I grew up in India in a very conservative environment. I was a devout believer of God until I came to Utah in fall of 2011 and gave up my belief in God after meeting the mormons. It wasn't just a simple choice. My experience was strikingly similar to what happened to Julia Sweeney if you care to know. I doubted the whole thing because it suddenly seemed very unrealistic to me. As others have suggested, people don't become atheists just to 'sin'. First, that doesn't even make any sense. If you 'sinned' and are just trying to cover up by saying you don't believe in God anymore you are not really an atheist. Right? Anyway it has been 4 years and I have softened up a lot (on religion) and I can probably relate to what your husband is going through and I probably also know the youtube channel your husband is referring to. Coming to your situation, your husband refuses to pray not because he does not care, but because he does not believe in God anymore. By the way, if you still love him after all this, you are the perfect wife! Your husband needs to realize that not everything needs to be rational, humans are way more emotional than rational most of the time. That being said, it's in our best interest to be as reasonable as possible with our expectations and desires. It leads to a happier and successful life. What your husband is trying to say to you is that kids are unable to reason what their parents teach them until they reach a certain age so maybe teaching the gospel as true might not give them a fair chance to understand/learn what other religions or philosophies teach, which I kind of agree with. I am an atheist but I've decided that when I get married, I would take my kids to as many churches/temples/places of worship as I can, whenever I get the chance to, so they get a fair chance to learn about all cultures/beliefs and such so when they grow up they can adopt the religion/philosophy of their choosing. Also, I do believe that your husband is using the word 'abuse' in a hyperbolic fashion. He probably just needs some time to cool off. Please try to think about the situation from his perspective. All his life, he grew up believing the church to be true. And now, he feels cheated on some level and is probably a little resentful. It's just him being human. I hope things work out for you guys. Do you guys live in Utah? I would love to talk to you both together. It hurts me when a family is torn apart especially over religious differences because I strongly believe your situation is workable. Good luck!
