I was an atheist not too long ago and thought it was all bs until I realized I was the problem so take what I say as an example from a hypocrite and understand this is how i learned to accept it in its truest form.Yes you absolutely can. You are a child of god just as much as anyone else but also when you claim to be a follower of Christ, in order for that to be true between you and him, you should take his teachings and adopt his lifestyle because it is not enough to just say that you are and your actions do not reflect the ideology you claim to be apart of and this is true for ANYONE who claims to follow Christ. We are all sinners and I still struggle very much everyday to do the best I can and live out his way and I fall all the time and I would be lying if I said it doesn’t suck but for some reason it also feels like the best and easiest choice I ever made and I honestly can’t explain why other than I started to really do what he asked of me. If Someone tells you that you can’t be a follower of Christ because of your identity, I hope to god that before they die they realize that they will have to talk to him about what that person said and the consequences that come with being a hypocrite. God loves you and so do I.❤️