Reading LA Weekly's LA PEOPLE feature

I got to reading about Julia Sweeney. She used to be a Catholic, and bought a house specifically for its view and for its proximity to a church so she could hear church bells. But then she became Atheist.

It's sad that my mom doesn't know I don't believe in her religion. I've always pointed out how lucky my siblings and I were that my mother didn't instill her Religion in us. She's a rather devout worshipper. She observes and respects many of the traditional Chinese holidays, and she goes by the lunar calendar for her Religion. I've always looked at it that my parents didn't make us worship on purpose. They didn't transmit this culture so we would be free to choose. But now, I don't think that is so much true. I think my mom thinks we believe in her deities. As a child, she's always mentioned the deities as a way to teach us lessons, but there was never any worshipping with purpose. No Religious intention was imposed in using Religion as a moral guidance. I think that is why I stress ethics and morality, yet am totally antagonistic toward Religion.

I would be scared to tell my mom, I don't believe in her gods. I would be afraid to say something blasphemous in front of her, because I know she takes her Religion seriously. I would really like to ask my dad his beliefs. If he is an Atheist. I think he is. He could be superstitious, I guess, but who isn't? And most of the time, I think he is only listening to what my mother tells him to do anyway. On another note though, I guess he is most definitely very traditional... Just not religious.