I honestly don't get what Bush is trying to accomplish strategically sometimes, or if there's no goal at all but just a collection of knee-jerk reactions on both sides. It seems to me that this is basically how the situation developed:

BUSH: The UAE, our brothers against terrorism, are going to run our ports.
CONGRESS: The UAE! But they're a bunch of terrorists!
BUSH: You're all racists! This deal has to go through or children will die!
CONGRESS: We'd rather die! We'll block it by any means necessary!
BUSH: If you block it, I'll veto! I've got my pen out right now!

Call me crazy, but in a world of mature adults, I see it having gone more like this:

BUSH: A British company that runs part of our ports is about to be taken over by the UAE.
CONGRESS: Isn't that a goverment-controlled company? Are we sure that's a good idea?
BUSH: I see your point. We've vetted them, but maybe we could look deeper.
CONGRESS: That would be great. Could we get more information?
BUSH: Absolutely. Let me buy you a beer.

Guess I'm just a crazy dreamer...

I think it's important to remember that you haven't fallen off of some precipice; the difficult part of agnosticism is that it's an inadequate label for a huge realm of uncertainty that all of us, if we were being honest with ourselves, experience to one degree or another. I had a very similar transition in college. My father is a United Methodist (northern) minister, and I grew up in a strongly Christian househould. At some point in college, though, I realized that I simply couldn't in good conscience claim to believe certain fundamental ideas. I wasn't struck by lightning on the road to wherever agnostics get struck by lightning; I simply realized that I didn't fundamentally care whether Christ was actually the son of God and had no way of proving it one way or another.

You can probably relate when I say that I felt like a hypocrite in my father's church and became increasingly uncomfortable with this realization. I ended up telling my parents, who were remarkably supportive. I won't go into that whole story because, frankly, my parents are fairly open-minded and I can't promise your "confession" will go the same way. Something my dad said was important to me, though; he said that he believes faith is a lifelong journey and that he struggles every minute of every day with it. He told me that he thought honest people embraced their doubts and struggled with them, and that most of those who claim absolute certainty are almost certainly fooling themselves.

My own simple acceptance of that doubt was, in many ways, very liberating. I have tremendous appreciation for the Christian message, but I may never see it as more than a philosophy. Ironically, that acceptance has allowed me to talk to my family and friends (including my younger brother, who's now in seminary) with much more openness about faith, scripture, etc.

Again, I don't know what may or may not happen when you talk to your own family, but don't rush to label yourself and commit some sort of spiritual separation. Accept your beliefs and your doubts for now, and talk about those doubts with people who you think are open to hearing them. Just being honest with yourself is a big step, and I think you'll find there are many other honest, doubting people out there, on both sides of the proverbial fence.

As a psychologist by training, I know small things can represent something deep and wide, emotionally speaking. On the other hand, most small things are just that, and I'm amazed at the arrogant presumption of total strangers who claim to know what one isolated incident in a relationship as complex as a marriage must mean. Maybe this is a power struggle, maybe it's just a slight personal preference that "Worried" doesn't know how to communicate. I have no idea, and neither does anyone else who posted any of the 200+ comments. If there's one thing I appreciate about Cary, it's not that he's 100% right (who can possibly claim that), but that he's willing to admit he doesn't know everything and tries to empathize the best he can.

Empathy can go a long way. To "Worried", what habits do you have that your wife might feel the same way about? Try changing one or two; maybe the effort will make your wife notice. Maybe trying to be a little more attractive to her will make her feel desirable, and I think we all want to feel that way to some degree. Is that vanity? Sure. So what? It's also about self-esteem, security, trust, and a whole lot of other complicated stuff, most of which we, both men and women, worry about a bit too much. Communicating is important, but sometimes actions speak louder than words, and the effort of trying to better yourself for someone (as long as you're true to yourself in the process) can go a long way.

Thank you, Tim, for some late-afternoon entertainment, discovered when I couldn't resist clicking on the National Wild Turkey Federation website. For some timely reading check out "Turkey Hunting: One of the Safest Outdoor Activities". Among other things, I learned that the NWTF apparently has a bit of a bias against state laws requiring bright orange clothing when hunting. From their featured photo, apparently camouflage is the color of choice. Pardon my hunting naivete, but do you need camouflage and an assault rifle to hunt a flightless, spherical bird?