I'm 23; he's 13. When he was 3 my father rather heatedly threatened me not to tell him about my beliefs (My father and other family members are Catholic). However, he has always been inquisitive and decently logical (he asked me at age 5 why dinosaurs weren't part of the Old Testament Bible stories he'd been learning, and I told him some bs justification to avoid angering my parents). Now my father is on medication and no longer (seemingly) angry about my beliefs. When my brother was 9, he whined "Why doesn't SHE have to go to church?" one morning, and Dad actually said "because her beliefs are different than ours. And who knows? Maybe one day we'll think more like she does." This comment kinda threw me... He's still quite devout, as I observed during three deaths in the family since he made that statement, so I'm not sure where he was going with it (or if he was just in an exceptionally good mood that morning).
Regardless, I've been away from my brother for almost a year due to school. He's a teenager now... he loves me like crazy, and it's reciprocated, and I have a feeling our discussions are going to be more complex when I return home soon. So if religion comes up (I won't bring it up, but he likely will), should I be honest, or lie, or avoid the topic?
I would especially like to hear from any atheists who have been in a similar situation with their siblings, though any comments are welcome.
And to the theists, I'm not going to try and convert him to atheism... though I admit that my hesitation is based on the realization that, if I do describe my beliefs, then he is logical enough to follow that train of thought to his own conclusions, which are likely to be correct (that there is no God, or at the very least, that organized religion is bunk).
Thanks in advance!
Regardless, I've been away from my brother for almost a year due to school. He's a teenager now... he loves me like crazy, and it's reciprocated, and I have a feeling our discussions are going to be more complex when I return home soon. So if religion comes up (I won't bring it up, but he likely will), should I be honest, or lie, or avoid the topic?
I would especially like to hear from any atheists who have been in a similar situation with their siblings, though any comments are welcome.
And to the theists, I'm not going to try and convert him to atheism... though I admit that my hesitation is based on the realization that, if I do describe my beliefs, then he is logical enough to follow that train of thought to his own conclusions, which are likely to be correct (that there is no God, or at the very least, that organized religion is bunk).
Thanks in advance!