Atheism and Me

After religiously going to church every week and being in the church choir- I got thinking. Was it really worth it? Was god real, if so why did bad events happen in real life?

What also contributed to my decision to become an atheist was the fact that in RE at school, we were discussing and looking into religions. A few of my friends who also questioned the existence of god, and myself put together a presentation to put forward to the Head Teacher at the time.

We had to sell the idea that although in school it is great to respect other religions but at the same time Atheism existed and should be spoke about in RE lessons. Prior to this presentation, atheism was frowned upon.

So aside homework, we met up twice a week and decided on how we were going to do things especially more so as it was such a big area to cover. A little over three weeks and we were ready. We presented the Head Teacher with a presentation that lasted over two hours. We won our case and now it is taught alongside the curriculum.

But this is not about what we did back then but, however it is to do with atheism means to me.

Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This absence of belief generally comes about either through deliberate choice, or from an inherent inability to believe religious teachings which seem literally incredible. It is not a lack of belief born out of simple ignorance of religious teachings.

Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: they actively believe that particular gods, or all gods, do not exist. Just lacking belief in Gods is often referred to as the “weak atheist” position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as “strong atheism.”It is important, however, to note the difference between the strong and weak atheist positions. “Weak atheism” is simple scepticism; disbelief in the existence of God. “Strong atheism” is an explicitly held belief that God does not exist. Please do not fall into the trap of assuming that all atheists are “strong atheists.” There is a qualitative difference in the “strong” and “weak” positions; it’s not just a matter of degree.Atheism by itself does not imply anything much about how a person will behave. Most atheists follow many of the same “moral rules” as theists, but for different reasons. Atheists view morality as something created by humans, according to the way humans feel the world ‘ought’ to work, rather than seeing it as a set of rules decreed by a supernatural being.People say that being an atheist, is hard especially when the times get rough, but with the support of a supportive family and having the main comforts about you, helps and brings you back to the safe zone.