I’ll start with this: if the world allows people to destroy each other in the name of religion, I am definitely entitled to writing this essay in the name of getting people to stop destroying each other in the name of religion.
Let’s face it – so much of religion today (ANY religion) as it has been for centuries is still based on forcing self-sacrifice and martyrdom onto others. Or at the very least, forcing others to go against their true beliefs.
I’m sorry but it just is.
And I definitely don’t appreciate it.
My mother tried really hard to turn me into a perfect little Hindu princess when I was growing up. She wanted me to light the diyas every morning and say a prayer before school and it didn’t take.
And it definitely did not take when she tried to get me into more superstitious habits like not touching a vessel when transferring salt or not going into the prayer room (which is also our dining room) every month when I get my period.
And it fit in here perfectly.
And I call these superstitious because the truth is whatever the original scientific or cultural basis was for these tradition has long been lost. And instead of adapting to current times, people like my mother and South-Asian-auntie friends (and I say this because I mostly see it with the South Asian aunties but it applies to a much larger demographic of religious people of all religions, ethnicities, and nationalities) still blindly follow these practices, without knowing why, terrified that “God” will punish them if they don’t.
And fine – that’s their prerogative.
But who are they to ask the same of me or anyone else who doesn’t want to? Who doesn’t believe in what they believe or in the same way?
We all have our illogical habits that make us feel safe and comfortable, I get it. But you can’t force these things onto another person.
I refuse to pray and pretend that I believe that something magical will happen or that someone is listening when I believe that god is just energy. Physical energy. The electric charges that cause the world to turn.
I refuse to take part in superstious practices that make no sense led by fear of retaliation from “God” because even if “God” did exist as someone in control, who the fuck are they to tell me what to do when I’m very much capable of knowing right from wrong?
I’m very comfortable and capable of living a happy and healthy life without all these.
I’m all for religious freedom. So why can’t we be free from the constraints that religion puts on our personal freedom?
