It's Okay to Be an Atheist

In spite of what most religions and religious people might say, it's okay to be an atheist. There's absolutely nothing wrong with not believing in a god or gods. Then why is there a stigma against atheists?

In an ideal world, it would be normal not to believe in a god. We would learn about the universe through science, use our brains to make decisions, value life here on Earth, and we'd all let each other do our thing. Unfortunately, organized religions have control much of the social narrative because they have a lot to lose if people don't believe in what they profess. Religions have self-appointed themselves exclusive distributors of comfort about death and moral righteousness. They've convinced millions, if not billions, of people that someone who doesn't believe in god has no way of dealing with death or morality.

Atheists scare religious people because we remind them of the finality of death. They wonder deep inside whether death really is the end and there is no god or afterlife. They also chafe at the idea that you can actually be a moral person without a religion. Let's face it, religious people have been told by their religions that they are somehow special or "chosen" and that their god has all the answers. When someone comes along who says, "I don't need religion to be moral or deal with death," it upsets their entire self-image.

No matter what society or religious people think, it's perfectly okay to be an atheist. You can think independently, use science to understand the world around you, make decisions based on empirical fact, and be a moral person because you consciously chose to be that way. Being an atheist frees you up to be the real you and follow your own path in life, without an invisible being telling you what to do.