Do We Need Religion To Differentiate Between Right or Wrong?
[newsletter_lock]…The glory of life surmounts the fear of death. Good Christian’s fear Hellfire, so to avoid it they are kind to their fellow man. Good pagans do not have this fear, so they can be who they are. Good or ill, as their nature dictates. We have no fear of God, so we are accountable to no one but each other.
Some man once proclaimed religion to be the opium of the masses, and I’d have to agree. Religion has become a widely accepted and encouraged addiction, something that should concern us when speaking of religious fanaticism, and how does society deal with addiction? We consider alcoholics and drug addicts despicable, align their addiction problems with behavioral issues without even acknowledging just how addicted we are to religion.
More often than not, when asked a question, people often respond in reference to one religion or another. If asked why they have refrained from doing something of a questionable nature, they often say it’s a sin or that God is watching. When being openly racism, some say slavery is their right. It’s high time we realize that we don’t need religion to tell us the difference between right or wrong.
Atheists don’t believe in God, which means they believe in holding each other accountable. Stop believing that human nature has driven one to rape, to pillage, plunder, murder and burn the earth to ashes. God didn’t do that, you did. We must learn to hold each other accountable for our actions rather than blaming it on the divine which is the usual mode of operation.
Besides, why let religion create rifts between people? Followers of one religion openly expressing their hatred of the other, people denying services to others due to a difference in religion, suicide bombings, hate speech etc.
Some may argue that without religion, life is devoid of purpose, but is it? What an individual makes of life is up to them, and aren’t we allowed to make sense of life ourselves? What a wonderful existence it would be, were we to create meaning and value, ourselves rather than being told to do so? Find meaning in the little things, create, discover, and empathize.
One is free, to choose a religion, but the question at hand is, must we use religion as a crutch for our every action, every deed? Why can’t we be good without the promise of reward and an eternity of luxury? Do we only stop crimes from occurring because of the threat of eternal punishment?
Religious freedom should be offered to all, however, no religion should discriminate or be discriminated against unless said religion goes against the basic moral laws of humanity. In the end, freedom to make up your own mind should be granted to everyone.
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