Atheism, Skepticism and Me

Reading through some quotes, I was struck with one about skepticism that sums up, for me, why religion hates science. "Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism." - David Suzuki. Skepticism and rational, non-emotional thinking are the enemies of an institution that expects you to believe everything you are told about or read in 'divine works.' I don't think that 'atheism' as defined by the religious, is on the rise, I think that skepticism is increasing. People are getting fed up with hollow authority figures telling them what to believe and how to behave, and then becoming something else entirely themselves. Those that are able to think for themselves seem to be doing so more openly now.
Atheism (the lack of a belief in a god) and those groups lumped with them are the fastest growing ideological faction in America, and we are behind the curve compared to European countries. Atheism and agnosticism are very misunderstood terms and those who label themselves as such are often vilified by the religious, claiming they 'hate God' or 'have no morals,' among other ignorant and horrible accusations.
First, one cannot hate something they do not believe in. Second, morality and religion are mutually exclusive, as shown by the hateful and violent nature of many religious groups, those that bomb buildings, soldiers and abortion clinics, and those that claim that homosexuals, atheists and foreigners are destroying our 'Christian Nation.'
There cannot be such a title as 'Christian' for a country that truly believes in freedom of religion, for we are much more than that. We have Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Wicca, atheism/agnosticism, and dozens of other ideologies. Yet the only one that has experienced growth is the one that disbelieves in a Creator.
In my own circles, I have seen this growth, and the reasons are as varied as the people that express them. Many are tired of religion and its hypocrisy. Others do not care for religious structuring in their lives. A large number have seen the lack of cohesion and rationality in religion and looked into what they once believed, only to find that the foundation was weak and full of holes, and the structure itself collapsed. I am one of these latter, having had doubts surface in my mind, and instead of trying to pray it away like I was instructed, decided to look into what my life was built around. And guess what I found? It didn't hold up.
I wanted so much to believe that what I had been told since I was a child was true, that I fought against myself for years. This led to anxiety and depression, medication and finally, a search for answers. The double-bind in my mind had reached a critical point, and I began to research, study and reflect upon everything I had been taught. Things didn't add up, I began to find rampant contradictions and buried facts. I learned things they did not want teach me in Sunday school or seminary, and all the negative history and lies about my religion I had never known about. I started to 'not-believe.'
I can remember the exact moment when everything finally clicked in my head and I realized I was a non-believer, a heathen, a non-religious person. I was exhilarated--and terrified. My family, many friends and others I associated with were religious to differing degrees, and I was suddenly very different from them. I had a secret, but many doors suddenly opened for me. Things in my life that had been blocked to me by my own conflicted mind were suddenly free, and I felt I could breathe easier--that is, if I hadn't been in one of the most suffocatingly religious areas of our country. I could consume alcohol, but I felt the weight society had placed on such a practice settling on my shoulders. I could enjoy my life without fearing heavenly wrath, but the condescending, scrutinizing eye of religion was now watching me, I had become a minority. This freeing of my mind from the shackles of religion had placed me under the servitude of social pressure.
But I found others. I gained some of my security back from reading others' stories, experiences and opinions, and the few friends I have that felt similarly about religion. Recovery From Mormonism was a wonderful find, helping me through the anguish, dismal rage and fear I felt at finding out I had been lied to my entire life. As far as I have come in nearly two years, I still feel anxiety about even thinking about discussing it with my family. It's hard enough with my religious friends. Often they just do not-or cannot-understand. But I know enough like minded people to keep me sane in this irrational world, and I know that I am far happier now than I have ever been, I am no longer lying to myself or trying to hold faith over knowledge. If religion is the opiate of the masses, I'm totally clean.