Too true, Mrzzy. That's why I, as a rather well-read young child, rejected the Bible stories told to me in my first Sunday School class as totally unrealistic, and refused to go back. It's also why I rejected the notion that a healthy democracy can be achieved by choosing between the Democrats and Republicans! Talk about a failed concept... ;-)

Two ridiculous sets of mythology, as far as I could see.

Look, there are very few people who are inclined to doubt or question the things they know are fact, based on direct observation...such as our knowledge of math, chemistry, physics, natural history, geography, geometry, etc...

We all agree on that stuff as long as we know about it, and most of us do know about it. I never had any trouble believing things for which there is known empirical evidence. Most people don't have any trouble believing things like that. They take such things for granted.

On top of that, however, people are usually interested in all sorts of non-material stuff for which empirical evidence is not necessarily available...and that's what they get into loggerheads with other people over. Their religious beliefs, romantic concepts, philosophy, political notions, cultural notions, gender role notions, racial notions, notions of "good taste" and "bad taste", notions of what's funny or entertaining or offensive...all these are subjective matters, open to individual interpretation.

You can't just nail down your whole life and avoid all those non-material things in order to achieve a sense of "certainty". Or can you? ;-) Well, I doubt it.

I know you're objecting to the primitive Christian fundamentalism which is foisted on a lot of kids where you are living. I get that. Okay. No problem. I don't like it any better than you do.

But I don't feel the least bit insecure about it where I live. There is no closet here that an atheist or agnostic has to come out of. It's not a stigma to be known as an atheist or agnostic around here...or to be known as religious either. It's not an issue...except in the minds of a few cranks who have a real big chip on their shoulder about it. Such people are not fun to be around.

As far as I can see, you're reacting to your local social situation, which is very different from the one I grew up in and am living in. So our way of reacting to this issue is different, because of that.