Hey annadios, this is a great question and topic. Terribly difficult to implement, of course, so kudos for being courageous. If you haven't read Real Time Relationships yet, that's a really wonderful starting point for putting yourself into the position of being able to tackle this supremely challenging subject with your current social circle, particularly your family. I wouldn't worry too much about people hearing about your atheism second-hand, although I think the open letter to your peeps is not a bad way at all to go about this whole thing. I think putting yourself in a situation that is YOU vs. EVERYONE would probably be detrimental to your end goal (assuming I'm understanding it correctly). I've found (coming from a hyper-religious history) that conversations with people one-on-one has been *hugely* valuable to me in discovering who is "on my team" and who doesn't give a shit. Also, I believe having relentlessly deep and personal discussion with individuals about my own experience and growth in understanding has not only been life-changing for me, but seems to elevate others in the process. There's a lot more to be said about this, certainly, but best of luck and I'll be following this thread to see what the outcome of this is for you. Thanks for sharing!-John