I am an atheist. This will not come as a surprise to many who know me, although I do not go around waving my beliefs under other people’s noses. Just like I appreciate it when they don’t wave their believes under my nose.
Church on the Market Square in DelftI was not raised religiously, in fact, I never knew my parents’ religious beliefs until I was well into college. But as a child I did sometimes discuss religion with my grandmother. I remember thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to believe in God if he didn’t exist, and would only benefit if it turned out he did exist after all.
As a teenager, I realized that this position was essentially hypocritical; that I didn’t know whether or not God existed, and I should admit to myself I was an agnostic. It wasn’t until after my college time that I finally realized that this whole God business did not make any sense to me at all and that I actually had become an atheist.
I live in a world where religion is an important aspect of my lives, where religions have a lot of in many parts of everyone’s life. Even though I do not believe in a God myself, I live and work with many people who do. As an atheist, I have had to figure out what this means.
I respect religious people. There are some good friends of mine who are very religious; these are people I respect highly, and as far as I can tell, they respect me as well. Then on the other hand, there are some religious people that I do not respect at all. Like people who are convinced that they alone know that absolute truth, that everyone else is wrong and needs to be “saved.”
I respect some religions. There are groups of people that come together to celebrate their shared belief, and honestly try to act in accordance with those believes. These are typically not the congregations you read about in the paper or hear about on the news.
I am generally very skeptical about religions, though. Throughout history, religions have shown an uncanny ability to align themselves with the worldly powers, if not to become the center of power themselves. Actually, this is probably not so strange at all if you realize that religions that did not fit within the power structures of their time probably ended up getting wiped out very quickly.
What I find I have less and less patience for, is people and organizations that feel that everyone should follow their particular beliefs, and want to incorporate those into the laws of the land. I’m not talking about Iran or Saudi Arabia here, which are recognized theocracies, but about the good old U. S. of A.
This behavior can be seen everywhere nowadays, and it seems to be on the rise. It is behind the movement for school prayer, the attempts to allow for the display of the ten commandments in court rooms, the resistance against LGBT equality, as well as behind the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks in the media.
I am an atheist, but that does not mean that I do not believe in things. I believe in honor and dignity, I believe in loving and respecting my fellow human beings. But most of all, I believe in freedom, the freedom to live my life the way I see fit, and the freedom for everyone else to live their lives the way they see fit. A freedom that should be limited only when it would hurt others.
Today, September 17, is Constitution Day in the United States. Constitution Day is a little-known federal holiday, celebrating the signing of the United States constitution in 1787. What better moment to remember the first Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Let us never forget that the separation of church and state is one of the fundamental principles of the United States, one that formed us from the first moments on, and one that contributed to making us the great country we are. Let us continue to respect everyone’s personal convictions, but continue to work hard to keep them out of our collective laws and customs!
