Story highlights A new helpline is believed to be the first for people suffering from a loss of faith Founded by the group Recovering From Religion, 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT launched on Friday.

He's been a Christian for 20 years but can't believe in the Bible anymore. He hasn't told his friends or family and still sits, uneasy, in church each Sunday.

"I feel like I'm lying," he tells the woman on the other end of the phone. "I'm pretending to be a person that I'm not.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asks. "Will I go to hell?"

"Hmmm..." the woman says, after stumbling through an awkward answer. "I thought you weren't going to make this hard."

If this call had been real, the woman says, she would have dissuaded the man from falling for Pascal's Wager, the argument that it's better to believe in God because -- well, hell is an awfully hot place to spend eternity.

But the call wasn't real. The man and woman are volunteers training for 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT, believed to be the country's first helpline for people wrestling with religion, suffering from a loss of faith, or confused about why their son or wife seems to have suddenly embraced atheism.

Founded by the group Recovering From Religion and cobbled together with a small budget, the helpline launched on Friday. Nearly 100 volunteers are ready to field calls 24/7 on the weekends and from 6-12 Central Time on weeknights.

Calls will be kept confidential and the callers can remain anonymous, said Sarah Morehead, Recovering From Religion's executive director. There's no physical call center; instead volunteers and callers are connected through a virtual private network

The volunteer agents, who are not licensed counselors or therapists, will not steer callers toward atheism, Morehead said. Rather, they will offer a sympathetic ear and practical tips for finding secular or religious communities. One script they can use, for example, asks callers about their beliefs and matches them with local congregations. Other guidelines direct callers with serious problems to secular therapists or, if necessary, a suicide hotline.

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Losing my religion: Hotline helps would-be atheists