Do you ever feel "in the closet" about your atheism/agnostic views?

[Dragonfli]

92. I can only judge the actions of those I have met, I must have picked a bad state to live in

Here WNY, the baptists are of the fundamentalist variety, like fundy adherents in most Religions, they have chosen to spend their time showing a lack of tolerance for others, even other Christians (they like to say that the Catholic Church is a cult and run by Satan) There are little published comic book things they hand out, one explains how evil Catholics are (something about the church being a great whore), another that is a favorite of mine is the one where a kid is driving with his friends and just before they crash and burn his one friend casually asks him if he is saved, another friend made fun of the guy and after they died the friend turned out to be satan. Funny stuff.

I have been told I would burn forever if I did not claim that Jesus was my personal best friend and savior. They tell me it does not matter if I do good or bad, only that I join them as that is the only way to be saved.

Catholics around here are nicer and less insane, but look down on me because I quit the church to study eastern philosophy and along the way became a witch, I have been told by reps from both camps I was evil and will burn someday, for eternity apparently because I won't join them.

I have a question, the fundy adherents here are enthralled with John Calvin and some sort of prosperity spirituality, is this unique to this region or is it a common thing?

I remember him historically as a bloody cruel man that liked to burn people among other things, according to what I have been told, you can tell who is "blessed" and in grace because they will become wealthy (the wealth being the blessings it would seem). The poor are also being punished by God. These guys scare me and hope they are only local locos