family, coming-outWhat do you do when telling your family that you’re an atheist results in getting thrown out of the house, disowned, financially cut off, ostracized, or otherwise shunned? Are there any PFLAG-analogous organizations for atheists?
If you rely on parents/family for your well being, then that should come first. Don't put yourself in a dangerous situation by 'coming out.' Just bite your tongue until you are able to support yourself. At that point, weigh you options. I think that being cut off is better than lying to my family.
Most cities of any decent size have Atheist groups. Atheist Alliance and Coalition of Reason are two of the bigger national organizations. On top of that you can usually find local groups that may or may not be offshoots of one of those two.
This is sad, but even sadder it is not uncommon, especially in the U.S. My advice is to lay low until you don’t need them any more. Find freethought friends for support, stay strong, and believe in yourself and your mind. Realize that if these people value their invisible friends more than their own children, they are not good role models. Hope they grow up and realize what is important in life before it is too late.
Engage with your local atheist, humanist, free-thought,…community. Perhaps it won’t provide immediate solace but over time you will likely engage with and build supportive relationships within it.
I think it is very important to figure out a strategy when approaching this problem. You do not have any obligation to express your beliefs. Sometimes it is much better to address the issue of whether or not it is necessary at the moment. If your only doing it to express your independence then you will have to accept the consequences of your actions. You will have to plan for those consequences. If it is to confront a situation that that is caused by bigotry. Try to avoid the issue of the full scope of your beliefs by directly confronting the problem.
If you decide the consequence may be more than you can handle at this time then find an outlet to share your frustrations, and focus on putting yourself into a situation you can handle.
Try to embrace the problem rationally without emotional outbursts. Sometimes we need to make sacrifices to liberties to protect ourselves.
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