My God is Dead, Please Respect That

By Mona

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Why are you religious? This isn’t an easy question to answer. For some, religion provides safety and structure within their lives, for others it allows them to feel loved and a part of a community. However, if you are religious simply because it’s expected of you, you might need to re-evaluate your stance as a religious person. Just like 220 million people worldwide already have.
 
These people are known as atheists or nontheists, and if you haven’t already guessed, these are people who do not believe in the existence of any gods. In a society as influenced by religion as ours, this can lead to a lot of subconscious discrimination. Religion provides people with a strict set of rules to abide by, such as the Ten Commandments in Christianity and Judaism, and the Shariah in the Islamic religion.
 
These rules are often provided to set guidelines on how people should behave in society and how to live moral and god-fearing lives. Very often these guidelines provide comfort to religious people, bringing structure to their lives and reassurance that others will abide by these laws too. Additionally, providing them with an added feeling of safety.
 
Therefore, a person who does not abide by these guidelines and has no incentive to do so would be regarded as a threat. A threat not only to belief systems but also to the safety of religious people. How can a person who has no belief system, differentiate between right and wrong? How can they be trustworthy people, without the guiding hand of religion?  
 
As previously stated religion is a guide on good and moral behaviour, therefore it can be assumed that atheists who do not have this guide within their lives lack good and moral behaviour, or are due to their lack of religion, more susceptible to immoral behaviour. This belief, even unconsciously, leads to discrimination and even fear of nonreligious people.
 
These beliefs cause a distrust of atheists within positions of power. Atheists are very rarely elected as ministers, governors or mayors. Patients often refuse to be treated by doctors and other healthcare providers who identify as atheists. In Ireland, teachers are required to have religious training from Christian universities, in order to work in public schools.  In fact, in the countries Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, atheism is a capital punishment. In Brazil, as of 2009, atheists are regarded as the most hated minority group within the country.

As an atheist, I do not see myself as any less of a good person, than anybody. We all have the potential to do bad things and have bad thoughts. Resisting these thoughts alone does not make a good person, however, wanting to do better both for yourself and others, is a good start. Simply because I do not have a religion, does not mean that I am inherently a bad person or that I am more likely to do bad things. Neither does it mean that I am in search of religion or in need of conversion.
 
For those of you who would like to learn how to be a part of the solution, here are some tips-
 

• Don’t ask why they are atheists.

While asking someone why they no longer believe in religion may seem like a common question to ask, the answer should seem obvious- they no longer, or have never believed in any god. This leads us directly to our second question.
 

• Do not ask why they do not believe in god.

This question might seem very innocent, however, more often than not in my experience, it has always led to an argument. Some reasons might seem simple, whereas others are personal and maybe even traumatic. Overall, asking this question makes it seem as if this person has to justify themselves. Which they do not. So rather, just don’t ask. 
 

• Educate yourself on atheism

For many, they know that atheists exist and what atheism is, however, they do not know, or understand the nuances of atheism and can therefore also not understand atheists. If you would genuinely like to understand atheism, you will need to educate yourself about the topic. 
 

• Do not try to shut down aggressive atheism

Aggressive atheism is the active promotion of atheism. It’s about making people aware of atheism and pointing out certain disadvantages of religion as well as the inaccuracies within religious stories and pointing out faults within belief systems.
 
Attempting to shut down aggressive atheism would be denying atheists their freedom of speech. However, this doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to disagree with their statements. It simply means that they should be allowed to disagree with beliefs within religion and broadcast those beliefs, without feeling threatened. 
 
Religion is a cornerstone of our society, we allow it to influence our behaviour and thoughts, and in some cases, this is a good thing. However, when religion leads to the discrimination of others, we might have to re-evaluate our stands on certain points within our belief systems. After all, we live in a modern world, shouldn't we try to adapt our beliefs to modern times I hope you learned something today?
  
And for those of you who know somebody who has been discriminated against due to their non-religion, here is some help- If you need someone to talk to