I’ve always known my father to be an Atheist.
He has been so, while still respectful of other’s beliefs.
When folks tried to convert him, his view was that they thought they were looking out for him, and, usually, there was no ill intent.
Randy: Dad, what do you believe happens after you die? Where do you go?
Dad (smugly): I believe you just return to the place you were before you were born.
Randy: Well, don’t you think that’s going to be uncomfortable for your parents?
Dad (smirking): Perhaps. It’s more like we return to the great void, infinite nothingness.
Randy: But…
Dad (interrupting, grinning): It’s like this. In other religions, people wear chains and trinkets as symbols of their gods. It’s kind of strange when you think of it. If Christ had died in the present day, folks would wear little gold electric chairs around their necks. If he had died in the old west, it would be nooses. For my belief, I’d wear a gold chain with a tiny vacuum bottle hanging from it.