What is your name? (Real or pseudo)

Annabelle V.

What is your date of birth?

7/08/80

What is your gender?

Female

What is your race?

White

What is your e-mail address? (optional)

private

What is the name and URL of your homepage? (optional)

none

Where do you live? (City, State, Country)

St. Louis, Missouri

How would you best describe your form of freethought? (Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist, etc.)

Atheist

Were you raised as a freethinker or to be religious?

Freethinker. My parents told everyone we were Lutheran to keep the neighbors happy.

What originally set you on the path to freethought?

Thought itself.

When did you "come out" as a freethinker to family/friends/public, and how did it go over?

I never really "came out." I'm not an atheist to get attention, although writing this public profile contradicts that.

Do you feel it necessary to continue to hide your beliefs in any circumstances, and if so, why?

I did when I was young and afraid of losing friends.

Have you ever been the victim of discrimination or abuse because of your beliefs?

I used to babysit for a Catholic family. When they discovered I was atheist, they screamed bible verses at me and told the kids they were going to church immediately to cleanse themselves of me. I also got a lot of dirty looks during theological discussions in high school.

In what types of freethought activism, if any, do you participate?

I wasn't aware there were any.

What do you feel is the best part of being a freethinker?

The freedom to be objective and to see the universe as amoral has made my life 100% easier.

What do you feel is the worst part of being a freethinker?

There are no bad parts, from my experience.

What is the societal atmosphere for freethinkers where you live?

I am surrounded by Christians. I know two atheists, and one Buddhist.

How do you define "freedom of religion" and do you think your country attempts to grant this?

I would define "freedom of religion" as self-defining. The United States attempts to grant it in some ways, but not enough.

If you could share one thought with whoever might read this profile of you, what would it be?

Don't take other atheists as examples to follow, for that makes it a sort of religion when it should not be, and do not be ignorant of other religions. Far too many atheists are exactly like Christians- they use their beliefs as a crutch, are afraid to question their thoughts, and impose their "free-thinking" on others.