anyone is free to believe that crap but they poison children with bigotry and hatred building up religious prejudice, they believe their imaginary friend is in command of everyone's life and we all should be thankful for his grace despite his evil nature; how's that for an insult? Everything went wrong when religion hijacked morality and humanity which we Southern Africans called ubuntu before the European missionaries came with a bible in one hand and a gun in the other. The gun was better because if you live by the gun you die by it, it led to the fall of the apartheid and colonialism, but the bible still haunts the mentality of my fellow country men to this very day. I support Atheist Republic and I hope its impact and message would spread to places like Zimbabwe where the secular community is in hiding afraid of stigma.

I have been living in a country that intoxicate the young with religious fanaticism. It is really hard to break your shell and live outside the cloak of ignorance imposed by the adults. When you say something against their belief, their eyes pierce your body like bullets and their words will strike you down like a sword. This is the only place where I can be myself and not to be someone that society expects me to be.

I found you on Facebook and enjoyed what I saw and read. I have a desire to learn more about the thoughts and opinions of other atheists as I don't really know any personally. I am excited to check out more of your site and maybe make some friends who think like I do. Thanks for being here!

glad to have found this site. glad to see that there are black atheists like me. at 63, have been atheist since i was 12. hid it for yrs, but it slowly started to come out, and many evangelinut friends tried to bring me back into the fold. i told them i could not come back, as i was never "in the fold," in the first place. sick of rightwing religious nuts tainting the waters between gov and church. thank gawd more and more young people are becoming nones

I grew up in a muslim family where traditions are followed blindly. My family follows Islam with all their heart and energy. I also used to be the same till I started finding reasons and logic behind the teachings. No one in my family or circles know about me being an athiest. I find this a good platform to share my views and know more about the facts one should know and to increase my knowledge base.