Today, as my younger sister and I were talking, the subject of religion came up. I have never told anyone in real life (other than my husband) that I am an atheist. I have decided never to tell my parents or in-laws if I can help it, not just for the sake of avoiding ridicule and abuse, but mainly because I know how it would break their hearts and they would spend the rest of their lives fretting over my eternity in Hell. My mother in law takes her religion so seriously that she actually teared up becuase we missed church one Sunday and she was afraid we would lose our way if we didn't go to church and worship God. She could barely get out "I just want you to go to Heaven." As awkward as that was, I can't stand the thought of how crushed she would be if she knew I definitely completely thought it was a lie. So, them finding out scares me. That being said, my little sister is dating an atheist, and for a long time had asked questions about the Bible and openly supported gay rights and other topics that are contravertial around here. I never knew if she believed in God or not. When she asked me if I believed in God, I said no, not knowing if she would agree or go tell my mom and try to help "save" me. Turns out she is an atheist too and she was just as relieved to find out that I was. She was feeling all the same regrets about our parents never being able to accept us if they knew and the fear of disappointing them. It was scary to tell anyone, and I still hope she is the only one who will know, but it was still a big relief to get to talk to her about it and know my baby sister wasn't dedicating her life to an irrational fairy tale.