Dear lewcow,
Thanks much for your good quesitons. I will try to take them one by one:
you should know that Islam cleans up all your previous mistakes. You are newly born.
Doubter and disbeliever: Doubter just have some doubts and may be unanswered questions. Islam is an open book. If you ask about anything, you will find a logic answer. No theocracy in Islam.
But disbeliever is the one who doesnt believe in Islam in the first place, whether he doesnt or doesnt want to understand it, or he knows it but doesnt want to believe in it!
As for your parents, Islam made it clear that we all MUST treat our parents not only in a good way but in the BESSSSSSSST way we could ever do.
Hope I could make things easy for you and dont feel hesitated to put any questions whatever

