First of all, I definitely think that atheism is better than religion. Deconversion was amazingly liberating. But at the same time, every time I go to a temple something makes me feel really, really sad. And I start to wonder what would happen when religion is gone.
There are experiences that make me hate religion. When my dad answers my younger brother's question with "Because God made it that way" and I can just see the intelligence in my brother's eyes and I feel terrible because I really want to stop his brainwashing but what can I really do? When I read about the horrific things being done in the name of religion every day. When I hear about more violence, discord, indoctrination, and deaths.
A few years ago I visited the temples in belur and halebidu in Karnataka, India. They were the most amazing things I had ever seen. For a whole month I visited beautiful temples across the state. I listened to street musicians and looked at wall murals. I fell in love with the culture that I was born into. And even when I came home, back to a small, 98% white farming town, I felt thankful. Our local temple was small. But I looked at the carved roof and thought, "Someone came here from India and spent months carving intricate designs into the pyramidal roof because the loved what they do and why they do it." I watched the movie Baraka and thought "Us humans are pretty awesome. And the things we've made are priceless."
About a year ago I wished I was religious. I thought, "I don't care about truth, I want to be a part of a community and all of this amazing culture. I want to be accepted. I don't want to feel alone."
I don't believe that any more. I believe in truth, and I believe that being alone means we are responsible for ourselves.
But is there a perfect world full of atheists and human rights and beautiful temples? I really want there to be one. But sometimes when I'm feeling pessimistic, I don' t think there ever can be. Hinduism, being an ethnic religion, is almost a complete way of life. If you're a Hindu, chances are you're Indian and eat certain foods and speak certain languages. If Hinduism is gone, what next? What about all the other things that have been made in the name of religion? What will life be like when religion is gone? Maybe there will always be two groups, the atheists and then everyone else.
It'll be peaceful, definitely. To be clear, I don't want to be a Hindu again. It's just a rhetorical question about what will happen to culture.
There are experiences that make me hate religion. When my dad answers my younger brother's question with "Because God made it that way" and I can just see the intelligence in my brother's eyes and I feel terrible because I really want to stop his brainwashing but what can I really do? When I read about the horrific things being done in the name of religion every day. When I hear about more violence, discord, indoctrination, and deaths.
A few years ago I visited the temples in belur and halebidu in Karnataka, India. They were the most amazing things I had ever seen. For a whole month I visited beautiful temples across the state. I listened to street musicians and looked at wall murals. I fell in love with the culture that I was born into. And even when I came home, back to a small, 98% white farming town, I felt thankful. Our local temple was small. But I looked at the carved roof and thought, "Someone came here from India and spent months carving intricate designs into the pyramidal roof because the loved what they do and why they do it." I watched the movie Baraka and thought "Us humans are pretty awesome. And the things we've made are priceless."
About a year ago I wished I was religious. I thought, "I don't care about truth, I want to be a part of a community and all of this amazing culture. I want to be accepted. I don't want to feel alone."
I don't believe that any more. I believe in truth, and I believe that being alone means we are responsible for ourselves.
But is there a perfect world full of atheists and human rights and beautiful temples? I really want there to be one. But sometimes when I'm feeling pessimistic, I don' t think there ever can be. Hinduism, being an ethnic religion, is almost a complete way of life. If you're a Hindu, chances are you're Indian and eat certain foods and speak certain languages. If Hinduism is gone, what next? What about all the other things that have been made in the name of religion? What will life be like when religion is gone? Maybe there will always be two groups, the atheists and then everyone else.
It'll be peaceful, definitely. To be clear, I don't want to be a Hindu again. It's just a rhetorical question about what will happen to culture.
