Thank God For Atheism

An article on my family's growing generations of Atheism, and how it opened our insights to a much broader spectrum of beliefs.

For generations my family has ranged between many religions. A few years ago my parents passed on Atheism to me and my brother, rather than what their parents (my grandparents) believed in. When my brother and I became of age to understand conversation of religions with friends, classmates, adults… we were given a choice of what to believe in. Since we were young, we never believed anyone could guide us other than ourselves (we were difficult kids), but we started noticing how we never had special traditions or went to church. As we got older we realized our parents had no beliefs in God or Gods. My father had expressed one thanksgiving that “the most important thing to believe in is yourself” (J.Daniel). My father taught me and my brother many things: kindness, love, compassion… everything a father figure should do, but never taught us to practice a religion. We never considered ourselves Atheist until people started asking us if we were Catholic or Christian, and when we answered with “neither” they would frown and drop the topic. I believe there is no such thing as believing in nothing, but I do believe in science, and am thankful for the privileges it's given to us for ages; I believe in miracles, because all we have is hope when times are rough; I believe in love and kindness, so we can respect and cherish one another; and I believe in Humanity, in which everyone should be treated the same and have no rules or sins placing restrictions on our life.

As Barbara Ehrenreich, author of “Cultural Baggage”  says: “skepticism, curiosity and wide-eyed ecumenical tolerance are also worthy elements of the human tradition”. By having no particular religion opens the world to many more beliefs and helps us view the world however we chose to interpret it. By being an Atheist I am thankful for the broad spectrum of things to believe in. Atheism is not a religion recognized by many, but it should be. By having my own thoughts and the freedom to believe in whatever I want has made me into the independent person I am today. I hope to continue and pass down the religion of Atheism for generations because my family believes “you do you” (N.Haines).

Works Cited

Daniel, James, and Natalie Haines. Interview. By Noelle Daniel. 9 Oct. 2010.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. “Cultural Baggage.” 1992. Essay, p. 2.

Mishra, Ishita. Atheist. 15 Oct. 2016. IndianExpress, images.indianexpress.com/2016/10/athiest-759.jpg.