Religion instils hate and fear more than ever. Atheism is all about being human and believing in humanity.
- It's not easy being an Athiest
If you ever identify yourself in a third world country like Bangladesh as an atheist. Life becomes tough. By that, I mean you are basically tying yourself to a bomb vest. A bomb vest that won't immediately go off but will torture you every second so that you can slowly succumb to mental trauma. Mental trauma is the least terrifying thing that can happen to you.
- Believing in religion makes a person bitter.
With the current, Afghanistan crisis I wonder what if there wasn't any religion at all? Would this all be still happening? I am so lucky to be born into a family that always valued my opinion. But the problem is much bigger than that. Me being an atheist has never been an issue for my family. But the religious conservatives definitely have a huge problem. Bangladesh is a religious country. Society matters a lot. Being born a Hindu, I never really knew about my religion unless it was pointed out in my school, and I was separated from my friend's group. That was a huge blow for me. I was only 5 at the time. Muslims are the predominant community of the country, and they form the majority of the population in all eight divisions of Bangladesh. That makes me a minority. I never felt that way or didn't want to, but reality had something different for me.
- I was always an atheist.
My parents are both non-believers. But there is a fear instilled in my mom. The fear of not following the rules of religion and will face the consequences if you don't obey. But aren't gods supposed to be merciful? Why do Gods have consequences? It sounds so man-made, and yet people believe it. Religion is the root of many problems, and third world countries are a clear example of it. As a Bangladeshi, I love my country but only for family reasons but not as a country itself. It's a country filled with corruption, dirty politics and most of all, suppressing religious minorities. Minors have been suffering forever. Starting from 1971, most of the minorities were displaced to different countries, mostly becoming refugees in India because Pakistan invaded Bangladesh, killing many Bengalis and targeting minorities. My parents were kids when the 1971 war occurred—one of the reasons my parents never wanted to believe in religion in the first place. Growing up, I did not have hatred instilled in other religious people. But the realisation happened when I got to my late teenage years only to experience that there is no value for women or they don't have equal rights. A very, very big problem lies in it and its religion.
Freedom of expression is not expressed in Bangladesh. It’s the last thing the extremist group would want to be legalised. Attacking a religion for no apparent reason is not well-intended, but what if the religious beliefs affect my day-to-day life. Getting threatened over personal choice is not a way to live peacefully.
Most of the problems going around in the world are related to religion or religious beliefs. If people believed in humanity and have been human, the world would be a peaceful place.
