It’s rough being an atheist. If friends say to me, God loves you, they are “brave”. They are “standing up for their beliefs”. And when I respond that I can’t believe things without evidence, I’m “mean” and “disrespectful”. I can’t imagine suggesting to anyone that they skip church for a week and read secular literature with me – I’d instantly be accused of pushing my non-faith on others. But if I don’t want to read someone else’s 500-page holy book or attend their church, suddenly I’m the “closed-minded” one.

After a recent conversation with a religious friend, I was called a “fanatic”. I had given the reasons I personally did not believe in his holy book. I never tried to change his mind about his own holy book, never told him he shouldn’t believe it. He was the one who tried to change my mind, and also the one who started the conversation. Somehow I’m the fanatic.

I’m tired of it, tired of the double-standard. I wish people would treat my non-faith with the same respect they treat others’ faiths.