Hi all!!!! Ive been away from mylot for some time..

I think a lot of the reason for the upsurge in atheism these days is the amazing amount of religious tension in the world. With so much extremist and human rights violations happening in the name of religion, it makes atheism a really attractive alternative. I also think part of the issue is that it's starting to become more socially acceptable to be atheist. Many of the older atheists I know often pretended faith they didn't have just to make their lives easier, and it's something that younger people aren't doing as much these days. It works the same way for people of less mainstream religions, not just atheists. In my own religion (paganism), I'm meeting more and more people who are open about their beleifs these days, whereas when I was a child, my pagan great-grandmother felt she had to be discreet about her beliefs.