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By Nica Lalli
writer, educator

With the recent publication of the new American Religious Identification Survey, we now know that there is a full 20% of the U.S. population that claims their religious identity as either a “none” (one who identifies as non-religious) or a “don’t know” (one who chooses to not answer the religion question or has not thought about it).

The last people to find out about a person’s religious identity (or lack thereof) always seem to be the family. So shouldn’t you take advantage of this week’s big family gathering to let them know your status? Isn’t this Sunday’s family dinner the perfect time to come out of the closet?

For those who are unsure how to proceed, I offer some tips for the strategies you can use for a smooth transition into the category of “no religion”, aka “none”, aka “nothing”.*

*Results not guaranteed.

Strength In Numbers
If you are not heartened by the 61 million Americans who join you in non belief, find others in your family who you suspect might share in your rejection of religion. Ally yourself with them. The more the merrier. So call that cousin who always sits alone in the corner, maybe they don’t go to church either. Or maybe they are just weird, or a pedophile or a homicidal maniac - but it is worth a shot. Using we instead of I makes coming out of the closet a little easier. But watch out - after the initial we, as in “we don’t believe in this and such” you probably won’t agree on anything else. “Getting atheists to agree on something is like herding cats” a wise man once told me. Meow.

Avoid the A Word
The term “atheist” tends to set people on edge. It might be what you are once you give up (or admit you never had) a belief in a god or gods, but it might cause unneeded drama and unrest. There are hundreds of other words to use, so maybe you can start with those and work your way into your new identity as an atheist. You can use some of the more known words like Rationalist, Humanist, Skeptic, Free Thinker, or the slightly easier to digest Agonistic. Or you can try to confuse the folks by using a string of “isms” and “ists.” Try describing yourself as an anti-supernaturalist, or a neo-philosophizing inter-humanist pro-Darwinist.
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