Richard Hess and Allison Hess,from Pittsburgh, PA, Co-authors of the blog Couple of Atheists (Coupleofatheists.com)Allison:I am 34 years old, born and raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Growing up my family identified as Roman Catholic and though I did attend church and religious schooling until the age of 16 when I made my confirmation, I have always identified as an Atheist. It was in college that I started to become more vocal about my stance on issues such as religion, politics and LGBT rights. I began joining local groups and found myself quite fortunate that there is such a large Atheist community in Pittsburgh. It was in that community that I met Rich and the rest is history. We started our joint blog and my main focus became secular parenting. I enjoy using my experiences to normalize the concept of a family without God and hope to continue making a positive impact on the community as my daughter grows.Rich:I'm 44 years old and lived in Pittsburgh my whole life. I was raised Roman Catholic and then we switched to Lutheran to appease our then stepfather. When I was a child, my religious belief was provisional at best. I just never thought that much about it, but instead just followed what the family always did. I attended CCD (sunday school) and made my first communion and confirmation. I never really labeled myself an atheist, religion just wasn't any part of my life outside of family events and functions. But I didn't believe any of it. It wasn't until I was in my older and begin reading philosophy again that I started calling myself an atheist. Also I began to see just how harmful religion is and how completely ingrained it is in a culture. Not really having anyone to talk to about such topics, I decided to go to a local skeptics Meet-up and there I met Allison. We started a blog and get involved in activism and here we are. My goal is I want to do my part to encourage secular values while also exposing the harms of religious ideology so the next generation has a brighter future.