Why Atheists Care About Your Religion.

One of the most common points of view in religious discussion today, is “who cares, live and let live.” Theists, deists, and atheists alike too often say that people should be left to believe what they believe, that supernatural beliefs deserve some sort of untouchable respect, and as an outspoken atheist, I am asked on a regular basis, “Why do you care?” I care because it is destructive, because I’m tired of having people’s moral imposed upon my life, because I want to see this world progress, and because I want to see the suffering in this world caused by religion come to an end. I think Sam Harris said it best in his book, “A Letter to a Christian Nation,” “Once you stop swaddling the realities of the world’s suffering in religious fantasies, you will feel in your bones just how precious life is.” As an Atheist, I care about your religion because I feel that feeling, and I think everyone deserves the same.

Religion and Law

Most religions are overridden with moral code. From not shaving your beard to killing disobedient children, countless things are touched upon. Luckily, our innate humanity, our real morals, cause most people to pick and choose which morals they want to follow. However, this still leads to some pretty ridiculous, useless lawmaking.

For example, the biggest argument against gay marriage today is, “The bible said it’s wrong.” Really? That’s it? I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve responded to that with, “Yes. But why should that be justified?” No one can ever answer me. Millions of people in today’s world are homosexual, and most of them aren’t getting the same rights as straight people, and the opposers don’t even know why! Not only is this legal battle causing millions of people pain, but it’s escalating hate crimes against homosexuals and costing people millions of dollars to fight for or against it. Unnecessary is an understatement.

Another issue with huge religious opposition is abortion. Of course, abortion is a big decision, not to be taken lightly or used as a form of birth control. However, an overturn of Roe Vs. Wade would cause the death of countless women looking for illegal abortion, skyrocket teen pregnancy, and ultimately cause endless suffering. It is religion that is causing this threat to our law books.

Religion also imposes upon our legal system in the form of Blue Laws. These are laws prohibiting certain activities because of religious reasons, usually on sundays. Luckily, they are being abolished in many places, but definitely still exist. Aside from Blue Laws, religion has worked it’s way into our Pledge of Allegiance (1954) and onto our currency (1957), and there are six states where Atheists can not hold public office. Not to mention the fact that an atheist has an unbelievably small chance of being elected into any office. When George Bush was campaigning for presidency n 1987, he said in an interview, “No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” To this day, he has not refuted his statement. Of course, he won the election, and today, atheists are still the most distrusted minority in America. The United States of America was founded on religious freedom, by secularists. This is not a Christian nation.

Religion and Science

One of the most promising scientific fields today is stem cell research. With the potential to cure diseases such as heart disease, cancers, liver diseases, and blood disorders, the information that could be gained from learning about human tissue regeneration is endless. However, religion is in opposition once again. There is huge ethical dilemma over stem cell research because of the use of embryonic stem cells. Many religious people feel these cells have souls, and should not be used in medicine. Lets say, for example, an acquaintance of yours refused to pick his nose because his boogers had souls. You’d label him as insane, correct? Unfortunately, it is this logic keeping this invaluable research out of our scientific knowledge.

Of course, stem cell research isn’t the only aspect of science that religion opposes. One of the biggest belief battles today is that between Evolution and Creationism. Evolution, commonly phrased as “the theory of evolution,” is massively misunderstood. Homo Sapiens did not come from monkeys, and we were not born of a lightning bolt. The term “theory” in science is phrased as such not because it is not fact, but because science always leaves room to be disproved. However, there is a whole world of evidence for evolution and it builds each day. The misconceptions about it, and the amount of truth behind it, are leading to a push to teach creationism in all schools. To indoctrinate our children with the idea that snakes can talk, humans lived with dinosaurs and a heavenly sky-father can make the world in six days. This is a huge danger to our scientific community. It’s time to stand up to the idea that it’s okay to believe the world is only 6,000 years old.

The detrimental effects of religion’s opposition to science doesn’t stop here. Amazingly, it is not rare to find a person who does not believe that global warming exists. Not so surprisingly, these people are almost always religious. Some of the strongest foundations these people have are these ideas that god is protecting us, and wouldn’t let these things happen to the world. “The Earth’s temperature is only rising one degree a year,” an Evangelist mother teaches her home schooled son on the documentary, “Jesus Camp.” One degree won’t seem like such a small deal when our beautiful Earth is uninhabitable and our holy father isn’t there to save us.

Religion and Sex

Following the model of imposing morals onto others, religion sure does have a lot to say about sex. It cannot be pre-marital, or with someone of the same sex, it can not take place anally, and it is to be used solely for reproduction. Masturbation, as well, is off limits. The penalty; eternal damnation in a fiery underworld. A little harsh, don’t you think? However, these morals are being shoved down the throats of children as younger as toddler age. Terrified of what their parents, peers, and priests may think, many children, teens, and young adults live their lives in terror of their natural sexual feelings. It is sexually oppressive and extremely harmful psychologically.

The problem only worsens as religion makes it’s way into our schools. Pushing for abstinence only education, teenagers are being left with a “do or die” attitude about sex. And chances are, many are going to choose “do”. Without the education on the proper use of birth control and STD prevention, this is nothing but destructive. The problem continues as religious groups also push to make birth control and condom use illegal. The whole thing is completely illogical. Deny condoms to poverty stricken countries, where infant mortality is skyrocketing, as well as AIDS contraction, and expect people to stop having sex? That’s just not how it works. Again, this ties into a misunderstanding of evolution. Human beings are genetically inclined to have sex, before marriage, and with multiple partners in their lifetimes. It’s going to happen, and trying to stop it will only kill more children, spread more disease, and ruin the lives of more uneducated, terrified teenagers.

Religion and Discrimination

Labeling yourself as a certain religion instantly causes discrimination against someone, or onto you. The wars which started with religious motivation have killed billions. The second century battle for the Jewish Holy Land (2 million killed), the Holocaust (over 6 million killed), the Thirty Years War (11,500,000), The Crusades (1 million killed), 16th Century French Wars on Religion (4 million), and the list goes on. If that isn’t enough, people are also discriminated against each and every day, all over the world, because of religion. Hate crimes against homosexuals rose in 2007. The Boyscouts, which is a taxpayer funded institution, does not allow atheists to participate. People have been kicked out of our Armed Forces for not believing in a god.

It is this discrimination that leads to psychological damage in children, the spread of disease because of abstinence only education, hate crimes against homosexuals, the oppression against valuable scientific research, and the countless other detriments religion is causing on society.

So yes, as an Atheist, I do care about your religion. I do not want your morals imposed on the laws I have to follow, on my bedroom, in my medical schools, or on my fellow human beings. As as atheist, I am tired of watching people suffer, I am tired of being told that I am an immoral human being while the money you’re giving to your church goes to the fight against my rights as a woman. As an atheist, I live my life not to the standards of a deluded society that has picked and chosen from a book of myths, but to the standards of innate human morality. As an atheist, I care not only about your religion, but about the world I live in, and it has never taken the love of a mythical sky-father, or the threat of eternal damnation to provoke those feelings.

Sources

FAQ. 27 Mar 2008. Internation Society for Stem Cell Research. 11 Dec 2008 <http://isscr.org/public/faq.htm#8>.

O'Hair, Madalyn. "The History of the Issue." FAQ. 9 Jan 2008. Internation Society for Stem Cell Research. 11 Dec 2008 <http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm>.

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2006.