Frequently Asked #1

Welcome to the first edition of Frequently Asked!

This is going to be an ongoing feature on the blog.  Some of the questions and/or statements covered here are things that have genuinely been said to my face.  That is the case for our topics for today.  Others could come from other Atheist writers, the great and powerful Google, or maybe even eventually from readers like you.  I promise to do my best to convey my answers in a clear and articulate manner.  Now, what are some questions that I get asked entirely too often? 

How can you live life without Faith?/You have to have Faith in something.

I would like to make it clear right here and now that I have plenty of faith in a variety of things.  I have faith in the fact that if my morning is not going so well then it will only get better when I spill coffee all over my work outfit or get stuck behind the school bus when I’m already running late.  When I come down with something, a state I find myself in fairly often, I place my faith in modern medicine and my wonderful primary care physician to cure what ails me.  I choose to place my faith in the Scientific Community to help me seek out answers to my questions about life, the universe, and everything.  The correct answer is inevitably 42.  I do not feel the need to place faith in a deity or supernatural being.  

It is my personal belief that the reason people feel the need to ask me this so often is rather simple.  People who do place their faith in a God are used to having what almost amounts to a crutch to protect them from the problems in their lives.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard some rendition of the following example.  If something is going wrong in your life, don't worry, just pray about it. Give it to God. If things do get better, credit it as God's plan.  If they don't, it's still God's plan. But don’t worry.  When he closes a door, he opens a window.  This method of defining religious faith is essentially an unintentional way to absolve yourself of any kind of culpability in the twists and turn of life.  An Omniscient, All-Knowing creator has known you since before you were conceived, obviously has your best interests at heart, and has basically planned out your whole life.  Why should anyone bother to gain a proper understanding of how to react to stress, depression, even death if someone else is guaranteed to take care of it for you?       

This is one major point that can get you in trouble when you deconvert or stop believing in a recognized deity.  You abruptly don’t have that cushion anymore.  All of a sudden, for what may be the first time, you are forced to be the one to take responsibility for both the good and the bad seasons in your life.  You have to start making your own decisions and being accountable for both the bounty and the fallout caused by those choices.  I don't think most people honestly understand how mentally unprepared a religious upbringing can leave you.  After deconverting, I actually had to relearn how to deal with a myriad of emotional issues that I had never really been taught to just to continue functioning.  This included learning how to properly grieve for the first time.     

How can you live a moral life without believing in a higher power?

For some reason, people tend to assume that the very second you stop believing in a higher power you automatically turn into some kind of depraved, serial killer type.  As I happen to be pretty knowledgeable on the subject,  I can honestly inform you that a lack of belief in a deity is not on the list of requirements to be one.  The truth of the matter is atheists are regarded as one of the least trustworthy demographics around.  As of this writing, I could not hold a public office in the state I live in because there is still a law on the books preventing non-theists from doing so.  Think about that.  It’s 2018. 

I actually find it pretty hard to believe that most people think you can't live a good life without some omniscient being to tell you how to do it and then punish you for your missteps.  I just can't wrap my head around this presumption simply because no person exists in a vacuum.  Religion isn't the only place where a person can find morals and values.  Even if you never stepped foot in a house of worship, the laws of your government, your individual culture, and society at large will impress the rules and social mores they value upon you.  A well-known example from Southern culture would be responding “Yes/No, ma’am/sir” to any elder making a request of you.  This particular brand of respect for your elders is regarded as an extremely important social value to Southern Mamas.  Therefore, they take the necessary steps to impart those values to their children.  With the aid of the infamous hickory switch when necessary.  

I’m not denying that religion does play a part in how a large number of individuals do form their personal moral fabric.  However, it's still just one part of the overall social and cultural influences that help to shape you into a useful member of society.  It is my personal opinion that if an individual can’t manage to live a “good” or so-called moral life without the threat of eternal damnation hanging over their heads then I have to say they truly aren’t living good or moral lives.  But that's just me.  Atheists and other non-believers, like any other group of individuals, live distinctive, unique lives and make an array “good” and “bad” choices.

I hope my responses will help you to have a better grasp of Atheism and how non-believers think and find meaning in their lives.  Please remember that these answers are only my opinions on the subjects discussed and should by no means be taken as some kind of Atheist gospel.  If you have any questions you would like me to answer, feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email at SouthernAtheist99@gmail.com. 

Thanks for Reading,

A Southern Atheist