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sam19
I saw your post in the rally thread but thought I'd address it here.
Have you looked to find a local group? I found that even going just a few times a year to one of the atheist meetups (usually held at a bar 
was really beneficial to a sense of community.
As for explaining yourself, have you read any of the atheist books or blogs? Sometimes I come across a paragraph and think, yeah, that's the way to explain it. It's so simple, wth didn't I say it that way before?
Re: sam19
I've thought about finding local groups but I'm not sure how to go about it. I also live in a very small town and live about an hour from a bigger city. I definitely think what I miss most about being part of a religion is the sense of community and being able to gather with like minded individuals. Although, I guess the truth is that I never had that since I've considered myself atheist/agnostic since I was around 14.
I really haven't looked into many atheist books or blogs. I've always wanted to but have been lazy about finding them. I'm open to recommendations if you have them. I am part of one Atheist parenting group but it is very dead unfortunately. I do hate that I feel like I have to explain myself to people at all though. Nobody asks Christians about why they believe what they believe. I also have family that just believes it's a "phase" or that I'm not really atheist. Not sure why since I've felt this way for multiple years.
For parenting, have you looked at this blog? He's written a couple books and does seminars, too. I read his blog occasionally just b/c he's so damn good at it, even if I have no kids.
http://parentingbeyondbelief.com/blog/
For books, the god delusion is one that clicked, even though by the time I read it I was fairly in to my open atheism. Some of the things Dawkins writes just make so much sense, which I hope in turn makes me make sense.
Have you looked on meetup? That's where I've found skeptic/atheist groups. Depending on the size of the city, they may be multiple variations.
mesh, I tend to read pharyngula and friendly atheist most. Some of the other blogs I follow have hints of atheism, but they're geared more toward general skepticism. Skepchick is probably the one that I read most of that genre. I just added love joy feminism to my blog reader. Former quiverfull child.
sweet. Thanks!
Thanks. I'll check some of that stuff out.
This is probably bad to say but sometimes I'm hesitant about joining different groups (or even posting here) because I feel like I'm not very smart. I feel like I wouldn't be able to add much to a discussion except to nod my head in agreement. But stepping out of your comfort zone is a good thing so I should just suck it up and join in.
Don't be intimidated! Our meetings here are usually just potlocks with wine, very low pressure. There's lots of different discussions going on, not all of them intellectual. We even have game nights. Sometimes people barely say anything. Not surprisingly I tend to monopolize conversation
You saw how wordy I got in that rally thread.
Despite the reputation, we're not all just angry vocal master debaters ready to rip people to intellectual shreds.
A nearby university might have an SSA to contact. They'd have suggestions for meeting people possibly. We actually have a BYU student as a member of our group, although if he was out he'd be expelled.