> I know everyone in the world hates the atheism sub, but after 23 years of being a conservative fundamentalist Seventh-day Adventist Christian, I needed an outlet for my anger and frustration I can appreciate that. When someone finds themselves in any kind of situation where they see a popular or long-held belief to be in error I think many people find themselves wanting to metaphorically run through the streets yelling "the emperor's new clothes are a lie! Don't you see?!" This applies to much more than atheism, too, though it's a very predictable kind of backlash when so much of the world's day-to-day workings are influenced by some form of religion or another. On one hand, the common perception of /r/atheism is pretty spot-on. It really is kind of a circlejerk, and I'm not sure that being involved with it for a long period of time is healthy. On the other hand, I think that having a place like that to rage and commiserate with others is an important aspect of transitioning to atheism from a lifetime of religious belief. When someone feels like they've been tricked by everyone around them, it's good to have others they can go to to be reassured that they're not crazy.